Campus could be bulldozed for homes

10:20am Sunday 14th October 2012 in Local

BOLTON College’s Horwich campus could be closed and replaced with housing, according to the council’s new plans for the town.

Town Hall chiefs say they have identified the land for property development, as the campus may no longer be needed after the creation of the multi-million pound town centre campus.

The college says its lease for the building is coming to an end and a review is under way.

The Horwich campus runs a number of courses, including metalwork fabrication and motor vehicle courses.

In its long-term planning document for the town, Bolton Council has put forward proposals to allocate the land for housing.

The plan states: “Ongoing consolidation of the main Bolton College facilities within Bolton town centre may mean that in the medium term the Horwich campus will no longer be required.

“Redevelopment of the site would then be appropriate and it has been allocated for housing on the proposals map.”

No allocation of the land has been made on the town centre campus or the Farnworth campus as, according to the report: “All of these sites are in current use, and so there is no need to show them on proposals map.”

The draft allocation plan is now open to public consultation.

Landowners and users of land are consulted when proposals are drawn up.

Bolton College principal Marie Gilluley said: “The Bolton College site in Horwich is subject to a lease which ends in the next few years.

“Alternatives for relocation at that time are under review. When, and if, there are firm proposals in relation to the landlord’s future development, we will consider the options available to the college.

“Staff and learners will be fully consulted on plans at the appropriate time.”

Comments (6)

2:40pm Sat 13 Oct 12

Boltontoday says...

Will they really do metalwork and car repairs in the new shint town centre site?
Will they really do metalwork and car repairs in the new shint town centre site? Boltontoday

2:42pm Sat 13 Oct 12

Boltontoday says...

Sorry, shiny not shint!
Sorry, shiny not shint! Boltontoday

7:49pm Sun 14 Oct 12

Andy Higham says...

Would any houses be built? or would it end up yet another hole in the ground, like the former Chadwick street college site, the former social services site on Thicketford road, the former Odeon cinema, the former Clarence street college site, the former Manchester road college site, the former water place etc etc
Would any houses be built? or would it end up yet another hole in the ground, like the former Chadwick street college site, the former social services site on Thicketford road, the former Odeon cinema, the former Clarence street college site, the former Manchester road college site, the former water place etc etc Andy Higham

1:23am Mon 15 Oct 12

Reality50 says...

More expense for Horwich students who will have to go to Bolton to study.At current bus fare charges that is around £20 a week per student.Will the council be reimbursing the students if this happens? Thought not....
More expense for Horwich students who will have to go to Bolton to study.At current bus fare charges that is around £20 a week per student.Will the council be reimbursing the students if this happens? Thought not.... Reality50

1:24am Mon 15 Oct 12

Andyroost says...

Rates are cheaper in horwich, lets relocate all Bolton MBC employees from the Town Hall and all the other wings, flatten it, let the workers travel to Horwich and get them all under one roof. Thats logic. Then Bolton MBC wont have to keep making cuts, When will the people of Horwich, Bolton and Westhoughton realise the bigger picture, We no longer have a council in Westhoughton town hall or Horwich town hall, just a desk in the foyer.
Shortly the people of Bolton will realise that Bolton at Home are now a private company and have to run at a profit, cuts are inevitable to rid the dead wood, jobs for the boys, etc but services need to remain, if they go they go forever.
With the freedom of information act the councils are just getting more devious to hide whats happening, Councils arent good for this government, to many regulations govern how they work where'by private companies can be and are more ruthless. The problems stem from the government, They tell the Local Authority the cuts they are making in available funds and leave the council to decide where. The big boys arent going to take a drop so the workers have to, problem is lots are friends and family who have got on not through being good at what they do but who they know, leaving tradesmen being lost long term and left with workers not fit for purpose. system very corrupt, check out how many bosses have sent there relatives within the council on secondments as their jobs are then kept open until they return and hopefully the redundancies will have then been handed out. Dread to think what this country is going to be like for our kids!
Rates are cheaper in horwich, lets relocate all Bolton MBC employees from the Town Hall and all the other wings, flatten it, let the workers travel to Horwich and get them all under one roof. Thats logic. Then Bolton MBC wont have to keep making cuts, When will the people of Horwich, Bolton and Westhoughton realise the bigger picture, We no longer have a council in Westhoughton town hall or Horwich town hall, just a desk in the foyer. Shortly the people of Bolton will realise that Bolton at Home are now a private company and have to run at a profit, cuts are inevitable to rid the dead wood, jobs for the boys, etc but services need to remain, if they go they go forever. With the freedom of information act the councils are just getting more devious to hide whats happening, Councils arent good for this government, to many regulations govern how they work where'by private companies can be and are more ruthless. The problems stem from the government, They tell the Local Authority the cuts they are making in available funds and leave the council to decide where. The big boys arent going to take a drop so the workers have to, problem is lots are friends and family who have got on not through being good at what they do but who they know, leaving tradesmen being lost long term and left with workers not fit for purpose. system very corrupt, check out how many bosses have sent there relatives within the council on secondments as their jobs are then kept open until they return and hopefully the redundancies will have then been handed out. Dread to think what this country is going to be like for our kids! Andyroost

9:43am Mon 15 Oct 12

love spreads around says...

More housing? yes thats really what we need, ask anyone in Bolton what it really needs. Maybe they'll even decide on luxury apartments. Look at the Valley We have all been to see a flick in our time, gone for curry and thought "god I'd love to live here, next to a curry house and cinema, without a corner shop for a 20 min walk. The same will probably happen to smithills coaching house when they decide the inevitable. This council needs to understand that they don't know right all of the time, most people in this town think the council is major let down. They are all about making the money because that means they are good at there job. What about our quality of life. Even when they do spend money its on rubbish. I walked through town on Saturday and bolton council had invested in a Mobile stage playing music on deansgate while kids threw basket balls into hoops. This looked like some charity even in a less developed country. I dont think kids need that in this day and age when there are enough basket ball courts around. If they are going to spend money, do it on something inspiring, or reduce our council tax.
More housing? yes thats really what we need, ask anyone in Bolton what it really needs. Maybe they'll even decide on luxury apartments. Look at the Valley We have all been to see a flick in our time, gone for curry and thought "god I'd love to live here, next to a curry house and cinema, without a corner shop for a 20 min walk. The same will probably happen to smithills coaching house when they decide the inevitable. This council needs to understand that they don't know right all of the time, most people in this town think the council is major let down. They are all about making the money because that means they are good at there job. What about our quality of life. Even when they do spend money its on rubbish. I walked through town on Saturday and bolton council had invested in a Mobile stage playing music on deansgate while kids threw basket balls into hoops. This looked like some charity even in a less developed country. I dont think kids need that in this day and age when there are enough basket ball courts around. If they are going to spend money, do it on something inspiring, or reduce our council tax. love spreads around

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