Prominent figures — including the Bishop of Bolton and Whites chairman Phil Gartside — have debated the future of the town. Here John Newbould recounts the key messages from the 43rd annual Tillotson Lecture at Bolton School.

THE heads of several of Bolton's key 'institutions' say the town must maximise the benefits offered by the devolution of powers to Greater Manchester.

The panel — Phil Gartside, Chairman of Bolton Wanderers, Karen Edwards OBE, Chief Executive of Bolton Lads and Girls Club, The Rt Revd Chris Edmondson, Bishop of Bolton and Cllr Carole Swarbrick, the Mayor of Bolton — gathered at Bolton School for this year’s Tillotson Lecture.

The speakers discussed 'Bolton's past, present and future' and all agreed representatives for the town need to be involved in discussions on the Northern Powerhouse.

The panel agreed that the HS2 rail-link to London was not that critical to the town and that the money would be better spent on the HS3 link which would improve rail links across the North from East to West.

The Bishop of Bolton said it was all about working in partnership and praised the town’s creativity in theatre, sport and music.

Phil Gartside said people were very independent and proud of this diverse town.

Karen Edwards said she was continuously amazed at the number of volunteers and the time and effort that they put in, not just at Bolton Lads and Girls Club but through other charities such as Urban Outreach — for her, this was the true spirit of Bolton.

The Mayor of Bolton offered up three prominent sights in the town centre which symbolised Bolton’s future — the crane which is involved in the redevelopment of the Market Place, the ongoing and proposed development of the University of Bolton campus and the opening of the new Aldi distribution centre which will create over 200 jobs for the people of Bolton.

The Bishop of Bolton told the audience of students, parents, teachers and friends of the school, how the town should be proud of its commitment to partnership and cohesion.

He felt the “Bolton Family” concept has genuine substance and that the town’s motto of “Supera Moras” is apposite as, working in partnership, typified by the coming together of faiths, the town is overcoming its difficulties.

But he also warned that austerity has not come to an end and we need to tackle the issue as “One Bolton”.

Mrs Edwards, chief exectutive at Bolton Lads and Girls Club since 2010, worried about the town’s lack of an anti-poverty policy. She told how the club had been formed in 1889 at a time of industrial and social change and how it had benefitted the lives of thousands of people over the years.

Today its motto is 'somewhere to go, something to do, someone to talk to' and while it currently reaches 10,000 children each year, it is still only scratching the surface, she said.

Mr Gartside spoke about how Bolton Wanderers is proud to play its part in the community. While the club is currently in the Championship, he did remind the audience that 2011-12 was the 73rd year that Bolton had enjoyed in the top flight – somewhere it had been for more than 50 per cent of its history.

He was proud of the club’s commitment to re-engage students in education through sport and cited the example of a boy who had been expelled from mainstream school for nine years but, through Wanderers, had taken qualifications that had just allowed him to progress to Cardiff University to study Sport Science.

He told how the town benefits considerably from the Middlebrook complex with its four-star hotel and banquet facilities, leisure and cinema complex and retail outlets. He said that besides bringing people and money into the town, the complex employs directly and indirectly 3,000 to 4,000 people.

Mr Gartside said the club's owner Eddie Davies would leave an incredible legacy to the town. The club’s free school currently has 100 participants and a new school building would open in 2017. The club also has permission to develop 350,000 square feet of mixed use development.

This was the 43rd Tillotson Lecture at Bolton School, established in 1971 at the behest of the late Marcus Tillotson, himself influential in one of Bolton’s other institutions, The Bolton News.

The series has attracted eminent speakers over the years including Michael Portillo MP, Sir Ian McKellen, Lord Coe and Sir Philip Craven.