WE'RE nothing if not versatile in Bolton.

And the town's booming leisure and retail industry is proof of that.

Many of the traditional industries which kept Bolton's workers in jobs are long gone or severely restricted.

And while it has been sad this year to read reports of redundancies at several manufacturing firms such as Beloit Walmsley, it is heartening to realise that the opening of a string of fitness centres, restaurants, pubs, shops and warehouses, has meant employment for many.

Cllr Gerald Riley, chairman of Leisure Services, is right when he says that leisure has a very serious side and it has become very important to the economy of Bolton.

Similarly the retail boom has meant the creation of jobs.

We in Bolton are prepared to change. While we are proud of our cotton town heritage, it is right that we move on from it as we approach the new Millennium.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.