THE council should invest in the borough's townships, according to a review by other local authorities.

Capital funding should be used to support the development of areas outside of Bolton town centre, the review said.

The comments come from a Local Government Association peer review of the council’s corporate plan.

Alongside a series of recommendations, the review says that Bolton is a “great council to work with” adding, “they genuinely care about their residents".

It recognised a move to prioritise investment in the town centre as an “important step” but said that this should not be done at the “detriment” of local townships.

Farnworth and Kearsley First councillor Julie Pattison agreed with the recommendation.

She said: “If you look at our businesses you can see how it’s been eroded. We need investment for people to get back into our area. That’s been overlooked for many, many years.”

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Horwich town councillor Steven Chadwick also supported with the recommendation.

He said: “The way to do it is to share the pie more fairly. The difference in spending is obscene. Sometimes the cash cow needs to be fed, especially if you need to milk them more.”

Horwich and Blackrod ward councillor Stephen Pickup defended the council’s town centre investment, saying that it has attracted private businesses to deliver improved retail and leisure facilities.

He said that there has been capital investment in the new Horwich Leisure Centre and 3G pitch as well as improvements at Blackrod community centre and thoroughfares of both towns.

Cllr Pickup said: “Bolton Council recognises the importance of its townships and is committed to realising the aspirations of residents across the borough.”

He welcomed the feedback from the peer review and said that the council is actively looking at ways to improve neighbourhoods throughout the borough.

Council leader Linda Thomas welcomed the peer review saying that it would listen and learn from the findings.

She said: “They felt that we had managed the pressures of Tory policy - taking local money away from the services people deserve - by pointing to our ‘good’ Ofsted rated Children’s Services and our invention approach to kickstarting regeneration.”

“I will have further announcements to make about our proposals for our capital spend - the budget locked by law for big spend community infrastructure projects - and how I will use this to meet our commitment to every town.”