COUNCIL and business leaders came together to celebrate the inaugural 'Bolton Means Business' event.

The event was attended by Bolton Council leader David Greenhalgh, chief executive of Bolton Council, Tony Oakman, and a variety of public and private businesses with the aim of putting Bolton business on the map.

There were stalls groups such as The University of Bolton, the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, and many more.

Cllr Greenhalgh opened the event by saying: “It is a huge priority to have events like this to show the importance of business success in Bolton.

“Together we can go from strength to strength.”

Tony Oakman also stressed the need for Bolton to grow in the business world to prosper as a town.

The people of Bolton are also key for him.

He said: “First of all it’s the people. People are key to the success of this. We want Bolton to flourish.”

He finished with a plea to the businesses in attendance saying: “We need to work in partnership for this to work for the future.”

Mr Oakman was hopeful for the future of the town, adding: “In four years' time the town will look very different to today.”

The owner of Northern Monkey Brewery bar Ryan Bailey spoke as an example of the success of local businesses.

He said: “The future for Bolton is very bright and we are very proud to be a part of that. I am very proud to be from Bolton.”

One member from the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce told The Bolton News: “We do not just want the spillover from Manchester. I told the Mayor this last week. Bolton needs more office space.

“There is a lot of growing interest in Bolton.”

This event came as part of the Bolton 2030 Vision plan, which was launched back in 2017, with a vision for the Bolton to be “active, connected and prosperous” by 2030. The council hopes to make this a regular event.