PLANS to draw-up a new masterplan for Farnworth town centre have been met with mixed reactions from local councillors.

Bolton Council announced on Wednesday that the stalled plans for the area would be redrawn, as part of Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham’s Town Centre Challenge.

Architectural firm Building Design Partnership (BDP) has been put in charge of creating the new masterplan, which is expected to be revealed in early 2019.

While councillors across the town have welcomed the new plan, Maureen Flitcroft, of the Farnworth and Kearsley First party, also questioned the announcement, after a similar 2014 project yielded few results.

Cllr Flitcroft said: “Whilst we welcome the appointment of BDP to lead the creation of the Farnworth Masterplan 2019, we are mindful of the fact that numerous previous plans including the Core Strategy and the Farnworth Masterplan 2014 have delivered nothing but false promises.

“We will of course be working hard with the regeneration team to make sure that the voices of the people of Farnworth are taken into account with the development of this latest plan but a plan will only deliver if money is put on the table and despite numerous requests, nobody from Bolton Council or the ruling Labour Party will tell us what funds are being made available to deliver what needs to be done.

“Our pioneering party, which has just celebrated its first birthday, was set up to be a voice for the people of our towns and it is no coincidence that Farnworth has become Linda Thomas’s and Andy Burnhams “main priority” since we started to apply political pressure including the taking of two seats in the town from Labour earlier this year.”

In comparison, Labour councillor Jean Gillies was positive about the impact of the plan, saying she expected things to move quickly now and that she hoped upgrades to the town centre would be a legacy for younger residents.

Cllr Gillies said: “I’m really pleased, because I pushed for Andy Burnham to take up the challenge in Farnworth around 11 months ago and I’m pleased that the challenge is moving forward and moving forward in a very positive way.

“I think things will move pretty fast now. The money that’s going to come will be really great for the town.

“Now, it’s vital that we take onboard all the views of residents that this will impact. I’m a resident as well and I want to endure that we get that best out of this.

“I hope that our younger generations will get a say in this because it’s their future and we need to leave a legacy for them.”

The Town Centre Challenge is a scheme set up by Mr Burnham to encourage the regeneration of areas across Greater Manchester.

Currently, there are six other areas which have been put forward for the programme alongside Farnworth.