Bolton’s legendary bakery Carrs Pasties has revealed some huge plans to expand across the UK for the first time ever.
Founded all the way back in 1938, and known as the ‘pride of Bolton’ with the town at the heart of everything it does, family-run bakery Carrs Pasties may not be known worldwide, but it has been “baking perfect pasties” for the past 83 years, with an original recipe that has been passed down through three generations.
The beloved bakery – which runs three shops in the Bolton borough – “takes great pride” in what it produces, admitting that it wants every single pasty to taste as good as the next and working extremely hard to achieve this feat.
Over the years, the company has gone from humble beginnings, to launching a click and collect service and a nationwide delivery service.
But up until now, it’s been pretty tricky to get your hands on the delicacies outside of Bolton.
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Carrs Pasties has been “baking perfect pasties” for the past 83 years / Credit: Carrs Pasties
For the foodies that are keen to tuck into a pasty on the road, Carrs has announced that it has submitted a planning application to upgrade the main Summerfield Road site to predominantly be a production and distribution facility.
It comes after the COVID-19 pandemic was said to have forced the business to revise how it operates going forward.
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Speaking on the huge expansion plans, managing director Joe Carr told Bolton News: “The blessing of COVID was that we had to innovate, and those who did innovate benefitted [so] we stopped serving fresh from the oven to all our partners and they now have to bake off frozen products.
“It’s fresher and better quality.”
He continued: “It’s opened up the whole of the UK and it has been a great success so far, so we hope to serve more and more people with what this town is proud of.”
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Mr Carr added that the company is “very excited” about the prospect of expanding across the UK, and says that “everywhere you see a Costa Coffee machine, we hope you’ll see a Carrs stall. In petrol stations and retail shops. You’ll see us up and down the country.”
The Carrs Pasties original recipe that has been passed down through three generations / Credit: Carrs Pasties
A big part of the Carrs expansion also aims increase employment opportunities, and to adopt an eco-friendlier set-up, with the company aiming to reduce its gas use and make every pasty van electric within the next decade, and Mr Carr adding: “Everyone is driving towards a better, greener future. It’s the right thing to do. We never even questioned that we wouldn’t do it.
“Our target is to also reduce the gas we are using for our ovens and every van in our fleet will be electric in 10 years.
“As we continue to expand, there will be more retail shops in what we call the Greater Bolton area, so you might see one pop up in Manchester, for example, but it has to be the right opportunity.”
Featured Image – Carrs Pasties
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The simple hack that can save healthcare workers and teachers money on their holidays
Danny Jones
With cost-of-living pressure ever-present in the background of most everyday lives, finding some spare pennies for a getaway feels more difficult than ever, and if there’s anyone who deserves discounts on a holiday, it’s healthcare workers.
That’s why, when we became aware of the simple hack that can save those working in healthcare services money on holidays, we thought we’d help spread the word.
We’re sure lots of you working within the sector already know plenty about this booking strategy, but for anyone who doesn’t, how do you fancy saving up to half a grand on your next jolly?
In fact, even those working in education can cut their costs, too.
With searches for ‘holiday voucher code’ up by 73% on Google, and even the likes of TikTok seeing ‘money saving tips’ up by 45%, travel agency TUI have decided to team up with the Health Service Discounts platform for 2026.
Providing those who work for the NHS with a ‘Holidays for Heroes’ (HfH) access code on various popular peak-season trips, this exclusive discount can be added on top of all other seasonal TUI deals, including the company’s ‘First Choice’ package holidays.
With the HfH code alone guaranteeing workers an extra £100 off their bookings, play your cards right, and you could get up to £500 in total discounts overall.
How to access the healthcare ‘Holidays for Heroes’ deal
Separate from standard Blue Light card savings, here’s how it works, and don’t worry, it’s all very simple:
As mentioned, education workers can also benefit from similar money off, with an extra £50 per person through the TUI x Discounts for Teachers partnership, as well.
Ella Foden-Lynch, Partnerships Manager for TUI, said in a statement: “Getting away is absolutely vital for wellbeing, especially for those working in high-stress healthcare and education roles.
“With the cost-of-living crisis still putting a strain on household budgets, we know how hard it is to stretch your pay to cover a much-needed family break. By unlocking these exclusive TUI deals, we hope to give our key workers the realistic recovery time they deserve without the financial worry.”
So, for those of you healthcare heroes and teachers looking for a well-deserved break, we urge you to find an affordable holiday that suits you very soon. With cheaper airport pints also inbound later this year, here’s hoping you save even more spends for when you’re away.
New ‘cutting-edge’ cancer treatment to be rolled out on NHS from next week
Emily Sergeant
A new ‘cutting-edge’ cancer treatment is set to be rolled out on the NHS from next week.
Thousands of men with prostate cancer are to be offered high-powered ‘precision’ radiotherapy on the NHS to target the disease more effectively – helping reduce side-effects and spare them 15 courses of treatment.
The highly targeted SABR (stereotactic ablative radiotherapy) delivers radiotherapy to the tumour from many different directions to help reduce the risk of cancer spreading or returning.
SABR has been proven to be effective at far fewer doses than conventional radiotherapy.
Standard radiotherapy can often be a major burden for patients and loved ones, due to the substantial treatment and travel time involved, but SABR is typically delivered in just five doses within a fortnight, compared to at least 20 doses with external beam radiotherapy.
Thousands of men with prostate cancer are to be offered high-powered ‘precision’ radiotherapy on the NHS to target the disease more effectively, helping reduce side-effects and spare them 15 courses of treatment.
Around 17,500 men are diagnosed with low or intermediate risk prostate cancer in England each year and could be offered the option of SABR radiotherapy.
It is expected that the cutting-edge technique for localised prostate cancer will be offered at all 48 radiotherapy providers across England in the coming days – with the first centres making it available on the NHS from next week.
The roll-out could free up around 50,000 appointments for prostate cancer treatment each year, helping the NHS continue to bring down waiting times for patients.
NHS chief executive, Sir Jim Mackey, said the news will ‘transform’ treatment for thousands of men with localised prostate cancer.
“This cutting-edge approach will transform treatment for thousands of men with prostate cancer, helping the NHS provide far more powerful and convenient care to stop their cancer spreading,” Sir Mackey commented.
“Having been proven effective in keeping cancer under control, this technology will not only help reduce the risk of certain side effects but also the major ‘to-and-fro’ burden of hospital treatment, which can be really draining for so many patients and their families.”