BOLTON'S time has come, declares Cllr Cliff Morris, when asked about the town's prospects for 2007.

It is a dramatic statement, and by no means the only one he utters during our chat in his Town Hall office.

He points to the continued presence of cranes on the town's skyline and an estimated £500 million investment over the next 10 years as several new retail, office and leisure developments come on stream.

As well as creating around 10,000 jobs, they will change the face of the town centre and, says Cllr Morris, help Bolton compete with Manchester.

"If people here can get what they want in Bolton without going to Manchester, I'm sure they would rather do that," says Cllr Morris. "It's about putting Bolton in the big league."

Major new town centre developments in the pipeline include a £100 million retail-led scheme around Central Street, shops, offices and houses in the Church Wharf area, a £40 million Cultural Quarter around Le Mans Crescent and a swimming pool.

They will be presided over by a new chief executive, Sean Harris, aged 38, who will move from Oldham Council to take over the reigns in April when Bernard Knight retires after 10 years.

But the biggest change ahead in 2007 will be work on revamping the Market Hall as big High Street retailers including Zara and H&M prepare to move in next year.

Angry stallholders were forced to move out last month and this newspaper's letters pages are testament to strong opposition to the loss of the Market Hall Cllr Morris himself worked as a chef at Percivals Restaurant in the Market Hall for 40 years.

"Nobody said it was going to be an easy decision. I'm sad in a sense but it's good for the town that we have moved on because there's lots of developer interest and that's great news for Bolton," he said.

Cllr Morris added that the council was exploring the possibility of a new multi-cultural music festival in the town to celebrate its diverse communities, and looking to improve facilities for young people, including a - just announced - new skateboard park.

At the same time the council faces severe financial pressures.

Like many other local authorities, it must find £8 million in equal-pay compensation for women employees including dinner ladies, cleaners and lollipop ladies, who were denied bonuses enjoyed by men in jobs on the same pay grade.

The council hopes to do that by taking out a loan which must be approved by the Bolton West MP Ruth Kelly's Department for Communities and Local Government.

A Government grant increase of just £3.5 million or 3.3 per cent, means the authority must save £11 million over the next financial year.

And in his role as chairman of the Royal Bolton Hospital Trust Board, Cllr Morris must also find savings of £3.7 million.

However, he said: "I would welcome more money - who wouldn't? But neither do I feel the council has been very badly done by.

"If that was the case I would be jumping up and down. If you have an increase of inflation and an increase for schools of around seven per cent you've got to learn to live within your budget."

Opponents say cuts are inevitable, but Cllr Morris says he is determined to preserve front line services for the likes of elderly people and children.

He said there was always scope for looking at fresh efficiency savings for both council and hospital services. "You have to question whether you need to deliver the service and if you do you have to look at how it is delivered," he said.

Despite being hit by the financial crisis that has gripped hospitals around the country, Cllr Morris said the outlook for Royal Bolton Hospital was positive.

"By the end of March we will be debt free. There's a 12 per cent staff turnover so we've actually only made two people redundant in the last two years.

"And since 1997 our budget has increased from £98 million to £112 million."

Cllr Morris pointed to investments including a neo-natal and maternity unit, a facility for fitting pace-makers and a new children's A&E.

And he said moves to provide more care outside hospitals in the community, including council led intermediate care when vulnerable patients leave hospital, were proving a success.

"Most old people do not want to be in hospital. If we can provide the care for them as a local authority that's the best thing that can happen," he said.

Nationally, Cllr Morris says 2007 is an important year for Labour, with Gordon Brown likely to take over from Tony Blair.

He admits more revelations of Home Office blunders are worrying, but takes positives from the fact the problems are being identified and solved.

A grandfather of six, he says he has no plans to retire in the near future, but adds: "My personal ambition is to make sure that when I retire I leave something to the people of Bolton that's fit for purpose. I was born here and brought up here and I'm extremely proud of the town."