MP IVAN Lewis has pledged his support for a Morrisons supermarket in Whitefield town centre in preference to a rival scheme backed by Bury Council.

Councillors had previously agreed "in principle" to a plan for houses and shops on the Brand Centre site.

Now Mr Lewis has urged Bury Council to have a re-think over its preference for the mixed-use scheme now being championed by David McLean Homes. It proposes to build apartments, a 10,000 sq ft Tesco store, other shops, community facilities and housing, while Dransfield Properties want to build a 74,000sq ft Morrisons supermarket.

More than 250 people turned out on Tuesday evening to have their say on the plans for the town centre, and listen to presentations from both developers.

But the original venue, at Elms Community Centre, was so crowded that the meeting had to be transferred to a much larger hall in Whitefield Methodist Church. Acting chairman of the meeting, Councillor Derek Boden, made the decision to move the venue on health and safety grounds.

Although parliamentary commitments kept Mr Lewis away from the meeting, his assistant Ian Peacock read out a statement from the MP.

Mr Lewis said: "Following careful consideration, I have concluded that the Dransfield proposal for a Morrisons supermarket represents the best available option for the future of Whitefield. However, my support is subject to satisfactory answers to a number of key questions."

He requested sight of written commitment to the development by the supermarket chain, asked if the Brand Centre owners and Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive had agreed to do business with Dransfield, and enquired about a timetable of events for the work.

Mr Lewis also insisted that Dransfield should offer an "appropriate" amount to householders so they could purchase a property of the same size in the Whitefield area."

Coun Boden stressed there would be no votes taken on the night and no opinion expressed by board members: but a straw poll by a member of the public showed the majority of people preferred a Morrisons store.