BURY'S Geoffrey Kershaw Centre and part of East Ward County Primary School are to be sold off to house builders.

The cash is needed to help pay for the new East Ward regeneration project, set up last month with local people playing a major role.

Town hall bosses say the centre is "reaching the end of its useful lifespan" and is expensive to run.

A number of education services are housed there including the Community Education Service, psychological service, learning support service, English language teaching service and the school library service.

Selling the building would mean relocating these services to the Seedfield Centre or the nearby Arthur Scholes Centre.

Meanwhile, East Ward school is the only one in the borough with a split site. Bringing the annexe to the main primary school building on Willow Street would mean the whole of the Maxwell Street site could be sold.

Councillors this week agreed to seek planning permission for housing for the two sites.

Before the sites are marketed, the plans will be considered by local people who have joined a steering group to discuss the whole East ward regeneration project.

The scheme aims to improve housing, the environment and the whole range of local facilities and services. It will be funded partly through the Government's capital receipts initiative, which allows councils to spend the money from the sale of assets such as council houses.

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