PLANS have been unveiled for a new hyper-local political party to act as a “stronger voice” for the people of Radcliffe.

A group of three residents have begun the formal process of registering Radcliffe First as an official party with The Electoral Commission.

Two of the leaders intend to stand as independent candidates in the local elections this May.

James Mason will stand in Radcliffe East ward and Carol Birchmore will stand in Radcliffe West ward, with the shared aim of "seeing better things for the town of Radcliffe."

In a joint statement, the group said: "The people of Radcliffe need to send a clear message to Bury Council: We are proud Radcliffe folk and we resent what you have done to our town and what you have allowed to happen to our public services.

"You appear to be hell-bent on running the town down and we have had enough, we want fair treatment for Radcliffe."

The group is already attracting members via its new Facebook and Twitter pages.

A public meeting will take place next week to gather public opinion, discuss a way forward for a better Radcliffe, and give residents the opportunity to meet the candidates.

They added: "We believe that the time has come to fight for Radcliffe with the common aim of putting the pride back into the town — a town that is mentioned in the Domesday Book but that is forgotten by Bury Council in 2019.

"We are Radcliffe, not Bury, and we intend to focus our efforts on representing our town in a better way than the traditional mainstream parties.

"The fight for Radcliffe starts now. Enough is enough, there is an alternative."

In nearby Bolton, a number of hyper-local parties have found success, including Farnworth and Kearsley First, which has been a party since September 2017. Last year, Cllr Paul Sanders won the party’s first seat in a Farnworth by-election. Cllr Julie Patterson from the party was then elected for the Kearsley ward. Now, Westhoughton Independents is pursuing the aim of becoming an official party.

The inaugural Radcliffe First meeting will be held at Radcliffe United Reformed Church, in Blackburn Street, at 7.30pm on Thursday, March 14.

To find out more, visit @FirstRadcliffe on Twitter and search Radcliffe First on Facebook.