BOLTON’S historic market is to undergo a £4.5 million transformation in a bid to make the town the food capital of the North West.

Plans will include a prominent ultra-modern glass entrance, roof repairs and a new outdoor market.

The announcement comes on the same day it was revealed that the market has won a prestigious BBC Radio 4 Food and Farming award, described as the “Oscars of the food world”. It has been named the country’s Best Food Market.

Council bosses will spend £3 million on general refurbishment and infrastructure, and £440,000 will be used to create the new glass fronted entrance to the market.

More than £300,000 will be invested in roof repairs and £750,000 will be spent creating a new outdoor market at the site of the Octagon surface level car park in Great Moor Street, replacing the existing outdoor market.

The council wants to reposition the town as THE destination to visit in the North West for food and drink.

Council chiefs are looking to build on the success of the Bolton Food and Drink festival, which attracted a record 94,000 visitors earlier this year, and want food and drink to become Bolton’s “unique selling point”.

The council’s director of regeneration and development, Keith Davies, said: “Our ambition is to make the market a regional draw.

“The market is already award winning. We see this as being something we can offer that other big shopping destinations and out of town shopping centres can’t provide.”

The market has the turnover of a medium-sized food store and provides the equivalent of 325 full time jobs.

It acts as an “incubator” for small companies, with 50 start-up businesses in 2010.

There were also close to 300 coach trips made to the market last year, from outside the town, which has grown from 50 trips in 2008.

The plans are expected to be rubber-stamped by the council’s full executive next week and work will start in early 2013. The roof repairs will mean some upheaval for traders in the miscellaneous market, who will have to move to the new outdoor market while work takes place.

The announcement came as welcome news for the majority of traders who had feared the council would look to relocate the market.

David Bradbury, who runs Unsworth’s Delicatessen, said: “Obviously, in the current climate, any investment is welcome and £4.5 million is fantastic. I’m sure the situation doesn’t suit everyone, because some people will have to move.”

Fruit and veg man Stephen Latham, who has been on the market for 49 years and is the longest serving trader, added: “There are a lot of positives for us. We still have some concerns about the bus station moving, but if they do everything right then it will be good.”

The new entrance will replace Pilling’s Fish and Chip shop on the south corner of the market. The council notified the owners last week and are working with them to find a new position for the restaurant within the market.

Council leader Cllr Cliff Morris said: “The market is a vital employer in the town centre and provides a key service to the people of Bolton. The council needs to safeguard this vital asset for the future. We have a unique market with a unique and diverse food offer.”

The market revamp will come just before the new £48 million bus train interchange, which is planned for completion by 2015.

The new entrance will be visible from the interchange and the council hopes this will draw shoppers. The current bus station site next to the market is owned by Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) and the council is working with them to produce a “development brief”.

It is hoped by council chiefs that a “family focused” development will be built on the old bus station.

Under plans being drawn up by TfGM and the council, 80 per cent of the current bus routes around the market will continue.

There will also be dedicated market bus stops, as well as waiting facilities close to the market.