CAMPAIGNERS showed a united front at the Flixton Festival on Sunday.

The Save Our Sports Centre group - aimed at reversing plans to close the George H Carnall centre - and Save Flixton Green Belt manned a joint stall at the Flixton Festival.

The groups have joined forces to back each other's campaigns.

Mike Reavy, from Save Our Sports Centre, said: "At the Flixton Festival on Sunday we held a stall to show that there are two dedicated groups intent on saving what is valuable to our community and the response and support for both campaigns was amazing.

"The George Carnall petition gained another 297 signatures taking the total to 3062.

"We feel that in time that we will have almost every household in the community signed up opposing the closure of the centre."

The Trafford Leisure Community Interest Company announced last autumn that the centre would be closed once an expansion of Urmston Leisure Centre had taken place and as part of a plan that will also see a £24m investment into leisure provision across the borough.

At last month's full council meeting, Cllr Laura Evans, a Conservative Executive member, defended the move.

She said: "Trafford Leisure has no intention of closing George H Carnall until the completion and refurbishment of Urmston.

"All current users of George H Carnall will have fantastic options in the future.

"We want everyone in Trafford - including Urmston and Davyhulme - to have access to modern, fit for purpose facilities."

The Save Flixton Green group is fighting controversial plans for a large housing development on green belt land in Flixton.

Town hall chiefs want to build 750 houses on half of the former William Wroe golf course.

This proposal is part of the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework (GMSF) - a massive housebuilding scheme for the region over the next two decades.

Paul Ashworth, from Save Flixton Green Belt, said after the Flixton Festival: "As a group we would like to thank the organisers for a fantastic event, the public for their engagement with ourselves on the day regarding the green belt cause and their support in buying car stickers to the total of £90 for the campaign."