CIVIC leaders are determined to regenerate the Longfield Centre and keep it as a shopping and community centre.

Bury Council Leader, Councillor Derek Boden, has underlined the local authority's commitment as rumours and speculation grow following the shock decision by Sainsbury's to close down their store in the Prestwich centre.

Cllr Boden said: "We believe that the Longfield Centre still has a future and talk of its demise following Sainsbury's announcement is extremely premature. We are very disappointed by the supermarket chain's decision. Despite their closure plans, I will be writing to the company to see if the council can play any part in reversing the decision. "As stated in our Unitary Development Plan, we see the long term future of the Longfield Centre as very much the heart of shopping and community life in Prestwich."

He added: "As far as the Council is concerned, the Longfield Centre is the centre of the town and we want it to remain that way. From our own point of view, we envisage that not only it will it retain services such as the Library and area office, but it will attract more of such community based facilities and also remain a very active shopping centre."

Cllr Boden said that if Sainsbury's do decide to go ahead and close down their store, the council would be looking to replace them with a similar retailer.

He said: "We will continue to work with all parties, as we have done all along, to retain the Longfield Centre and the services it provides, where it belongs, at the heart of the local community in Prestwich."