Trafford Labour Trafford Labour supports residents in Altrincham, Sale, Stretford, Urmston, Partington and Old Trafford
It’s been quite a busy week, starting on Sunday when I decided to try out the Bee Network App and catch a few buses and a tram ride around Greater Manchester.
The Bee Network bus franchising changes have now come into effect in Bolton, Wigan, parts of Bury and Salford, so I took the opportunity to try out the new system.
Although Trafford won’t be impacted by the franchise changes until 2025, you will still the yellow buses serving the Trafford Centre plus you can also use the Bee Network App to combine bus and tram tickets.
Greater Manchester has needed a public transport network fit for the 21st Century for decades – and credit to Mayor Andy Burnham and his colleagues for in getting us to this stage.
On Monday morning, my colleague Jane Slater and I met with Matt and Morgan from Marie Curie- we discussed palliative and end of life care, bereavement policies and the important role carers have and how we can support them.
In the afternoon, I visited a new housing development in Partington. The Shires was recently completed by Your Housing Group- and there are 75 units in total, 50 of which are shared ownership and 25 are affordable rent.
I was fortunate to be given a tour of two properties – and they look fantastic – so I’m not at all surprised that the development has proven to be very popular.
On Monday evening, I chaired the public meeting of the Executive Committee. Yet again there were some really interesting items on the agenda, which can be accessed here.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank my colleague, Liz Patel, Executive Member for Economy and Regeneration, for her excellent update on the Places for Everyone (PfE) report.
The amount of work that has gone on behind the scenes to get to this point cannot be understated – and I would like to thank everyone involved. You can watch Liz’s presentation here.
I had several meetings at the Town Hall on Tuesday, including a catch up with Trafford’s Deputy Leader Cath Hynes, which is always something I welcome.
On Wednesday morning, I was delighted to attend the Forster Carer Celebration Event with my colleague Karina Carter, Executive Member for Children and Young People, held at the LifeCentre, Sale.
It was an honour to be invited and to present our amazing foster carers with awards to acknowledge and celebrate the dedication and commitment they provide.
All our foster carers make an incredible difference to the lives of children and young people when they need it the most – and on behalf of the council and the wider community I would like to say a huge thank you for everything you do.
In the afternoon, I travelled to Manchester to present a paper to the Greater Manchester Combined Authority’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee, on the Integrated Water Management Plan, in my capacity as Lead Member for Green-City Region.
I won’t go into too much detail here, but in summary, the report sets out what we plan to deliver by 2024, in terms of improvements to our water systems, and how we are addressing recommendations made by members of the Scrutiny Committee.
Further information can be accessed here and by clicking here.
In the evening, I joined WalkRideGM’s Cycling Safari. It was great to be out cycling again and to hear some positive feedback about the infrastructure we’re putting in place. It was also lovely to see so many cyclists using the lanes across Manchester, Salford and Trafford.
On Thursday evening, I travelled to Manchester with Jane Slater to attend the Civic Opening of Black History Month, held at Manchester Cathedral.
It was such an honour to be invited – and to meet Christian Weaver a keynote speaker who discussed the legal support he has given to families fighting injustices in his role as a Barrister. He spoke passionately about making the law more accessible to people who may consider themselves voiceless.
It was a wonderful evening. Thank you to everyone who organised the event.
On Friday, I travelled to Leigh to attend a GMCA meeting where local leaders were provided with an update regarding the Greater Manchester Fire Cover Review- including Sale Fire Station.
Following a high-profile public consultation– I am delighted to say that Sale Fire Station will continue to be staffed on a 24/7 basis.
Thank you to everyone who has been involved in this process – and for listening to the concerns raised by Trafford residents.
On Friday afternoon, I joined colleagues for another update regarding our Stretford Regeneration project.
And finally, I just wanted to highlight some more exciting news regarding Longford Park which you can access by clicking the link below:
As always, have a great weekend.
Beat wishes,
Tom.
