A bid to install 'Communications Hubs' across Bolton town centre concluded with the approval of three out of five of the units.

JCDecaux applied for planning permission for five sites at Bolton Interchange, Deansgate, Newport Street and Oxford Street last year.

Bolton Council approved the planning permission for the sites at Bolton Interchange and Deansgate, but it refused the planning permission for the sites at Newport Street and Oxford Street on the basis of the impact of these Communications Hubs on the appearance and character of the Town Hall Conservation Area and its immediate surroundings.

JCDecaux appealed to the Planning Inspectorate on all of the refusals but it won on only one out of three appeals on the publication of the rulings last week.

The Planning Inspector ruled in favour of the council on the appeals closest to Victoria Square but against the council on the appeal further from the square.

JCDecaux has approval for three out of five of the units as a result.

The Bolton News: Andy Burnham is a big backer of the hubs

One refusal said: "The hub would cause unacceptable harm to the character and appearance of the Town Hall Conservation Area."

The application said these Communications Hubs are different to the BT Hubs already across the town centre in that there is advertising on one side rather than both sides to allow one side to be set aside for facilities such as a defibrillator and a touch screen for other services.

Andy Burnham is understood to be a backer of the technology after its introduction to the city centre with the aim of rolling it out across the region as a whole.

The Bolton News: Andy Burnham is a big backer of the hubs

The application said: "We established a network in the city centre, which has proved successful, not only through our collaboration with the Greater Manchester Police who use the advertisement screens to promote local campaigns, but in raising the profile of the provision of life-saving defibrillators.

"The network has proved useful in promoting the mayor's homelessness charity campaign by providing the means for the public to make donations using a QR code on screen."

The Bolton News asked JCDecaux for a comment.

This article was written by Jack Tooth. To contact him, email jack.tooth@newsquest.co.uk or follow @JTRTooth on Twitter.