This should be a fairly quiet time as a Cllr, but casework keeps coming (especially as a result of canvassing) and there are big decisions to be made:

• What Scrutiny Commissions to be on next year
• What other Council groups to be involved with
• Group decisions on how “politically vocal” to be next year

 These are behind-closed-doors discussions, so ’nuff said for now - more to follow soon.

In the meantime, I’ve been working on the following:

• Securing the gates to St Mary’s park & requesting an internal barrier to prevent dogs/kids going straight onto the main road, following the alterations to the lights outside the gates (top of St Annes Rd)
• Enquiring about the double yellow lines on Bury New Rd outside said park
• Reporting asbestos fly tipping (how mad can people be?!?!) - with thanks to the public for that
• Thanking our helpers individually, for stakeboards & posters, delivering leaflets etc.
• Chasing up the closure of Prestwich cash office - who/why/where/when was the decision made?
• Considering road improvement schemes for 2008/9
• Chasing up outstanding work (e.g. the partially painted M60 J17 roundabout)

On the subject of that roundabout - some numpties still can’t follow the coloured lines, so I’ve asked for much better signage coming south from Whitefield.

Also been doing loads of my own stuff:

• Sorting cars out (tax/insurance/servicing etc.)
• Gardening/weeding
• Seeing family/friends
• My will & funeral arrangements (Really! - No wonder I’m a bit grumpy at the moment!)
• Refereeing
• Playing football & going to the gym
• Walking the Pennine hills, whilst my wife & her friends did the same route on horseback
• Oh yes, and a full time job, too!!!!

Getting into the groove of this free thinking stuff now!

In days of yore, and on programs like “Last of the Summer Wine” you always see residents sweeping gutters outside t’house. What about Neighbourhood Watch groups organising occasional sweep-ups for an hour on a particular day? (rather than the TRA mass clean-ups we occasionally help with).

What about blood donors coming to council premises to do lunch-time collections from staff (will I be accused of squeezing the life-blood from our employees?!?)

I’ve been speaking to the Fire Brigade about talks on Fire Safety to the business community, given their recently revised (and confusing) strategy on commercial/industrial  fire alarms that connect to central stations. Hope to have that one up & running shortly…

What about a specific software system for managing health & safety within the Council? one that will highlight outstanding actions, so that work like un-finished pavements etc. get addressed without being left half-dug forever (yes - I’ve reported the one at the bottom of Sandy Lane!)

What about prizes for staff who provide innovations that save the Council money? We could base the prize by categories of amount saved per annum. We could include local schools or community groups in competitions, or widen it to the whole Borough?

How about insisting that all new building developments are not accepted without travel planning provision in place, for example with segregation of pedestrians & cycle routes away from roads, as you often see  in western Europe?

What about a Council website with a plan of the Borough, highlighting all public rights of way, bridleways, proposed developments etc. (I asked for this one a year ago!) You could put a search icon onto it, so you could plan your round route, a bit like walkjogrun.net?

Why not have Borough guides, with walks/day trips on the history & architecture of the Borough, assisted by heritage societies and highlighted to sports & social groups?

Blimey! I’m worn out now, with all this thinking….better go for a lie down!

Donal

Just been churning over in my head about what’s happened in the last few years, since we started getting rid of Labour Councillors in this area:

We consulted in depth about people’s wishes on “The Retreat”, and although we didn’t get exactly what we wanted, people were engaged, whether they had access to a computer or not.

We now have a “Developing Communities” group, working out the most effective ways to spend the little money we are given to maximise benefit to the people of Prestwich.

We have the Town Centre Regeneration Group, enhancing links between the people of Prestwich and the framework being developed to improve the area.

We really do speak to those who are interested in improving all aspects of Prestwich, and act upon the comments we hear back.

The one telling comment from last night’s Regeneration meeting (and I heard it several times from different people) was that the Councillors from Whitefield, Radcliffe & further north, really had NO IDEA how disastrous the “Radius” development would be. They thought it would be the catalyst for change, and it is just a “blot on the landscape” and has set us back, not forward.

What do people say to me about the Radius: 

The problem with the Radius is that it is totally out of keeping with the area. The problem is that the landlord can’t or won’t let the shops. The problem is that it blocks out the light to prevent greenery to grow in our town centre. The problem is that it perpetuates the “wind tunnel effect” (between the Library & the shops) that is so scary to the elderly. The problem is that it provides a free skate park for the kids, which annoys the hell out of the residents in the flats above. The problem is that it sits at the centre of a piece of land that needs regeneration, and any residents in the flats above can look forward to 5 years of building work & dust & dirt going on around their homes. The problem is that there are too few parking spaces. The problem is that the flats were mostly sold to the “buy to let” market, so there’s no permanent residents and no stability or neighbourliness.

So, given such comments, what should we do with it? Knock it down again? Make the most of a bad job? Complain to the developers?

The reality is, financially & legally, it would be difficult to knock it down. We’ll have to develop things around it that try to stop it looking such an eyesore, that detract your eyes away from it. Let’s hope that  the workshop last night will help to resolve the problem that is the “Radius”! If we continue to work with the people of Prestwich in the way that Labour forgot to do for so long, then the people of Prestwich will get what they want & deserve, which in my terms is, “The best, not just ‘better’!!”

Donal

So last night we saw both ends of the political spectrum in Bury.

The Tories continued Labour’s previous attitude of applying a generally prudent budget, but missing out on some opportunities to protect the vulnerable people in our society.

The Labour party showed how utterly myopic they can be, by offering a 0% Council Tax rise at the expense of completely decimating vulnerable adult & children’s services, for cheap political stunts. Rather than use this opportunity to seriously debate real alternatives, they decided to give themselves something to put into their Labour Rose - how very sad! The final insult was that they were intending to spend all the Council’s savings (Priority Investment Reserve)!

Pathetic opportunism is something one would expect from full time political activists like Wayne Campbell & his sidekick Mike Connolly, but the sad sight of (the normally serious) Derek Bowden supporting this silly budget proposal shows just how low even the serious Councillors in Labour will now stoop to buoy up their political aspirations!

Two obvious questions come to mind:

1. Labour ran Bury Council for 21 years, the last 10 of which were supported by a Labour Central Govt. Why could they not propose a 0% council tax rise in all that time?

2. If the reserves that the council saves up to protect it from day-to-day costs are so unimportant, why did Labour set them up and not spend them rather than sell the Lowry painting?

The LibDems proposed changes to the budget to ensure that simple services that everyone expects a local council to provide, such as street cleaning & park services were protected, whilst also not letting down the Children’s Services dept., who do incredibly important work, like providing the management for social services provision for “at risk” children.

In the end, at 10.40pm, our amendment was supported and Labour’s silly budget was dismissed.

My disappointment in Local Council grows with the Punch & Judy show last night. I’m not saying we shouldn’t have fun or enjoy our work, but when hours are taken up with knockabout humour and only a few minutes are spent saying how much people will actually pay in council tax, I feel that the Mayor needs to get a grip with the Labour & Tory leaders, and bang their heads together.

This is serious business, and Bib Bobby (aka “Punch”) got so upset with Wayne Campbell (aka “Judy”) and her sidekick Mike Connolly (aka “The Crocodile”) that he was swearing like a trooper and nearly blew a gasket.

 The strange thing was that Derek Bowden verbally asked a pile of questions that I enquired about, and which I’d submitted as a written question to the leader of the Council. I really didn’t think we were alike, but maybe we have more in common than I thought?

Ah well, it’s now officially the silly season of electioneering, so expect to have people knocking on your door, spouting rubbish promises, and looking like a bunch of “not rights”. Unless they’re normal people from the LibDems!

Let’s think about what’s happened in Prestwich since you elected LibDems:

- The Retreat water feature finally got finished & working

- We have a “Regeneration” programme run by Councillors (no matter how much Ivan wants to try and associate himself with it, it was & is down to us!)

- Prestwich Arts College is thriving and not closed (closure was proposed by Maggie Gibb & supported by Ivan Lewis)

- You have a Local Area Partnership that supports representation from the whole community, and interacts closely with health, police & fire to improve Prestwich in an intergrated way

- Rainsough estate is finally on the political radar, thanks to our involvement with the Tenants’ & Residents Association

- Children’s Centres are coming to an area near you shortly

- Safe play parks are provided near to areas they are most needed

And what did you get with 21 years under Labour? Hmmmmm……..

Donal

Town Centre Regeneration (TCR) - what’s it all about?

TCR is a sub-committee of the Local Area Partnership (formerly Area Board) that tries to help the regeneration of Prestwich. I’m the Chair, and other Prestwich Councillors, Council Officers & interested third parties (businesses; residents etc.) are co-opted in to provide specialist knowledge & support.

We held a meeting on Wednesday at the Library, where Urbed (the consultants we’ve engaged to undertake a professional study of Prestwich’s “wants & needs”) presented their preliminary findings. It was very good, and promises to be a sound springboard for positive future change.

A group of Prestwich residents, many with relevant professional experience, also presented their vision of what Prestwich should aspire to, and this mostly concurs with the Urbed study. As a result, representatives of the group have been co-opted onto the TCR, to use their professional experience to ensure Urbed get the right questions asked.

After the presentations, a Q&A session was held, where Urbed & the residents’ group were quizzed on specific points, especially relating to the conflict of Bury New Road (BNR) traffic & pedestrians; delivery of plans into real development; how Bury Old Road can help shape the vision for the Town Centre and alleviate the problems of BNR; the outcome if a recession occurs; and the inter-relationship Prestwich will have with the promised “Irwell Valley Urban Park”.

Excellent questions, and some good answers, although it’s fair to say that the study is ongoing, and thus not all the answers have been developed into achievable plans yet.

The next steps are:

• A presentation to Prestwich Local Area Partnership on 3/4/08 (come along & see it!)
• A “Visioning” workshop to interested representatives of specific groups at the Logfield centre on 13/3/08
• A link through the Bury Council website to the Urbed website, keeping us all up-to-date on the work Urbed are doing (I’ll probably put a link from this one too, when I know how)
• Postcards to nearby neighbours of the Town Centre, asking for their views

So, whilst we don’t have a fantastic town centre just yet, the first steps in making change happen have been taken! (And don’t forget, this all happened when LibDems got elected in Prestwich, but for the decade before when we had a Labour-controlled Area Board, all we got was a broken water feature!!) Hmmm……

Prior to the meeting, we held meetings with Traffic/Engineering Officers from the Council, regarding Highfield Road & Whittaker Lane parking arrangements. I’m glad to announce that as a result, a study will be commissioned to review a “Residents Only” parking scheme on Highfield Rd (the initial stages of which will not take long, but the implentation of which could take much longer!); and that Officers are studying the possibility of a “Private Management Agreement” for a car park behind the Chemists, as well as supplying additional parking signs & marked bays.

So a very progressive couple of meetings, but blimey, it took us a long time and an awful lot of meetings to get to this point!!!

Next job is to draft a couple of important letters on specific issues, and deliver gazillions of leaflets (both personally & to our distributors) over the weekend. Anybody want to deliver some for us?

Cheers,

Donal

Reported various issues raised with me(or requested further detail), this week:

Sherbourne Street lights are out and the road is uneven due to nearby works on former Tulle Court; Youth nuisance on Shrewsbury Rd; Planning situations on Warwick St, St Mary’s Rd.

A planning proposal has come in for the Longfield from the current owners of the buildings. This is strange, as I undestood that they’d been told by Officers about the Regeneration study, and thus should hold back until that’s complete.

However, it needs to be given due consideration, and I’m confident that Officers are working diligently on it as I type.

On the subject of Regeneration, we’ve asked Council to supply a small questionnaire or flyer into every Prestwich Council Tax demand, but this has been rejected, and I’m awaiting an answer as to why. It must be the most cost-effective way to ask all residents of Prestwich if they have an opinion? The Consultants have only budgeted for 5000 residents to be contacted, but there are more like 15000 residents living nearby who really should be contacted. We WILL find a way, I assure you of that.

Tonight is the Town Centre Regeneration meeting, which reports to Prestwich LAP on the review & study currently being undertaken by Urbed. Should be quite interesting, with a number of important issues coming to light, and it’ll require a firm grip on debates from me (as Chair) to ensure that we get through the whole agenda. We’re considering the following main issues tonight:

1. The progress of the Urbed study
2. The Consultation Event
3. Suggestions from a group known as the Regeneration Commission
4. Traffic/Planning Issues for Highfield Rd & Whittaker Lane

More to follow…

Hi there!

Today I got help in working through my lack of understanding, and am now able to post simple messages on the website. Stick with me, and see the development as I learn more and more.

One of my New Year Resolutions was to get my website going, so here’s this year’s first post.

The most important news at the moment is the Town Centre Regeneration.

Prestwich is currently going through a Consultation exercise, to help us work out what the next generation Prestwich Town Centre should be like.

The Council set aside money a couple of years back to pay for outside specialist consultants to help in the process, but because the regenerations of Bury & Radcliffe town centres had started, there was insufficient resources to manage a third renewal strategy at the same time.

Now the Consultants have started the process, and want to hear the views of those who live in, use, or would like to use Prestwich.

There should soon be a weblink from the Council website directly through to “Urbed” consultants, and they’ll be keeping a “blog” to keep everyone informed. I hope to be able to link directly from here too.

There will be several ways to get your voice heard, and we’re just going through the process of working out the best methods to achieve the widest consultation possible.

My role in this is three-fold:
1. As a ward Councillor for St Mary’s Ward, Prestwich Town Centre lies in the heart of my ward. I want to help make the revitalisation of Prestwich a reality, and will do all I can to turn a great opportunity into reality.
2. As a representative of the people in my ward (even if you didn’t vote for me!)

3. As Chair of the Town Centre Regeneration (TCR) Working Group, I can help shape the consultation process, and ensure that the voice of the people is not just heard, but enacted.

How does it work?

The TCR was set up as a sub-committee of the Prestwich Local Area Partnership (known as the PLAP, and formerly the Local Area Board) to help bring about the revitalisation of Prestwich.

The TCR reports to the PLAP, and the PLAP reports to the Council. Within reason & legal limits, the Council should enact motions brought to it by the PLAP, as advised by the TCR.

The TCR is made up of Councillors, Council Officers, and interested parties such as representatives of business & residents.
Because it’s impractical to include everybody who would have a direct interest in the changing face of Prestwich, it’s necessary for others to feed into the process by other means - via Councillors; via the Council; directly with the Consultants;email; letters; phone etc. to ensure that opinions are heard.

It doesn’t matter if you’re 12 or 102 years old, we will try to find a suitable way for your voice to be heard (and of course, listened to!)

So if you want more shops; better sports facilities; cleaner streets; safer roads or anything else, keep your eyes peeled now, because the next nine months could be the ones that shape Prestwich for the next few decades!

Enough from me for now - if you have any comments please respond and I’ll try to get back to you in a reasonable time. However, remember that I am new to this, and I don’t spend every waking hour sitting in front of a computer awaiting correspondence! Have a little patience with me?

Regards,

Donal