£1m ‘public square’ project approved for Bolton’s Deansgate to attract shoppers

Up to £1m will be spent on softening the landscape and providing an ‘attractive public space’ in Bolton’s Deansgate area. The spending has been agreed in the past week for the project, for the section of Deansgate between Knowsley Street and Bridge Street.

A public ‘square’ will be created in the central part of Deansgate, outside Marks and Spencer and Superdrug, by changing the paving to create a feature area. Documents said the effect would be created by installing paving stones of ‘granite cubes in warm tones of pink’.

They will be laid in a fan pattern to create ‘a more visually interesting flooring material and a focus for the street’. Seating on Deansgate will be also replaced.

The move is designed to make the area more attractive for shoppers and visitors and make the pedestrianised area and also be used as ‘an integral space used for a wide range of events which take place in the town’. The £1m scheme was approved by council leader Martyn Cox as part of his leader’s portfolio.

What’s the vision?

A report by Jon Dyson, the borough’s director of place services, recommending the project has been published by Bolton Council. He said: “The council is striving to provide attractive public space, where it can, to encourage residents, businesses, and visitors to the area.

“The section of Deansgate between Knowsley Street and Bridge Street has been identified as a discrete area that would benefit from hard and soft landscaping and distinctive dwell space. Deansgate is one of a number of important pedestrian areas in the inner town centre core.

“It is not only a main thoroughfare but also an integral space used for a wide range of events which take place in the town. This means that any changes must support and be sympathetic to the various uses throughout the year.

“Space needs to be maintained for events such as the Bolton Food Festival as well as providing attractive and usable space at other points in the year.”

The funding for the project will come from profits generated through PSP Bolton LLP, a public and private partnership between Bolton Council and Public Sector Plc (PSP).

The report said the scheme would balance the desire to soften the area with natural soft landscaping, including trees and planters but also hard paving features to break up the area and provide additional character in the space. Also in the proposals are the planting of Ginkgo biloba trees known as ‘Princeton Sentry’.

This species has been planted successfully as street trees in central London by Westminster City Council for many years in narrow locations.