SEVEN years ago, in the back rooms of Bolton Town Hall, council officers drew up an ambitious plan to transform the borough.

The 15-year strategic plan aimed to bring jobs, investment and opportunities to Bolton — with schemes such as the impressive Church Wharf project at the centre of the plan.

The £226 million development — which would see a hotel, cinema, homes, restaurants and a shopping complex built in the heart of the town — was approved by planning chiefs in September, 2008.

It would create thousands of jobs and transform the North East section of the town centre. It was just the sort of boost the embattled town centre needed.

Then the recession hit.

It was the first major stumbling block for the plan. But Bolton Council’s director of development and regeneration Keith Davies worked with his staff to regroup.

“We had to reshape our strategy,” he said. “We focused on key employment sites, like the town centre, Cutacre and the Loco works.”

Mr Davies this week reflected on the town’s grand plan, after proposals for a “new town” — Rivington Chase — on the site of the former Loco works in Horwich, were given the green light.

It is the final piece of a jigsaw that has been seven years in the making.

“It’s fantastic that everything’s coming to fruition,” he added.

“It has been in the planning stage for a very long time. We went through the recession, but we’re coming out of it now and the things we envisaged are starting to happen.”

Their plan does not necessarily look the same as it did back in 2007, council chiefs admit, and there have been obstacles along the way. But behind the scenes, officers have been locked in negotiations to bring new schemes to the town.

In Mr Davies’ office, across the road from the town hall — in Wellsprings — there is a photographic “wonderwall” reflecting close to £1 billion investment in Bolton.

It shows some of the key developments which have taken place in the town centre, in spite of the recession.

A new cinema at Chirch Wharf did not take shape — but the long-held ambition for a multiplex back in the town centre will now be achieved, with work under way at the Market Place.

Work started on Bolton One at the height of the “credit crunch” while a new £48 million interchange will soon rise up from the ground in Great Moor Street.

Rivington Chase, on the 189-acre site of the former Horwich Loco Works, will eventually accommodate 1,700 homes and create 1,350 jobs. Investment into that project alone will amount to £265 million.

The Horwich development is in addition to the £202 million industrial and retail development currently under way at the former Cutacre site at Over Hulton, masterminded by developers Harworth Estates. It is estimated there will be 6,000 jobs generated across Greater Manchester from the site.

“We know that Cutacre is in play now because they’ve started building the Aldi and the MBDA site,” said council leader Cliff Morris “In the next couple of weeks, Harworth will release an aerial shot of the work they are doing also.

“But Rivington Chase is massive for us in terms of providing the housing supply over the next 10 to 15 years. Getting approval for that was a major step forward.

“There is huge pressure on local authorities across the country to find brown field sites which can accommodate big chunks of housing.

“Otherwise it starts to put pressure on the green belt for development.

“The Loco works allows us to hit a big part of the housing supply target over a period of time. It is the final piece of the jigsaw.”

Meanwhile, work on reshaping the town centre is continuing apace.

Cllr Morris added: “We know the issues involved in the town centre — business rates and absentee landlords (many are London based) who have no idea about the local market.

“We get them up here and we talk to them about their property and they say they want a return on their investment which is just ridiculous for the current environment.”

Mr Davies said that when the strategic plan for the town was put together in 2007, the council had a very clear agenda, but admitted the recession which hit a year later compromises the long term plan.