It was a pleasure to read Cath’s update last week there certainly are some exciting projects happening in her role as the Executive Member for Leisure, Arts, Culture and Heritage.

Just in case you may have missed it – you can read all about it here.

When I became Leader of Trafford Council two of the priorities I set out were giving children and young people the best start in life and playing our part in addressing the climate crisis. Both of which have been recurring themes over the last couple of weeks.

Last week, I attended the Carbon Crunch Conference in London where I was part of a panel focussing on cities and climate change.  It offered a good opportunity to talk about some of the things we’re doing in Greater Manchester to help address the crisis.

I also met George Bailey who has taken over co-ordinating Trafford’s Youth Cabinet.  It was great listen to George’s ideas and how we can engage better with our younger representatives in the borough.

Monday was the start of Recycling Week – it is a dedicated campaign that aims to raise awareness about the importance of recycling and encourages individuals, communities, and organisations to take action to reduce waste.

I’ve been doing a lot in Trafford and Greater Manchester around waste and recycling recently, including making an appearance on Blue Peter to talk about the importance of e-waste recycling.  I was very excited to see myself in an episode screened earlier this month- and even more excited to be given a Blue Peter Badge!

On Monday, I also spoke at one of our Trafford Council ‘Let’s Talk’ events.  We have a great team working for us at Trafford and I really value these sessions.  My contribution touched on our current and future priorities for the borough.

On Tuesday, I chaired the Trafford Locality Board – where officers from the Council and different parts of the NHS come together to discuss different aspects of our health services in the area.

I won’t go into too much detail, but further information can be accessed by clicking here.

During the afternoon, Cath and I met with two of our newest councillors Eve Parker, who represents Sale Central, and Oliver Baskerville, who represents Sale Moor.

It is great to hear how well they are settling into their roles while also becoming excellent advocates for the residents they represent.

On Wednesday, I dropped by an induction session for some of the Council’s new children’s services employees.  It was good to meet people who have recently joined such a vital service at Trafford Council.  Later that day I attended a governors meeting at Victoria Park Junior School in Stretford.  I’ve been a governor at the school for almost 12 years and I always enjoy visiting and hearing about what’s been happening at the school.

The following day, I chaired a meeting of the Greater Manchester Green City Region Partnership. We had a packed agenda and covered a lot of ground- including a review of the recent Green Summit, our next five-year Environment Plan and news on our GM Schools Solar PV scheme.

On Thursday afternoon, I was also delighted to welcome students from Trafford College’s Debate Club to the Town Hall to discuss the topic: Does social media encourage antisocial behaviour?

I was impressed with how courteous each student was to one another during the debate.  You all did a fantastic job. Congratulations!

On Friday morning, I travelled to Salford to attend the Home-Start Annual General Meeting (AGM) – in my capacity one of the charity’s trustees – and to voice my appreciation for the magnificent work this organisation does.

In the afternoon, I was delighted to welcome students from Sale Grammar School for a tour of the Town Hall.  I hope the students enjoyed the tour and their time in the council chamber- I know I really enjoyed hearing about what matters most to them as Trafford residents.

And finally, I just wanted to highlight some other news which you can access by clicking the links below:

• Trafford Labour politicians oppose outrageous Warburton Bridge toll rise from 12p to £1
• Trafford Labour councillor champions primary school Walking Bus scheme

As always, I hope you have a great weekend despite the awful weather forecast.

Take care and best wishes,

Tom.