There have been a few emails floating around about work that has been started there recently, so I thought it would be worth posting a little something.

West Didsbury are doing this work based on planning permission from 1999. They claim that as they had started some

rudimentary building work within five years, the permission is still valid.

The Planning Department have asked for evidence that the club did do the initial work.

However, even if the club cannot produce that evidence and the Planning Department were to take action, it seems likely that the club would be allowed the development on appeal, as it was originally permitted by the Council.

 The works seems to be relatively minor, an increase in the floorplan of a few square metres rather than a huge increase.  It also suggests that the club could be ready to focus on its existing facility rather than resubmit their expansion plans as feared.  Time, of course, will tell.

Trafford Council have backed the plans for a Mega Tesco, but recommended refusal of the Sainsbury’s at White City.  The Planning Committee meet on Thursday evening to make the final decision. 

Will blog in more detail about this very soon. 

More shenanigans from Manchester Labour’s version of Peter Mandelson, Cllr Pat Karney, this time trying desperately to promote Manchester Day.  On Tuesday, he put forward a motion of thanks for all the groups that already have parades etc, mela, pride, the Irish festival.  Nothing too controversial on the face of it, but it was further sign that Labour’s wasteful exercise is floundering. 

A recent MEN poll showed 68% were against, their columnist Diane Cooke putting forward her eloquent views on the subject and it is increasingly looking like £200k is being used as a vanity project.  I won’t pretend to be happy that I have a professional duty to attend and its on Fathers Day.

Yet, it is another example of this Council ignoring the suburbs and concentrating on the square mile that Cllr Karney lives in.  It would amount to £15k per ward being spent and if that came to Chorlton, we could fund even more community projects, spread them through the year.  Indeed, if anywhere would benefit from a Day like this it could be Chorlton. 

 Imagine bringing the Green Fest, Arts Festival, Book Festival, Beech Rd festival, schools etc together in one venue? 

Actually, it would be chaos, but the point is, Chorlton and other communities in Manchester can spend this money more wisely than the tinpot megolmaniacs in the Town Hall.

Should it prove to be bigger than New York (as promised), I will eat my hat.

Recently, I questioned whether Manchester can save £2.8M in fostering costs and on Tuesday, we recieved a report on the matter.  I remain far from convinced.

The Council are making creditable steps to reduce the costs.  They hope to put more children with foster parents and fewer in care homes.  I think that would result in more children in environments that would enable them to grow, allow them to achieve.  It won’t be the case that care homes are always bad and foster parents are always good, but, if the worst came to the worst, I would want my children in a family environment.

There are reasons to be pessimistic.  There are 31 fostering parents going through the training required. in the last quarter 26 parents stopped fostering. The reasons are various and don’t hint at a problem, the problem is sustaining the numbers of foster parents Manchester needs.

As a Council, we send a significant number of children to foster parents outside Manchester.  These parents cost more and much of the savings will be in reducing this expenditure.  But if we don’t have the carers in Manchester (and we are off the back of a recruitment drive), we will struggle to save what is required.

So, will the Council push to reduce costs or put the welfare of the children concerned first?

Chorlton Lib Dem campaigner Victor Chamberlain has called on the Home Secretary to end the unfair funding formula which will mean cuts for Greater Manchester Police, despite figures showing Greater Manchester has one of the highest crime levels. Victor said, “I’ve uncovered figures showing 1 in 20 Chorlton people have been burgled in the last year. Yet because the way Labour funds the police, GMP is facing a budget deficit of over £6 million and is having to examine cutting up to 300 police from our streets . The Home office should give the police enough resources to do their jobs.”

Follow this link to get our policy for the NHS. 

The next few years are an interesting time to be in local government, precisely because the choices you make will have a profound effect on peoples lives.  It appears that cuts are coming, £37m of the from Labours budget plans in Manchester.

Some of the areas are interesting.  They suggest long term inefficiency and massive upheaval in many vulnerable groups. 

£2.8m of savings moving children from care homes to foster families?  Why aren’t they already with foster carers unless there is a shortage that wont be solved overnight. 

£2.4m on a reenablement programme for long term sick?  So have we been wasting this money, year in year out, or are we going to force genuinely sick people out of care.  Both options would be a scandal.

I am part of the ruling group on Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue Authority and we have been planning and introducing sensible, gradual efficienies for some time.  The pain is minimised.  At Manchester City Council, I suspect the pain will be maximised.

Manchester Friends Of The Earth are running a survey on the relationship between buses and cyclists in Manchester.  If you cycle, please take a couple of minutes (its only about 6 questions) to offer your views.

 The picture is quite random, but I thought you might like it!

Residents who have experienced shared communal recycling facilities since the recent changes are about to be canvassed as to how it’s going.  Obviously, some areas will have found that this is better than the previous arrangements, but there are places where shared recycling simply makes very little sense.

Please do take part in the survey when the come knocking.  In the meantime, I have asked that other residents are surveyed about their recycling facilities, particularly those juggling multiple bins in terraced housing.