COUNCILLORS have criticised Bolton town hall bosses over delays in plans to transform Westhoughton's crumbling market hall.

Furious councillors say they have been let down by town hall staff who said a scheme to breathe new life into the eyesore building, on Market Street, Westhoughton, would start this year.

Despite plans unveiled last September to rebuild parts of the building and provide a youth and community facility, councillors and traders are dismayed that no progress has been made since.

Town hall bosses have now cast the future of the market into doubt by saying no firm plans for the market have been added to their work schedule for this year.

Councillors now fear the eyesore building could be putting people off coming to the town.

Cllr David Wilkinson said: "We understood that it would be the start of this year when the work was started.

"The building is falling apart and people are quite clearly saying that it has become a shambles and are staying away when it should be playing a big part in the town centre community scene.

"The longer it goes on the more traders and customers turn their backs on the place and the more difficult it will become to get people to come back to the place if and when the work is done.

"The borough market managers have come up with a plan and it needs to be put into action as soon as possible."

It was hoped that the market plan would give traders and shoppers an incentive to return to the town.

Markets in Westhoughton and Horwich have been struggling to generate a profit in recent years and town hall bosses had considered merging the two on one site and axing one of the ailing halls.

The plans put forward for Westhoughtonwould reduce the number of stalls from 80 to 50 and provide better facilities to allow it to host computer fairs and farmers markets.

A spokesman for Bolton Council said: "Nobody from the council has said that the redevelopment of the Market Hall would start at the beginning of this year.

"The Town Council and traders were told that proposals for the Market Hall were part of an internal review of all Council property.

"That process is still on-going and we are no further forward at this stage. There are no firm proposals or time scales."