FOR a shopaholic mum with a fierce pride in her home town Cathy Savage has exactly the right job writes Angela Kelly

But, Bolton's new town centre manager has very definite ideas about how her favourite shopping place should be.

"I would love it to be two things: immaculate and friendly," explained 41 year-old Cathy just a few days into her new post.

She is not new to the town centre office. She was marketing manager for 18 months before manager Karen Wheeldon decided to leave to concentrate on her own business.

Cathy is also a familiar face to town centre businesses, as she worked in the advertising department of the Bolton Evening News for 21 years before taking voluntary redundancy.

Born in Smithills and educated at Church Road Juniors and Smithills Moor Grammar School, young Cathy had her sights set on a nursing career from being a tiny tot.

She described her academic achievements as "pretty average, really", but excelled at sports and team games and was obviously popular as her nickname was "Smiler."

She took a pre-nursing course at Horwich College before realising that she was still too young to go into this longed for profession.

Instead, she became an office junior in a town centre insurance brokers, until her mum spotted an advert for trainee tele-ads staff at the Bolton Evening News.

Her gregarious, outgoing, determined personality (typically Aquarian, she says) had found exactly the right niche.

Her bosses thought so too, and she swiftly moved through promotions to become display advertising manager. Her career was briefly interrupted by motherhood, first with Victoria (who is 12 in a few days' time) and later with Jack, just five.

She also met her future husband at the newspaper, Ian Savage, now deputy editor, and the family share a home in Bromley Cross.

When she left the Evening News, she had planned to have more time with her family. But, Karen Wheeldon offered her work at the then Town Centre Partnership, and Cathy's marketing talents were put to a different use.

The Bolton Town Centre Company is a non-profit making organisation with members from a wide variety of town centre businesses.

It works alongside Bolton Council, in a relationship which benefits both, and the town centre. The Company is run by a board of directors and offers a wide variety of benefits to local firms and stores.

It helps them to market themselves while promoting the town centre itself, and assistance with maintenance and security are among the spin-offs.

The Town Centre Company runs events in Victoria Square, and Cathy was responsible for such popular innovations as last year's Clowns Festival.

She genuinely rates Bolton as the best for shopping. "It is a cracking town centre," she states with conviction.

"I've been to plenty of others -- including Manchester, Middlebrook and the Trafford Centre -- and I love shopping. But I believe we compare very favourably with them all. There are all the different kinds of shops here, and plenty of places to eat. I've just contacted 40 really good restaurants and decent pubs with food in the town centre. People tend to be surprised at that figure, but we do have lots to offer shoppers."

Cathy is not, however, blinkered by partisan feelings. "Like everywhere, we could do better.

"Yes, we have got some empty units here. But nothing compared with some town centres, and we have some well-known businesses waiting for the right accommodation to become available," she explains.

"We've got exciting plans ahead -- like the development around Central Street and the Victoria Hall -- and events for all the family, including the children's town centre summer trail."

Cathy believes that Bolton's centre offers a good, safe environment for families. It was an early winner of a national civic safety award, and people like town centre security manager Rob Dyson are pivotal.

As well as fighting crime and offering more security, another, particularly thorny problem in the town centre is parking.

Cathy is straightforward on this."We have ample car parking spaces here where you can leave your vehicle safely and pay when you exit. This system works well.

"If people do choose to park on the street they must be fully aware of the regulations and adhere to them.

"I've been booked once for not doing this. I was wrong, I paid my fine and I have no complaints.

"But I know that there are certainly some disgruntled people out there with genuine complaints, and we are constantly talking with APCOA and the Council."

Not everything can be fixed in five minutes, and Cathy is well aware that the job ahead is huge.

Sunday trading, litter, image ..... the list is long. Ask Cathy what she sees here in 10 years' time, and it would probably be more of a retail and cafe society along with being that "immaculate and friendly" thriving place. In the short term, her objective is to talk to every single business in the town centre. "I know that seems like a massive task," she admits with the smile that earned her childhood nickname. "But, I'm an Aquarian. I like a challenge ....."