Residents and shopkeepers alike are sick to the back teeth with problems at the rear of shops on Heywood Road and Penryhn Drive.

There have been a spate of anti-social behaviour incidents in recent weeks and well publicised graffitti  incidents. Last thursday was the final straw for some residents however when garages at the rear of the shops were broken into.

“I will be working closely with the local Police to ensure this hotspot gets plenty of attention over the coming weeks. It is appalling that residents and shop keepers are living in fear of gangs of youths and intruders breaking into property. It is wholly unacceptable and I will be doing all I can to ensure this problem is dealt with.” 

It was a sad day on friday. It was the last day that the Bury Times was based in Bury. All reporters will be based in Bolton from monday, leaving the town of Bury with a newspaper in name only.

It’s shortsighted and it will mean it will be harder for reporting staff to maintain good links with the community they are covering and inevitably they will gradually become more and more out of touch on issues.

To mark the occassion Bury Times staff held a reception at the Boltholt Hotel. The reception was also held in honour of two senior reporters that were leaving the paper as part of the upheaval – Peter Doherty and Terry Morgan. Two reporters of over 20 years experience each, whose departure will leave a massive void. Whilst I new both men, it was Peter as chief political reporter who I came across most. I always valued his comments and often probing questioning and had the highest respect for him as a professional who knew his subject at least as well as you did! As I have been in politics for 25 years  he has been a constant feature for nearly all my political life. So it was with that history and sadness that I attended the reception and said goodbye to them both.

Every success and happiness in your future endeavours to you both and as for the Bury Times? Anyone know someone who would like to start a newspaper in Bury? 

I was amazed, appalled and very dissapointed to see Graham Stringer, Labour MP for Blackley, suggesting that Dyslexia wasn’t a real condition and was a myth made up to cover poor educational practices.

Approximately 1 in 10 suffer from dyslexia in one form or another. sometimes with a major affect on life and career etc. The British Dyslexia Associaton has even confirmed that the gene that causes the condition has now been identified. No doubt Mr Stringer would claim that is a myth also.

Mr Stringer completely misses the point. Yes, certain techniques and specialist education can get round the problem. But that enables sufferers to read and write – it doesn’t “cure” the condition.

I am dissapointed because Mr Stringer has a reputation for being a fairly independantly minded MP , that’s prepared to stand up to the Government on occasion. This time I’m afraid his judgement is wide of the mark and he should apologise – if only to the thousands in his constituency with dyslexia. 

Last nights Prestwich Area Partnership was dominated by the latest twist in the regeneration proposals for Prestwich.

The much debated and consulted Prestwich regeneration plans were due to go before Bury Councils Executive Committee this evening for approval, however it was revealed last night that the item had been removed from the agenda and will not now be considered until a later meeting

It was confirmed that the item was “pulled” because of concerns that because it will become a material planning document and is crucial to the redevelopment of Prestwich it is essential that it is as “robust” as possible and would withstand detailed scrutiny. As such some additional consultancy work is being carried out which will be subject to a short public consultation and this inevitably means a slight delay. It is now expected that the Prestwich regeneration Strategy will be adopted in May.

I have voiced my dissapointment and will be monitoring developments very closely. On the plus side this also provides an opportunity for the documents references to car parking to be strengthened. Finally it was also confirmed that the Railway and Naturalist pub will now feature as one of the buildings to be preserved under the strategy.

There are of course numerous voices pointing towards Tesco’s as the reason for this delay. It is certainly the case that they have responded to the consultation by challenging retail capacity aspects of the strategy. However it is the Council that have rightly decided that to delay a little longer to ensure the plan is as sound and justified as possible can only benefit the regeneration and future development proposals.

For reference as a material planning document the Regeneration Strategy would have to be referred to by Bury Planning Officers when considering any planning applications that are submitted in future that affect the town centre. Planning applications would have to meet the requirements of the strategy. So its crucial we get it right now.

As a staunch and passionate supporter of the state of Israel and the right of the jewish people and the palestinian people to peacefully coexist in the middle east I think its time the Israeli “doves” reasserted themselves over the “hawks” for the sake of long term peace and stability in the region.

The problem faced by the Israeli Government is how to tackle terrorists within the confines of international law and democratic accountability balanced with the demand of its people to live in peace and security.  I don’t believe there is any country on earth that would be prepared to face rockets randomly launched at its towns and communities. That is an act of war. That act of war has been met with an armed response, understandably.

The problem is that Israel is responding with conventional security forces and weapons designed for modern warfare, against terrorists. I cannot recall any terrorists being defeated by weapons and warfare alone. Yes many will be killed and amongst them the many innocents will be killed – the real victims of war. But how many more risk being driven into the evil grip of Hamas, how many more who have now lost everything will now sympathise with Hamas objectives, and how many more when the truce does arrive, will be in the queue to be the next suicide bomber?

Israels enemies, want nothing less than the destruction of Israel, Israel and ordinary palestinians just want to live in peace. War will not solve the long term ambitions of either side in the middle east only a true and lasting peace can pay dividends. But so long as the hawks hold sway over the doves on both sides more will die and more will suffer.

If anything long lasting comes out of this conflict it must surely be the recognition that war isn’t the answer. All sides and anyone with any support for either side needs to redouble their efforts and work harder for peace.

The following items were discussed at last nights meeting of Bury Council’s Healthier Communities Scrutiny Commission.

The public meeting was not attended by any members of the public or local press.

National Year of Reading Evaluation

Good report showing increased take up of library membership and book loans despite cut backs to book budget and libraries over previous years etc.
I was complimentary of some of the “legacy” initiatives such as reading clubs for carers but was critical about the lack of statistics especially comparing aspects of our performance with neighbouring authorities. Following my request a report comparing the results of the year of reading initiatives with other authorities will be coming to a future meeting

Direct Access Diagnostics and Clinical Assessment Treatment and Support Services update

Progress is being made to bring a number of non-emergency services out of hospitals and into community based facilities.
However there was criticism that of the 7 sites chosen to provide Clinical assessment treatment support services (CATS) none are in Bury.
The CATS will have facilities for Musculoskeletal, Gynaecology, Urology, ENT, General Surgery.Mobile Units will be used at Bolton, Oldham, Salford, Manchester, Rochdale Town Hall, Trafford, Tameside.
I was critical of the claimed travel times to these sites. The report claimed that anyone in Greater Manchester could get to one of these sites by car within 20 minutes and by public transport 49% could get to one within 30 minutes (what about the other 51%!) 
The presentation by Anne Coates (PCT Director Commissioning) also raised concerns about Dermatology treatment. The Acute Trust are struggling to maintain these services to targeted treatment/Waiting times. Which is becoming a major problem. The PCT are in discussion with the Acute Trust and may well start commissioning their own dermatology services to ensure services are retained to appropriate standards/targets.

Safeguarding Adults

We are all aware from the numerous enquiries etc that there is much protection and legislation in place to try and safeguard children. Well there is precious little in place to protect adults from abuse and there is much abuse.
The Government are consulting on developing greater protection through various means to protect adults and local authorities are being asked to consult on how they see their roles in this area in particular any leadership roles and the issues that need to be addressed from our perspective.

Age of Opportunities

Finally there was a dissapointing powerpoint presentation on the work of the Age of Opportunities initiative (now nearing the end of its second of 3 years).
I was very critical. The presentation gave no evaluation or detailed statistics of the work done to date. I told the commission that I was at a loss to see the point of this agenda item. It transpired that a fellow Commission member had requested it two meetings ago. But there was no point, it didn’t do anything, there was nothing to scrutinise. We were told that an impact study was to be undergone. I said that made me suspicious about the timing of this and queried whether funding for the 3rd year is safe and whether a case for scrapping it altogether after the 3 years is being put together.
Another Commission member rightly raised concerns about the fact that Care link was included in the presentation which also served to raise concerns about the future of that service as that has nothing to do with Age of ops at all. I requested an update report on the Care link service asap.

Reports for the above items are available from the councils web site. Minutes should be available soon. 

Please don’t hesitate to contact me if any of the above items raises concerns or needs clarifying. In addition I look forward to any comments.

The meeting finished just after 10pm.

Bury Liberal Democrats today expressed his deep concern at figures showing that unemployment in Bury has increased by over 40% since the start of the downturn in November 2007.

New government figures published this week show that unemployment rose right across Bury.The figures show that there were over 3,000 people claiming Job Seekers’ Allowance in Bury in November, an increase of 39.8% on the same period in 2007. Across Prestwich, Whitefield and Radcliffe there were 1,459 people claimed Job Seekers’ Allowance an alarming increase of over 48%.  The figures also show that unemployment has actually increased slightly since Labour came to power, and across Greater Manchester there are 53,857 people claiming job seekers’ allowance, an increase of 36.56% since November 2007.

Lib Dem Parliamentary Candidate for Bury South, Vic D’Albert, criticised Labour’s work in Bury: “While our Labour MP’s offer hollow words and empty promises of hard work for Bury South the reality is that Labour has failed the people of Bury. We have fewer jobs, a spate of violent crime in places like Prestwich, and less money given to Bury Council to make the improvements we need.” 

“It is no good Ivan Lewis talking tough when his government has been so woeful in giving local people what they deserve. The Liberal Democrats are proposing making real changes, taxing less and creating more jobs. Labour in Bury are all talk and but offer no solutions to the problems they’ve created.”

The next Prestwich Local Area Partnership meeting will take place on Tuesday 13 January at 6.30pm at Butterstile Primary School, School Grove, Prestwich.

Items under the spotlight at this meeting are the final regeneration plans for Prestwich, changes to local NHS services and an update on St Mary’s Conservation Area.

One of the key issues highlighted through responses to the consultation was the importance of keeping the Railway and Naturalist pub in the centre of Prestwich. The LAP meeting will announce the final proposals for this aspect of the regeneration plans. Attendees will have the chance to discuss the regeneration plans, before they are considered by the Council Executive. In total, nearly 500 people responded to the consultation and results indicate that the majority of people supported the proposed ideas put forward.There were some important issues highlighted and these have been considered and shaped the final version of Love Prestwich Regeneration Strategy.

Councillor Vic D’ Albert, Chair of Prestwich Local Area Partnership, said “This meeting marks the end of a twelve month period of finding out what people like and don’t like about Prestwich and how we can make our town centre thrive again.  I am delighted that the number of responses to the consultation have been one of the highest I’ve seen in my time as a Councillor in Bury, which clearly indicates how  important our village town centre is to us all”. 

“The feedback raised some very important issues such as retaining the Railway & Naturalist Pub as well as divided opinions around traffic.  The final report reflects these points and I hope its cheers all round.  We can’t please everyone all the time with the plans, but we support the plans that reflect the views of the majority of residents and businesses to ensure that we get back a thriving town centre”.

Butterstile Children’s Centre will also be staying open so that anyone attending the meeting can have a look round this new community facility at 6pm. Staff from the Children’s Centre will also be on hand to answer any questions or queries.  

Following the requests to confirm that I was over 16 when purchasing christmas crackers (as they contain explosives and small parts!), it has come to my attention that at the Southampton vs Manchester United Cup game at the weekend officials were spotted putting up signs warning fans of flying footballs!!!!!

Did someone sue a club for being hit by a football? I’d love to know.

Having spent my first official day back at work in bed with (depending on your gender) a case of man flu or a life threatening new disease previously only known to secret government scientists working in bunkers, I rose from my pit to be greeted by the on going misery that is our current economic climate and the Israeli offensive into Gaza.

The further victims of the global meltdown – Waterford crystal/Wedgewood was of course over shadowed by the humanitarian disaster growing in the middle east.

Media reporting with our 24 hour news coverage is now able to show the results of war (and war it surely is) in all its graphic tragic detail. The innocents that cannot escape Gaza  end up the tools of propagandists.

I have every sympathy with the plight of the ordinary palestinians finding themselves trapped in a war zone. And I have every sympathy with Israel. No government would put up with rockets being fired randomly up to 25 miles into its territory.

At the end of the day this conflict was on the cards when Hamas gained control of Gaza. Despite numerous pleas to recognise Israel they have refused and instead stockpiled weapons. I can only hope that international calls for restraint by Israel in this offensive and an ultimate ceasefire are heeded and that the innocents can be helped. 

Once again we start a year with peace in the middle east as far off and elusive a goal as ever.