THE makeover of Little Lever is now a step closer to completion.

An £11,500 traffic island has been installed in Stopes Road and the precinct in Market Street is set to be repaved.

The work is being carried out after Bolton Council allocated just under £50,000 to Little Lever.

Work on the precinct is expected to take about five weeks.

Ward councillor Anthony Connell said: “I’m pleased with how work is going.

“It’s great that some investment is being made in Little Lever.

“Obviously there are plenty of areas where we would like to spend the money, but the town centre is the big priority. The new traffic island will make Stopes Road much safer for residents.

“It was dangerous for people who took a while to cross, because it’s a wide road, and there have been a few near misses.

“The precinct will be fantastic when it’s done — I can’t wait to see it.

“We weren’t expecting to get enough money to refurbish it, so that was a nice bonus.”

Cllr Connell’s wife, Maureen, also a ward councillor, said: “This is fantastic news.

“We have got good value for money and I’m sure most people will be pleased once the developments have been completed.

“We live in the village and we want it to look as nice as possible.

“We like to think we listen to what the residents of Little Lever have to say but, of course, we always want to do more.”

In addition new block paving costing £33,200 is being installed in Market Street, on the precinct side of the road.

And £3,912 will be spent replacing the benches in the town’s precinct with new, more durable seats, while £1,000 will be spent on the refurbishment of cast iron bins.

A Bolton Council spokesman said: “Bolton’s strategy focuses on developing economic development, regeneration and pros- perity across the borough, improving employment opportunities and making the borough a better place to live, work and do business. The council has allocated £50,000 to improve Little Lever’s town centre and work will focus on the 1960s built shopping precinct, which is now in need of improvement, and road safety for pedestrians.

“The initiatives will improve the town centre to make it more attractive to passing trade and the local community which in turn will help attract new retailers to the area.

“Planning permission has already been granted for a new larger Tesco store which will employ 150 staff and improve the retail offer within the town and the improvements will only go to encourage more businesses to set up in the area.”