It's the best, it's how shopping used to be...

JUST WHAT MAKES BURY A RETAIL DESTINATION FOR SO MANY PEOPLE?

- CHRIS GEE

IT'S the shopping area with the third largest footfall in Greater Manchester after the Arndale and the Trafford Centre.

Anyone visiting Bury on a Friday morning would probably agree with that, hearing the background hum of conversation and cries of traders harking their wares ringing out among labyrinth of stalls on the town's famous outdoor market.

Shoppers were vying for spaces at the nearby Mill Gate and Rock shopping centre car parks, and coachloads of visitors from out of the borough were disembarking and flowing into the market area, eager for a bargain and maybe a cooked breakfast.

Earlier this year Chris Roberts, development director at Bruntwood who are involved in regeneration projects in town, hailed Bury as the 'regional capital' of North Greater Manchester, citing its strong attraction and strategic positioning.