Bolton welcomed around 270,000 people for the town’s biggest ever Food and Drink Festival.

Figures collected by Transport for Greater Manchester at key locations around the town centre show that there were 270,278 visitors over the four days.

The festival celebrated its 13^th anniversary this year, and is organised by Bolton Council in association with Aldi UK.

Last year the event welcomed 267,000 and while the rain did deter some from visiting the outdoor stalls, more people watched the free celebrity chef demos and enjoyed the interactive kitchen in Crompton Place and the free Egyptian activities in the Market Place Shopping Centre.

Leader of Bolton Council, Cllr Linda Thomas, thanked everyone involved in the festival for contributing to its success. She said: “I know every year we wonder how we can make the event better and more special but we did – and even with the rain the figures just show how much the public love it.

“We had visitors from all over the country and further afield such as Germany and France, some who come every year for the festival. It is great news that we have topped last year’s visitor numbers – it shows what a brilliant attraction we now have annually.

“We’ve had some fantastic feedback from visitors, traders, chefs and our sponsors and partners. It is without doubt – as James Martin himself said – the biggest and best food festival in the country and I would like to thank everyone for making this the best one to date.”

James Martin made his 10^th appearance at the festival for three live demos at the event in the heart of the town centre, and also walked around the festival site. He said: “It is the best food festival in the UK, and it is a privilege to have seen it grow into the event it is now.”

Nikki Wilson-Cook, Market Place Centre Manager, added: “This is a really important event for the town and the centre and we are very proud to have been a part of it. Every year we aim to push the boundaries and put on activity that complements what is happening in the town, and this year we believe we achieved exactly that.

“The Egyptian theme was totally unique and really wowed our customers. A special thanks to everyone involved, particularly Bolton Museum and Bolton Council, who really helped us to bring a lot of our Egyptian ideas to life.”

Visitors came from across the UK and Europe to sample food and drink from more than 200 traders and watch celebrity chefs including James Martin, Nadiya Hussain, Ainsley Harriott, Michael Caines, Andrew Nutter and Simon Wood in action.

Angie Reeh, the Chair of the Anglo-German Club in Paderborn, said: “I love it. It was a really great festival with very good food. People are really friendly and I’ve never seen such a happy atmosphere in a town. We’re so glad we made it and we will definitely return.”

Jackie Heaton, aka The Baking Nanna, from Higher Irlam in Manchester, said: “It is the first time we have been to the festival and it won’t be the last. What a fabulous festival, Bolton should be proud – so much fun for all the family.”

David Howells from the Cumbrian Pie Company said along with the Manchester Christmas Markets, the festival is the “best and most profitable event we do all year”.

Virgil Simpson, Logistics Director at Aldi UK, added: “It was fantastic to see the Bolton community again for drinks and nibbles at our fourth year of sponsoring the event. Our gins and real ale tastings, along with our Exquisite range of wines went down a treat with festival-goers.”

The largest networking organisation in the North West has appointed CPC’s Adam Richmond as Chair of its Transport and Infrastructure sector group.

With over 280 members from the region’s business community, pro-manchester is dedicated to providing business development opportunities and insight across key growth areas, through its twelve sector groups.

The Transport and Infrastructure (T&I) steering group is represented by key industry providers including Manchester Airports Group, Transport for Greater Manchester, Deloitte, Transport for the North, DLA Piper and the University of Manchester. Adam Richmond will chair his first steering group meeting in September.

The group will seek to ensure that transport and infrastructure issues in the North West are properly debated by bringing together and engaging with business communities, industry bodies and government representatives.

CPC’s Adam Richmond, an experienced Project Director said, “I’m absolutely delighted to have been selected as the new chair of pro-manchester’s Transport and Infrastructure group. It’s an exciting time for our sector right now, with the Northern Powerhouse at the forefront of the national political agenda. Modern transport is at the heart of the region’s future growth and I’m really looking forward to helping pro-manchester to drive professional excellence through knowledge sharing and better industry collaboration.”

Sam Booth, Deputy CEO, pro-manchester said “Adam will be a great addition to our team. We appointed Adam as Chair because of his and CPC’s experience and commitment to improving opportunities in transport and infrastructure. Adam’s passion and drive will ensure that our members can play an active part in the development of our region”

Baroness Fairhead, Minister of State for Trade and Export Promotion at the Department for International Trade has visited Sci-Tech Daresbury, a campus based in the heart of the North West, internationally recognised for world-class science, innovation and enterprise.

Her visit follows the government’s announcement of its Export Strategy. Speaking to North West businesses including The Virtual Engineering Centre, she outlined the government’s long-term ambition to increase total exports as a proportion of GDP to 35%. The Minister set out how the government will support businesses across the Northern Powerhouse to maximize their exporting potential through better use of our overseas network, new online tools and building an extensive network of ‘export champions’, who can share best practice and advice.

The latest HMRC figures show exports of goods rose by 3.6% (to £28.8bn) in the North West during 2017, compared to the previous 12 months. The stats also show the North West has more than 13,000 exporters with an average value per exporter of £2.1m.

Veterans’ Garage (VG) Manchester, based at Airport City, is getting a fresh lick of paint as plans progress to the next stages in renovating the Grade II listed former Airport Terminal.

HMG Paints, The UK’s largest Independent Paint Manufacturer, is continuing its support with further donations of paint for the refreshment of the temporary Veterans’ Garage premises. At the same time, planning continues for extensive renovations of the Grade II listed 1930’s Airport Terminal.

Veterans’ Garage, co-founded in 2015 by the Redshaws, an ex-military family suffering the impacts of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), have together created a unique approach to providing support for Military Veterans and Emergency Service personnel across the North West. The family’s aim was to provide a stable social hub for ex-servicemen and women to learn new skills, socialise and receive support and advice with in-house welfare programmes.

The Redshaw family hope the project, which was named North-West Social Enterprise of the Year 2017, will be a long-standing testament to veterans, giving ex-servicemen, servicewomen and their families a multi-functional hub to build skills and seek support, but also to socialise and make friends. “We are dedicated to working with local businesses who are active and supportive in the community and felt that HMG Paints very much fit with our ethos. We plan to have a long-term relationship with HMG Paints, not only utilising their Decorative Paints range, but also their impressive Automotive coatings for our restoration garage” said Dave Redshaw, Veterans’ Garage Co-Founder.

The location for the Veterans’ Garage, City Airport, was the UK’s first purpose-built municipal airport. At the airport, the temporary venue, a converted portacabin, has been refurbished using a selection of HMG Paints products from PVC17 on the UPVC windows, to the popular Acrylic Primer Undercoat and Satin Trim system. Alongside the portacabin sits a Grade II listed, WWII airport terminal building which has been generously donated to the project by The Peel Group.

With the skills of former project Manager & Co-Founder Dan Redshaw COO of Auto Crowd Group (a free to join network of Automotive, Marine & Aviation clubs) who brings over 15 years of construction industry experience to the project, The VG team endeavour to preserve and enhance the historical features by designing the Grade II listed building in an Art Deco style, reflecting the 1930’s heritage. Transforming the building in to a multi-functional space, housing stylish lounges, club meeting and business facilities.

A luxury restaurant will surround the downstairs car & motorcycle restoration garage for ex-service personnel of all ages to collaborate, restoring classic cars and motorcycles, whilst raising money and awareness. Gracienne Ikin, HMG Paints’ Marketing and Communications Executive commented on the project “HMG are proud to be part of such an inspirational project. The Redshaws have created a unique and welcoming place for all, open 7 days a week, and the main project hasn’t even started yet! We look forward to the next few years working with the Veterans’ Garage team.”

As a not-for-profit venture, the garage will also play host to a community car club, giving freedom to raise funds for other causes across the North West, simultaneously providing ex-service personnel with employment opportunities.