A bid for £25 million from the ‘Towns Fund’ toward a regeneration project in Bolton has been finalised the council leader saying he will be “very, very surprised” if the application is not successful.
The Greater Manchester borough of Bolton was announced as one of the 101 towns across the UK which would be eligible for support from the government’s £3.6 billion ‘Towns Fund’, which was announced back in September 2019.
The fund intends to drive the economic regeneration of towns to deliver long-term economic growth.
If Bolton’s finalised application can convince the government of the scheme’s value for money, the borough could have up to £25m allocated to it, which will need to be spent by the end of March 2026, according to the Bolton News.
The borough has already received £1 million in advance funding and a decision on the rest is expected before the end of the year.
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Each town nominated for funding is required to establish a Town Deal Board – which is the body through which the vision and strategy for the town is defined – and the board must be chaired by a representative of the local business community.
The Bolton board has now finalised its priority schemes for the bid, while rejecting others.
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Among the schemes which have been put forward in the finalised Bolton regeneration plan are for The Wellness Centre to have a high-end spa and leisure facility next to the already-planned Le Mans Hotel in the heart of the town centre.
Bolton Council say this luxury spa is intended to “draw in day visitors” to the town.
Flickr / Mikey
Speaking at a council cabinet meeting – which approved the bid this week – Bolton Council leader David Greenhalgh, said: “Everything is positive so far. We already been allocated £1m to get proposals up and running and we should hear back by end of the year.
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“The government want to see development happen very quickly with timescales starting in March and April.”
The ‘Towns Fund’ bid is said to be entirely separate from the £100m investment planned for elsewhere the town centre over the next decade – which is to go toward leisure and culture, office and residential development – and the council hopes it will be combined with up to £1bn of private sector investment.
When challenged by opposition leader Nick Peel on what Bolton Council’s ‘plan B’ was if the funding was denied, Cllr Greenhalgh responded: “The Towns Fund is an important part of our regeneration plans but not the whole picture. It’s not an either or within the main regeneration plans – All our eggs are not in one basket.
“These words could come back to haunt me, but I shall be very, very surprised if we don’t get some proportion of our bid for the towns fund.
“If it doesn’t happen, it won’t mean these plans will go to waste.
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“We will have some very good schemes built up, oven ready as you may want to call them, to move ahead whenever any more grants come together whether from Greater Manchester or government.”
The Trinity Gateway Development – Bolton Council
Other schemes forming part of the bid include another priority project to improve pedestrian connections to the transport interchange, Le Mans Crescent and Newport Street, all in and around the town centre, and a third scheme could see further extension and upgrade to Bolton’s Central Museum and Art Gallery to “provide an improved destination and focal point to the civic quarter”.
Among the schemes left out of the proposal are plans to redevelop Elizabeth House.
This is said to be due to Bolton Council not being in ownership of the building and “the case for public intervention at this time is unclear”.
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One of the biggest and best new beer gardens in Manchester drops just in time for the World Cup
Danny Jones
You heard us right: what could very well be Manchester’s favourite new beer garden has just landed over in St John’s, and all can envision is non-stop sun, suds and sporting action all summer long.
This, my friends, is ‘The Green’.
Capturing a kind of mix between the simple combo of wide open space, booze and hopefully sun on the Stevenson Square we all know and love, with a bit of the Boxpark fanfare that will make it perfect come World Cup, we’re big fans of what they’ve put together here.
It’s also worth noting that this place is significantly bigger than you’ll find in most corners of central Manchester, complete with plenty of room to perch, from the rows of deckchairs to even tiered step seating that runs along the edge.
There’s new artificial turf laid down, complete with fresh wooden borders, lamp lighting, big benches perfect for squeezing plenty of mates on each side, as well as a decent number of small parasols. There are even QR codes to save time ordering at the bar.
Speaking of, the bar is already full up and running with a very solid lineup of summery drinks, for beers and fruity ciders to Aperol and plenty more. You are paying the expected St John’s prices, but when the rays hit just right, the footy’s on and you’re with your mates, you won’t hear us complaining.
Not just batch stuff being proud from the tap either – they’ve got cocktails, creative twists on frozen margs and lots of other stuff still in the pipeline.
But understandably, the instant start of the show is that large screen, which has already got us dreaming of the World Cup and tournament season year in year out, for that matter. And when we say large, we really mean it…
Just picture the scenes…
The lawn itself is plenty long, and the massive monitor is high up enough on the old studio wall that not a single soul will be missing a second of that action.
Be it the footy, Wimbledon, F1, rugby – whatever the discipline happens to be, we can’t wait to find any excuse to watch it all here (weather permitting). Only a short distance from Deansgate, Spinningfields, Castlefield and more, we feel like this spot is about to blow up.
You’ll also be glad to know that while you can’t take food and drink from other venues around the beer garden itself, they’ve got a food lineup all of their own coming very soon, centring around Manchester locals and regional indies. That’s what we like to hear.
It’s just what that Grape Street area needed, and regardless of whatever potential seasonal shifts it might need to make, we hope it stays here for a very long time. Good vibes all-round.
Stage and Radio issue defiant statement in response to concerning development plans
Danny Jones
Manchester centre bar, music venue, and nightlife institution, Stage and Radio, has shared an impassioned and defiant statement in the face of proposed plans to be built next to the venue.
And when we say next to, we mean next door – and by that we mean practically on their doorstep, not to mention that of other local businesses.
Situated within one of the city’s most important creative and cultural hubs, in the form of the Northern Quarter, the gig space, club and popular meeting place finds itself under serious threat.
Speaking in the accompanying caption, they said: “Comment below and we’ll DM you a link to take action (It’s also in our bio!).”
They go on to say, “We’re urgently asking for the public to support Stage & Radio by voicing concerns by 10th June 2026 about a future development going up within a few meters of the venue.”
Unsurprisingly, the post has been met with an outpouring of not only shared rage, frustration and confusion, but more importantly, they’ve received a huge amount of support in the comments, too.
Fellow Manc favourite nighttime venue, Hidden, added, “Sit tight @stageandradiomcr you’re not going anywhere; meanwhile, several people across multiple sites have simply written, ‘Stage and Radio 4 Life.”
New developments and residential ventures continue to pop up all over the city and surrounding regions, as they always will, but these potential additions don’t look to be very welcome under the current proposals – a similar case has been made for the regeneration of Chorlton Cross Shopping Centre.
Lots of people are excited by the idea, but not everyone is in total agreement that the prospect of adding new, much taller and likely expensive properties into the mix is what’s best for the area.
Demolition and regeneration plans for a former shopping centre in a popular Manchester suburb are set to begin next month. 🌆🔨
As for Stage and Radio, we’ve had the pleasure of spending a fair few late nights there (not to mention well into the early hours of the next morning) over the years.
Releasing a direct statement to The Manc and Audio North, they told us: “We are deeply concerned about whether residential flats positioned directly beside an established grassroots music venue can realistically provide appropriate residential amenity and conditions suitable for long-term human habitation, while also protecting an existing venue from future conflict.”
S&R also noted these circumstances are not entirely unlike those that have jeopardised the future of fellow NQ neighbours and live music venue, Night and Day Cafe, in recent times.
The countdown is now ticking away for Stage and Radio – quite literally, as you can see by the banner now showing on the homepage of their website.
If you want to help save not just this venue but the culture, community and artistic scene it stands for, you can sign the protest petition and get involved in the fight right HERE.
Emily Sergeant -
7th October 2020 
