Historic town streets in £800,000 revamp
Published Wednesday 28th Nov 2007, Bolton News
MORE than 30 run-down properties in an historic part of Bolton are in line for an £800,000 makeover.
Cash awards of £490,000 towards repairs to 19 buildings in St George's Road and £316,000 towards the renovation of 12 properties in Bark Street East have now been agreed in principle by Bolton Council.
The work is part of a £1.6 million scheme to regenerate the Little Bolton area north of the Market Place shopping centre, which has attracted £800,000 in Heritage Lottery funding.
The work will include reinstatement of original architectural features and repairs. The grants will pay for most of the work, with building owners being likely to make up the difference.
Estimated costs of the St George's Road scheme are £545,000, with work in Bark Street East expected to cost £351,000.
Group applications by the property owners were approved in principle by the Little Bolton Project Grants Panel, which is made up of council and business representatives, and Bolton Council's executive member for development, Cllr Ebrahim Adia
Cllr Adia said: "We are really pleased that the owners of these properties have been prepared to come on board.
"This will help maximise the potential of buildings and help to make this a distinctive and attractive part of Bolton again.
"We hope it will mean more people going into the area and more jobs coming in."
Detailed applications will now be submitted, with a final decision expected next March.
Geoff Featherston, the joint managing director of Delta Microsystems Limited, which owns two buildings in St George's Road, welcomed the news.
He said: "Little Bolton has been pretty well forgotten over the years but this is a great opportunity to get the terrance looking as it did in the 1820s - both from a historical point of view and from a business perspective."
Mr Featherston, a member of the grants panel, said improvements would include new front doors, walls, railings, windows and gutters in the style of the original features.
Other streets which are part of the overall project include Bow Street, St George's Street and All Saints Street.
It also includes the redevelopment of Little Bolton Town Hall, which will be turned into a restaurant by Leeds-based developer Rushbond.
