The Mayor of Bolton has celebrated the 50th anniversary of Bolton being twinned with Paderborn, Germany.

The Mayor was visited by the delegation from Paderborn including the town’s mayor, Mr Michael Dreier.

Also in attendance was the delegation from Le Mans, France which is also twined with both Bolton and Paderborn, including the Mayor of Le Mans, Mr Stephane Le Foll.

The visit marked the first time all three Mayors in the tripartite twinning agreement have been in Bolton together for at least 25 years.

The Mayor of Przemyśl in Poland, Mr Wojceich Bakun, also attended along with eleven members of the Anglo-German club.

To celebrate the 50th anniversary, a civic reception was held at Bolton Town Hall as well as a range of visits across the weekend.

Attendees learned about Bolton’s ongoing regeneration, the borough’s bold new brand and the new Visitor Economy Strategy to bring more tourists to the area.

The group visited Bolton Parish Church to learn about the building’s history and to learn about the art of bellringing.

They also attended the University of Greater Manchester’s new Institute of Medical Sciences and Bradshaw Cricket Club to partake in a short service at the World War 1 war memorial site.

Guests were then invited to the council chamber to witness the signing of the 50th anniversary scroll by the Mayor of Bolton and Mayor of Paderborn, something that was first done back in July 1975.

To further commemorate the 50th anniversary, two paintings were unveiled commemorating Bolton’s friendships with Paderborn and Le Mans.

These will be displayed Town Hall’s Paderborn and Le Mans rooms respectively.

Town twinning benefits everyone by providing cultural exchanges, school visits and the opportunity for collaboration and friendship.

Mayor of Bolton, Cllr Andy Morgan, said:

“This was a celebration of not only our enduring friendship but of the values that bind us across countries, unity, shared history and hope for the future.

“The bond between our towns is reflected not just in official visits, but in the friendships, exchanges and understanding that have flourished through the years.

“Here is to the next 50 years and to continued friendship, shared futures and many more memories to come.”

Amid the ongoing cost of living crisis it's no surprise that charity shops are thriving.

But some places offer a lot more than just a shop full of clothing rails these days and one of them is the homelessness charity Emmaus Bolton.

Having heard about its popularity I decide to visit the place to see for myself what's on offer.

Based at Derby Barracks, a former military training hall for the 27th Lancashire Rifle Volunteers, it's a huge site off Fletcher Street, not far from Bolton town centre.

There's a car park, but it's so busy that even on a midweek lunchtime I find myself struggling to find a space and end up ditching the queue to park further down the road.

Once inside - and keen not to miss anything - I decide to make my way round the site in a clockwise direction.

Starting off with The Cottages, which were bought to expand the site in 2011, I find myself climbing the stairs to a room packed corner to corner with books - paperbacks 50p, hardbacks a pound - in every kind of genre you can think of.

In another section, shelves are stuffed with vinyl, next to a 'Bric-a-brac' room full of toys, teddies, children's games and ride-ons, you name it.

Back outside and there's even more on offer. The Garden Centre section looks like it's seen better days, but I'm sure that's only getting back up and running ready for spring.

On the other side there's a Scrap Store, selling craft items, fabrics, buttons and the like, with a buy one get three free offer on all kinds of patterned fabrics.

Next up I'm onto the big sheds, where the second hand furniture is kept. If I had the money and space inside my car I'd be snapping up the solid oak sideboard on sale for £100, but sadly have to leave it behind for another savvy shopper.

Same with the emerald coloured chairs that catch my eye and would be perfect for some reupholstering, a steal at £20 each.

The metal shelves are stacked with sofas and seats of all shapes and sizes and if you've just moved into a new home, I'm pretty sure you could kit the whole place out on a budget here. It even has decorating packs where you can buy paint, brushes, masking tape and everything else you need to spruce up a room.

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There's so much more to this charity than initially meets the eye though. Not only is it home to the Lucie’s Pantry, which serves as a lifeline for 400 local families struggling to make ends meet, its community home accommodates up to 22 formerly homeless individuals, referred to by Emmaus as 'companions', many of whom support the social enterprise for up to 40 hours a week, or as much as they're able to.

They are required to sign off all benefits with the exception of housing benefit, which is claimed to help support the community here - helping to pay for meals, bills and energy.

Behind the row of bikes is perhaps the biggest building of the lot, a space where even more furniture is up for grabs, including brand new beds and second-hand furniture including wardrobes, dressing tables and drawers.

Around every corner there's something different, an Aladdin's cave of teapots, ornaments, plates and a small room with rails of pre-loved clothes.

There's a workshop around the back where it makes indoor and garden furniture out of wood - these can be bought online - and it also offers an upcycling service where people can bring in items to have them painted, finished or accessorised.

Here for a nosy rather than to buy, I'm not about to leave without sampling the delights of the on-site Cafe Pierre.

Like everything else here, it's cheap and a toasted teacake and cup of tea sets me back just £1.60.

I'm not surprised the customers are coming in thick and fast. With sandwiches, toasties and soup and a roll, all around £2, and jacket potatoes and fillings from £2.50, it's somewhere families can come and eat without breaking the bank.

It's got its own ice cream parlour too, selling ice cream from the popular Lancashire-based Mrs Dowsons Dairy Farm. That's due to reopen next month.

This place is a real find and with so much being made of the space here, it's only going to get bigger and better.

Emmaus Bolton is off Fletcher Street, BL3 6NF. To volunteer at the charity, either in the ice cream parlour or elsewhere, visit the website here. You can also follow the charity on Facebook.

New Avenue Living Greater Manchester Housing Fund has secured an initial £40m of backing from the GMPF, GMCA, and Better Society Capital to build a 1,000-unit portfolio of affordable homes over the next three years.

Thriving Investments, part of Places for People, already has its eyes on a maiden forward fund deal for part of the £150m Church Wharf scheme in Bolton, as reported by Place North West in February.

The aim of the fund is to provide rental homes for key workers capped at 80% of the market rate in order to tackle the affordability crisis impacting many looking for a place to live. A supply and demand imbalance in Greater Manchester has seen rents rise significantly in recent years, pricing people out of the market.

Cath Webster, chief executive at Thriving Investments, said: “Far too many essential workers, who make a huge contribution to the UK economy and society, are struggling to secure long-term, quality, safe housing, which acts as a catalyst to employment, health and education, and is the foundation of strong communities.

“This new Fund is our first essential worker housing strategy in England and reflects the team’s expertise in finding solutions to the challenge the UK faces in delivering genuinely affordable rental properties, at scale, in critically undersupplied regions.”

The initial committed capital comes in the form of £30m equity investment from the Greater Manchester Pension Fund and Better Society Capital and a £10m loan from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority.

Webster said the backing was “a strong endorsement of our vision to marry institutional capital and public funding via strategic partnerships to help solve the housing crisis”.

Thriving Investments is targeting a £200m, 1,000-home portfolio over the next three years, through a mix of forward funding and forward purchase structures. It plans to work with SMEs to deliver schemes of 50-150 units.

Touchstone Property Management, the specialist property management business of PfP Group, will manage the completed homes.

The Greater Manchester fund mimics a model already established in Scotland. North of the border, Thriving Investments runs a £220m fund launched in 2018, which aims to deliver 1,200 homes.

Paul Dennett, deputy mayor for Greater Manchester and GMCA portfolio lead for Housing First, said: “This fund is a prime example of how we’re working together with the Greater Manchester Pension Fund and the private sector to tackle one of the biggest challenges facing our city-region: ensuring people have access to safe, decent, and genuinely affordable homes.

“In Greater Manchester, we’ve been clear: housing is a fundamental right, not a privilege. Through bold, innovative partnerships like this, we’re showing how public and private capital can be mobilised to deliver real social impact. By investing in high-quality homes at affordable rents, we’re not just helping key workers find somewhere to live, we’re supporting local jobs, regenerating communities, and making sure economic growth works for everyone.”

Cllr Eleanor Wills, chair of Greater Manchester Pension Fund and Leader of Tameside Council, said: “Our Impact Portfolio seeks to invest locally and create a positive impact, alongside generating a commercial return. I am proud that the Greater Manchester Pension Fund, alongside Greater Manchester Combined Authority, is supporting Thriving Investments and its effort to deliver affordable essential worker housing in Greater Manchester. The strategy supports the government’s plan to provide much-needed affordable homes for hardworking families while ensuring strong, low-risk returns to secure the pensions of our members.”

People will have the chance to get their say in eight-week consultation

Town hall bosses in Wigan are set to consult the public on a blueprint for housing development, jobs, transport and the welfare of its residents for the next 15 years.

Included in the draft Local Plan is the target to deliver 16,527 new homes in ‘the right locations’ by 2039, with the ‘right amount of affordable housing’ and ‘balancing’ the interests of neighbouring residents with the provision of houses of multiple occupation (HMOs).

Such a housing policy would mean an average of 972 homes a year would be delivered.

Another of its objectives is to ‘raise the economic profile’ of the borough with new high-quality employment sites in the M6, the A580 (East Lancs Road), and the Wigan-Bolton growth corridors.

The draft plan identifies six sites which are key to housing delivery. They are North Leigh Park (1,400 homes) , South Hindley (2,000 homes) , the remaining land south of Atherton (320 homes), land east of Atherton (600 homes), remaining land at Landgate, Ashton-in-Makerfield (400 homes) and Westwood Park, Wigan (420 homes).

It covers the mix of housing types, the housing growth in Standish and its relationship to the village’s Neighbourhood Plan, HMOs, accommodation for gypsies and travellers - with a proposed site at Little Lane, Pemberton - homes for looked after children, and places for travelling show people.

The development of employment sites across the borough also figures strongly in the plan.

This includes the allocation for ‘substantial, high-quality employment development’ in the M6 corridor and a link road from junction 26 to Spring Road at Kitt Green; Moss Industrial Estate extension; Aspull Common, Leigh, where an extension to an existing employment area is proposed; a mixed development of homes, business park and visitor attractions at Bridgewater West, Astley.

On land west of Winwick Lane, Lowton, there a plans for employment development in the M6 corridor as part of the proposed cross-boundary Parkside East strategic freight rail interchange and logistics site.

The draft plan is designed to link with Greater Manchester’s Places for Everyone Plan (PfE) which was approved a year ago and also covers the period until 2039.

Currently, 55.7 per cent of Wigan - some 26,000 acres - is covered by Green Belt. If all the industrial sites are approved, the remaining Green Belt would reduced by 600 acres, taking the green allocation down to 54pc.

A report accompanying the plan speaks of ‘risks’. “They primarily concern the proposals to release Green Belt land to create more job opportunities in the borough.

“This is likely to prompt strong opposition, primarily from people who live locally to a site. “We are working with the media and communications team to help get the right messages out at the right times and in the right ways.”

The draft plan also targets regeneration and improving town centres across the borough by ‘supporting a diverse range of uses and attractions’, including shops, leisure and culture, mixing in residential areas.

It also targets creating a ‘sustainable and accessible’ transport system where walking, wheeling cycling and public transport are ‘the first and natural choices for most people, particularly for shorter journeys’.

The council’s cabinet is poised to rubber-stamp the campaign to engage with the local population when it meets on Thursday to discuss the plan.

It will be the third stage of public consultations which started three years ago and it will be ongoing for eight weeks from April 30 to June 24.

Copies of the document will be available via a dedicated webpage on Wigan council’s website and on paper in libraries at Golborne, Lamberhead Green, Leigh, Tyldesley and Wigan.

Seven drop-in sessions will take place from 2pm to 7pm at Pemberton, Golborne, Tyldesley or Astley, Leigh, Hindley, Atherton and Ashton-in-Makerfield where people will have the chance to discuss the issues with planners and other town hall officials.

Final submissions on the plan will be made by May next year. The plan will be a public examination in the autumn of 2026, and it will be finally adopted in January 2027.

A vote of “no confidence” has been passed by staff at the University of Greater Manchester, formerly Bolton, in their leadership.

The vote was passed by members of the University and College Union and by members of Unison working at the Deane Road based university.

They say that this came after a “chaotic” redundancy process, which they say the university referred to as “intelligence reshaping”, that badly impacted on their confidence and wellbeing.

A UCU spokesperson at the university said: “We considered it a really chaotic process and it was really worrying for our staff.”

She added: “There wasn’t really any process behind it, it was just this quite wide and chaotic process.”

In June last year news broke that scores of job losses could be on the cards at the university.

University leaders at the time said that this came at a time when similar institutions all over the country were having to cut costs.

They said at the time that they were consulting with trade union representatives about the best way forward.

According to Bolton Unison branch secretary Andrea Egan the uncertainty affected not only academic staff but also people employed elsewhere across the university.

She said: “Throughout that chaotic process we were asking for mitigations and reduction.”

She added: “We’re forcefully saying to them, show the staff the respect they deserve and call those redundancies, redundancies and they point blank refused to do it.”

Union members have now passed at vote of no confidence in university vice chancellor Professor George E Holmes and his leadership team.

Senior staff at the university say they will be meeting with union representatives in the near future to discuss their concerns.

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A University of Greater Manchester spokesperson said: “The executive leadership is committed to listening to all university staff.

"Following the outcome of the vote, it is right that the executive should take time to reflect and continue to engage with staff.

“Members of the University Executive will meet again with the unions to discuss concerns.

“The Vice Chancellor looks forward to maintaining a meaningful dialogue with staff in the coming months to address any issues.”