AN overwhelming turn-out for the first meeting of the Bury East Area Board resulted in standing room only as dozens poured into the New Kershaw Centre venue on Monday.

Representatives from organisations in the East, Moorside and Redvales Wards and local residents joined Bury Council officers and councillors for the packed inaugural gathering.

The crowd was addressed by East Area Board chairman Coun Mike Connolly who welcomed everyone but whose immediate task was to apologise for the lack of space.

He said: "It is very difficult to anticipate the attendance levels at these meetings but I find it very encouraging to see so many people have taken the time to attend.

"Bury East Area Board is the last board of six to meet. By the turnout it is a case of leaving the best until last."

Coun Connolly added: "There are a lot of exciting things happening in the area and I am looking forward to working together in partnership to make Bury a better place for us all." One major talking point was the call for a new link to the borough's accident and emergency unit. Concerns were expressed over the expected increase in traffic to Fairfield General Hospital when the town's casualty unit moves from Bury General.

A number of residents believe Bury Council and health chiefs should meet to discuss the possibility of creating an access road to the Rochdale Old Road site from Heywood to ease future congestion.

Coun Connolly said: "We are all aware of heavy traffic on Rochdale Old Road and the problems which could occur when the new accident and emergency unit opens.

"If a new access road is what this area board wants, then that is something we will look into."

The Board is a new forum set up by the local authority to give residents in East Ward, Moorside and Redvales an opportunity to play a major role in remodelling areas where they live and influencing decisions.

The new Board will co-opt members from the local community, although only elected councillors are legally entitled to vote.

The board will be staffed by a full-time area co-ordinator, Mr Jason Crausby, to provide one contact point for the public and liaise with the council.

The Area Boards are the most public element of a complete shake-up of the council's political arrangements to boost local democracy.

The next meeting of the Bury East Area Board, which is open to members of the public, will be held on December 14 at the Mosses Centre in Bury.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.