THERE will be a continental flavour to Bolton's prestigious Market Place if the go-ahead is given to convert the patio area on Bridge Street into an outdoor cafe.

Grosvenor Investments, who own the Market Place, have applied for permission to change the use of the patio area - above former public toilets - for the sale of drinks and ice cream.

And if it gets the go-ahead from Bolton Council, there will be a "semi-permanent" canopy.

Market Place manager Rod Neasham said the intention was to create a continental or Covent Garden type effect with outdoor entertainment for customers.

He told the Bolton Evening News: "We hope to be able to create a better atmosphere, weather permitting, and we believe it will be a big improvement for shoppers.

"At the moment it is just a thoroughfare and we will be making use of a facility which is there already. We have a possible operator for the site from within the Market Place but there has been no decision made yet."

Mr Neasham said he could not comment on whether the plan would finally seal the fate of the former public toilets on Bridge Street, which were closed nearly two years ago even though they were the most used in the whole of Bolton town centre.

But it appears unlikely that the toilets would ever be re-opened with a food outlet directly above.

The decision by Bolton Council to close the toilets as part of a cost cutting exercise was greeted with outrage by shoppers, local campaigners and former Bolton South East MP, David Young.

And there have been several attempts to have them re-opened.

The closure was justified on the grounds that the £100,000 needed to repair the loos and the £58,000 maintenance costs were better spent elsewhere.

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