RESIDENTS could be walking back to health and happiness under council plans to make life easier for pedestrians.

Town Hall bosses have commissioned consultants to draw up a walking strategy for the borough and they want Bury folk to say what they want, via public meetings and questionnaires.

The council says it wants to know what people think of the current "walking environment" and the problems they face. The results of the survey will identify how the local authority can make improvements.

The first public exhibition concerning the survey is on Saturday (Sep 6) at Bury Museum and Art Gallery, Moss Street, Bury between noon and 4pm.

Further meetings have been arranged for next Thursday (Sep 11) at the Elizabethan Suite in Bury Town Hall, between 5pm and 8pm; next Saturday (Sep 13) at Radcliffe Civic Suite between noon and 4pm; and on Tuesday September 16, again at Radcliffe Civic Suite, between 5pm and 8pm.

Councillor Stella Smith, executive member for environment and transport, said: "Walking is an important mode of travel in its own right. Along with being free, it is healthy, sociable and environmentally sustainable. Residents' involvement in the development of the strategy is very important."

People can also fill out questionnaires, available at Bury Town Hall, Lester House, Bury bus interchange, Mill Gate shopping centre, libraries, and Bury College. Alternatively, use the website, at www.bury.gov.uk