Bolton BOLTON is booming with hundreds of jobs created in the town's leisure and retail industry over the last 12 months.

The jobs have been created by the opening of a string of fitness centres, restaurants, pubs, shops and warehouses.

Figures reveal that more than 17,000 people are now employed in the industry.

The news offsets the gloom which descended over the town in the months after redundancies were announced at several manufacturing firms such as Crompton Way paper manufacturers Beloit Walmsley and printers Blackburns of Bolton on Shifnall Street.

One employment expert said it indicated that people would have to start thinking carefully about which industry they chose to work in.

Created

Mrs Chris Morris, marketing manager at Bolton Jobcentre, told the BEN that "more and more" jobs were being created in the leisure and retail industries.

"There has been a real boom in the Bolton area in these industries," she said.

"Many new ventures have opened and more and more jobs are being created.

"Obviously there have been redundancies in manufacturing which means people will have to think carefully about which industry they want to work in."

New leisure outlets which have opened in the last year include the multi-million pound David Lloyd leisure centre, pubs The Varsity and Red on the Square, and food stores such as McDonalds and the Chinese Pavilion, both in Westhoughton. A Pizza Express, on Wood Street, is due to open soon.

Cllr Gerald Riley, chairman of leisure services, said he was delighted with the good news.

He added: "People think that leisure means fun but it has a very serious side and it has become very important to the economy of Bolton. I'm delighted the industry continues to grow."

And on the retail side things have been just as rosy. Great Mills DIY and DFS furniture have opened stores at Middlebrook, Bolton Fabric Warehouse opened on Crompton Way, Lidl in Farnworth and All Days, a general store, started trading on Brownlow Way.

While the retail boom is a bonus, it is no surprise that the leisure industry continues to flourish.

From 1997 to 1999, an amazing 800 jobs were created in Bolton's pubs alone.

"And this year has been much the same. It keeps growing," added Mrs Morris, from the Jobcentre.

The good news is in marked difference from the current situation in Bolton's manufacturing industry, where in the last month almost 500 employees have lost their jobs.

This includes 55 redundancies at Beloit Walmsley, 80 at Watsons Steel, 153 at the soon to close Dorma Factory weaving mill at Bradley Fold and 90 at Chortex Mill in Horwich.

David Peacock, joint MD at printing firm Blackburns of Bolton, which is shedding 25 of its workforce, said it was true that the leisure industry was "taking over".

He added: "It isn't just in Bolton, it is happening throughout the country. In the last 25 years the engineering industry has been decimated.

"It has affected us but not too much because we provide to both the manufacturing and the service industries."

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