A new direction for Bury South

I am the first one to welcome the recycling facilities now available to me on my doorstep and to which the remainder of the 28,000 households in Bury will also have access by the end of July.  My grey bin is now only half full (yes I am an optimist!) and the blue and brown bins take some weeks to fill up whilst the two compost bins at the back of the garden slowly fill up each week oh yes and I always manage to have at least one extra bag of newspapers out each fortnight over and obove the two green bags that are left for me but….. the plans for the new In-Vessel Composting Facility at Bradley Fold in Radcliffe seem badly thought through.  There is a public consultation and exhibition tonight and tomorrow night between 4.00pm and 8.00pm at Radcliffe Borough Sports and Social Club on Pilkington Road and I urge anyone who lives in the immediate area to go along and have a look at the plans. 

Just returned from a couple  of days away with my husband and my daughters to Yorkshire.  After we eventually managed to pack and go yesterday spent the afternoon at Fountains Abbey just outside Ripon.  The tour guide was amazing and I was so interested in what he had to say I forgot all about the wind and the rain.  Went on to Ripon where we stayed overnight and today spent the day in York where we visited Clifford’s Tower, going shopping and of course Betty’s Tea Shop! 

I was saddened to learn whilst I was away of the passing of one of our longest serving volunteers at the Nicky Alliance Day Centre, Kim Lester MBE.   Kim was awarded his MBE in the 2003 New Years Honours for his services to the Greater Manchester Community where he was involved with not only the Nicky Alliance Day Centre but also AJEX (Association of Jewish ex Servicemen) and many other local charities.   His cheerful personality and bridge playing skills will be greatly missed.

I started this morning with a meeting at the Bury MBC CCTV control rooms – it is somewhere I have visited many times and was pleased to have the opportunity to catch up with what is happening there.   This was the first of many visits that I shall make there in my new capacity as Executive member for safer, stronger communities.

After going into work to catch up after two days off due to Jewish holidays (it was Pentecost yesterday and Wednesday) I went along to the Bury South office to have a clear out.  I think the expression ‘new broom sweeps clean’ is an understatement of the equipment needed to tidy up – but 6 bin liners later and several boxes it was off to the tip in Prestwich - most of it I am glad to say we were able to recycle as it was either cardboard, clean paper or textiles.   

Planning to have a relaxing weekend (if there is such a thing) as it is my birthday and I am going away for a break.

  

More bad news for the Government today and for Ruth Kelly in particular as the High Court has ruled that Home Information Packs (HIPs) cannot be introduced on the 1st June.   Michael Gove MP, Shadow Housing Minister, today commented on the possible u-turn on yet another badly planned policy by this Government which is not ‘fit for purpose’.  The only people who have gained over the past few weeks are the Estate Agents who have seen a rush of people putting their house on the market to beat the 1 June deadline. Â

After a day of meetings at work I left early to meet with the Assistant Chief Executive and Tony Holt Head of Community Safety at Bury MBC to learn a little more about their role and plans which fall within the remit of my executive portfolio.  I then went stayed at the Town Hall and went along to a presentation by Viridor who in conjunction with John Laing have put forward proposals with regard to waste management and recycling in the Borough.  The plans are for an In-Vessel composting facility at Bradley Fold in Radcliffe North and  the development of a new Household Waste Recycling Centre at Cemetery Road in Radcliffe East. 

After a first stage meeting tonight there will be a period of public consultation before the full plans are submitted.   

I have just returned from the Salisbury Conservative Club in Bury where a gathering of candidates, Councillors and helpers from the recent local elections gathered for a social get together.  Thanks go to Cllr Peter Ashworth and the Club for their help with this.  It was a most enjoyable afternoon and an opportunity for everyone to get together after the tension of election night.  Thanks also to all who came and who helped during the campaign and to everyone who has offered to help going forward.

The members of my Group and particularly me have been accused of being arrogant in a letter in this week’s Advertiser.  I would like to clarify that I was by no means arrogant nor indeed over confident of a Conservative success in the local elections – I am the first to admit that it was disappointing that we did not take the 4 seats we needed to take overall control but more residents of Bury, in fact 4,000 more, voted for the Conservatives than for Labour.  Having said that we do now have control of Bury Council under the excellent leadership of Cllr Bob Bibby.  Thank you to all who voted for my colleagues in this year’s local elections.

This afternoon I went along to meet residents who live near to Phillips Park Road West for a community clean up together with my colleague Cllr Peter Redstone.  Two 20 ton skips were required to move the slates, bricks and soil dumped along this roadway.  Thanks must go to local resident Daniel Gibbons for providing transport to carry away the additional waste such as old car doors.   Apparently there was a witness to one of the incidents of tipping and hopefully this will lead to a prosecution.  The tidy up cost £360 and was jointly funded by Area Board funding and a contribution from the Holy Law Synagogue which own the land adjacent to the road.

Just another example of selfish, thoughtless dumping.

Today I actually attended somewhere for work and went along to a seminar held at the City of Manchester Stadium.  The workshop focused on the content of the new Charities Act and VAT implications for charities.  It was a most informative morning and I discovered that the person I sat next to went to the same school as me – well actually I went to the same school as her as she left the year I joined – she must have heard I was coming!

The Conservative Group has taken control of Bury Council – this was officially agreed today at the Council meeting.  I have been appointed the Executive portfolio for Safer, Stronger and Confident Communities for which I was shadow Executive member last year.   

I also wish to congratulate Cllr Farook Chaudhry who has been appointed as the Mayor of Bury for the forthcoming municipal year.

I hand over the Chairmanship of the Area Board to my colleague Cllr Bev Sullivan who I know will do an excellent job building on the work that the Area Board has done over the past year in its new guise at the Local Area Partnership and wish her much luck in the forthoming year.

Tomorrow is a new beginning for Bury Council and all Bury’s residents ……….