The leader of Bolton Council has said he will go “back and back” to UK government ministers in an attempt to secure levelling up funding for the town.

£40million bids to transform the town centre and De Haviland Way were both recently rejected.

The aim had been to add a high end hotel to Le Mans Crescent and a conference complex to the Albert Halls.

They also wanted to make improvements to the Market Place Shopping Centre particulary the former Debenhams unit and the area around Mawdsley Street.

However since the setback council leader Cllr Martyn Cox has met with Michael Gove to put the case for future levelling up funds for Bolton.

Cllrr Champak Mistry said the council must avoid a “beauty contest” to secure funding for investment in the town .

He said: “The money they are dishing out is what they have clawed back under a guise of austerity measures from councils nationally.”

But Cllr Cox defended the Conservative administration's record.

He said: “I was equally frustrated that Bolton were not successful in the recent levelling up bids.

“That is the very reason I went to champion Bolton’s case with Michael Gove in London last week.

“Since we received the hugely disappointing news that our bids were not successful I have been pressing and will continue to press for further meetings with Government Ministers to secure Bolton’s case to secure extra funding on top of £150million we have secured across this council over recent years for capital works.

“We have received £1.6million in brownfield funding for the town centre, we received £27million of towns funding for the town centre, we received £13.4million for future high street funding, we have received £11.7million for the housing infrastructure fund, we have received £20million for levelling up bid, the university added a further £10million to that making it a £30million project.

"We have £3.5million of disabled facilities grants, the schools building funding project funded by DfE now totals £65million, we have decarbonisation funding of £2million, we have GMCA Highways funding of £10million, we as an executive added £13million to that making a total of £23million, we had a further £1.5million from the environmental agency for flood alleviation measures within Horwich.

“That is just a selection off some of the capital funding we have had from the government in recent years, of course we want more because we are ambitious for this town, that’s why I will be going back and back.”