CHURCHGATE in Bolton town centre is to become a cobbled street again.

As part of the £700,000 development of the street, engineers have revealed plans to remove the road's original setts and send them away to be cleaned. They will then be laid back on to the historic road.

Churchgate was the focal point of life in Bolton until the 1800s, and is still home to a number of historic buildings, including Ye Olde Pastie Shoppe, built in 1667, and Ye Olde Man and Scythe, one of Britain's oldest pubs.

Bolton Council bosses want to recapture the street's former bustling mediaeval atmosphere by turning it into a focal point for social life and festivities in the town.

Barriers were put up along the road earlier this month as workmen began the job of digging through the tarmac and removing the setts by hand.

Experts will be called in to clean and polish the stones before replacing them along the length of the street.

Plans have been put in place to excavate setts as part of other roadwork projects around the town if not enough of those in Churchgate are deemed to be useable.

The road will be three meters wide, but will be wider in the area around the Bolton Evening News offices where a loading bay will be situated.

A kerb of just one centimetre will separate it from paving which will be replaced with York stone the same material which is used in the pavements in Nelson Square.

Examples of quotes and sayings from Bolton people will be carved in the pavement around the road as a tribute to the town's reputation for wit.

More than 83 examples of catchphrases and reflections on the town have been submitted, and seven will be chosen by a panel next month to be featured on the road.

Cllr Ebrahim Adia, executive member for development and regeneration, said: "The project has been designed to revive the mediaeval heart of the town and rediscover what is a lost public space.

"We are going to be using the highest quality materials, including many of the original setts, to create what will be an attractive public space. Although we will keep vehicle access to the road, pedestrians will be given priority.

"The icing on the cake will be the installation of plaques featuring the reflections of local people on the area."

It is not known when the setts were laid, but evidence from paintings and photographs suggests they have been there since at least the beginning of the 1800s.

Engineers believe asphalt was laid over them some time in the 1950s.

The work is expected to be completed by the end of November.