BOLTON MEANS BUSINESS
The streets of Bolton are paved with aspiration, big plans and innovation and there has never been a better time to invest in Bolton. We are a thriving town, and we want to build on the success of our industrial past. We are harnessing that same innovative and pioneering spirit to undergo an economic renaissance.
Bolton has everything that potential investors need to succeed, a healthy pipeline of talent, excellent infrastructure, strong leadership with a clear masterplan vision and plans for improved digital connectivity. It has a proven track record in working successfully with the private sector to bring about tangible change that generates real social, economic, and financial returns.
Businesses are born and bred in Bolton; they are part of the town’s DNA. local national and international brands embody the determination, ingenuity, and character that make our town so special.
Warburtons baking, AO electrical retail, Carr’s Pasties, Sherwin Williams paint, Stateside Foods, and missile manufacturer MBDA are all big names, all making it in Bolton.
Bolton’s unrivalled connectivity make it a natural place for manufacturing and logistics businesses to thrive.
Logistics North is one of Bolton’s great success stories. As the North West’s largest live commercial development, the site hosts national and international companies across 3m sqft of Grade A logistics and manufacturing space. With tenants including Aldi, Amazon and Whistl, there are 5,500 people employed on-site.
Bolton is now looking to create another 4m sqft of industrial floorspace close to the M61 at Wingates Industrial Estate. The site has even greater potential to expand, with additional land identified in Greater Manchester’s Places for Everyone spatial strategy.
This site is an important part of the Wigan and Bolton Growth Corridor, a major and growing focal point for food manufacturing and logistics.
Businesses have the foundations to grow in Bolton thanks to excellent connectivity, great value land, a loyal workforce, and space to expand.
Bolton is benefiting from significant investment, is home to many major businesses, and a number of regeneration projects across the borough are already underway.
But, like many places across the UK, Bolton has also experienced challenges that impact on business productivity, inequality, and barriers to work, all of which have been made worse by the cost-of-living crisis.
Responding to these issues, The Bolton Economic Growth and Resilience Plan aims to address nine priorities across three key areas: People, Business, and Investment.
Each priority would be met by working closely with key stakeholders including the University of Bolton, Bolton at Home, the Chamber of Commerce, Bolton CVS, the Greater Manchester Business Growth Hub, local businesses and many more.
Economic priorities for local people include boosting wages, supporting residents into sustainable employment and matching skills training to the needs of employers.
Under the theme of business, the plan proposes creating new jobs in digital and health innovation, maximising the borough’s manufacturing strengths and helping firms to scale up.
The investment priorities set out in the strategy are the diversification of the town centre, attracting new businesses to the borough and building more resilient communities.
We have a passion to attract and grow more creative and digital start-ups at the Wellsprings Innovation Hub in the town centre.
Having the only university in a town within Greater Manchester is also a fantastic catalyst for innovation, retaining talent and attracting exciting new businesses. The Bolton Institute of Medical Sciences will act as real stimulus for health and science start-ups.
No stranger to the stage and screen, Bolton has earned the reputation as the “Hollywood of the North” thanks to its quaint, step-back-in-time scenery with the town’s famous Le Mans Crescent. Whether it’s Peaky Blinders, It’s a Sin, or The Ipcress File, a variety of large-scale production companies have Bolton bookmarked for their filming projects that bring in millions of viewers worldwide.
Music also plays into the heartbeat of the Greater Manchester town, with many standout festivals showcasing different genres. From our Right to Roam Festival, Bolton Food and Drink Festival, to the Made in Manchester Festival and local indie bars, Bolton is a place that attracts talent far and wide to participate in its cultural and musical scenes. Bands and artists like Blossoms, the Babyshambles’ Drew McConnell, Crazy Town and more have all come down to Bolton’s local music venues to entertain and be part of a lively, connected, and jovial community.
The local music, hospitality and nightlife economy has developed substantially over the years thanks to the diverse festivals Bolton hosts, with many independent and franchised brands taking up spots to further enrich the town’s leisure and hospitality offerings. We also have our own historic Albert Halls, which attracts a diverse range of incredible shows, acts, and plays year-round, where many famous faces have performed, as well as the likes of Britain’s Got Talent artists.
Also home to the Bolton Wanderers Football Club and stadium, the town has a rich sporting history with dedicated fandom supporting the town’s teams up and down the country. Bolton also played an integral part in the Summer 2012 Olympics torch relay, attracting thousands of people to see Bolton’s boxing star and Olympic medallist, Amir Khan carry the torch’s final leg into Queens Park before lighting the cauldron.
Along with Olympic medallists, Amir Khan and Jason Kenny, Bolton’s famous alumni also sports comedians like Peter Kay, Paddy McGuinness and Diane Morgan, DJs Sara Cox and Vernon Kay, actors Ian McKellen, Maxine Peake, Ralf Little, Helen Flanagan, Sammy Winward, and Sophie Willan, as well as artists Badly Drawn Boy, Cherry Ghost, Buzzcocks, Danny Jones, and The Wanted.
With a growing arts & culture community, revamped theatre, and recent award for Greater Manchester’s Town of Culture, Bolton is a place that isn’t shy of performance or placing itself on the world stage.
As part of our 2040 vision and regeneration plans, we also have a masterplan to transform our town’s district centres: Farnworth, Little Lever, Westhoughton and Horwich.
Following an approved budget of £16m in funding, we aim to renovate our district centres and further improve communities around Bolton with specialised developments. The strategies and plans put forth consider the challenges faced by high streets across the country, whilst maintaining the level of vibrancy and vitality Bolton is known for.
Looking ahead, the masterplans in place will ultimately attract private sector investment, securing development proposals that will factor in local priorities to better communities, their ambitions and quality of life.
Farnworth’s part of the funding will follow on from the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Town Centre Challenge which gave Farnworth the opportunity to boost its economic and community value. Alongside this, the district has also been identified as part of the Government’s Long Term Plan for Towns Programme, which means funding will go towards building on the vision to evolve Bolton with refreshed developments that extends community involvement with the projects.
Work is also already underway in Little Lever, with a new library and health centre, along with key developments that focus on retaining and re-vitalising the heart of the centre, providing facilities that encourage a thriving day and night-time economy, that add to and complement the existing offer. There are also opportunities to focus on improved transport links to Radcliffe, Bury and Manchester, and improving pedestrian linkages, public realm and car parking.
For Westhoughton, the masterplan aims to address a number of challenges, including developing vacant sites, pedestrian links and connectivity between shops and areas nearby, including the park, as well as assessing additional parking and maximising underutilised buildings in the centre.
The regeneration plans will ensure the Horwich district will also benefit substantially, with improvements to many of the assets, including parks, green spaces, community and housing. All of the plains follow local consultations to provide dedicated and tailored strategies that responds to community concerns, aspirations and improved connectivity, leisure offerings and access.
We take great pride on working productively and ambitiously alongside private partners to see visions come to life for our town and its prosperous proposals. With Bolton being one of the largest towns in Europe, our ideas and vision matches a large-scale mission to further enrich residents and attract visitors, students, and professionals to take advantage of our standout assets, impressive leisure facilities, local connections, and top-performing institutions.
And when it comes investment opportunities, there is no scarcity, as projects are underway with partnerships already building strong foundations and expert-led developments. There is a healthy pipeline of regeneration schemes to get involved in where investors can take advantage of excellent infrastructure, plans for improved digital connectivity, and strong leadership with a clear masterplan vision. Bolton has a proven track record in working successfully with the private sector to deliver promising, enriching developments that communities are proud and excited to welcome.
Crompton Place
The streets of Bolton are paved with aspiration, big plans and innovation; and there has never been a better time to invest in Bolton. Some of the developments on offer for further investment opportunities are that of our Crompton Place transformation, and our Growth Corridor.
One of our major shopping centres in the town centre is the Crompton Place. Hosting an impressively large space right in the heart of the town, facing the Bolton Town Hall, footfall is considerably high. Uniquely placed, it also sits between the town’s central Victoria Square and the main strip, Bradshawgate. This makes it a perfect place to provide a better link between the popular areas to creatively cater to the public with a mixture of leisure, food & beverage, public spaces, and commercial & residential units onsite.
For this development, the council has partnered with leading real estate advisors, CBRE, to deliver what will be the centrepiece of a reimagined town centre, one that is sure to attract further private sector investment into the town.
Growth Corridor
Another key development in the works is focused on the Wigan-Bolton Growth Corridor, which provides a number of economic opportunities within a strategic geographic location. Its strategic transport links have already driven employment growth in sectors including logistics, manufacturing, food production, and distribution.
Also home to the North West’s largest live commercial development with Logistics North, tenants onsite include Aldi, Amazon and Whistl, where there are around 5,500 people employed across the leading businesses.
One of the town’s major economic assets, this development aims to drive investment and address competitiveness across the north of Greater Manchester. Not only does the corridor have potential for the sustainable development of homes and workplaces, but potential investors can help build on the area’s existing strengths, large workforce, and excellent connectivity.
For more information and to download our latest Bolton Blueprint brochure, head to InvestinBolton.com.
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