Spotlight on Bolton's Development
By John Heaton 17 October 2019
A view of Bolton's continuing redevelopment in detail.
Bolton is currently undergoing a £1billion investment into the city centre – backed by UK Government funding and private investments. The scale of the economic ambitions is incredible when compared to other projects around the UK. Central to the "Northern Powerhouse" – Bolton stands to become a leader in UK industry across logistics and distribution, retail, professional services and creative industries.
Designed as a vision for 2030, the town centre masterplan is already underway. You're likely to have seen how Manchester is progressing, Bolton is on the same path. It is expected to create over 7,000 new jobs and will boost the local economy by over £400m per year while creating 1,800 new homes.
The 4 areas that are getting the largest funding are as follows:
Station Bridge Square
Trinity Square
Saville Square
Bridge Square
A gateway to Bolton's train station, the new link with the eastern end of the existing bridge will create a route straight to the Trinity Gateway and will improve the arrival experience of people into Bolton.
This will stand to be the centre of the Bolton business hub and what will define the urban image with the space that will be created here. The size of this area, coupled with the location of the leisure facilities (bars, cafes, restaurants) will create a fantastic after-work culture and promote a great atmosphere.
Proposed to be a meeting space for a mixed community of residents and workers, this area will also be home to historic and contemporary architectures
This will be a central public area for new residential housing and flats. This will also be the northern entrance with a pedestrian bridge that provides access to St. Peters over the rail tracks.
Globe Works
As a former textile mill, the Globe Works is a landmark building near the town centre. This is home to an ambitious conversion project to transform it into 124 high end apartments with a gymnasium, spa, swimming pool and private cinema. The idea is for The Globe Works to be a highly sought after area.
Other notable areas
In addition to the areas above, Bolton's famous Market Place is undergoing a £25million renovation project that is expected to complete within 2 years. Originally designed and opened in 1855, the market hall itself was originally the "largest covered market in the Kingdom". The Market Hall was modified with structural alterations and was reopened as we know it today as "Market Place Shopping Centre" by the Queen in 1988.
Now, the area is becoming a contemporary retail and leisure destination in the centre of Bolton. The original Victorian vaults have been restored and opened in 2016 as a destination space with retail, restaurants and a state-of-the-art Cinema "The Light".
Cheadle Square
This area is intended to be developed to have high quality residential spaces and restaurants with a new business address on Queen Street to the rear of Le Mans Crescent. There is to be a significant development of apartments on the site of the former Bus Station to be aimed at town centre living and students. There will be a mix of ground floor uses with parking for residential tenants and extra availability for the town centre.
This development allows for the maintaining of the historic links between the Town Hall, Le Mans Crescent and Queens Park. The area will be able to compliment the new Market development as there will be new pedestrian routes to ensure that there is an attractive gateway into the rest of the areas around.
We will continue to visit the redevelopment of Bolton and provide periodic updates.
If you're looking for investment opportunities in Bolton or the surrounding areas, then get in touch with our team to see what property developments are currently being worked upon or to register future interest.