MARKET traders made their feelings about the proposals for the town centre known at the first in a series of presentations at area board meetings.

Paul Allen, the council's planning policy manager, will be exhibiting "Bury but Better" town centre vision and development strategy with representatives from developers Westfield.

But market traders at Monday night's Bury West Area Board protested about the plans to move the market to its former home at Kay Gardens, even though Westfield representative, Nick Deany, told the meeting: "We are moving the market into a prime position."

Traders asked the panel at Greenhill Primary School in Bury, why they had not chosen to site the planned department store there if the location was so prominent.

One trader said: "You are conning us. The proposal is moving us further away to a backwater."

But Councillor Roy Walker, for Church ward, defended the development and the developers. He said: "The new site is right next to the Metrolink and bus stations. I think the developers might be doing us a favour. It would be strange for a development company to make everything worse."

Westfield also insisted that when the market is moved, traders will be allocated the same amount of space they have on the current site. Mr Deany said: "Traders will have more rather than less space. We will not be short-changing anyone."

An executive committee decision on the scheme's principles is expected in October.

The council has been asking residents to fill in forms about the proposals and Westfield have spoken to more than 2,000 people at the market site and by telephone interviews.