BUSINESS in Bury has received a massive boost from a new report which marks the town out as having one of the best shopping centres in the region.

Local officials have welcomed a survey of the top 100 shopping centres in the country which ranked Bury 78th.

The town was well above Bolton - a bigger town and one much-vaunted in terms of its retailing prowess - which ranked 21 places below in 99th.

The survey, aimed at retailers, placed Bury fourth in Greater Manchester behind Manchester city centre (3rd overall), the Trafford Centre (24th) and Stockport (36th).

The rankings from retail consultants Verdict were complied from the point of view of how attractive individual shopping centres appeared to a prospective retailer.

The survey took into account factors such as total floor space, catchment population, competing out-of-town sites, prospects for expansion, and drawbacks such as traffic congestion and parking problems.

Welcoming the survey findings Bury Council leader Councillor Derek Boden said: "First of all I must say I am not surprised because Bury has been developing very well. And the process has not finished yet, I think things will get even better."

Coun Boden said that the town was doing so well because the council and its partners had showed vision in coming up with a desirable central business district.

And he continued: "I am not denigrating Bolton's efforts, it is a lovely place. But being big isn't everything. There are centres ranked below us which in terms of sheer area are far bigger." Coun Boden believes that good use has been made of the available space in the town centre.

"We have a relatively compact shopping centre which is user friendly and becoming more friendly to pedestrians."

Verdict visited 1,200 towns and shopping centres. London's Oxford Street ranked number one, followed by Birmingham and Manchester city centres.

Coun Boden was quick to stress that the town centre was not being improved at the expense of district shopping centres and he hoped that central and outlying shopping centres would in fact complement each other.

The thriving Mill Gate shopping centre played an integral part in Bury's excellent showing in the Verdict poll.

Mill Gate promotions manager Elaine Shirt was delighted with the figures.

And she said: "I think we do an excellent job in Bury. This is an absolutely fantastic result.

She added:"There is a nice atmosphere in the town. I go out and chat to people and they journey here because it is safe and a nice place to be. That's why we are becoming more and more popular.

"People travel to Bury from as far away as Liverpool," Elaine explained. "There is also more in the way of nightlife now, the town is coming together."

In her capacity as chair of the Bury Built Environment Group, Elaine is also pleased at the increasing level of cleanliness in the town centre.

"There is a lovely community spirit here. There is a good feeling about being in Bury, a town that has it all."

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