Readers react to demolition for £33m Deansgate housing work

A row of buildings fronting Deansgate, including the Blue Boar pub and Sweetens bookshop, have been boarded up for a number of years, after coming under the control of the council around 2017.

Plans were signed off by Bolton Council in April to construct more than 102 flats and 56 town houses around Central Street and Deansgate with demolition starting yesterday.

• Demolition work begins to kickstart £33m Bolton town centre housing scheme

Comments on social media and on The Bolton News website showed a mixed reaction from readers after we asked you for your views to the start of this work.

Julian Holt said: "Creating housing in the town centre is the answer to fill empty spaces that cannot be filled by retail anymore. People’s shopping habits have changed for ever. With a growing population in the town centre this will create demand for smaller retail businesses to start up & eventually thrive.

"I still have Premier Bed Stores on central street and we’re right in the middle of this new development. It’s going to be a tough couple of years during construction but hopefully our customers from the past 30+ years will still support us."

Mags Stocks said: "Bolton needs so much TLC. It's great to see things improving."

Another positive comment from Claire Best said: "It's brilliant news for this area. Hopefully will just be part of the regeneration of the town."

renovatedhouserunner said: "Everyone moaning about the building really gets on my nerves as a new building there looks a lot better than what is there at the moment and what was there. Landscaping the ground around will look better and maybe attract private investors which will also create more work jobs. A lot of the flats in Manchester but look how much building has been going on there for years, there are new bars and restaurants all over and the city looks amazing to how it was 20 years ago. Some on here will never achieve anything with their negative attitudes and should get out more."

Westhoughtonlad said: "Glad to see things moving on this development now. The boarded up shops should have come down a couple of years ago. Three major housing developments moving along in the town centre, let's hope they come to fruition soon and attract the right sort of person."

However, many readers were also sad to see the loss of historical buildings in the town centre.

Neil Farrell said: "Who cares now what is done, a once prosperous, proud historical town is now lost .sold out to people who don't care about our heritage."

Marie Michelle Waters said: "Crying shame about Sweetens. A true piece of history destroyed."

LordLeverhulme said: "The council seems to think that demolition and clearing sites will lead to new development. A quick look round the town centre shows that not to be the case."

Dave Gardner added: "Like all the other so called schemes started it will begin ,it will never finish and if it does it won’t improve a once proud town that successive councils have allowed to be ruined."