Bolton’s £19m subterranean transformation ready by Christmas

Bolton town centre

THE £19m transformation of a key area of Bolton town centre into a nine-screen cinema and a complex of subterranean restaurants will be complete and open before Christmas.

Owner Moorgarth had targeted Easter 2015 as a possible launch time following the transformation of Bolton’s Market Place.

But a spokesperson for the group told TheBusinessDesk the “soft launch” of the cinema, operated by The Light, and at least four restaurants in the basement of the building – the former Bolton Market Hall – dating back to the 1850s is now due for December 18.

Meanwhile, jewellery chain Pandora, fashion chain Pep & Co, JD Sports and New Look are opening outlets soon in the Market Place – a reversal of the post 2008 exodus of retailers from the facility.

“An official launch is expected for some time around February but as date has not been set yet,” she said.

Moorgarth’s scheme includes a “cut” into the basement area with two escalators transporting visitors into the underground eatery and bar zone.

Chief executive Tim Vaughan said Bolton had been “massively under serviced in retail, food and drink” shortly before Moorgarth bought the Market Place for £24m in 2013.

“It was one of the few towns in the UK which did not have a town centre cinema,” he said.

“It is a top-100 town with a population of 250,000 and has potential to be a major growth area in Greater Manchester.

“Bolton has had a difficult time since 2008 because people have gone and shopped elsewhere. Our aim is to get people into the habit of coming back into the town centre.

“The vaults are going to have quite a European feel. It will feel like you’re sitting outside, but you will be inside.”

“With a facility like those vaults, it would have been madness not to use it. English Heritage, who we approached along with Bolton Council’s conservation officers about the idea, loved the idea of bringing the vaults back into public view. This was used for storage for 150 years, which was crazy.”

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