HUNDREDS of outraged residents cheered as a call for council leader Cllr Rishi Shori to resign was made at a meeting over plans for thousands of homes on green belt land.

The Bury Folk Against Manchester Spatial Framework (BFMSF) group organised the meeting on Friday to put questions to Cllr Shori and Bury North MP David Nuttall about the proposals.

Cllr Shori and Mr Nuttall agreed to attend the packed meeting at Bury Town Hall’s Elizabethan Suite to give residents the chance to highlight their opposition to the plans.

Walshaw resident Gary Booth brought his own proposal to the meeting – calling on Cllr Shori to resign as leader of the council following concerns over the “shambolic” consultation process.

He said: “I want the of leader of Bury Council, Cllr Shori, to resign as you have been elected as a public servant for our great town, for which you have no regard or respect for the people who you are meant to represent.

“We need a new leader and I urge a referendum to find the right person for the job.”

Hundreds of residents cheered Mr Booth’s suggestion, before Cllr Shori admitted the whole process could have been improved.

He said: “This has been a process that has certainly been in the public eye, although I’m not saying this has been a brilliant consultation.

“Is has not been fantastic and rather than gloating about extending it, I have instead just responded to people’s concerns about them not having enough time.

“It’s the Greater Manchester Combined Authority which is running the consultation, although that’s not an excuse as we could definitely run it better.

“Before the second part of the consultation starts we will put a leaflet out to every house in Bury with more details.

“People are saying it’s too late, but we’ll learn from this and we will do better.”

More than 12,000 new homes are earmarked for sites across the borough under the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework plans, which were revealed last year.

James Mason, whose protest group now has more than 3,000 members, said: “We’ve organised this meeting to have our voices heard and ask some important questions. The aim is to get these plans torn up.”

Residents raised concerns over infrastructure, wildlife and the value of their homes, if proposals go ahead. Denis Prince, of Whitecroft Drive, Lowercroft, said: “What is consultation? I think an awful lot of people don’t know about this. I came to a meeting here in November about these plans and I didn’t know anything about them at all.

“I must admit, I was absolutely amazed that as far as I know that one time at the end of November, was the only afternoon of this exhibition, because I felt that the impact on the people of Bury was fantastic.

“Even for the people who weren’t involved close to the greenbelt like I am, it was going to have a knock on effect in terms of things like traffic, schools, hospitals and so on.

“I feel that my neighbour and I have leafleted more people in Bury than the council have.”

The group held a protest walk from Elton High School to Elton Reservoir on Monday, January 2 to highlight their opposition to the proposals.

Among the projects under consideration are a major employment site on almost 500 hectares of green belt near Pilsworth, more than 3,000 homes on green belt land in Prestwich and 3,500 homes around Elton Reservoir.

Mr Booth added: “For the last 116 years we’ve only increased our population in Bury by 554 people.

“If you actually did the calculations maybe the number of homes you need is just 4,557 – that’s if you have 2.2 people per home.”

Cllr Shori agreed to meet with Sajid Javid, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, to discuss the figures.

He said: “I have suggested that David and I meet the development minister to look at the figures.

“So why don’t we go together to meet the Secretary of State Sajid Javid, and see if we can reduce the figures and try and do something about this.

“That’s a non-political point, we all accept there are issues around the figures so let’s do our very best to do something about it.”

Bury residents have until January 16 to submit their objections through the consultation process.

Copies of the GMSF can be viewed at greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk/GMSF, in Bury libraries, and at Bury Town Hall.

Responses can be made online at gmsf-consult.objective.co.uk; emailing GMSF@agma.gov.uk; or by post to: Greater Manchester Integrated Support Team, PO Box 532, Town Hall, Manchester M60 2LA.