41 minutes ago, royal white said:

Some much needed publicity for the town.

I'm a bit pissed off with this. Me and my family have been donating stuff to this place for years. Now I find out my old keks and shoes, have potentially been funding ISIS, I though it was all going straight to Hamas. I feel duped.

Edited August 14Aug 14 by Sweep

Had to go into the town centre yesterday and noticed elephant & castle has now shut up shop. Old 3 crowns was busy though so always a bonus!

15 hours ago, W.cramp said:

Had to go into the town centre yesterday and noticed elephant & castle has now shut up shop. Old 3 crowns was busy though so always a bonus!

I've heard E&C and possibly Swan and Barristers in liquidation but then I got this off 'the bloke in the pub' so could be bollocks.

On 15/08/2026 at 05:57, W.cramp said:

Had to go into the town centre yesterday and noticed elephant & castle has now shut up shop. Old 3 crowns was busy though so always a bonus!

Spoke to a landlord yesterday about the EC

new man took over

with all bills Ect

it Lost 17k in 3 months

so he give the keys back

Went in last week for the first time since i went to the food festival about 5 years ago. I know it was a weekday afternoon and they are knocking down loads before rebuilding but was really odd in a sort of post apocalypse way. Just empty, didnt seem like a town centre at all.

So many towns centres are similar.

Out of town developments, crushing of independent businesses, on-line reta, too many ne'erdowells, and no great interest in going in by folk.

Shit holes.

I’ve said it before. Keep the Town Hall and Le Mans crescent. Give the market a lick of paint and keep Nelson square and Churchgate then flatten the rest. It’s just one big eyesore at the minute .

27 minutes ago, Not in Crawley said:

Went in last week for the first time since i went to the food festival about 5 years ago. I know it was a weekday afternoon and they are knocking down loads before rebuilding but was really odd in a sort of post apocalypse way. Just empty, didnt seem like a town centre at all.

It's been that way for a long time now unfortunately

49 minutes ago, royal white said:

I’ve said it before. Keep the Town Hall and Le Mans crescent. Give the market a lick of paint and keep Nelson square and Churchgate then flatten the rest. It’s just one big eyesore at the minute .

Deansgate and Bradshawgate have got some great buildings unfortunately a lot of them are unused and scruffy. Market Place looks fine but unfortunately lacking decent footfall. It'll be interesting to see what they do with Crompton Place after it's flattened. I reckon the Town Centre has got potential but it's probably gone in a retail sense. Just shoot all the tramps and beggars 🤔

6 hours ago, Tonge moor green jacket said:

So many towns centres are similar.

Out of town developments, crushing of independent businesses, on-line reta, too many ne'erdowells, and no great interest in going in by folk.

Shit holes.

Was in Blackpool beginning of the week good lord that's a proper shit hole. Makes Bolton centre look like The Palace of Versailles

5 hours ago, Alf Hartigan said:

Deansgate and Bradshawgate have got some great buildings unfortunately a lot of them are unused and scruffy. Market Place looks fine but unfortunately lacking decent footfall. It'll be interesting to see what they do with Crompton Place after it's flattened. I reckon the Town Centre has got potential but it's probably gone in a retail sense. Just shoot all the tramps and beggars 🤔

The town centre has the same issues it had at the banking crisis in 2008 when the wheels fell off the development plans. They've just got more pronounced.

There's no one easy fix and it all needs investment. Every town round Manchester has the same issues and the same lack of funds to do anything about it.

44 minutes ago, frank_spencer said:

The town centre has the same issues it had at the banking crisis in 2008 when the wheels fell off the development plans. They've just got more pronounced.

There's no one easy fix and it all needs investment. Every town round Manchester has the same issues and the same lack of funds to do anything about it.

What do you think they will do with the flattened Crompton Place Frank?

Looks like it's definitely getting demolished this time, investment or not.

1 hour ago, Alf Hartigan said:

What do you think they will do with the flattened Crompton Place Frank?

Looks like it's definitely getting demolished this time, investment or not.

Ideally they'd turn it to green space. But I think the plan is offices/apartments

2 hours ago, frank_spencer said:

The town centre has the same issues it had at the banking crisis in 2008 when the wheels fell off the development plans. They've just got more pronounced.

There's no one easy fix and it all needs investment. Every town round Manchester has the same issues and the same lack of funds to do anything about it.

Stockport do alright all things considered

2 hours ago, Alf Hartigan said:

What do you think they will do with the flattened Crompton Place Frank?

Looks like it's definitely getting demolished this time, investment or not.

Not seen the plans but could it be designed so that when your walking to the town centre you get an aligned view of the town hall

19 minutes ago, DirtySanchez said:

Not seen the plans but could it be designed so that when your walking to the town centre you get an aligned view of the town hall

That's definitely the plan but as Frank said it seems to be a choice between green spaces or apartments. Presume it will be a mixture of both along with bars and restaurants. Need the new generation to buy into it and it will be a great centre for Bolton with the retail areas being the market and the market place.

Warrington has done it quite well in merging the Palmyra Square area into the retail area which was always connected anyway, and the buildings already there. Bury always had an advantage due to the town centre being so condensed. Don't really know about Stockport other than it's looking decent. We'll probably all be dead by the time Bolton gets sorted, if ever.

Also, I don't think any other town centre in Lancashire/Gtr Manc/Cheshire/Merseyside has got the same potential to improve.

Edited August 22Aug 22 by Alf Hartigan

1 hour ago, DirtySanchez said:

Not seen the plans but could it be designed so that when your walking to the town centre you get an aligned view of the town hall

Yep. Would be wonderful to see an extension of Wood St (one of the nicest streets in the town centre) connecting with the town hall

36 minutes ago, Alf Hartigan said:

That's definitely the plan but as Frank said it seems to be a choice between green spaces or apartments. Presume it will be a mixture of both along with bars and restaurants. Need the new generation to buy into it and it will be a great centre for Bolton with the retail areas being the market and the market place.

Warrington has done it quite well in merging the Palmyra Square area into the retail area which was always connected anyway, and the buildings already there. Bury always had an advantage due to the town centre being so condensed. Don't really know about Stockport other than it's looking decent. We'll probably all be dead by the time Bolton gets sorted, if ever.

Also, I don't think any other town centre in Lancashire/Gtr Manc/Cheshire/Merseyside has got the same potential to improve.

I live near Stevenage (and I'm not trying to compare it to Bolton in terms of quality of place) but all they build is apartments because on the train you can be in London in half an hour or so

And it's cheaper to live there obvs

And there's only one pub in the town centre which @Leyther_Matt loves

But it's like they've decided they are a commuter town and so more and more flats go up near the train station

You could come home, go to the big Tesco, buy some cans and look out of your window and see Luton lurking in the background

But it does nothing for the town and I think more apartments in Bolton will be for folk who work in Manchester then get the last train home

Edited August 22Aug 22 by DirtySanchez

You live near Stevenage? You poor fucker

5 hours ago, Not in Crawley said:

You live near Stevenage? You poor fucker

indeed. To be fair though, he does live in Hitchin, which is lovely, and shows that a decent town centre can work, if supported by the locals, and more importantly the local council

Edited August 22Aug 22 by Sweep

5 hours ago, DirtySanchez said:

I live near Stevenage (and I'm not trying to compare it to Bolton in terms of quality of place) but all they build is apartments because on the train you can be in London in half an hour or so

And it's cheaper to live there obvs

And there's only one pub in the town centre which @Leyther_Matt loves

But it's like they've decided they are a commuter town and so more and more flats go up near the train station

You could come home, go to the big Tesco, buy some cans and look out of your window and see Luton lurking in the background

But it does nothing for the town and I think more apartments in Bolton will be for folk who work in Manchester then get the last train home

I’m not convinced it’s ever even been a Post Office tbh

23 minutes ago, Sweep said:

To be fair though, he did lube in Hitchin, which is lovely

I bet it was 😁

16 hours ago, royal white said:

I’ve said it before. Keep the Town Hall and Le Mans crescent. Give the market a lick of paint and keep Nelson square and Churchgate then flatten the rest. It’s just one big eyesore at the minute .

There are many older buildings with loads of character. They certainly don't want ripping down, but enhancing with the replacement of adjacent monstrosities, and better use.

The old Turkish baths just one example, row of solicitor type businesses along St George's road: reallynwell kept and used by smaller companies.

6 hours ago, Not in Crawley said:

You live near Stevenage? You poor fucker

You used to live in Crawley

You even poorer fucker