WORK to revitalise Tyldesley town centre through improved transport links and a transformed market square will start this month.

From today, preparations will start in Market Square to prepare for the Leigh Guided Busway scheme which will see improved bus links between Tyldesley, Leigh and Atherton, through Salford to Manchester’s Oxford Road.

Wigan Council considered 270 responses made by 112 people during consultations, which included discussions with businesses and two drop-in sessions for the community to find out more about the proposals.

Main concerns raised by members of the public concerned car parking in the town centre, traffic flow and congestion in Tyldesley and the need for wider improvements to the town centre.

As a result, the council and TfGM have promised to look in to car parking spaces and traffic flow, with hanging baskets and benches to be added to the scheme, and they will try to promote Tyldesley as a destination for shoppers.

TfGM has written to residents to update them about work along Astley Street.

A three-week closure of Astley Street for water mains works will take place from March 30 to April 20 during the school holidays with a diversion route via Hough Lane.

Mike Worden, Wigan Council’s assistant director for planning and transport, said: “It’s heartening to see that many people share our desire to invest in and improve the town centre.

Peter Boulton, head of programme management services at TfGM, said: “We’re working very closely with the council and contractors to minimise the local impact of the traffic management for the works ahead.”

Tyldesley market square will be given a makeover with new paving and trees, including a Christmas tree, and the water fountain will be renovated and moved back to its original location outside the chapel.

A full public consultation on the Tyldesley town centre scheme took place in autumn, 2012. The scheme went to Wigan Council’s scrutiny committee for approval before the statutory Traffic Regulation Orders consultation, after which the final scheme was approved by Wigan Council.

Busway services will travel from Atherton down Tyldesley Road and then into Shuttle Street. Then the bus will turn right into Stanley Street stopping at the new bus stop in market square.

An intelligent traffic light system being installed in Elliott Street and Astley Street will assess the traffic and work out the most efficient way to get as many people as possible through the junction.

The new busway service, which is due to open later this year, will cut the overall journey time between Tyldesley and central Manchester to 40 minutes, even at peak times and will reduce the time it takes to get between Tyldesley and Leigh to under 10 minutes