BURY's popular Mosses Centre, the first purpose-built community centre in the borough, is to close.

The much-used town centre building will shut in a series of cuts agreed by Bury Council's ruling Labour group, which will affect community buildings across the borough.

The most contentious proposal will be the closure of the Mosses which is used by some 1,400 people every week. Activities would be transferred to the Arts and Crafts Centre, near the Mosses in Bury town centre.

Coun Derek Boden, council leader, said the two centres would merge on one site, and the Arts and Crafts was the better building.

And part of that centre, a Grade 2 Listed building, will be rented out as a restaurant and pub to help balance the books.

The move is a seemingly inevitable part of a massive package of cuts facing the borough's Community Education Service.

Coun Boden said this week: "If we continue to fund the buildings as we do now there will be no money left to pay staff.

"That's why we have to rationalise our building stock." Among the planned changes are:

The amalgamation of the Mosses and the Arts and Crafts Centre.

Community services in Ramsbottom to be run from the top floor of the civic hall, and the housing and payment office moved to the library.

Bury's Geoffrey Kershaw centre will close, with activities moving to the Arthur Scholes centre.

Whitefield's Higher Lane Adult Centre to shut, with classes moving to the Stand Centre of Bury College.

Up to three branch libraries in Prestwich closing.

A confidential report discussed by Labour's Policy Steering Group described the Mosses as being a building past its best, while the Arts and Crafts centre was better. Coun Boden said: "There has been an expression of interest about renting part of the Arts and Crafts, which would see improvements at somebody else's expense. It is a better building, and big enough to house both centre's activities."

The move will spark fierce controversy, with more than 1,400 people and 50 groups using the Mosses weekly.

Although no final decisions have been formally made, the budget cuts have already happened. User groups will, however, be consulted.

The Mosses, which opened its doors in September,1973, was the subject of a campaign by users to keep it open when the cuts were first discussed last year.

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