PUTTINGBolton first is the key message from local Conservatives as they look to take charge of Bolton Council on May 6.

Tory leader Cllr John Walsh last week launched his party’s local manifesto and says he is confident ahead of next Thursday’s allimportant polling day.

He said: “This election gives people the real chance to change Bolton for the first time in 30 years.

“We have a good chance of forming the next administration and we have a team working very hard to achieve that.”

Cutting red tape and saving money are top of the Conservatives’ pledges nationally and here in Bolton it is no different.

Cllr Walsh believes the collection of statistics and data for reports “that no one reads properly”

will equal big savings.

He said: “We spend so much money, hundreds of thousands of pounds, on collecting and collating data and statistics and it is meaningless.

“We think that by cutting the red tape on things like that, and on ordering, will give us a huge saving.

“Sometimes we just have to say that local managers would be better going to W H Smith or Ryman to buy pens and post-it notes rather than bulk-buying.

“I know they are not local firms, but they employ Bolton people and I believe you would get better value for money by placing the responsibility in the hands of managers.”

One of the biggest issues for Cllr Walsh and his Conservative colleagues is opposing the Greater Manchester City Region, a new authority which will be made up of the 10 Greater Manchester councils and have greater control over issues such as transport and economic recovery.

He said: “We are opposed to the city region because it will mean councillors from other areas making decisions that affect Bolton.

“We are in favour of more linkage. We already have links with Bury and Blackburn with Darwen councils and maybe we should be looking at creating clusters with the likes of Chorley and other parts of south Lancashire.”

Education and care for the elderly also feature in the Tories’ manifesto while, on green issues, Cllr Walsh says he is proud of the his record in Bolton.

He said: “I think we have a pretty good track record. We were the party who opposed any development at Birtenshaws, we oppose garden grabbing and, most recently, we opposed the over-development of Cutacre.

“One thing we do want to look at is when a building is demolished, to throw some top soil over it and making it a green space.

“We are not against the sites ever being developed but it wouldn’t happen immediately and having it as a green space — which is low maintenance — would be better than having piles of bricks.

“There are some sites which are on main gateways into the town and they would look so much better, in the short term, as green open spaces.”

● Tomorrow: The Liberal Democrats outline their vision.