THE Conservatives have set out their stall as the party is set to retain control of Bolton Council for another year.

The Lib Dems, UKIP and the two hyper-local independent parties have agreed to vote for the Tories to stay in power at a meeting on Wednesday evening.

A new 25-point agreement, which acts as a statement of intent for the next year, was signed by the leaders of all parties, except for Labour, this week.

The four-page document is a “refresh” of the agreement signed by the Tories and the smaller parties last May, ending four decades of Labour dominance at the town hall after the local elections left no party with an overall majority.

The updated document commits to keeping the £10m investment to fix potholes and pavements as a priority despite the impact of coronavirus on the council’s finance  withthe stated aim of completing the work by April 2021.

It also commits to keeping the regeneration of Bolton town centre as a “key priority” and promises to bring forward plans to leverage investment to the town from “every available mechanism” at the earliest available opportunity.

The regeneration of Horwich, Little Lever and Westhoughton remains a “high priority”, but Farnworth town centre is singled-out as a priority for investment.

Town centre regeneration steering groups, led by local councillors, are already up and running, but now those in Farnworth and Horwich will be allowed to work on proposals within Kearsley and Blackrod.

Council leader David Greenhalgh said the council will not give groups with an expanded remit any more money and that the move simply “acknowledges” the connection of neighbouring towns by blurring some ward boundaries.

The Conservatives have also committed to working with town councils to find ways to increase their roles and responsibilities following a governance review.

Commitments have also been made to work with partners to deliver new health centres in Horwich and Farnworth and continue discussions over the future use of Rock Hall at Moses Gate Country Park.

The documents also reveals that Bolton Council will prepare its own plans to protect the green belt as an alternative to Greater Manchester’s masterplan for housing, jobs and the environment which has faced years of delays.

The new 25-point agreement makes a commitment to town hall staff, many of whom, as key essential workers, have been working during lockdown, to create a safe workplace environment, focusing on safe delivery of services.

It also commits to a full review of “agile” working at the council and investigate the introduction of hubs across the borough to deliver advice workshops on welfare, benefits, employment and access to council services.

The leader said the coronavirus crisis will help change the way the council works and drive it towards more digital working, a commitment which has been restated in the new agreement.

He said: “I’m very proud of the staff and the way they’ve responded to COVID-19.”

“It will be challenging, and we’ll have to deliver services in a different way. But it gives us an opportunity to really introduce digital working. We are still not a paperless council – it’s ridiculous.

“We’ve been given a really welcome nudge into digitalisation and councillors using technology.”

Labour is still the largest party with 22 councillors – three more than the Tories following the sudden death of one councillor and the suspension of another.

Leaders of the Lib Dems, who have seven councillors, Farnworth and Kearsley First, with four councillors, Horwich and Blackrod First Independents, with two councillors, and UKIP, with two councillors, have now agreed to allow the Conservatives to keep control for the next municipal year.

Acting Labour leader Akhtar Zaman said that his group is the only party at the council that is putting up “effective opposition” to the Tories.

He said: “In the last 12 months, the Tories have broken their manifesto pledges and broken their written agreement with the smaller parties, yet these smaller parties are still giving them a second chance.

“The Labour Group are fighting alone to stop the worst excesses of Tory policy being imposed on Bolton.

“We would rather the smaller parties join us in this fight, rather than hand holding the Tories.

“Its their choice, but what is clear is that Labour, as the only opposition party in Bolton, will continue to support local people regardless of the coalition.”