Age Concern are predicting a big increase in winter deaths due to a deadly cocktail of higher energy bills and the economic climate. In addition to many vulnerable elderly people at risk - frightened to turn the heating up - increasingly the rest of the population, especially those directly affected by the economic climate,  are putting their health at risk by turning the heat off to save money.

In october, Gordon Brown announced a £910m package of fuel measures aimed at helping people with soaring fuel bills with money for insulation etc. At the same time he said energy companies, Council and Voluntary organisations would be making door to door visits in deprived areas.

Well the cold is beginning to bite and so I have asked Bury Council for an update on how many homes have been called on - as I have heard nothing about any door to door calls. Or was it yet another instance of warm words from our under seige PM?

In any event what we need is joined up action with HNS trusts, Voluntary organisations and the Council and partners (ie Police) working together to identify people at risk from the current economic and weather climates.

Last nights Planning Committee meeting saw my latest attempt to get a Glebelands Road Planning application rejected by the Committee.

Regular readers (assuming there are some out there) will recall that I successfully opposed the proposed demolition of 33 Glebelands Road, to be replaced by a block of (what else) flats recently.

Unfortunately last night the decision to build a massive extension at the rear of 4 Glebelands Road - A property in a conservation area, was approved by the committee. I must confess that I was somewhat surprised that the Planning Officers were so at ease with this development in a conservation area.

I suppose the positive is that as a local councillor I am now fully aware , as are the owners of the property (a charity) of the anti-social behaviour that local residents have had to endure , and I will be liaising closely with residents in the future and if need be with the Charity to address any future problems arising.

As I listen to The Chancellors Pre-budget report the one thing that is very clear is that the desperate situation faced by our economy has culminated in the biggest gamble by a Chancellor and his government in living memory.

If the “fiscal stimulus”being proposed doesn’t work over the coming weeks and months he ain’t going to have a lot left to put on the table, and for everyones sake we better hope that it works because we could end up knocking on the door of the IMF again for another loan and Darling could go down in history with Jim Callaghan, as a member of that small band of chancellors that had to go cap in hand to the IMF.

The biggest concern other than the big gamble is, if indeed it does actually save the economy from a protracted recession, how will all this borrowing be paid for in the future, especially as most of the measures are temporary ones. The Lib Dems have advocated clearer goals amidst reduced taxation as a stimulus, permanent tax cuts where it is needed. That presents a clear picture. Darlings proposals however are mired in the mirky waters of Labours attemps to survive through the next election and that is a very worrying thought indeed. 

I was delighted to be able to visit St.Margarets Church Christmas Fair on saturday. As always a very lively affair and good to see the church hall packed to the rafters.

Even more delightful was the snaking cue of children waiting to see Santa on probably his first visit to Prestwich this year! It sort of puts things in perspective when you see the excitement and unconfined joy and innocence of these children waiting expectantly.

This was I can confess also the occaasion of my first mince pies of the season as well!

Well done to the organisers, looks like local generosity has raised much needed funds as a result of your efforts.

By the way the next visit by Santa (that I’m aware of) is monday, December 1st at the Prestwich Christmas lights switch on at the Longfield Precinct from 4.30. 

Prestwich Anti-Litter Campaign is raising the stakes to tackle litter louts throughout Prestwich and now has Environmental Wardens employed to issue fixed penalty notices in our hotspots.

Prestwich Anti-Litter group has spent the past six months raising awareness of fixed penalties for fly tipping, promoting the work of Bury Council’s street care teams and improved it, installed more bins where needed, worked to encourage schools, residents and businesses to sign up to the Bury Street Care Pledge, leafleted all local businesses about their Duty of Care to legally dispose of their business waste.

Now it’s time to take action to those people who think throwing litter anywhere is ok.  Following requests Bury Council have engaged NCP Service Ltd  wardens to work throughout Prestwich. So it’s not only a parking fine that you can get.

Environmental Wardens will be patrolling reported hotspots in Prestwich to catch the culprits and are authorised to issues £50 Fixed Penalty Notice Fines at anyone age 10 and over.

If you know a litter hotspot in Prestwich and when it is littered please contact 0161 253 5353 and the matter will be investigated. 

Cllr Vic D’Albert said “We are particularly pleased that Prestwich Anti-Litter Campaign so far has made a positive difference to the area.  There are still a number of litter hotspots to tackle and the only way to do this is enforcement.  We hope that the patrol of Environmental Wardens make people take responsibility themselves to discards rubbish more responsibility themselves.

We are all responsible for keeping Prestwich clean”Prestwich Anti-Litter Group will make every effort to let residents, schools and business know about the Environmental Patrols.”

The Liberal Democrats have consistently been ahead of the game on economic issues. Here is a list of ten things we called for first, and which have now either been implemented or taken on board by at least one of the other two main parties.

• Northern Rock nationalisation - it was clear to us that this was unavoidable in November last year. It took the Government until February to act.

• Independence of the Bank of England - longstanding Lib Dem policy. First Labour implemented it, over Tory opposition. Now even the Tories support it.

• Recapitalisation of the banks - Vince Cable was the first politician to call for this. Three days later the Chancellor announced that this would be going ahead.

• Tackling the bonus culture - in May we were the first party to put forward proposals for tackling the harmful bonus culture in the financial sector. By the autumn, ministers and the Tory leadership had realised the situation was indefensible and changed their tune..

• Regulation of ’sale and rent back’ agreements - this was part of our ‘7 point plan’ for dealing with personal debt, launched in September 2003. The Government announced on 22nd October this year that they were finally looking into this.

• New court guidance to make repossession a ‘last resort’, obliging lenders to exhaust all alternatives first - another measure in the Government’s 22^nd October announcement that the Lib Dems had been calling for for more than six months.

• Changes to capital adequacy laws to require banks to hold more capital in periods of boom and less in recession - we called for this back in January 2003. Now the Conservatives back it too.

• Curbs on irresponsible lending - a commonplace sentiment now, but we called for “the publication by the Government of strict measures for responsible lending, which lenders must be required to observe” back in September 2003.

So Dave Camerons New Tories have finally admitted that they will cut services if elected. They have admitted they will not try and match current Government spending plans, citing the current economic woes as the key reason allied to Government borrowing. 

Underneath that cloak of warm and cozy new blue conservatism they haven’t really changed - always a case of cutting public services to support low taxation at any cost and the current economic climate just gave them their best excuse ever.

Once again the Lib Dems have led the way on this issue, time after time now we have been proved right on the best way forward and time after time the Government has taken on board our proposals. We called for bank interest rates to be cut - they were, and we have called for tax cuts and that is now likely. The key here is that tax cuts for their own sake is short termist and is little more than a bribe - we need tax cuts to support long term sustainability and support for the economy.

I have just returned from a reception at the Rainsough Community Centre. The Committee wanted to hold a small reception to thanks those that have supported the Community Association’s efforts to refurbish and modernise this important local community centre.

The improvements were supported by the Community Foundaton and also signficantly by Prestwich Area Partnership.

I was delighted to see what a great job the Association has done with the grants they have received, completely revamping the centre and brightening it up and providing upgraded kitchen and other facilities. Congratulations to you all for your efforts. It’s proof if proof was needed, what a difference a small group of like minded people can make to their community if they put their mind to it and are determined to see it through. Well done! 

There is now one week left of the public consultation on the Regeneration Plans for Prestwich.

Local Councillors and Council Officers are delighted with the response to the largest ever public consultation in Prestwich - with over 350 responses received so far. So please, if you have any comments to make please send them in. You can either respond using the survey distributed with the consultation documents (which are also available in the Library), via the Council web site or by email or post to either local councillors or the Town Hall.

Remember the Regeneration Strategy is not intended as the final document. It is NOT a planning application. It is intended as a framework against which the Council can judge applications form developers. So it will used to encourage developers to put forward plans that match the essential aspirations of this strategy. That is also why some basic street level detail is not included in the strategy - that will come later when we have a final document adopted by the Council and following negotiations with potential developers.

I have a pretty sound stomach for most gruesome stuff, especially the usual news fodder, but last nights news leading on the Baby P death turned my stomach. I just had to stop watching it was so upsetting.

The only good aspect is that the perpetrators are being brought to justice and the issue is being highlighted in the public domain - we do need to know, even if we could do without some of the images.

What I really cannot get my head round is that years after the Climbie’ case in the very same Council area - Haringey - this happens again. Its bad enough it happens at all, ever, but after all the recommendations and enquiries its hard to not come to the conclusion that there has been a monumental failure to protect by the authorities. Clearly there has to be a full independant public enquiry into both the events that led up to the death of Baby P, but also surely, how this could happen again in the same borough as previously.

I fail to comprehend that in an era of missions to Mars, great scientifc strides, incredible technology on the one hand and almost over bearing regulations and legislation on the other we still can’t protect our children.

Another failure, another victim.  Surely it could have been avoided.