THE new boss of Bolton Council said he wants to champion the borough’s civic pride and make the town centre the best it can be — but has warned there are difficult times ahead.

Paul Najsarek has swapped his London home for a flat in Bolton after being chosen to succeed Sean Harriss as Bolton Council’s chief executive.

After just a few weeks in the post, the 47-year-old is convinced he has made the right decision after being given a warm welcome from the people of Bolton.

Mr Najsarek, who previously held the top job at Harrow Council in London, said: “This is a very warm place to be. I think Bolton has that self image and I have experienced the warmth of the people in the council, the councillors and the local community.

"I have been out meeting lots of people in this first three weeks and that has been really good.”

Mr Najsarek has joined the council as the authority faces the prospect of having to make huge savings.

The new chief executive must oversee the £43 million of cuts announced in the last budget, plus the prospect of further savings based on the outcome of Chancellor George Osborne's emergency summer budget next month.

Mr Najsarek added: “One of the ways I need to judge myself is to make those spending reductions in a way that does the least damage to the community and to also treat staff with dignity and respect.

“There will be a lot of change for people and we can’t always promise people that the outcome will be what they want — but we can promise to do things properly and treat people well during the process of change.

“Regrettably there will be an impact on the public and there will be an impact on staff, because you can’t make these scales of changes without that sort of impact.”

But there are ways to combat the cuts, says Mr Najsarek, who is a fierce believer in community spirit and civic pride.

He said: “A lot of the issues that confront Bolton are things where residents can make a difference, be it recycling, public health or cohesion.

"All those things are where residents can contribute and harnessing that will be really important.”

Another of his key beliefs is what he calls “one public service” — a notion where the council works very closely with police and the health and education sectors.

He adds: “We all have financial pressures and we have to make sure that they don’t drive us apart — we can save money by doing things together.”

Originally from South Manchester, the father-of-two is delighted to be back in the North West and believes there is much to be positive about for the future of Bolton.

He said: “We have lots of good things to build on in Bolton. We have the transport interchange and projects like the Market Place, which I hope will be really positive for the town.

“This is an interesting place with lots of opportunities and we have the potential to develop Bolton and build on that excellent community spirit.”