The final week of November felt quieter than preceding weeks, however there were still several significant meetings and events in my diary.

After a quiet Monday I had a full day at the Town Hall on Tuesday.  That morning I joined colleagues on a Deaf Awareness Course.  I found it an incredibly valuable few hours and learnt a lot about the institutional and societal barriers deaf people continue to face, and how much more we need to do collectively to promote equity.  By the end of the morning I was also able to sign my name but realise this is a course I’d benefit from repeating in the near future.

Over Tuesday lunchtime I did a media interview with a student from Quays News regarding the Council’s draft list of heritage assets that I mentioned in my update last week.  I then attended the November meeting of our Adult Social Care Development Board.  At the end of the day I met with some of my Labour Group colleagues for a planning session as we looked ahead to 2025.

Wednesday morning started with another visit to Trafford General for a physio appointment.  It was my third appointment since the cast on my right arm was removed in October- and hopefully my last as long as I keep doing the exercises I’ve been given!  In the afternoon I attended a lovely event at Timperley Library- the unveiling of a plaque celebrating the life of Cllr Ray Bowker.  Ray was elected to Village Ward in Timperley in 1973 and remained a dedicated public servant until his death early in 2020.  He was a very kind, supportive and decent man and it was important we marked his service to the community as a council.  There were some lovely speeches, a lot of memories shared, and it was good to see Hazel Bowker again.

I then travelled back to the Town Hall for a couple more meetings.  The following day I had back-to-back meetings focussing on budgets, regeneration and my weekly catch up with our Chief Executive.  I then attended a Stretford & Humphrey Park Labour Party meeting with my two ward colleagues Steve and Jane, where we all provided updates to local party members.

On Friday I travelled up to Bolton for November’s meeting of Greater Manchester Combined Authority.  At the meeting it was good to receive an update on the Bee Network and we also agreed to support the Vision Zero Strategy.  Vision Zero is a very important plan where we wish to end fatalities and life changing injuries on Greater Manchester’s roads by 2040.  The item was introduced by a devasting video documenting the grief and loss felt by one family who lost a loved one because of a road traffic collision.  It brought home the importance of the Vision Zero Strategy.

Later in the Combined Authority meeting I was delighted to introduce the Five Year Environment Plan 2025-2030, which was approved.  A lot of people and organisations have contributed to this new plan and I look forward to it launching at our GM Green Summit in December.  Achieving carbon neutrality by 2038, whilst very challenging, is still achievable, especially if national measures are accelerated to align with the Climate Change Committees carbon budget.

Finally, on Saturday I helped out at the Victoria Park Christmas event before heading into Manchester for the Ramblers Greater Manchester and High Peak Area AGM.  At the meeting I gave a presentation on the GM Ringway and Public Rights of Way and I was delighted to accept the invitation to become their new President!  As a keen walker I’m really excited about this new role and the potential to promote walking, hiking and the outdoors across the area.