Locals at a community pub in Bolton are rallying around it after plans were lodged to turn it into a nursery. The Cotton Tree in School Hill has served its area for decades, being described as a "true community pub" by its regulars. Now, plans have been submitted to Bolton Council to turn the pub into a children's nursery, with it having been listed for sale .
Locals, however, do not want to lose their pub and are critical of the idea of turning it into a nursery, citing other nurseries which have been closed in the area in recent years . Steven Bates said: "I have been coming here for 48 years. It is a true community pub.
Regulars at the pub. L-R: Steven Bates, Kenneth Fairhurst, Jay Dickinson, Hayley Lawson and Terry Duker (Image: Newsquest) "We try and help everybody we can. To change this property into a nursery when they have closed three down in this vicinity is beyond me.
"The former mayor came here three weeks ago and said that this kind of pub is what we need more of. "If I have one too many they always walk me home. That is as it should be, a community together.
If it shuts down, where else will we go?" Read more: Punters speak of sadness at prospect of 'proper pub' with £3.60 pints closing Read more: Bolton pub goes up for sale and has 'development potential' Read more: The 18th century pub serving traditional grub with a modern twist Jay Dickinson said: "It's been up for sale for years. We just don't know why a nursery, when there is another one nearby which was .
