I SEE that our local councillors are shedding their usual crocodile tears over the closure of the East Lancs PM.

"How sad," they lament, "a real blow to the town. But don't forget we can build hundreds of new houses there which will provide a large amount of council tax for us to spend in Bury".

Never mind the narrow streets around there, where big lorries once managed, but with a bit of a struggle. I am sure the 350 cars that will arrive with the 300 new houses will cope somehow. Then, of course, there are the kiddie-winkies. They will have nowhere to play, except down by the River Irwell. The article (Jan 17) says that staff at the economic development unit (EDU) are excited over this supposed regeneration plan, as are councillors Briggs and Campbell. It is a pity they didn't get excited enough to help push the last owners of ELPM into more effort to find customers for their brown paper. There's still a great need for wrapping paper.

As for this development scheme being the answer to a major challenge in stimulating employment opportunities, it will hardly make up for the 200 or more jobs made redundant when the mill closed.

Where were the excitable members of the economic development unit when Wild's, Radcliffe Paper Mill, Bibby and Baron and the Strebor all closed? They were probably getting excited about the Outwood Nature Trail, and the possibility of some new standing stones or more bent horseshoe nails.

How nauseating is this apparent gloating at the demise of a place of good employment, and disposal of the site into the hands of greedy developers who will now make millions for themselves, while the ratepayers receive a few crumbs.

Next door to ELPM was a large cotton mill, the Wilton Mill, demolished a few years ago, leaving an area as big as a football pitch. Why don't the excitable staff at the economic development unit do something about that? I suppose it isn't as financially viable as the ELPM site.

BILL OWENS,

Turks Road, Radcliffe.