A MAJOR £200,000 revamp of Bury's town centre traffic routes would create a pedestrians' paradise.

Council bosses were last night expected to approve plans to create a new series of pedestrianised shopping areas in the heart of the town while non-essential traffic would be diverted from the town centre.

The shopper-friendly plans centre around Market Street which, if the scheme is given the go-ahead, would be a single lane road, with pavements being widened.

There would be no entry for vehicles between 10am and 4pm with exemptions for buses, coaches, taxis, cycles and permit holders. Several one-way traffic orders would also be revoked - between the junction of Silver Street and Ribblesdale House in Market Street - and a dual carriageway would be established on Haymarket Street between Broad Street and Moss Street.

Disabled parking would cease in Haymarket Street to prevent any on-street parking adjacent to a proposed pedestrian refuge. However, additional orange badge bays would be created on Broad Street.

The revamp forms the second stage of Bury Council's Bury Town Centre Strategy to remove non-essential traffic from the streets and reduce the speed of traffic which still had the use of the routes.

Mr Ian Cheetham, director of development and environmental services, said: "The proposals have the general aim of improving the environment and accessibility for all users within the town centre."

The revamp also has the backing of a many traders, pedestrian groups, bus companies and interested groups who were consulted on the draft plans 12 months ago.

If approved the plans would be implemented in 1998/99 subject to cash funding.

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