This is a 330,000 sq ft scheme, developed and opened in 1988 by Grosvenor and then taken over by the Agora Shopping Fund in 2003. All straightforward were it not for the fact that Market Place is a modern mall that is completely integrated with a large enclosed Victorian market hall built in 1855 and called, imaginatively, Market Hall.

It is this fact which give the scheme its unique flavour and which has led an initiative that will see major change starting in 2007. At the moment, the Market Place is a two-level development joined on one side to the Market Hall and on the other to a three-level car park. It is immaculate and, apart from some of the finishes, very much of their time, could have been opened within the last five years rather than nearly two decades ago. When Agora took possession of Market Place, moves were already in place to develop the Market Hall

Centre manager Rod Neasham picks up the story: "The council actually owned the Market Hall and initially they weren't keen to relinquish that ownership. But a few years ago, just before Grosvenor disappeared off the scene, the council approached and asked 'What could we do with the Market Hall?'"

For many shoppers arriving on foot at the mall, ingress is via the Market Hall entrance taking shoppers through the indoor market. Each of the permanent stalls sits on a fairly large plot meaning that service charges are quite high, according to Neasham.

It also means that this part of the Market Hall / Market Place complex is over-spaced - no bad thing as you marvel at the Victorian wrought ironwork and glass that forms the roof. This is a Grade II listed structure, high on English Heritage's list of buildings that must be looked after at any cost.

In consequence, when Agora looked at the options for developing the Market Hall, to bring its retail offer up to date and to extend Bolton's reach as a shopping destination, sensitivity and care were always going to be planning proposal prerequisites.

In the event, the remodelling proposals were accepted. Practically, there will be two new trading floors in the Market Hall development, but all of the building's architectural features will be retained. Neasham points to a plan and says: "You can still see the upper tier in all its grandness." Completion is due by Christmas 2008 and will see the centre grow by 96,416 sq ft at a cost of £30m. "A lot of people are keen to come into Bolton, but they haven't had the right space available," says Neasham. He observes that individual unit size has been a major issue for retailers looking at the town and that Market Hall should prove attractive from this perspective.

The computer-generated image shows new retail units with not a market trader in sight. The look is contemporary; the brainchild of architects van Heyningen & Howard.

The question therefore is what will happen to the existing Market Place scheme as its newer and made-over umbilical twin emerges from the development chrysalis? Neasham says there will be a certain amount of "cosmetic alteration" which should bring the two parts of the scheme into line. It also seems likely that key tenants will follow suit. Anchor tenant Debenhams, for instance, still has a store fit-out that takes its cue from Ralph Halpern's Galleria concept for the then Burton Group, dating from the early 1980s. Others, including River Island, have already upped their game.

Meanwhile, Neasham and his team are working at increasing Market Place footfall. As a destination, Bolton draws upon a loyal clientele; 70 per cent of them come from the local area. Neasham says: "In total there's about 2.3 million people within a three-quarters of an hour drive-time. 70 per cent of our customers come from the immediate catchment and they'll come once a week."

They will, and one of the reasons for this is parking. Neasham says: "One of the drawbacks with town centres is that very often you have pay for your parking. We've got quite a good scheme going at the moment. If you spend £50 or more in the centre, you'll get free parking all day. I think it's no longer acceptable to retailers just to have extra customers coming. What we want is for people to spend money." The future looks bright for Bolton. If you are in the area, Agora is set to provide a compelling series of reasons for a visit. Neasham comments: "I've been here twelve years. It's a long time for any job, but I just love Bolton." Don't we all?

Fact File

Market Place, Bolton

Current size: 330,000 sq ft

Extension due for competion end 2008: 96,416 sq ft

Zone A: "Around the £150 mark"

Car park: Apcoa-managed, operating on three levels - 700 spaces

Anchor tenant: Debenhams - 70,000 sq ft net

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