THE people of Radcliffe will be asked to decide on three priorities for the town over the next 12 months.

Views were gathered from members of the public and local councillors at last week's township forum meeting, and council officials will be asking other residents for their input in deciding what the forum's priorities should be.

Among the town's most positive aspects identified at the meeting were the parks and nature trails across the area, the health centre, sports facilities, and Radcliffe's proud heritage.

However, concerns were raised over fly-tipping, a lack of evening attractions in the town centre, and public health - after it was revealed that life expectancy in Radcliffe is 10 years lower than in Ramsbottom.

Carol Kemp, of the Friends of Radcliffe Manor group, said: “At 6pm the town is dead, there is nothing for people to do. If you want people to spend their money in Radcliffe, you have to have something to keep them here.

“The town should be promoted more than what it is. The thing that we are most proud of is that we existed before Bury and have this great history, but that is not promoted in any way.

“In my head, I can see the arts festival returning and events happening all around Radcliffe Tower.

“If we can get the community hooked on this idea and attract visitors in, that opens up so many opportunities for Radcliffe."

Cllr Rhyse Cathcart added: "We need to create something for Radcliffe that makes it a unique place for people to visit.

“We can’t recreate Bury Market and we would not want to, so we need to have different kinds of shops to attract people.”

After worried residents said they doubted whether promised projects, such as a high school and leisure complex, would ever come to fruition, Cllr Catherine Preston said: “I know people say it is never going to happen, but there are big plans for the future of Radcliffe. We would not say them if they weren’t going to happen and we are just as committed as anyone else.”

Christine Maksymowski, Radcliffe Township Co-ordinator, said: “We want to see Radcliffe as a positive place to live. There are lots of nice places to visit here and we want to support the work of the local groups that are already up and running.

“There is lots going on here and a lot of positives, and I think we need to build on that."