Creation of a new Sports Zone, St Margaret’s Gate Entrance

Local Lib Dems are growing increasingly concerned at Plans for a Sports Zone in Heaton Park.

Plans are likely to come to Manchester Council’s Planning Committee before the summer for a “Sports Zone” near to the St Margaret’s Entrance of the Park. This would build on the existing Bowling Greens (created for the Commonwealth Games).

The proposed Sports Zone would include:
· 5-a-side pitches
· 7-a-side pitch
- Tennis Courts
· Spectator area
· Climbing wall
· Single storey pavilion comprising changing rooms, meeting rooms and bar
· Car parking

It would be run by a private company (ie there would be a charge for using the facilities normally, however it is proposed that it is made available for community use at non-peak times with free access for under 16 year olds. We’re also assured that there will be no activity after 9.00pm at night.

Vic D’Albert commented, “While in many ways this is a very positive development with the creation of much needed additional sporting facilities there are major worries too.” 

• Will the Prestwich Public and local schools and community groups receive free or discounted access or will that only be for Manchester City Council residents?
• This development would mean much more traffic along St.Margarets Road
• Should an historic public park have a large chunk hived off for the use of a private profit making business. Is this the start of further developments. MCC have already tried to build a school there!

“I am deeply concerned that local Prestwich residents  will once again get the short end of the stick with this development. We would urge all local residents to respond to the consultation and as your local councillors, myself Wilf and Tim will be responding formally to Bury Council and Manchester City Council on this issue. ”

The project is still at the planning stage and a public consultation exercise will take place in the Farm Centre, Heaton Park within the next 2 months following which the Planning Application will be submitted. (I will let people know when I have a date for this.)

What do you think?
Please let me know your views on this issue, which is likely to have a big impact on the St.Margarets area of Prestwich.

I am now starting to think things are starting to get a bit hysterical about MP’s expenses when we start pillorying MP’s for claiming for a couple of £3.50 pay-per view movies.

OK she shouldn’t have done it and it’s highly embarrassing for the Home secretary to have a couple of porn movies on her expense claim. But lets keep things real and in perspective. If she herself actually claimed for the movies then that was not only wrong but stupid, but I suspect her Constituency office manager was responsible here and guess what – that’s her husband. I don’t think we should get too distracted by the nature of the false claim. Its more the principle that matters most, which further undermines the creaking parliamentary expenses system.

The only caveat I would add that is the Home Secretary by definition is a crucially important minister and must be someone that can carry the position with dignity, is widely respected and is taken seriously. If she reaches a point where she is becoming a bit of a joke or a laughing stock, then she should go. But for now lets not over react, after all I think there are bigger problems to focus on don’t you?

This was the week that…

·         HSBC became the latest company to make cuts – 1,200 jobs are to go [more]

·         Business leaders queued up to warn that Britain cannot afford another fiscal stimulus [more]; [more]

·         The government confirmed there will be an Iraq War inquiry, but suggested it will be held in private [more]

·         A UK bond auction failed to find enough buyers for the first time since 2002 [more]

·         The split between the Prime Minister and the Treasury began to widen [more]

·         The Parliamentary Standards Commissioner launched an inquiry into a minister’s expenses [more]

·         A Sunday newspaper revealed the affair of a Labour MP and close friend of Gordon Brown [more]

·         The Conservative Party Chairman came unstuck justifying his expense claims [more]

·         Ken Clarke admitted he wasn’t sure if controversial Conservative tax reforms could be afforded [more]

·         Vince Cable was the only politician named in a ‘fantasy boardroom’ [more] 

Over the last week we learnt that…

·         GDP suffered its biggest quarterly fall since 1980 in the last quarter of 2008 [more]

·         The government will borrow £351bn in the next two years – more than in the 306 years up to Labour’s election victory in 1997 [more]

·         Retail sales almost stalled in February, coming in well below expectations [more]

·         15% of shops will be vacant by the end of 2009 [more]

·         Poor leadership at the Foreign Office has created a culture where “mediocrity flourishes” [more]

·         £3bn of overpaid tax credits have been written off as unrecoverable [more]

·         As many as one quarter of government databases may be illegal [more]

·         The Department of Transport misled environmental groups over Heathrow expansion [more]

·         Unemployment is good for your health – according to one government minister [more]

Over the last week the Liberal Democrats…

·         Launched their G20 development plan [more]

·         Successfully amended the Coroners and Justice Bill after forcing a government u-turn [more]

·         Tabled an Early Day Motion calling for the second home allowance to be abolished for London MPs [more]

·         Called on the Government to replace the VAT cut with investment into public transport and home insulation to create new jobs [more]

·         Revealed that anti-terror legislation is routinely used by local councils against minor offenders [more]

·         Wrote to the Chancellor over Sir Fred Goodwin’s pension payments [more]

·         Highlighted shocking statistics about Britain’s knife crime culture [more]

Last nights Area Partnership meeting at Sedgley Park School was billed as “the one not to miss”, and I think it lived up to expectations.

The meeting was well attended – although most members of the public were there to here further about proposals for the development of Prestwich Village or arrangements for the Oasis concerts in Heaton Park. Key highlights included:

Prestwich Festival

Panel and residents received an update on progress for this years inaugural Prestwich Festival which will run from May 17th to June 21st.

David Curtis who leads the carnival organising committee and is coordinating the Festival on behalf of the AP gave an update and confirmed that at present there are 25 events scheduled to take place. Starting with the Clough day on May 17th and climaxing with the Carnival on June 21st.

More events are being finalised and added all the time so its a case of wait and see. The Prestwich Festival programme will be printed in the next month and will schedule out all the events.  

Oasis concerts

3 concerts are too take place in Heaton Park on 4th, 6th and 7th June with Oasis headlining. Many residents have expressed concern at these proposed concerts. Especially with regard to home security, traffic, anti-social behaviour  etc.

The event promoters attended alongside the Manchester City Council project manager and a representative of the Event traffic and & transport management company. They addressed concerns raised and informed residents that a information leaflet is to be delivered shortly and a hotline number is to be established. Inspector Ryecroft confirmed that there will be a massive police operation to maintain security. In addition a private security firm are to be deployed.

Its fair to say that concerns still remain about traffic and parking issues and the impact across Prestwich, although they will be directing traffic through Middleton Road. and from Bowker vale Tram station.

Prestwich Centre Regeneration

Representatives of Hollins Murray Group the owners of the precinct – gave a presentation on their plans for the precinct following the proposals formulated by Urbed and subject to extensive consultation. Plans were also made available to view. Essentially at present they are not significantly dissimilar from the Urbed love-prestwich vision plans and that can only be good. Obviously it is relatively early in the process still and HMG informed the meeting that an Outline Planning Application would be submitted shortly. It would be fair to say that the presentation and proposals were well received from those that asked questions or made comment.

Police Report

Inspector Ryecroft reported on the last crime and security situation. he outlined that there has been a spate of burglaries across the area  and a drop in anti-social behaviour generally – although Holyrood ward remains the worst affected.

Graffiti was raised by a number of residents and Inspector Ryecroft was delighted to report that a main culprit has been caught who has confessed to 65 graffiti offences.

Next meeting: May 14th, Heaton Park School, Cuckoo Lane. 

Greater Manchester Police lost more than 830 working days in a single year because of assaults on their officers, new figures reveal. 

Vic D’Albert, Lib Dem Parliamentary Candidate for Bury South said: “Violence against police officers is totally unacceptable. Police officers are clearly not being provided with the protection that they need to do their jobs. 

“Current measures are clearly not effective enough 832 days are lost because of attacks on Greater Manchester Police officers. 

“There must be zero tolerance on attacks, abuse and threats of violence and this means prosecuting the offenders and putting them through the courts. We must send out a strong message that the strongest possible action will be taken to prosecute any attacks on our Police Officers. 

“Our Police do a tremendous job in often difficult and dangerous conditions. They need to know that everything possible is being done to protect them. They deserve to know that the Government is doing all it can – they deserve those assurances.

Figures show that 34 forces lost a total of 15,338 officer working days due to assaults in the latest year for which figures are available.  Most badly hit was the Metropolitan Police, with 5,848 days lost, followed by West Midlands (1,166), Northumbria (1,075) and then Greater Manchester. The figures were released in a written parliamentary answer from Policing Minister Vernon Coaker. 

Last nights meeting of Polefield TRA was hopefully a turning point in the fortunes of the organisation and the estate.

Local police were in attendance with Anti-social behaviour officers. They are currently organising a clamp down on anti-social behaviour and crime etc on the estate as part of a concerted effort to restore the fortunes of the estate and improve community spirit and confidence.

As part of this coordinated efforta number of initiatives are planned for residents – young and old. It’s too early to go into detail yet, but I hope this is at long last the much needed breakthrough this estate and the decent long suffering residents have been waiting for. Watch this space!

A letter is shortly to be delivered to residents bordering Heaton Park advising of two surgeries which will take place to enable residents to get advice and raise concerns about the Oasis concerts planned in June. The proposed advice surgeries are as follows:

Tuesday, 5th May from15:00-19:00hrs at Heaton Park Bowls Complex (St Margaret’s Rd entrance)

Wednesday, 6th May from 15:00-19:00hrs at Parkside Training Centre (Sheepfoot Lane)

For further information or to register comments and concerns you may also wish to contact the Park General manager, Graham Wightman on 0161 773 1085 X209 or Email: g.wightman@manchester.gov.uk

Residents are urged to attend the next meeting of Prestwich Local Area Partnership when three massive issues will be on the agenda.

Prestwich Festival, the summer’s Oasis concerts, and the latest plans to regenerate the town centre will be discussed.

The LAP meeting is on Thursday March 26 at Sedgley Park Primary School in Prestwich, starting at 6.30pm.  There is a chance to meet and great local councillors, the police, housing officers from 6.15pm onwards.

• Love Prestwich co-ordinator David Curtis will outline plans for the five-week festival, which runs from May 17 to June 21, and how local people can take part and help out.

• Rock legends Oasis are playing Heaton Park on June 4, 6 and 7. Concert officials and promoters will be at the LAP to detail arrangements for the shows and plans to minimise disruption to residents. 
• Topping the bill are developers Hollins Murray Group, who will unveil their proposals to redevelop the Longfield shopping centre. These have been drawn up in direct response to residents’ comments on their original vision. The plans will be on display in Prestwich Library on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday (March 24 to 26).

Councillor Vic D’Albert, chair of Prestwich Local Area Partnership, said: “What can I say – these are three massive issues for Prestwich residents.“Prestwich Festival is about bringing our community together and celebrating the best we have to offer, so please come along and listen to what’s planned. 

“The Oasis concert is a massive operation and this is a great opportunity for residents to seek reassurances about safety, security and traffic.

“Finally, the Longfield redevelopment plans are long-awaited and much needed and I hope that local residents feel that their views are listened to and have been responded to. All I can say is, be at this meeting!”

LOVEPRESTWICH FESTIVAL

Starts at Prestwich Clough Sunday 17 May till Sunday 21 June at Prestwich Carnival. To Keep up to date with LOVEPRESTWICH visit www.iloveprestwich.com 

Bury Liberal Democrats are calling for a commitment from Bury Council to clamp down on graffiti across the borough. 

The Lib Dems have launched a “6 to fix graffiti” campaign and are challenging the Conservative-run Council to take a zero-tolerance approach to the problem. 

Vic D’Albert, Lib Dem Parliamentary candidate for Bury South commented, “Bury Council has failed to tackle the problem of graffiti. We have to show our support for local people who are the victims of this crime, and our commitment to our community which shouldn’t have to put up with vandalism like this.” 

“Despite graffiti being an issue for several months now, all the Tories at the Town Hall have done so far is issue Area Partnerships a few graffiti cleaning kits. While that’s a start it’s a wholly inadequate response to the problem. They are telling us we should clean the mess ourselves, but it’s the Council that should be tackling the problem. The Conservatives running Bury Council talk about writing a policy, but it’s taking months and it’s not getting rid of any graffiti.”  

“It’s time Bury Conservatives showed some leadership on this issue and worked alongside local police, residents groups and others to tackle the problem head on. It’s spoiling our town”

Local Lib Dems have identified 6 points they would like to see developed to fix the problem of graffiti.

1. Local people – encouraged to challenge graffiti, report graffiti 
2. Bury Council – to commit  to clean up graffiti quickly
3. Local Businesses – pledge to clean up graffiti on their property 
4. Police – to catch the offenders and punish them including getting them to clean their own mess up
5. Schools & Youth Service– to educate and challenge pupil perceptions and opinions
6. Utitility Companies – to work with Bury Council and commit to cleaning sites swiftly. 

“We believe we have been patient with Bury Council, but now we need action not more warm words from Bury Conservatives. Let’s see some commitment to our communities, A coordinated effort and zero tolerance.” 

This was the week that…

·         Unemployment passed the 2m mark for the first time in 12 years [more]

·         The IMF predicted that the recession in Britain will be the worst in the developed world [more]

·         Evidence grew of the Government’s complicity in torture [more]

·         NHS target culture was blamed for up to 1,200 people dying unnecessarily at a Staffordshire hospital [more]

·         The NHS was criticised for spending millions on unproven schemes [more]

·         The Immigration minister announced plans for a detention centre outside Calais – although no one in France had heard of the plan [more]

·         After Lib Dem pressure, the government backed down on plans to share data between departments [more]

·         Senior Labour figures lined up to criticise the PM and make him accept blame [more] ; [more]

·         The Government Chief Whip accused his own backbenchers of “idleness” [more]

Over the last week we learnt that…

·         Car production fell by almost 60% in January [more]

·         Each adult in Britain is an average of £40,000 worse off because of the recession [more]

·         Gordon Brown was warned over Britain’s weak regulatory regime in 2004 – and did nothing [more]

·         2m people will be on the waiting list for social housing by 2011 [more]

·         The UK will borrow more money than any other major economy next year [more]

·         Britain is giving less help to the country’s poor in the recession than other G8 nations [more]

·         Youth crime has soared over the last 10 years under Labour [more]

·         The Government’s new Department for Energy and Climate Change is in chaos [more]

·         Housing prisoners in police stations has proved more expensive than the Ritz per night [more]

·         The Government has spent £780,000 on flowers in four years [more]

Over the last week the Liberal Democrats…

·         Condemned the Government over their management of the Northern Rock crisis [more]

·         Exposed a £2bn black hole in the government’s unemployment benefits estimates

·         Challenged the Prime Minister over the Government’s “frenzied” target culture [more]

·         Attended the launch of a cross-party campaign for a ‘Post Bank’ (a long-standing Lib Dem policy) [more]

·         Revealed shocking statistics about alcohol related youth hospital admissions [more]

·         Heaped pressure onto the Government to open a public inquiry into the invasion of Iraq [more]

·         Called for a green road out of recession and criticised the Government’s neglect of the environment [more]