THE Mayor of Horwich, Cllr Bernard McCartin, will be speaking about the Sustainable Communities Bill at a public meeting later this month.

Horwich Town Council has voted to support the bill, which aims to tackle the loss of local shops, post offices, bus services and jobs by allowing local people instead of central government to decide how their communities are developed and conserved.

The bill has cross-party support from about 400 MPs, including Bolton MPs Brian Iddon and David Crausby.

However, Ruth Kelly, Communities Minister and MP for Bolton-west, is being accused by campaigners of obstructing the Bill.

Ms Kelly has been invited to attend the meeting on Friday, March 30, at 7.30pm at the Reebok Stadium.