PLANS are afoot to trade in the scrapyard image of Pimhole for something cleaner and greener.

A draft action plan has been drawn up to tidy the neighbourhood, and make it a centre of good practice in the vehicle breaking business.

Residents in the area, which has the largest concentration of scrap yards in the North West, have long complained about unsightly piles of scrap.

Now, consultations with residents and businesses have led to the Draft Pimhole Project Action Plan, aimed at creating a modern industrial site. A steering group has also been set up.

The project has been allocated £244,300 from Bury East's single regeneration budget, with further funding expected from Europe and the North West Development Agency.

Junkyard heaps would be screened from homes by fences, with improvements planned to a "spine road" serving the yards. Traffic calming measures are also planned, after concerns were voiced about heavy traffic by parents of children at St Thomas's Primary School.

In addition, a new European Union "End of Life of Vehicles Directive" will force breakers to adhere to strict regulations on the way cars are scrapped.

Grants are to be provided for the 11 breaking businesses operating in the area to improve their facilities. Hardened breaking areas, rather than soft soil ones, are needed to prevent vehicle fluids from seeping through the soil to the River Roch and Barn Brook.

A good practice manual will be published in autumn containing information for breaking proprietors and guidance on health, safety and environmental legislation.

New businesses will also to be encouraged onto derelict land in the area, once a home to the textile industry.

Project manager Kimiyo Nabeshima said: "We want to improve the area so that residents will be able to live with the businesses nearby.

"The steering group appears to be going very well. Representatives of residents and the breakers' yards have been working very hard and now we have a core group of people who really want to achieve something.

Mr Harry Reed, vice-chairman of Pimhole Residents Association, said: "It is the first time I can remember that residents around here have had an input.

"We have been consulted throughout and I think that we will get the rest of the money.

"If this all comes off, it will be a great thing for the area."