I am on holiday now until January 2nd. However if you feel I can assist with an emergency during this period please don’t hesitate to contact me.

The emergency out of hours Council phone no is 0161 253 6606

Christmas Careline - Christmas and New Year is a difficult time for many people, if you need help or advice or someone to talk to during this period don’t hesitate to call the ITV/BBC Supported Careline service .Telephone 0845 606 5678

Children and young people with problems they would like to talk about in confidence can call CHILDLINE on 0800 1111

A drop in event is to be held at Heaton Park School on Wednesday January 23rd from 3.30pm to inform and consult with local residents about plans for community play facilities at the school.

Plans are currently being formulated to provide for a nursery school age play area, an intermediate play area and a small ballzone but all plans are subject to consultation.

If you would like to find out more or want to raise concerns this is the event for you. It is hoped a number of officers representing different departments will be on hand to listen and advise residents. Local councillors have also been invited to attend.

I’ve just returned from St.Mary’s CE Primary School Carol service at St.Mary’s Church. A marvellous occasion , proud parents watching their kids performing  nativity sketches and singing carols. Happiness abounds and we are all left feeling proud of the school and the young performers and full of the spirit of Christmas - not to mention mulled wine and mince pies. And one couldn’t help feeling an air of celebration in church - celebration that the school is now out of special measures and once again providing the first class education that the children deserve and the parents expect. 

Best Wishes and well done to Nick Clegg the new Leader of the Liberal Democrats.

I have the utmost confidence that Nick along with his talented team in parliament will take the Liberal Democrats to the next level. I look forward to working with Nick to fight for a better Bury and a greater Britain - where our freedoms and liberties are protected and our values are preserved in a land that cherishes all its people.

Nick Clegg has set out his priorities in a message to Bury residents:

“I am greatly honoured to have been chosen by my fellow party members to be the new Leader of the Liberal Democrats. Throughout Bury, Liberal Democrats are already working hard to reach out to local people and listen to their concerns. In my leadership I will be taking that  spirit nationwide, moving beyond Party Politics and making liberalism connect with the millions of people who share our values.

Labour and the Conservatives have failed Britain’s families. I will lead my party to change politics, and change Britain, for the better. Only the Liberal Democrats are committed to giving the people of Bury a greater say in the decisions that affect our lives, by shifting power away from Westminster and back to local communities. I will fight for a fair deal for Britain’s families, campaign tirelessly to cut crime and improve our NHS so it delivers the care people need.”

Under Nick Clegg the Liberal Democrats will have a distinctive voice to champion the many issues that this country faces. With Labour and the Conservatives ditching all remnants of political philosophy and scrapping over the same tired policies day in day out, the time has come for someone prepared to speak out for our people and our communities. Nick Clegg is that man.

It has recently been announced that following an Ofsted inspection St.Mary’s CE School on Rectory Lane is no longer in Special Measures.

Following a recent inpsection by Ofsted, the inspectors have deemed the school to be making required progress and attaining good standards and so longer needs special measures. 

It has to be said that the inspection that led to the school being in special measures was impeccably poor timing for staff that were trying their best to get to grips with the departure of the previous head teacher. Nevertheless the staff, led by new head teacher, Jonathan Fish and supported by the Governers have responded with tremendous professionalism and turned things round in double quick time.

Congratulations to all - I trust all the staff will now enjoy a well earned christmas break!

A Liberal Democrat amendment at last nights Council meeting finally exposed Bury Labour’s position on congestion Charging when they failed to oppose the proposed congestion charging scheme.

The Lib Dem amendment called for the bid to the Governments Transport Investment Fund (TIF) to be supported but made it clear that Bury was opposed to congestion Charging – in particular the scheme proposed, and called for the people of Greater Manchester to be consulted through a referendum vote on the issue.

It is true that we need massive investment in our public transport to encourage people out of their cars – but why are we being asked to pay extra taxes to pay for our Labour  Governments neglect of out transport  systems? On top of that the charging proposals are seriously flawed, over expensive and would divide communities.

Bury Lib Dems have been clear from the start that we need transport investment and improvements up front. We can then better assess the impact improvements will have on congestion and can properly consider what further incentives would be required.

Bury Labour are clearly being leaned on by neighbouring Labour Councils and possibly Labour MP’s – for much of the debate last night they resembled Humpty Dumpty trying to sit on the wall – but fell to earth with a crash at the end when the Lib Dem amendment was supported by the Conservative Group and became Bury Council policy.

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall…    

 At the last full meeting of Bury Council before Christmas the festive spirit quickly dissipated after the Mayor’s birthday wishes were extended to Cllrs Creswell and Gunther.A key element of these meetings is the statement by the Leader of the Council, with the opportunity to ask the leader questions – similar to Prime Ministers Question time. Unfortunately the Labour opposition have taken to using them as opportunities just to score points and hurl insults without really challenging the Council leader.The Lib Dem group has always taken the view that this provides an opportunity to ask probing questions about issues of concern. Last night was one such occasion when colleagues asked questions about :

The effectiveness of CCTV (78 cameras in Bury –of which 22 in Prestwich),

The cost of empty properties to the Council – possibly as much as £1.9 million!

The need for a dining hall at Prestwich Arts College

The dangerous junction at Hilton Lane

My ward colleague, Cllr Wilf Davison, who chairs the Council Environment, Economy and Transport Scrutiny Committee, presented for approval the proposed Council Sustainability Strategy, which was approved.That was followed by a debate on the Transport Investment Fund and Congestion Charging (see above) and Radcliffe Riverside School.

http://burydem.bury.gov.uk/aksbury/users/public/admin/kab14.pl?operation=SUBMIT&meet=38&cmte=COU&grpid=public&arc=71

Tonight there is a “full” meeting of Bury Council at Bury Town Hall. The “full” meeting comprises all 51 councillors and is held in the Council Chamber. It is preceded by a period of public question time when members of the public are allowed to ask any questions on the work of the Council or its committees.

Click on the link above to see the agenda for tonights meeting.

last night I attended a consultation event that is part of the Councils review of the Area Partnerships. As you may know the Area Partnerships replaced the Area Boards and have been trying to do things differently, with varied success. As a result the Council agreed that a review was needed to identify possible improvements.

Last nights event focused on consulting with Community members (representative nominated to the Area Partnerships from local organisations ie Churches Together or Tenants groups etc). It provided an opportunity for those members to raise positive and negative aspects of the Area Partnerships.

If you have attended Prestwich Area Partnership and have a view on how to improve it please let me know and I will feed it into the consultation process. On the other hand if you don’t attend but would like to , likewise get in touch , we’d like to know why.

Christmas celebrations well and truly swung into top gear in Prestwich last night when the Prestwich Christmas tree lights were switched on by the Mayor of Bury in the company of Santa (of course).

In addition the (nearly) finished granite wall around the fountain was illuminated from lighting along the base and lo and behold the fountain was on!  It has taken much effort to get this far and re-open the fountain so I know local councillors will welcome any feedback from residents so please let us know what you think.

Congratulations must go to all who were involved in organising the event and especially the performers who did their stuff in near freezing temperatures. Well done all.