I started this week by joining our Mayor and councillor colleagues at Trafford Town Hall for Sunday’s Trafalgar Day event.  We watched as Sea Cadets from across Greater Manchester congregated at the front of the Town Hall, participated in a short service and then went on parade.  It was a very special occasion and lovely to see so many of Trafford’s Sea Cadets present.  The Sea Cadets offer fantastic opportunities for young people across Trafford and I really value the relationship the council has with the local unit.

On Monday I had one of several meetings this week regarding the Home Office decision to use the Cresta Court Hotel to accommodate asylum seekers.  You can read a statement issued by the council earlier this week here.  Teams at the council have been working with different agencies and community organisations so that we can support our residents and the people seeking refuge here.

We’re fortunate in Trafford to have a very strong network of faith and community groups that are already working with the council and other agencies as we respond to the situation.  I also understand that members of the community have raised several questions so we have responded to a list of frequently asked questions which you can read here.

I had several Greater Manchester based meetings this week- including a meeting of the Green City Region Board, where councillors and officers from across Greater Manchester come together to review and discuss policies and initiatives that fall under my Green City-Region portfolio.  We had several important agenda items to discuss at the meeting, including the latest draft of the GM Five Year Environment Plan, the Local Nature Recovery Strategy  which will be subject to a public consultation later this month, and the GM Climate Change Risk Assessment which was a sobering read and highlighted the urgency of the challenges we face.

On Friday the Mayor, Deputy Mayor and GM leaders met for an ‘Away Day’ session.  One of the items we discussed was the UK Government’s budget held earlier this week.  I was pleased to see a Labour Budget for the first time since 2010 and at both a GM and Trafford level we’re working through the announcements made by the Chancellor and how they impact us locally- both in terms of our policies and finance.  As you’ll be aware, Trafford Council has published its draft budget for 2025/26 and we’re now working through how the national budget will impact on our own budget.

I also attended the Homestart Trafford, Salford & Wigan AGM where it was an honour to recognise some of the organisation’s wonderful volunteers.   I’m a trustee at Homestart and the staff and volunteers there have made an amazing difference to so many Trafford families over the last couple of decades.  One of the biggest highlights of the meeting for me was presenting a long service certificate to my colleague Cllr Liz Patel, it was wonderful to hear first-hand about the impact Liz has had on just one of the many families she has supported over the years. You can learn more about Homestart here.

Finally, it was good to be involved in several events in Stretford over the course of the week.  On Tuesday I attended the official opening of Kingsway following its multi-million pound transformation. We heard a proclamation from the Town Crier and were joined by amazing volunteers from Stretford in Bloom.  On Saturday I joined the Town Crier again with my two ward colleagues at the opening of Clay Studios on King Street.  They’ve transformed a unit that had been empty for years and will be offering workshops as well as selling high quality pottery.  I couldn’t resist purchasing an item for my office at the Town Hall.

My last engagement of the week was a community celebration in Stretford the mark the end of Black History Month.  Organised by Rehoboth for Families, one of the themes of the afternoon was that we have more in common than that which seeks to divide us.  Something every person holding public office should remember.