THE Bolton town centre masterplan was unveiled by the council in July last year.

The masterplan is a whole raft of regeneration plans to overhaul the town centre and bring people back to the heart of the town, not just to shop but also to live.

Projected to cost an eyewatering £1 billion the money will come from a £100 million low-interest loan taken out by the council with a further £900 million of investment coming from private investment.

READ MORE: £250 million to transform Crompton Place

The council has identified five key areas of Bolton to focus this regeneration on. These are the Trinity Quarter (around Bradshawgate), Cheadle Square (the old bus station), Crompton Place, Croal Valley (north of Deansgate) and Church Wharf.

The council’s plans would give the town centre a concentrated retail core and bring empty and brownfield sites back into use as housing.

The first step towards this dream of a revitalised town centre came in August 2017 when the town hall gave the formal go-ahead to borrow £100 million over a 50-year period to kick the project.

The loan will be paid back in yearly instalments, made using the annual Manchester Airport dividend — which currently stands at £4.5 million — and a dividend from the Yorkshire Purchasing Organisation which the council also receives every year.

READ MORE: A recent history of Crompton Place

At current interest rates, the council would pay back £2.3 million per year.

In September last year the council announced greater detail about the scheme and what it saw being built in each area, for example housing and apartments on the former bus station site in the Cheadle Square area and a mix of office and residential development in the Trinity Quarter, also featuring a new hotel, office block and multi-storey carpark.

Crompton Place being bought in June was the next step on the road to a new Bolton.

The council’s masterplan appears to be fluid as initially the council envisaged Crompton Place being transformed with a food court overlooking Victoria Square.

Now, it is understood that this is not the case and a new shopping centre created. Details of how this will look have not been finalised.