A new direction for Bury South

This morning I attended a coffee morning at the home of Louise and Terry Largan in Whitefield to raise funds for the British Heart Foundation as February is National Heart Month.  Over 30 people attended and raised £191.  Thanks must go to Louise for all her hard work (and to Terry who looked after our coats!) and to all who came along and donated so generously.  After that it was back to St Monicas to say farewell to the students who are going back to Valencia on Monday.

Last night I attended the budget setting meeting of the Council probably one of the most important meetings of the entire year.  This year’s Council Tax rise will be 4.79% but the reduction for those over 65 years of age will remain.  This level was reached after a lot of hard and difficult decisions were made – it is not easy balancing a budget especially at times like this with rising energy prices, recycling costs to meet Government targets, pay and grading salaries to be paid for and with the lowest interest rates since the war a loss of some £2.5m on investment income.  Weeks of soul searching and decision making took place and my colleague Cllr Peter Redstone, Executive Member for Resource, presented a sound and balanced budget at last night’s meeting.  I was delighted to welcome Rabbi Guttentag of my synagogue in Whitefield who gave the opening prayers at the meeting.

This morning was an early start with a business breakfast at the Freemasons Hall in Town with Nick Leslau (of the Secret Millionaire) who was the Guest speaker at a fundraising event for the Nicky Alliance Day Centre.  Nick gave his thoughts on the world and UK’s economy today and it was not cheerful!  Nick also gave an insight into how he came to be involved in The Secret Millionaire programme and how it has really changed his views on those with disabilities.

Then it was back to the office for a short while and then a quick visit to St Monicas to meet with the pupils from Valencia who are currently on an exchange visit over here.  They seem to be having a wonderful time here and credit must go to Michelle Caserta who helped to arrange the visit.  Congratulations must also go to Mr McCarron the Headteacher who was being photographed with some of the pupils following a recent magnificant OFSTED report.

I was also very saddened to learn this morning of the death of David Cameron’s eldest son Ivan.  I cannot imagine what it must be like to suffer the death of a child and my deepest sympathy goes out to him and his wife Samantha and all the family at this tragic time.

Tonight is the budget Council Meeting at Bury Town Hall so more about that tomorrow ………………….

The whole of Radcliffe was celebrating this morning with the news that the film Slumdog Millionaire directed by Radcliffe born Danny Boyle, had won 8 Oscars.  I went along to St Mary’s social club this morning to meet his family and friends and Chairman of the Club as well as a huge media gathering.  Well done to Danny and all involved!  It was a great night for British films and an ever greater night for Radcliffe.  I hear that Bury Council are going to bestow a special honour on Danny and that his social club may be rather packed on his return to the UK on Sunday!

I was approached by a number of articulate yet angry youths last night at the entrance to the Town Hall as I arrived for the Conservative Group Meeting who were quite rightly concerned about rumours they had heard and indeed headlines they had read in the Bury Times about cuts to youth services.  The Council have no plans whatsoever to reduce the opening hours to youth centres and indeed in Whitefield the Shuttle Centre is the first in the borough to quite sensibly open on a Friday night when the provision is most needed.  Lisa Harvey and all her staff do an excellent job there and can only be congratulated.

I was delighted to welcome James Clappison MP Shadow Mininster for Work and Pensions to Bury South this morning when we called in on the Prestwich Monday Club at our Lady of Grace Church in Prestwich.  Following on from their guest speaker Bernice Barr he spoke on a whole range of issues but focusing mainly on the economy and how this is affecting our lives today and took questions from the floor.  Afterwards we spent about twenty minutes going around the room and talking to members of the Club. My thanks to Melvyn Bradburn for allowing us to come along this morning.

After leaving James who was off to Rawtenstall I went to visit the new LIFT Centre in Radcliffe which opened its doors today. The first GP practice to move in is Redbank Healthcare Centre who have moved from Unsworth Street and I took the opportunity to meet with Dr Peter Thomas and Dr Stephen Flascher.  I wish to thank Alison Bridge, the Practice Manager, for the guided tour.  Considering the move was done over the weekend they seemed extremely organised although I understand that they were only taking emergency appointments today but will be back to normal appointments tomorrow.   The Centre looked extremely impressive from entrance right the way through although of course I was only able to see a limited number of rooms.  I wish all the practitioners much success in their service delivery.

The first week in February was National Poverty & Homelessness Action Week and to find out more about the work carried out in Bury for the homeless I met with Graham Evans Director of The Housing Link based in Radcliffe although they have properties throughout Bury.  Graham kindly spent over an hour with me talking through such issues as to whom their typical client is, the age range, gender and cultural background and how the organisation is able to help them gain the knowledge, confidence and social skills to move into permanent housing.  As with all voluntary organisations they rely heavily on funding streams 50% of which comes from the Bury Council and the whole operation costs approximately £1.2m to run per annum.  Graham spent time explaining the difficulties some of their tenants have in finding jobs and that sometimes they are penalised by working as their benefits are reduced.  80% of the people who left them found permanent housing last year and with an average time of 9 months spent in one of their properties and some people staying for up to two years it is certainly a very much needed provision in Bury.  Graham pointed out several times that The Housing Link is just one of many organisations helping the homeless in Bury and they must all be congratulated for the valuable work they do in the community.

However with a waiting list for The Housing Link properties there clearly is a need for more provision. 

Last night I attended the Radcliffe Traders’ meeting at Radcliffe Civic Centre.  Unfortunately only a couple of traders turned up but it was an interesting meeting and lots of exciting events planned for Radcliffe in the forthcoming months.  The Council is also looking at improving the toilet provision in Radcliffe and a discussion took place about what would be the most suitable type of replacement which followed on from discussions which had taken place at the Local Area Partnership meeting the previous evening.

Following on from this meeting I went along to the Meeting of the Council at The Town Hall where Labour’s motion of No Confidence in the Leadership of the Council was defeated following a long and sometimes heated debate.  No press reporters were present which highlighted the concerns stated at the previous Council meeting about The Bury Times move to Bolton.

This week started off on Sunday with an action day in Sedgley where I was joined by members of Conservative Future and we delivered the latest Sedgley In Touch.  Monday night was the Conservative Group Meeting and last night I went along to the LAP meeting at Radcliffe.  Tonight I am back at Radcliffe Civic Centre for the Radcliffe Traders Meeting and then off to the Town Hall for the Council Meeting.  The weather thankfully seems to have calmed down and the gritters did a fabulous job throughout Bury keeping the roads open as far as possible and in particular the main routes.