Revamp rethink plans are promoted for Farnworth

COUNCIL bosses and developers have explained the reasoning behind scaled-back regeneration plans for Farnworth.

The ambitious revamp for the town centre has been revised, after less-than-anticipated government funding.

Main backers Capital and Centric (C&C) says the rethink has allowed the outfit to incorporate 12 family homes and a new linear park connecting the site and Farnworth Central Park. The overall number of homes has been reduced from 220 to 94 and some of the apartment and commercial blocks have been scaled back in size.

Tim Heatley, C&C co-founder, said: “We always wanted this to be a vibrant mixed community which would attract people of all ages, so by reducing the amount of apartments and including more houses it’ll appeal to more families too.

“Less apartments also means that we’ve been able to reduce the height of the building’s to bring more sunlight into the public square. We were already planning loads of green and open spaces, but by tweaking the plans we’re able to provide even more.

“This is about rebooting the market town and creating a new destination for people to live, work and hang out. We want to attract cool indie operators, whether that’s a healthy deli, street food pop up or cafe bar.

“It’ll be a bustling place with loads going on and plenty of community space for events and clubs. It’ll become it’s own eco-system with everything you need for a proper, thriving community.”

Cllr Martyn Cox, deputy leader of Bolton Council and regeneration cabinet member, added: “We are pleased that C&C has listened to local stakeholders and included more family homes in their proposals to create a vibrant mixed-used community in Farnworth.

“Bolton Council underlined our commitment to regenerating Farnworth by producing a master-plan in 2019 and it is exciting to see these proposals progressing well.”

An outline planning application on the bid, which received £13m in government Future High Street funding, is due for consideration by the authority in the next few weeks.

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