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.

henshaws.pdf  Booking Form

Henshaws Society for Blind People are organising an afternoon of festive fun at St Mary’s Church in Prestwich. The concert is taking place on sunday 16 December from 2pm - 4pm.

There will be performances from Crystal Chords - Greater Manchester’s Female
Barbershop Harmony, St Mary’s Primary School Choir and Swinton Wind Band. There will also be traditional carols, mince pies and mulled wine!
 
They have chosen St Mary’s as it is the resting place of their founder - Thomas Henshaw. This year, Henshaws is celebrating 170 years of providing practical, caring and imaginative services to blind and visually impaired people of all ages. Henshaws help people live independent and fulfilling lives, despite the many obstacles that they face and they understand that sight loss affects not just the individual but friends and family also. Henshaws currently supports over 80 people in the Bury area.
 
I am sure they would be delighted if you could join them - I’ve already booked my place!See the attachments at the top of this posting for the poster and booking form.
 
For further details contact: Louise Ingham, Community Fundraiser, Henshaws society for Blind People, John Derby House, 88-92 Talbot Road, Old Trafford, Manchester, M16 0GS, Tel: 0161 7863 661 or email louise.ingham@henshaws.org.uk>

If you have a Prestwich community event you would like to publicise please contact me.

I attended a meeting last night that was effectively a project meeting to look at plans for the site.

Officers confirmed that the proposals will now include a play area at the front of the school, a nursery play area to the front at the end and the proposed ball zone will be at the opposite side. I requested that the ball zone be as close to the school as possible and as near to the front as possible. In addition it is proposed that additional security fencing be installed to prevent access to the playing fields to the rear of the school. If need be the ballzone will be scaled back in size and facility to minimise any negative impact.

Crucially the next step is the public consultation. It was agreed that proposals subject to consultation be on the agenda of the next Prestwich Area Partnership (January 15th) and that will be followed by a drop-in session at the school (probably 23rd January).

Prestwich Area Tasking Team meets 6 weekly to deal with tackling Anti-Social problems throughout Prestwich. If your community or business is affected by anti-social problems then you may wish to report the problem/s to your local councillors or Carran O’Grady (Area Partnership Manager - Tel:0161 253 7245 c.o’grady@bury.gov.uk).

In most cases complainants are asked to complete diary sheets of incidents to build up a picture and pattern of events.  Following on from that the ATT will contact you and either invite you to an ATT to go through the issues, in more detail and/or sign post the issue to the right agency.Please feel free to contact me, fellow councillors or Carran O’Grady if you wish to draw our attention to any relevant issues.  

PRESTWICH ATT MEETINGS

DATE    TIME    GROUP   VENUE  
12 December 2007        2.00pm  Prestwich ATT   Prestwich Library      
23 January 2008             2.00pm  Prestwich ATT   Prestwich Library      
5 March 2008                  2.00pm  Prestwich ATT   Prestwich Library      

2nd Parrenthorn High School Christmas Fair (from 11-2pm)

5th Heaton Park School Ball Zone Project Meeting

10th Prestwich Christmas Lights Switch-on (from 4.30pm -6pm)

12th FULL MEETING OF BURY COUNCIL, Town Hall (with Public Question Time)

17th Standards Committe , Town Hall

25th MERRY CHRISTMAS 

prestwich-lights-2007.pdf

Don’t miss the Prestwich Christmas lights switch on and celebrations on monday December 10th from 4.30pm. This year promises to be bigger and better than ever.

Click on the link above for a flier of the event in pdf format.

I hope to see you there!

Last night I attended a well attended meeting of this local residents association.

Wetlands Developments

The Simister wetlands is a local nature reserve and the SVCA are keen to see the site develop and become a local beauty spot. The SVCA have contacted the BBC’s Autumnwatch with a view to obtaining a grant fro improvements to the site.

Allotments

Specifically Egypt Lane Allotments - They are in need of attention - a large number are currently unusable due to bad drainage. The new allotment manager was there to brief residents. They hope to find funds in the near future to carry out drainage improvements and generally improve the allotments.

Roads

Concerns were raised at the lack of flexibility over the councils refusal to allow Road mirrors at junctions with poor visibility. I promised to take take this issue up with the Council. Additional issues were raised regarding the new traffic calming measures on the approach to Parrenthorn School. 

The next meeting of the Association is January 30th, 7.30pm Lady Wilton Hall

(Picture - St.Georges Church, Simister)

The estate was inspected by Six Town Housing on November 14th.
As a result a number of minor issues have been identified which have now been forwarded for action - such as litter picking and repairs to verges.
If you have an issue regarding this estate please don’t hesitate to contact us or use the link on the left to contact Six Town Housing.

Last nights meeting of Prestwich Area Partnership at Sedgley Park School was the last one before Christmas.
NEW MEMBERS
As chair, I had the pleasure to welcome new members to the Partnership - Michael Slater of Simister Village Action Group, Caroline Williams of Prestwich Business Group and Keith Grime of Prestwich Clough Centenary Group.
The meeting received an update on recent issue from the Area Partnership Manager and the Youth Manager and Youth representative.
PRECINCT NOTICE AND INFORMATION BOARD
A £1000 grant was approved to enable a notice board to be erected on the precinct.
REGENERATION
Cllr Ann Garner commented on the work being undertaken by the Partnership to regenerate areas of Prestwich - specifically Rainsough and Polefield.
TOWN CENTRE DEVELOPMENT
Cllr Donal O’Hanlon then updated members on proposals for developing the town centre. Consultants have now been appointed and it is hoped plans can be approved by late 2008. A key concern raised by members was that sufficient consultation should take place on all aspects of the proposals and at every stage.
BELLA ANSELL REMEMBERED
The public engagement part of the meeting was preceeded by a minutes silence to remember Partnership member, Bella Ansell and her contribution to the Partnership and Prestwich Society in general. Bella sadly passed away a short time ago.
HIGHFIELD ROAD
The open forum section of the meeting, when residents can raise issues, was dominated by concerns raised by Highfield Road residents about traffic in their area. These concerns followed the last meeting of the Partnership when the called for action to improve the situation. At that meeting the panel agreed to request an investigation by Council Highways officers - they are due to report back January/February and are currently monitoring the situation. Meanwhile residents asked that double yellow lines are restored and a car park should point towards the car park and not up their street!
POLICE
Inspector Ryecroft reported on a spate of pick-pocketing (”dipping”) instances on the precinct. Inaddition he called on residents to ensure doors and windows are locked and secure as we are now entering a popular time for burglaries. So please don’t be complacent with your property.
FIRE SERVICE PRESENTATION
The Partnership received a short presentation highlighting Fire incident statistics in Bury and Prestwich and watch a short film of a property just following a fire - highlighting the benefit ofclosing all doors before going to bed.

NEXT MEETING
Tuesday, January 15th 2008 at St.Monica’s RC High School, Bury Old Road.

The Government’s data disaster over child benefit records shows why plans for Identity Cards must be scrapped, say Bury South Liberal Democrats. 

Following the revelation that the personal details of 25 million parents and children have been lost by the Government’s Revenue and Customs department (HMRC), and may have fallen into the hands of identity fraudsters, Bury South Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate, Vic D’Albert has written to Ivan Lewis MP urging him to withdraw his support for the ID cards scheme and a National Identity Register in which the Government want to store the personal information of everyone in the country. 

“The fiasco at HMRC has shown the dangers of the Government holding huge amounts of information about each one of us whilst being slipshod in the way that same information is kept,” said Vic D’Albert. 

“This whole saga of incompetence has been shocking and families across the Bury area are now rightly asking whether their personal details are safe. 

“The National Identity Register, which the Government are setting up as part of the Identity Card scheme, will hold vastly more information on each and every one of us than Customs and Revenue managed to lose.  

“The possibilities for the loss of that information, either accidentally or through illegitimate means must make the Government stop and think again very seriously about their plan to store all the data they can on us on a central register. 

“This is a clear illustration of the real dangers of a big brother centralised state.  State control of personal identity details is a real threat to our civil liberties. The Government should respond to the anger and now abandon its ID card scheme. It is clear that the Government cannot be trusted to manage effectively mass databases of personal information. 

“Labour MP, Ivan Lewis voted for Identity Cards when the scheme went through Parliament despite some Labour MPs taking a principled stand and joining the Liberal Democrats in voting against the Government’s big brother plans.  

“But a debacle on this scale must surely give him cause to think again. I have written to him calling on him to press the Government to end the Identity Card scheme for good and to ensure that we do not risk a personal data disaster on an even more catastrophic scale.”

papagenda271107.pdf

Please click on the link above to view the agenda for the next meeting of Prestwich Area Partnership on tuesday, November 27th from 6.30pm. Public Forum from 7.45pm

The meeting is being held at Sedgley Park School on Bishops Road/Kings Road. All local residents welcome.  

 Bury Council’s Planning Control Committee last night approved controversial plans to re-develope the Sandgate Road Football Ground. The plans for new buildings, fencing, extended car park and floodlighting were passed by 6 votes to 3 and followed a visit to the site by the Committee earlier in the day. Ward Councillor Vic D’Albert commenting on the decision said, “I am pleased for the club but very dissapointed for residents, some of whom are very distressed about this result. I think the club has to learn lessons about working with their neighbours and would reiterate my belief that this successful club is fast out growing their Sandgate Road home and in considering future developments start to look at a more suitable location.

Earlier Vic addressed the committee and said:

 “First of all I would like to say that I am not opposed to Prestwich Heys and I hope that they continue to thrive and prosper both on and off the pitch.However just I am not opposed to The Heys, I also feel that the applications before the Committee tonight should be divorced from any emotions about enabling the club to develop and ultimately to compete in higher leagues.Just as the committee would approach the request for development of a residential property would not take into consideration the growth of the family living there the committee I feel should not be looking to accommodate the growth of Prestwich Heys. That issue should not be a contributing factor.The key issue generating most opposition to this application is with regard to the proposal for a set of 6 floodlights on 15 meter stanchions….15 meters is about 50 feet. When I tell you that an ordinary residential property is about 30 feet – I think it puts this issue into perspective.  Those affected have a right to live their own lives free from pollution of whatever kind. Without having their homes and gardens illuminated at inappropriate times and disturbing their lifestyles. I believe these proposals are a step too far. When Heys relocated to Sandgate road in 1991 this was a football pitch and St.Josephs Avenue was already built and occupied – they have developed into a reasonably successful club and now have a football ground. I would argue that the plans before you tonight for fencing extended car park provision and floodlighting take the club a step nearer having a football stadium and therefore these plans amount to an over-development of the site.I think its time the club were more open in sharing its visions with the local community and also considered its long term future.I feel the time is fast approaching when Heys should consider as part of those ambitions finding a more suitable location to enable them to grow and achieve at a greater level.One thing is sure and that its not for the local community to accept Heys development at cost to their own quality of life. Its not for St.Josephs Avenueto accomadate the ambitions of Prestwich Heys – especially as they were there firstIt could be argued tonight that rejection of these plans would make Prestwich Heys a victim of their own success. That may or may not be the case. In any event what is clear to me is that the residents living adjacent to this ground should not be the victims of their success. I therefore, with much regret , but as a matter of fairness, request that these applications are rejected.”

Last night was the prize giving ceremony for those that had entered the Bury Friends of the Earth poster competition to highlight climate change. Which was also run with the support of Bury Environmental Services.

It was great to see an array of posters designed by all age ranges of local school children. What was most interesting besides the quality of the winning entries was the stark message emanating from these posters - that climate change affects us all and has to be dealt with now.

And, when you look at those young people and their visions of climate devastation you realise more than ever that for their futures we must tackle this issue now.

I know my colleague Cllr Ann Garner was very much involved in supporting FOE in this competition to raise awareness on this vital subject and helped bring the Council on board, and I congratulate her on her efforts. Certainly the winners went away with the biggest goody bags I have ever seen!

This group is made up of the Chairs of the 6 Local Area Partnerships in Bury. I attend as Chair of Prestwich Area Partnership. The Area Partnerships replaced the Area Boards in May.

Tonights meeting received a report on how the Council plan to review progress with the Area Partnerships and the process and methodology they plan to employ. There has been criticism that the transition to Area Partnerships was rushed and it has caused a number of problems. Therefore the Council agreed that the a review should take place to see how they can be improved.

Many councillors are concerned that a) we are not reaching enough local residents, that b) when we do we struggle to achieve the results they want and c) the Council is struggling to meet the aspirations for Area Partnerships demanded by residents and councillors alike.

The main part of the review will take place over the coming months and will report to the council in March with suggestions for improvement. In the meantime if you have suggestions for improving them please let your councillors know.

The next meeting of the Prestwich Area Partnership is on tuesday 27th November at Sedgley Park School, Bishops Rd. Starting at 6.30 with the public participation section of the meeting starting at 7.45pm. All welcome. 

I popped into St.Margarets earlier today to say hello to old friends and support the event. It was immediately clear that from the rows of virtually empty stands and tables that the event had been its usual tremendous success.

Nevertheless there was still time to be sold a “unique, limited edition” two sided jigsaw (my better half has the patience, not me). I also bought a “unique, limited edition, two sided” tie (you can never have enough ties!) and indulged in a tea cake.

I did of course witness the arrival of Father Christmas - I suspect his busy schedule was the key factor in deciding to hold the Christmas Fair in November!

Good to meet everyone, well done to the organisers and your obvious success. A Merry Christmas to you all! 

For the first time that I can ever recall in my time as a councillor I have attended a public meeting that NO members of the public bothered to attend.

This meeting , which I understand was widely advertised was called to discuss alleged issues of anti-social behaviour on Polefield Estate. No one turned up and so we can only assume there ain’t any at the moment - which is good news.

I did take the opportunity to discuss local issues with Police officers, Tenants and Residents Association staff and Council Officers which was useful.

This years Christmas Lights switch-on will be on December 10th on the precinct as usual.
As always there will be guest entertainment and Christmas Carols and a special appearance by you-know-who!!!
When I have more details I’ll post them up on this web site.
The show starts from 4.00pm. Great family fun for one and all.

Last nights meeting of the Prestwich Area Partnership Developing Communities Working Group (love the snazzy title!) was a well attended meeting packed with positive issues to help improve specific areas in Prestwich that need regeneration.

POLEFIELD BALL ZONE
Specific plans are still sketchy. I requested detailed plans to be mad available and also requested that a public meeting should be held at the school to explain the plans and to answer any issues concerning residents.
Your local councillors would like to hear your views on this issue so we can fully represent your views, hopes and concerns alike. PLEASE LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK.

RAINSOUGH SHOPS
It was mentioned that Salford Council (who own the shops) are prepared to consider a partnership with Bury to refurbish them and help provide an Advice/one stop shop/childrens outreach centre. It was also mooted that a Pharmacy is much needed in that vicinity. Officers were instructed to enter negotiations with Salford as a matter of priority.

GINNELS
Further problems with Ginnels were identified. I informed the group about the new policy that the Council is developing which will (hopefully) make it easier to close ginnels for security reasons.

It is with deep sadness that we have just learned that Bella Ansell passed away last week.

Bella was a founder member of Prestwich Area Board as well as a member of Prestwich Local Area Partnership. She was a valued volunteer for North Manchester Jewish Council and worked so hard to better the lives of others.
“Bella was committed to improving the lives of others. She represented the needs of Jewish families on the partnership and attended many events around creating a better Prestwich, supporting the needs of the disabled and elderly and looking at inequalities. Bella recently attended a Community Conference and contributed so much to issues around diversity. Her passion, commitment and presence will be sadly missed by all of us who have had the pleasure of working with her”.

“My deepest condolences go to her family and friends.”

Today I had the privilage of leading Prestwich in rembrance of all those past Prestwich sons and daughters who gave their lives for our futures and for peace and hope in the world.

As the longest serving Prestwich Councillor I represent the Mayor on these occasions, and therefore get to lay a wreath first, followed by the MP, fellow councillors, representatives of the Police, scouts, brownies etc etc.

I am always moved by this annual event, which sees a coming together of seemingly all Prestwich - faiths, civic and voluntary/community organisations and others to remember those that have given their lives for this country. In addition the whole event seems to be resonating more and more with people who are increasingly aware of the sacrifices being made in Iraq and Afghanistan. I was particularly delighted to meet an Iraq veteran today and would dearly love to see more post 2nd world war vets joining us on remembrance day in the future, especially in the parade.

Congratulations should go to the organisers from Prestwich British Legion including, Sylvia Hampson who spends many cold hours at Tesco’s etc selling poppies prior to the 11th. Well done all.

I have received complaints from residents of Taunton Grove about visitors to the adjacent shops blocking drives on Taunton Grove. In addition I have received complaints about “horrendous” parking problems in front of the shops, producing excessive litter and damage to the grass verge.

I am currently investigating this issue with Council officers to see what may be done to alleviate the situation.

I have been advised by Council officers that the Granite wall (to replace the demolished glass one) should be erected by tuesday.

I am also advised that the Council expect to have completed the necessary works to the area by the first week of December. ( Fingers crossed , pass me that black cat! etc etc)

Physical disabilities?
Sensory impairments?
Learning disabilities?

Why not come along to the International Day of the Disabled Person Event:

Date: Monday 3rd December 2007
Time: 10am-3pm
Venue:Bury Art Galleries and Archives, Bank Street, Bury

There will be lots of  stalls offering freebies, advice information and demonstrations on a range of issues as well as two workshops-

10.30am-1pm :     Direct payments and Independent Living Fund (ILF)
12noon-3pm:         Have your questions answered on disability benefits

If you would like more information or would like some posters to display please contact Heather Crozier on tel: 0161 253 6684/ e-mail: h.crozier@bury.gov.uk

8th Healthier Communities Scrutiny Committee

11th Remembrance Sunday: Service at Heaton Park Congregational Church followed by parade, wreath laying and last post at Prestwich cenotaph

12th Bury Liberal Democrats AGM

14th St.Mary’s CE Primary School Governors Meeting

15th Polefield Tenants & Residents Association: Anti-Social Behaviour meeting, Heaton Park School

19th Area Partnership Chairs meeting

20th Planning Committee: Including decision on Prestwich Heys planning application following earlier site visit that afternoon

27th Prestwich Area Partnership meeting, Sedgley Park School

If you would like further information about the above meetings/events or have an issue to raise, please don’t hesitate to contact me. 

On saturday I was delighted to have been invited to attend a special service of dedication of the new Heaton Park Congregational Church on Bailey Street.

The new church and community meeting facility forms one corner of the plot of land occupied by the old church and demolished over 60’s club. The old church is being converted into apartments. The new church building has apartments above, and boasts an excellent meeting room, kitchen and all mod cons. 

Councillor Wilf Davison, representing the Mayor of Bury, had the honour of formerly “opening” the church and following the formalities all present experienced a marvellous service with solo performances.

I would add my congratulations to Ken Garbett for his vision in taking this project forward on behalf of his congregation and fellow church members and to the architects and developers for preserving an existing part of our heritage while developing an attractive community facility as well.

Last wednesday (sorry for the delay), I attended the full meeting of Bury Council. The “full” meeting is the occasion (5 times a year) when all 51 councillors meet to debate issues and approve decisions taken by the Executive of Bury Council.
It has always proved invaluable to the Lib Dem group to press the executive on key issues and to propose motions on key policy areas.
Lib Dem Council Group leader, Cllr Tim Pickstone has written an excellent detailed account of this meeting on his site (see link at side) so I do not plan to repeat the process here.
I would however highlight a few points:

POST OFFICE MOTION
We put forward a motion calling on the Government to halt the Post Offices programme to close 2500 Post Offices nationwide (on top of the 7500 already closed) - We fear that this could mean further closures in the Bury area. I had the pleasure of proposing the motion on the night and was pleased to receive support from both other parties.
FREE KIDS TRAVEL ON LOCAL BUSES
My colleague Richard Baum made an excellent debut speech proposing an amendment to a Labour motion. Labour’s motion proposed the expansion of the free travel scheme and the Yellow bus service for school children. Unfortunately it did not address the issue of childrens travel. Currently pensioners and disabled can travel free with the anomaly that children cannot. So we amended Labours motion to support expansion to include childrens travel on the local bus network. Our amendment received the support of other parties and while it doesn’t in itself mean we get free kids travel overnight - it does send a message to the Transport Authority and the Government to look at the issue.
EMPTY HOMES AND THE HOMELESS
Fellow Holyrood Councillor, Wilf Davison asked a question on the number of homeless compared to the number of empty homes in the borough. Incredibly the reply was 167 homeless, over 3500 empty homes. of which about 1400 have been empty for 6 months or more. Personally I find that figure disgraceful and shocking - something has to be done.
RECYCLING
I asked how much of the blue bin recycling actually gets recycled and how much (through “contamination”) ends up in Landfill sites. I received a worryingly vague response, initially that 100% is recycled and when pressed it was confirmed that some is contaminated. Watch this space!

As part of the 2007 fireworks campaign, the Fire brigade website is hosting a fireworks special – which includes a competition to win an ipod video, as well as a list of organized bonfire/firework events in Greater Manchester, information about the campaign and firework/bonfire safety information.

The competition is only open to people aged 18 or UNDER so it is aimed at the target audience of the campaign. To enter, you just have to answer a simple fireworks-related question – see www.manchesterfire.gov.uk - it has a prominent link to it from the homepage.

prop-tro-heywood-rd-heaton-st.pdf 

The Council’s Traffic Management Unit are consulting on proposals for “No waiting restrictions” (Double yellow lines) at the junction of Heaton Street and Heywood Road.
Please see the attached document for more information.
Please contact the officer concerned (Ian Lord) or your local councillors for further information or clarification or to make representations on the proposals.

The latest meeting of Prestwich Area Partnership (which replaced the Area Board) took place last night at the Longfield suite.  Items raised included:

Alley-gating schemes - Members have grown frustrated at the time taken to get schemes up an running to get alleyways/ginnels gated to improve security etc. Finally a proposed council policy on alley-gating schemes it to come before the Council.

Street Cleansing - A constant problem and source of many complaints especially around the precinct. Members asked to see cleaning rotas to identify potential improvements that could be made.

Rainsough TRA/Community centre is to receive £10,000 to refurbish the upstairs area of the community centre for senior youth.

There were also updates from the Police, Fire Service and the Area Partnership Manager

In the Open Forum concerns were raised about traffic and parking problems on Highfield Road - The Area Partnership promised to investigate and seek solutions from Bury Council.

If you would like further clarification on any of the above issues or would like to raise an issue for consideration by the Area Partnership please don’t hesitate to contact myself or any of my colleagues.

Next meeting: Tuesday, November 27th, Sedgley Park School, Kings Road (6.30 start, public forum 7.45)

Oh dear, I ‘ve just been told that I have been evicted from the “project “I’m a Councillor get me out of here” (see my earlier post). The schools project to engage young people with local councillors has seen evictions each night this week following a string of questions from young people last week.  Out of 6 starters my eviction leave my Lib Dem colleague Cllr Richard Baum and Cllr Berry in tomorrows final eviction. I would put on record my thanks to all the young people who voted for me and my congratulations to all involved in this project, it has been a very rewarding and interesting experience.

Last night I attended a meeting of Prestwich Business Group - a local initiative to try and provide a forum for Prestwich business to discuss issues and feed into the local decision making process and be consulted by the Council on matters affecting them.

The meeting received an update on “The Retreat” art project on the precinct - The granite imported from china, destined to replace the recently demolished glass wall, has now reached Birmingham!

Meanwhile A notice board/info point for the precinct is progressing more slowly partially because of the cost of materials involved.

Local Police officers highlighted that there has been an increase in the amount of purse snatches on the precinct and especially in charity shops. They would urge all residents to be careful how they secure purses etc. Often girls are being used to carry out these crimes.

In addition I raised the issue about the future development/direction of the Group, suggesting it should consider being now run by businesses and perhaps offer networking opportunities and a forum to campaign on business related issues.

Finally, Bury Council officers confirmed that as part of the next phrase of Town centre development tenders have been invited for planning consultants to apply to develop a development franework for the village/precinct. Consultants are expected to be appointed in November - an extensive public consultation should follow. 

Sir Menzies Campbell has resigned as leader of the Liberal Democrats with immediate effect.

Yesterday evening a letter of resignation was delivered to Party President Simon Hughes MP.

The resignation means that an election for Ming Campbells replacement will now be held. With nominations opening today, ballot papers to all members being sent out by the end of the month and the result expected on December 17th.

Cllr Vic D’Albert said, “The party is indebted to Ming Campbell for the way he stabilized the party following Charles Kennedy’s resignation and he has been instrumental in modernising the party and supporting the adoption of more female and ethnic minority candidates. Clearly Ming felt that as leader he could take the party no further himself and following the postponement of a general election felt now was the right time to stand down. No doubt his vast experience and knowledge will still be fully utilised by the party in the future.”

Here is the full text of Sir Menzies Campbell’s letter of resignation as Leader of the Liberal Democrats:

“When I was elected Leader of the Party in March 2006 I had three objectives.

First, to restore stability and purpose in the party following my predecessor’s resignation and the leadership campaign itself, second to make the internal operations of the party more professional, and third to prepare the party for a General Election.

With the help of others, I believe that I have fulfilled these objectives, although I am convinced that the internal structures of the party need radical revision if we are to compete effectively against Labour and the Conservatives.

But it has become clear that following the Prime Minister’s decision not to hold an election, questions about leadership are getting in the way of further progress by the party.

Accordingly I now submit my resignation as Leader with immediate effect.

I do not intend to hold a press conference or to make any further comment.”

Yours sincerely,

Menzies Campbell

On tuesday I attended the Council’s Healthier Community Scrutiny Committee meeting at Bury Town Hall.

OLDER PEOPLES (SERVICES) INSPECTION RESULTS
We received a presentation and report on the results of the recent inspection of Bury Councils services for Older people. The results were mixed - overall it was fair to say the outcome was “Ok - but could do better”. The department now has a number of action plans to address issues raised. I raised the issue of adequate resources to being available to develop home based services further.

BEST VALUE REVIEW OF ADULT CARE SERVICES
Another review of services with a similar result - could do better. The Disability Services team struggles with a largely inadequate budget but does obtain pretty good results overall. The biggest problem would appear to be waiting times for home adaptations for the disabled - this has recently “improved” to 36 weeks! I was assured that on average waiting times for equipment is 7 days. Once again action plans are in place to address issues identified.

OUTCOME OF MAKING IT BETTER - THE CLOSURE OF MATERNITY AT FAIRFIELD etc
Just for noting really this reported the final report that sounded the death knell for Maternity, SCBU and childrens services at Fairfield. We were asked to make comments - I just said it was the wrong decision. The whole committee were opposed to the closure proposals and agreed that the way forward is to fight for a midwife unit and to ensure that the hospital isn’t threatened further and to support new services.

Full minutes of the above meeting should appear on the councils web site shortly.
If you would like further information on my role on this committee or would like to raise issues or clarify anything please don’t hesitate to contact me further.

Tonight I was delighted to attend the Carnival committees presentation evening at the Longfield Suite. This is when the Sunshine Committee (who organise the Carnival) hand out cheques to worthy local causes from the proceeds of Carnival day.

I was privilaged to have been asked to present cheques to 9 local organisations from local scouts and guides to local football teams and a Tenants and Residents Association and local charities.

The Sunshine Committee has been running the Carnival for 10 years now and has taken the carnival from strength to strength and supported many good causes in the process. Well done Sunshine Team and Congratulations to the groups that benefited. 

From this week - until I’m evicted, I will be taking party in “I’m a Councillor, get me out of here. This councillor/community awareness project organised by “The Big Vote” is designed to bring young people and councillors together (via the internet-www.bigvote.org.uk) to discuss the issues that affect them and their communities and to challenge councillors about what they do or for that matter how they do it! Young people from local high schools ask questions of local councillors and we have to answer them in a satisfactory way or when its time to vote we may get kicked out. One of the aims is to raise awareness about politics and local government and the issues we face.

I recently attended the funeral service of Gerald Leahiff, longstanding Simister resident and recently dubbed “Mr Simister” by local press. I attended in two capacities. Firstly as one of the ward councillors (Cllr Wilf Davison also attended), I wanted to pay respects to a man who had for many years served his community with distinction. Helping neighbours, looking after them and basically doing his bit for the community.

Secondly I have known Gerald’s Wife , Beryl for many years. She was a key activist in the Liberal Party when I first started campaigning and she in no small part did her bit to help me get elected. Fortunately Gerald supported her in her political activities and in fact use to deliver Focus leaflets in Simister for a few years, or when Beryl was unable.

Gerald was one of those people that you always tend to bump into-he always seemed to be around doing something for someone. I know Gerald will be sadly missed by all who  knew him, Simister will not be quite the same without him.

I attended the latest meeting of this group tonight. The meeting included Housing officers, local Police and Tenants.

Key issues discussed including Anti-social behaviour, Alley-gating and ginnels, CCTV, Clean up day.  It was good to see everybody together and working hard to improve the estate and rid it of anti-social behaviour and nuisance. 

Visitors to this year’s annual public meeting of the Pennine Acute Trust will be able to find out more about a range of initiatives underway in its hospitals.
 

The Trust runs Bury’s Fairfield General Hospital, North Manchester General Hospital, The Royal Oldham Hospital, Rochdale Infirmary and also has services at Birch Hill
Hospital. The annual public meeting takes place at 6.30pm on Tuesday 25 September at North Manchester General Hospital Postgraduate Centre, Delaunays Road, Crumpsall,
M8 5RB. Doors will be open from 5.30pm, and it is expected that the meeting will have concluded by 8pm.The meeting is open to members of the general public, with many local patients, organisations and patients groups expected to attend.

A short formal meeting will be followed by a series of informal workshops, hosted by Trust Board members and clinical staff, who will be on hand to listen to participants’ views and suggestions.

Among the workshops are:
*       waiting list reduction work
*       infection prevention
*       good health during pregnancy and beyond
*       the results of the Healthy Futures/Making It Better consultations

For more details about the event, or if you wish to attend and have either access or particular requirements, then please contact Lesley Holland, communications manager, on tel: 0161 918 4283 or email: mailto:lesley.holland@pat.nhs.uk

Following further complaints from residents about the deteriorating condition of empty properties on Heys Road, Vic D’Albert has moved to urgently request that Bury Council respond with action and the full force of their powers to deal with this situation.

“I first reported this issue well over a year ago and was promised action then, a year later and the properties are in a terrible state and are now a local eyesore. The Council must act and act now using all appropriate powers to bring this issue to a satisfactory conclusion for local people.” 

Local Liberal Democrats have welcomed the condemnation of the proposed academic boycott of Israel at the parties Autumn conference in
Brighton.

A boycott had been called for by the University and College Union. The Lib Dem motion condemns that decision and urges them to review it.

Vic D’Albert, Parliamentary candidate for Bury South attended the debate and voted against the boycott. Speaking after the debate to delegates Vic D’Albert said, “The decision of the UCU to call for a boycott of Israel is misguided, retrograde and regrettably carries with it a strong whiff of anti-semitism. 

“Such punative action cannot succeed, such a boycott would have little effect and would only undermine the position of many Israeli academics who are challenging Israeli Government policies.

“If the UCU wanted to advocate boycotting someone I can think of many others I would put top of my list -  the murderous regime of Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe to name but one obvious example. “Furthermore it is ludicrous to try and boycott individuals for the actions of their Government, Many Israelis are opposed to various Israeli policies just as many in this country oppose the British Government. Would it be right to boycott British academics because our Government invaded Iraq, I think not.

“We need to reach out to Israeli academics, not boycott them, we need to work from within to support the fight for justice and peace for all communities in Israel and the Palestinian territory and we call on the UCU to talk not walk and to play a positive part for the benefit of all.

I was pleased to attend the first meeting of the Governors of the new term. It was especially pleasing to hear that the school is continuing to make great strides.

Over the school holidays further buidling refurbishment has taken place - including new toilets and improved nursery areas, which also provide better security. In addition classrooms continue to receive improved facilities.

Crucially the Head, Mr Fish outlined in his report the schools action plan for the coming months.

If you would like to see more details of the School Governors meetings, copies of the minutes are available for inspection by parents at school. In addition Governors and Mr Fish are always happy to receive feedback or discuss issues with parents.

Tonight I attended a meeting of the Area Partnership’s Regeneration Working Group. The Group which comprises Councillors, Council Officers and Partners such as Health Trust and Police is charged with developing projects to help regenerate and improve lives in the most deprived areas of Prestwich. The Area Partnership has £20,000 available for such projects to spend before 5/4/08.

Also on the agenda was the Community Plan. The Plan is the Area Partnerships blueprint for action in the area and follows various themes following wide consultation. The process was started tonight to start to re-examine the existing plan in order to start developing a new plan for the next ten years! A very important documents - I hope residents will offer their thoughts on the future of Prestwich when they get the opportunity

In March 2007 the Liberal Democrat team on Bury Council successfully proposed a budgetary amendment which extended the “Blue Bin” recycling scheme to every house in the Borough.The success of the scheme was confirmed in a response to a question my Holyrood Ward colleague Cllr Tim Pickstone raised at the Full Council meeting on Wednesday. 1,020 Tonnes of recyclables were collected in July 2007 - the first month after the Blue-Bin roll-out up from 767 Tonnes in July 2006 - a massive 33% increase!

Its excellent to see such a great response from the public to the recycling initiative. The Lib Dem’s are already asking when the scheme can be made fortnightly for everyone. My colleague Cllr Richard Baum also asked for a report on the small number of households who’ve not yet received their bins (mostly farms, but a few areas with restricted lorry access). I’ll let you know this information when its received.

Last night I attended a meeting of Bury Local Area Partnerships Chairs Group, which oversees the Area Partnerships which replaced the Area Boards in May. It was confirmed that the Area Partnerships will be reviewed in March. An extensive review will take place examining all aspects of the Area Partnerships. We are aware that the Area Partnerships were not universally acclaimed by local residents and there are aspects of the Area Boards that some residents may miss. As Lib Dems we are keen to know what local residents think of the Area Boards/Partnerships especially - what’s good and what’s not so good, what works , what doesn’t ? And any ideas on how you would improve Prestwich Area Partnership would be appreciated. Just contact me or one of my colleagues.

The next meeting of Prestwich Area Partnership is October 18th, 6.30 - venue to be confirmed (see press) 

At last nights full meeting of Bury Council Cllr D’Albert asked about funding for local projects and raised concerns about the switch in Police resources between PC’s and PCSO’s (Community Support Officers) and the impact on crime levels.

In response to funding the Council spokesperson confirmed that there is still funding available (although no new money), but confirmed that the matter would be considered again when the budget for 2007/8 is considered.

With regard to policing, the Council’s representative on GMP confirmed that there is no apparent correllation between crime and increases in PCSO’s. In addition he confirmed that he would be prepared to raise the issue about monitoring of the balance between the numbers of PCSO’s and PC’s and their effectiveness. Cllr D’Albert commented; “This is a matter of great concern in Prestwich since the number of local PC’s was halved and the number of PCSO’s was doubled. PCSO’s have very limited powers and criminal and anti-social residents are as aware of that as everyone else. It is imperative that there effectiveness and the overall “team” performance is monitored closely.” 

A new planning application has been received which is within Holyrood Ward as detailed below:-
Application number: 48532         Type of application: Full         Date Registered: 13/08/2007
Applicant: Mr A Husain
Location: MOUNT PLEASANT FARM, NUTT LANE, SIMISTER, PRESTWICH, M25 2SJ Proposal: TWO STOREY EXTENSION AT SIDE

Should you require further details please contact the case officer: Tom Beirne on: 0161 253 5361 or reply by email. You can also comment on this application by going to the Councils Planning pages by selecting the link on the left.

If you require advice on how to respond to Planning applications, please do not hesitate to contact me or my colleagues.

Congratulations and well done to all “A” Level students and teachers for another fine set of results. And if you didn’t do as well as you would have liked, don’t be disheartened there will still be plenty of opportunities for you to achieve.

The Liberal Democrats today called for an independent review of standards. Results show that more than one in four UK A-level entries were awarded the top A grade this year. Girls continued to outperform boys in every major subject except for modern foreign languages and further maths. About 310,000 candidates have been getting their individual results.

“It isn’t fair that students should have to defend themselves against commentators carping on about a decline in standards. The only way to end this annual devaluing of students’ efforts is to have an independent review. Universities, employers and the teaching profession should come together to agree what they expect a 21st century A-level to deliver.”

A new planning application has been received for this area as detailed below:-

Application number: 48537         Type of application: Full         Date Registered: 14/08/2007

Applicant: Mr Peter Smith
Location: 118 HEYWOOD ROAD, PRESTWICH, M25 1LE
Proposal: TWO STOREY EXTENSION AND CONSERVATORY AT REAR

Should you require further details please contact the case officer: Amanda Heys on: 0161 253 5323 or please don’t hesitate to contact myself or colleagues for further guidance. In addition comments on this application can be made by selecting the link on the left for the Councils E-Planning services.

Residents who live alongside the Metrolink line need to be aware that the contractors currently working on renewing the track have informed the Council that some limited work may be needed during the night. Your local councillors have protested against this proposal, and we have received assurances that no heavy cutting or noisy work will take place, and that work will only take place if the recent wet weather continues and work cannot be completed during the day.

The work will take place between the hours of 10pm and 10am each night and we have been assurred that every effort will be made to keep un-necessary noise down to a minimum.  For more details about the track upgrades programme, please phone 0161 228 7811 or visit www.gmpte.com.  Alternatively call Carillion Control on 01788 866 080.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me or one of your other councillors if work is disturbing you during the night and we will report this immediately to the relevant authorities.

I have received complaints of nuisance behaviour from local residents. I have reported the matter to Council officers who are investigating further.

People in Bury can now take advantage of the borough’s first door-to-door community transport service – the Busy Bee Bus.

Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority (GMPTA) and Bury Council are funding local operator ‘Bolton Community Transport’ to run the new service in the Bury area for a two-year trial.

Any local community group can now book to use the new fully accessible 16 seater Busy Bee bus for trips out to sports, leisure, cultural and faith activities within Bury and across the North West. Individuals can also book trips within the borough.

To register to use the service, groups need to contact Bolton Community Transport on 01204 393777 (Monday to Friday between 9am and 5pm) or email bctfs@btconnect.com. Prices start as low as £50 for a 16-seater minibus.

A new planning application has been received for Holyrood Ward as detailed below:-
Application number: 48423         Type of application: Full         Date Registered: 09/08/2007
Applicant: Mr Bill Webster
Location: 38 HASTINGS ROAD, PRESTWICH, M25 1LY
Proposal: CONVERSION OF DWELLING INTO TWO SELF CONTAINED FLATS AND TWO STOREY EXTENSION AT SIDE

Should you require further details please contact the case officer: Jan Brejwo on: 0161 253 5324 or reply by email. If you would like me to advise you on how to comment on planning applications or have particular concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact me.