STALLHOLDERS against the proposed relocation of Bury market have taken their fight to the town hall.

Traders' representatives presented a 6,800-name petition to Bury Council chiefs on Tuesday. The signatures were from members of the public who are backing the traders' 'we shall not be moved' campaign.

Bury Council will ultimately determine the future of the markets when a £150 million plan to redevelop Mill Gate is lodged by the centre's co-owners, Westfield.

Under the company's proposals, the indoor and outdoor markets, together with the meat and fish hall, would transfer to a new location next to the Interchange, near Kay Gardens.

But stallholders are unanimously against any move and are enlisting public support in their battle. The petition claims that any transfer of the markets would lead to the "loss of a unique attraction".

The petition was handed over by Mr Farhan Zahoor, chairman of the Bury Market Traders' Association, and Mr Alan Garman, treasurer, to council chief executive Mr Mark Sanders and council leader John Byrne.

Meanwhile, Mr Garman has sent a personal letter to the authority's 48 councillors, outlining his fears surrounding the relocation proposals.

He states: "Never has so much anger been expressed by so many in so short a time. The market is part of the history of Bury. Yet listening to Westfield's plans, they do not seem to reflect the important balance that this town has achieved between the old, the new and the future.

"Even by Westfield's own admission, the proposed new site for the market is not good enough as a site for their own development. The site is on the periphery of the town centre as the footfall figures suggests."

Westfield are expected to lodge a planning application with the council before the end of the year. Their blueprint for the Mill Gate redevelopment includes a major extension to the shopping centre, 60 new shops, department store, multiplex cinema, 800-seat food court and a new transport interchange.