It’s been the week of the Trafford Council AGM and therefore a week of change.  This week we formally welcomed two new members to the Executive, Cllr Liz Patel as our new Deputy Leader of the Council, and new committee chairs.  A big welcome to Liz, Cllr George Devlin as our Executive Member for Housing & Advice, and Cllr Eve Parker as our new Executive Member for Leisure, Arts, Culture & Heritage.  Welcome also to Cllr Emma Hirst as the new Chair of Children’s Scrutiny Committee and Cllr Ged Carter as the new Chair of the Employment Committee.

The changes have meant we’ve said thank you to members leaving their posts.  A huge thank you to Cllr Cath Hynes who has been a wonderful Deputy Leader for so many years and thank you to Cllr James Wright who has served on Labour’s Executive since Trafford Labour formed an Administration in May 2018.  Thank you also to Cllr Denise Western and Cllr Joanne Bennett who have been superb committee chairs.

We also gave thanks to our outgoing Mayor, Cllr Amy Whyte, whose year came to a close this week.  Amy has been an amazing Mayor who threw herself into so many engagements and was a brilliant ambassador for the Borough.  I have thoroughly enjoyed working with her over the past year and she should be very proud of what she’s achieved.  I wish her successor to the role, Cllr Jane Brophy, very best wishes for the year ahead.

In another change, Cllr Karina Carter became the Deputy Mayor of Trafford for the year, before becoming Mayor next year.  I’ve known Karina for over twenty years and it’s great to see how excited she is already.  The mayoral chains certainly suit her!

Elsewhere this week I’ve spent much time at the Town Hall, meeting Executive Members on an individual basis, and chairing this month’s meeting of Trafford Locality Board- which focuses on local health services.  I also joined a couple of Greater Manchester related online meetings.

Outside of the Town Hall, I joined Sale Moor Ward colleagues and Cllr Aidan Williams on Wednesday, where we hosted a walkabout with Dame Sarah Storey from Jackson’s Boat at the River Mersey to Sale Moor Village.  The aim of the morning was to review the existing roads and junctions and then consider how best we can improve walking, wheeling and cycling options so that Sale Water Park is better connected to Sale Moor.  Very early days but a very valuable session.

Finally, on Friday Liz Patel and I visited the Greater Manchester Combined Authority office in the city centre.  We were there to discuss our shared regeneration projects ahead of the Government’s Spending Review next month.  There are a lot of exciting prospects for Trafford and Liz and I are determined that all our residents benefit from the opportunities that come from regeneration- through jobs, public amenities and housing. A good start to the new municipal year.