Farnworth Town Board to oversee £20M regeneration plan

The money was handed out to Farnworth to regenerate is high street and tackle anti-social behaviour as part of the government’s long term plan for towns.

The fund was first announced last October and this week Bolton Council agreed to create a new Towns Board for Farnworth to draw up the decade long plan.

Bolton Council deputy leader Cllr Akhtar Zaman said: “We are putting the building blocks in place to help us set out a plan for the delivery of our long term project in Farnworth.

“This long term project will be for the benefit, economically and socially, of Farnworth and Bolton as a whole.”

Work is already underway around Farnworth (Image: Capital & Centric)

Cllr Zaman, who also sits as Bolton Council cabinet member for regeneration greenlit the latest stage of the plan.

This will start by providing £50,000 worth of “capacity funding” to get the new Towns Board, made up of employers and community leaders in Farnworth, by together by the end of March.

Another £200,000 will then be awarded once the Board, which will include Bolton’s three MPs is established.

The Board will also include council representatives and senior police officers along with representatives of nearby schools, businesses and charities.

A Bolton Council report said: “The Towns Board is expected to be chaired by an independent figure with a passion for the area and a strong local network to encourage engagement.

“The current Towns Board does involve all three MP’s and the Farnworth MP will be an important member of the Town Board but elected representatives are specifically not eligible to chair the Board.”

The £20M from the government will then be drawn down from the government over seven years and spent within ten.

Council officials hope that this will build on previously established plans for Farnworth.

The report said: “A Masterplan for Farnworth was developed in 2019.

“It involved substantial levels of public engagement and identified a number of areas for improvement.

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“These included the upgrading of the sports centre, to development of a community hub, the redevelopment of Brackley Street and public realm improvements on Market Street.

“Each of these projects has been taken forward as part of the Future High Street Fund bid, with additional support from GMCA and the projects are now either completed or well underway.”

It added: “The new plan will need to consider future options for Farnworth to be delivered over the next ten years.”

The Town Board is expected to be set up by April 1 this year.