January 2020 and we’re building homes at Social Rent!

Weekly Update

Gorgeous Gorse Hill Meeting

Monday night’s meeting was all about planning for the new year. The work that Gorgeous Gorse Hill do is fabulous. Please do get involved.

More information is on the Facebook page – Gorgeous Gorse Hill Noticeboard.

Tuesday

Sad funeral of Peter Cowburn. Peter and Margaret walked more miles delivering Labour Party leaflets than anyone I knew. He was a wonderful character and City fan. Selfless in his devotion to Nepal, he was a trustee for over twenty years to the charity Children of Nepal. A keen runner, his was a life well lived. I was quite moved that the photo on the funeral service was of Peter holding the Labour Party merit award I’d nominated him for.

Lostock Community Partnership

In the afternoon a meeting of Lostock Partnership, particularly focused on plans to build a hotel at Lostock circle. We’re still waiting for the submission to planning and whilst there’s been some early consultation, it’s really only when the application’s in that we can really evaluate.

Thursday

Planning Committee

A hotel at Warwick Road was rejected but another hotel extension at Lancs Cricket was allowed. I think I was more inclined in favour of the application than other members of the committee. It is a very tall building though.

The planning application I was most inspired by was an application for housing in Timperley at social rent. This will be the first in Trafford for over a decade. We talk about affordable housing but this at best is just a small discount from the market rent. These in Timperley will be at Social Rent. It’s the closest we’ve come to building council housing in years. The Tories sold them off and now Labour is building new ones. It’s what I went into politics to do and I’m really proud of this small step in the right direction.

Saturday Parkrun / Labour Hustings

Three quarters round the Wythenshawe Park run and my calf muscle pings. It’s happened before and there’s not much you can do about it. It’s like a thin tendon snapping. Having done it before, you can’t get too worked up about it, I’ll be back running in a week or two at worst.

Anyway the snapped tendon allows me to miss canvassing and to watch the leadership hustings on YouTube.

I don’t think we’re anywhere near ready to enter into a leadership election. December’s defeat is far too raw. The Liverpool hustings were awful. It might get better when we’re down to the last two or three. I hope so.