THE £1.5bn regeneration of the town centre is set to get well underway this year after Bolton Council’s masterplan took huge strides in 2019.

Hundreds of apartments are set to be built as plans for the new Croal Valley, Church Wharf and Trinity Gateway neighbourhoods were given the green light.

And work on a 20-storey tower, a multi-storey car park and a luxury hotel is expected to begin in the coming months.

There has also been some progress with other long-awaited proposals including Farnworth Market Precinct, Little Lever Library and Health Centre and the Rivington Chase development in Horwich.

Cllr David Greenhalgh, who become council leader in May when the Conservatives seized control at the town hall, is now at the helm of the regeneration plans first put in motion under Labour.

He said: “2020 will be the year when long talked-about plans for the regeneration of our borough, begin to become a reality. We need to get this right.

“The new Conservative administration will work with the new government to push for Bolton to become the blueprint for the transformation of our once proud towns, attracting investment, new businesses, new jobs and with it new prosperity and more money to reinvest in our front line services.”

In April, planning chiefs approved a £150m neighbourhood in Church Wharf which will feature a mix of around 350 homes, a new hotel, commercial offices, and leisure and retail opportunities.

Demolition work at the site between Bank Street and Manor Street is underway but further details of the development are yet to be confirmed.

Full planning permission was also granted for a £35m residential development in Croal Valley on land fronting St Georges Road near Bark Street.

The homes will be a mixture of apartments and townhouses and the scheme includes fully equipped gymnasiums, private cinemas, residents’ lounges and a roof terrace.

In December, the planning committee approved two blocks of 144 apartments, 30,000 sq ft of office space and a 505-space multi-storey car park are set to be built at the Trinity Gateway.

Work is also expected to start on the former magistrates’ court in Le Mans Crescent which will be converted into a luxury hotel.

Elsewhere in the borough, the demolition of the former Tesco supermarket in Little Lever to make way for a new library and health centre has begun.

It comes 10 years after the current centre in Mytham Road was branded “not fit for purpose” after part of the roof caved in.

The new library will be three times as big as the current facility, and will be built to modern specifications, complete with IT equipment and community rooms.

Farnworth Market Precinct has recently been prepared for demolition and this is expected to take place “imminently”.

Cllr Paul Sanders said that clearing the old site will enable new building plans and designs to be drawn up.

He said: “2020 marks the start of a new and incredibly exciting decade for Farnworth and Kearsley.”

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In Horwich, a new link road to serve the 1,700-home development at Rivington Chase was approved.

The £12m road will connect Horwich town centre and Chorley New Road to Middlebrook Retail Park, Horwich railway station, and the M61 via the new development.

Finally, long-awaited plans for 150 houses at Roscoe’s Farm, Westhoughton, were signed off in 2019.