THE piles of rubble WILL be shifted from the Elms Precinct before Christmas.

The company which controversially ordered the demolition of empty shops eight months ago has finally agreed to a 28-day deadline for clearing up the precinct.

The owners of the Whitefield shopping centre withdrew their appeal against an order by Bury Council demanding they move the tons of debris.

Now Isle of Man-based North Western Properties Ltd has until December 14 to clear the eyesore or the council will send in its own men - and bill the company for the work.

The climb down came just two days before both sides were due in court for a legal wrangle over the rubble.

Magistrates also ordered the company to pay £2,950 legal costs to Bury Council.

Coun leader Derek Boden was "sad" that the "saga" had dragged on for so long but added: "Hopefully it is a good start for the New Year and the Millennium.

"We are pleased at long last that North Western Properties has accepted its responsibility to clean up the mess which it created in the first place.

"Having got that far, we hope the company will now remove the rubble in a safe manner within the 28 days it has.

"Hopefully, we can now get on with some serious negotiation, in consultation with the local community, to see what is to replace the rubble."

The rubble trouble stared in March after demolition men staged a dawn raid on the Bury New Road site.

Shocked traders arrived at work to find neighbouring vacant units razed.

Bury Council carried out emergency work to make safe the site.

An order giving the company 28 days to shift the debris was issued by council solicitors on August 9 under the Town and Country Planning Act.

Bury Magistrates were set to rule yesterday (Nov 18) if this should stand after an appeal by the company just hours before it was to come into force.

Coun Boden said the council would shift the mess if the company failed to do so but stressed: "The company will have a clear idea of where the water pipes and power cables are.

"We would have to carry out safety checks which would ultimately cost more money."

No one from the company was available to comment.

North Western Properties has been refused permission to build a two-storey retail development on land at Green Lane, adjacent to Elms Square.

Councillors rejected the scheme at a planning control committee meeting.

They said there were no details about the future of the entire Elms site, crime prevention issues had not been addressed and the development would not be fully accessible to disabled people.

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