Bosses at Bury Council plan to fight the controversial decision to move maternity services at Fairfield Hospital to North Manchester General in Crumpsall.

Mark Sanders, chief executive at Bury Council, said: "The closure of Fairfield's maternity unit is totally unacceptable, we will be looking to hold urgent meetings with the Strategic Health Authority and continue to fight the corner for the people of Bury."

Council Leader Wayne Campbell said "As a Council, we are not convinced that all the review criteria has been met in reaching this decision, especially the criteria relating to access to services.

"We simply cannot see the need for these proposals because Fairfield's maternity unit is unrivalled in its success, with the lowest morbidity and mortality rates not only in the North West, but throughout the whole of the UK.

"The baby lifeline appeal, set up in 1979 is said to be "Successful beyond the wildest dreams," of those who set it up, with donations of over £3,000 every month, year in year which has undoubtedly been a factor in the phenomenal service it is able to deliver.

"Fairfield also provided the training ground for some of the finest clinicians in the area with its teaching practices being adopted across the North West.

"As far as the Maternity Unit is concerned, generations of families who have made their home and life in Bury have had a local maternity unit to call upon when needed. Our residents are proud to live in a borough, which gives them a sense of place and those parents who have used the maternity unit have been proud to have their children born and brought up in Bury".

Boss of Hope Hospital, David Dalton, was also "extremely disappointed" with the decision.

He said: "Salford Royal has excellent maternity and neonatal services which operate on a safe clinical model, developed over many years. To lose these two highly rated services is a huge loss to the hospital, to Salford and Greater Manchester as a whole.

"I want to stress that we still have a responsibility for caring for women and babies until services are transferred to a new provider and we fully intend to continue providing a high quality service during that time."