Canal27ways

Category: Blog

  • It looks like a busy meeting of Trafford’s Executive next Monday

    It seems to be a packed agenda for Monday’s meeting. It’s here that we get the best insight as to how the council is working. There’s a few initiatives reaching report stage and a few projects that are beginning to get going.

    Agenda

    • Greening Trafford Park and Low Carbon Trafford Park Studies
    • Leisure Investment – Levelling up Partington Sports Village
    • Trafford Moving Refresh
    • Walking, Wheeling and Cycling Strategy
    • Better Care Fund
    • Section 75 Agreement with MFT
    • 10 Year Estates Strategy
    • Altrincham Town Hall
    • Supported Housing Strategy
    • BAME Terminolology
    • Budget Monitoring

    Highlights

    Trafford Supported Housing Strategy

    This is probably the most important item on the agenda. For the first time, supported housing gets its own strategy rather lost within the wider housing provision.

    Trafford’s need in this area is stark.

    • Trafford has a greater mortality rate for those aged under 75 years with mental health needs compared to its nine nearest statistical neighbours.
    • Hospital admissions connected to self-harm in the most deprived ward of Trafford is
      43% higher than the national average
      .
    • The recorded prevalence of depression has increased by 6.4% since 2013/14

    Trafford’s mortality rate for those with mental health needs is shocking. Trafford hospitals have the highest ‘length of stay’ rate compared with the rest of Greater Manchester. Lack of suitable accommodation is one driving factor for this.

    The vision:

    Work collaboratively to provide a range of quality supported housing, and housing related support, to enable those with support needs to live independently in Trafford.

    The Strategy contains a breakdown of supported housing need, current provision, future provision, and strategic objectives relating to each of the following need groups:

    • Domestic Abuse
    • Ex-offenders
    • Learning disabilities and Autism
    • Mental Health
    • Physical and Sensory Disabilities
    • Substance Misuse
    • Young People
    • Complex Needs

    It’s easy to see that under-provision in this area triggers excess demand in so many of our services, particularly health and policing.

    Greening Trafford Park and Low Carbon Trafford Park Studies

    These two studies have been heavily promoted throughout the investigations into the potential for a cleaner – greener Trafford Park. There’s some big ticket items that will require regional and national interventions. However there is smaller stuff that could be progressed quickly, but is really dependent:

    • on the Council and agencies grasping the report findings and building it into maintenance and uplift strategies for Trafford Park. Pavements are too narrow, bus stops low quality for example – when the council is working on an area, it should not be looking at how it can be left in a better state
    • on a Business Improvement District for Trafford Park – this is a key thrust – Hopefully it will fare better than the Trafford Park Business Neighbourhood which never really took off.

    We’ll have to see whether the Executive ‘owns’ this report and commits to key target setting or just welcomes the content. The reports are worthwhile on common energy generation and other matters. I think though that it requires a lot more commitment than provided for in the Executive submission.

    Trafford Moving

    The vision of Trafford Moving is to enable residents in Trafford to move more every day, by enabling more opportunities for residents to be active and to help people sustain this activity as part of their everyday lives, which will lead to a reduction in health inequalities in Trafford.

    That’s a tough nut to crack and the people that need most encouragement are both hard to reach and possibly don’t realise they should increase physical activity. However, there is hope with the report below.

    Trafford Walking, Wheeling and Cycling Strategy

    The overall goal is that over the next 10 years

    • 90% of journeys under 1 mile will be taken by foot or wheels
      equipment
    • 80% of journeys under 5 miles will be taken by foot or wheels
      equipment.

    That’s an ambitious target that would really go a long way to meeting the Trafford Moving policy at the same time. We’ve seen such a massive improvement since Aidan Williams became the Executive Lead. He’s not yet been in post 12 months but he’s made such a difference.

    Watching the Executive

    You can watch meetings of the council either live or a recording the next day. I tend to watch later so I can fast forward to get to the bits I’m interested in. The council has a YouTube channel

    https://www.youtube.com/@traffordcouncilmeetings8327

  • Labour Response to Liz Truss and other updates

    Change of Prime Minister

    Boris Johnson is gone. The work of government will become more managerial. There will be less pyrotechnics. There will be less transformative ambition. Levelling up is effectively dead. It will be fascinating to see how Keir Starmer responds.

    As it stands, Labour is ahead in the polls. Labour is heading for a majority of 16 and forming the next government. A new prime minister could completely change that landscape. Generally, I think we tend to place too much importance on the weekly Prime Minister’s Questions knockabout, but the first few encounters will set the tone. I would be worried if Keir Starmer continues to emphasise the ‘safe pair of hands’/experienced organisational leader qualities. It is time for him to present his analysis of where we are and how we move forward as a country.

    The energy famine western Europe is facing as a consequence of the war in Ukraine is difficult in the medium term. The price impact is going to be the most visible effect and something that puts lives at risk for the poorest. However, the price change is a function of scarcity. So, as well as protecting the most vulnerable and businesses, we’re going to have to try to reduce the demand for gas. I’d like to see Keir Starmer grab the opportunity to talk to the nation. I don’t think now is the time for picking at detail. We’re going to need real leadership. It’s harder for the Leader of the Opposition, but given Boris Johnson rarely took to serious dialogue, and the indications are that Liz Truss prefers to pretend everything is rosy, there’s an opportunity for Keir Starmer. We need to show that Labour gets the serious stuff.

    Personal News

    I’m on the Panel! This means I’ll be listed as a person available to be nominated and shortlisted for selection to stand as a Labour Candidate in next May’s local elections. So, I’m really hoping I’ll be nominated by the members of the new Lostock and Barton Ward for their shortlist. It will be a few weeks before the timetable is sorted.

    Labour Meeting

    A motion in favour of Proportional Representation was put to the meeting. Labour is never going to support PR. It is understandable that the most influential voices in the party are MPs and councillors. In England that means those influential people have been elected under First Past the Post system and on the whole it’s never going to be an attractive option to them to change that system. It’s a shame that we’ll never have a proper debate because looking at the bigger picture, invariably in elections there’s a majority to the left of the Conservative Party. It is almost invariably true that the consequence is the Conservative Party forming the Government. The motion was defeated.

    We also had a Momentum motion on instructing Labour’s frontbench to attend picket lines. I was one of two members who voted against the motion. Keir Starmer has taken a line and I just think we have to back it. Frustratingly, we weren’t allowed to debate the motion and this key aspect of the motion was not mentioned in the preamble. We really need to have a Conference that presents Labour as ready for Government and not at war with itself but the motion was passed.

    Canvassing in Sale

    A good response. Concern over crime and anti-social behaviour seemed to be the biggest issue raised with me and I’ve passed to the councillors.

    Local News

    Bus fares capped at £2. The first step in getting buses back to providing the backbone of our public transport provision.

    Application to demolish Event City and prepare the land for Therme Wellness Resort

    Alarm raised over canal path deterioration between Kelloggs and Barton Bridge.

    Lostock Community Partnership Meeting this Saturday 10am – Legacy of Circle Court exodus.

    Improved response from council and police to illegal parking on match days.

  • Lead Councillor brings Trafford up to Speed on the Cones

    Lead Councillor brings Trafford up to Speed on the Cones

    Hardly a week passes without a new thread on Facebook or Twitter about the cycle lanes going through Stretford. The main complaint has been the lack of transparency and news about what’s going to happen to them. Will they be made permanent? Will they be taken out? Will the cones be there forever?

    There’s been some changes to Trafford’s leadership since the election and Councillor Aidan Williams has been added to the cabinet to take on Climate Change and Transport Strategy.

    Councillor Williams took the opportunity of addressing a petition to give a wider update on the A56 last week when Council met at the town hall. The actual petition sought to exploit unused rail space alongside the Stretford Metrolink all the way down to Sale to provide additional cycling capacity. The council leadership agreed to explore the potential of this proposal but highlighted the limited access as an issue that meant it could never offer an alternative to the A56 for short journeys on bikes.

    The cycle lanes have been frustrating for drivers and cyclists alike. Now that Councillor Williams is in place, we’re beginning to get coherent messaging. First indication was a tweet that Aidan put out in mid July, a simple tweet that made its way to both the Manchester Evening News and the Messenger.

    The update at last Wednesday’s council meeting built on the information given out in the tweet. The council is going to consult on permanent cycling infrastructure in Stretford linking it via the Talbot Road scheme and (Old) Chester Road that gives Stretford continuous segregated cycling to the Manchester border. The design and landscaping within the town centre itself will be wrapped up within the town centre masterplan there.

    Full Text of Speech


    Personally, I very much welcome this. It’s beginning to join up cycling facilities. We need to see what they come up with at the Talbot Road junction because that’s still dangerous and if the test is a 12 year old being safe, we’re still a long way from that. But hey, this is so much better than what we’ve been used to.

    I’m really pleased that we’re getting some transparency now and it sounds like Councillor Williams wants to listen to all interested parties. Clarity is vital. We now know that cycle lanes won’t be installed along Chester Road in Gorse Hill. That will disappoint many, but at least knowing it, means that we can focus getting more crossings of that road. A crossing at Gorse Hill Park gates is an absolute must.

    And we still urgently need that pedestrian phase at the Park Road/Derbyshire Lane junction so people can walk to Stretford without having to sprint. If Councillor Williams’s Transport Strategy responsibilities extend to getting people across roads, we’ve got a chance to start seeing some real improvements.

    • Choosing the next MP

      Choosing the next MP

      We’re in the middle of our selection as Labour candidate. It’s an important choice and the three candidates left standing are of a really high quality.

      I’m having trouble choosing the candidate

      This is really an open set of five political questions to them as well as one operational question on an issue that has really troubled me.

      My Five Political Questions

      Economy – Are you up for the epochal reset of the economy that we need? How will you promote creating the green and sustainable economy where a family home does not earn more than the people who live in it?

      Europe – Are you up for a closer relationship with the EU? Starmer says no going back, but will you push for single market entry?

      Tax – Are you up for shifting the tax emphasis from work and onto wealth. Will you support a Land Value Tax?

      Democracy – Will you be prepared to devolve much more to regions? Will you foster democratisation of devolved bodies, including citizens assemblies and for instance greater user representation in health and transport?

      Education – Will you never forget the impact in terms of education and socialisation that Covid had on a generation of children and work to create a permanent lifelong learning infrastructure that supports them and wider society?

      That troubling Operational Question

      Let’s bite the bullet and tackle that operational question. There’s no easy way of broaching the subject. It’s on the issue of racism within the Labour Party. The party actually recognises it needs to do better and certainly has a focus on increasing diversity in its latest recruitment.

      My issue is that it’s not just the regional party that needs to do better, our MPs are failing the diversity question in terms of the staffing of their constituency offices.

      In terms of a selection, having worked for an MP, even for a short time, does give an advantage. It was notable that more than half the constituency’s longlist had at some time worked for an MP. However, the most important aspect is that these offices ought better reflect the places they serve.

      Q. When elected, will you work with neighbouring MPs and trade unions to review current practice in order to diversify recruitment to parliamentary offices to better reflect the diversity within the population?

    • Labour’s Runners 4 next MP

      We have a longlist for Labour’s replacement to stand for parliament when Kate Green’s term ends.

      It looks a quality field

      This will be the third selection since the constituency was created and we can already say that once again there’s been no parachute in of a favourite candidate and no stitching up to prevent a local candidate from standing. We have a reputation in Stretford and Urmston of choosing good Labour MPs and we’re trusted to make our choice.

      All those who declared their candidacy before this first stage have got through. I’m pleased to say I’ve not heard of anyone else coming forward to complain. So the selection is running smoothly.

      The candidates:

      *Link to dedicated Stretford and Urmston Campaign Page

      I’m sure that now the longlist is published there’ll be a web presence to support all the campaigns and I’ll provide links when I get them.

    • Stretford Town Centre – Consultation

      Stretford Town Centre – Consultation

      Currently, Chester Road and Kingsway sever the Mall from the rest of Stretford and create dangerous, uncomfortable crossings for residents and high levels of pollution and noise.

      Stretford Town Centre Consultation – Accessibility

      My thoughts on the Accessibility of the Town Centre

      Too limited in scale. The plan assumes that people only walk to the town centre from an area not much further out than Victoria Park. In making this assumption, it confines its consideration of severance to the A56 and Kingsway.

      Stretford Foodhall and other venues that have started up in recent years are already successfully exploiting the walkability of the nearest neighbourhoods. The new homes planned for the centre will add further to this ultra-local market. However, the best potential increase in the town centre’s market share lies beyond the immediate area.

      A walkable journey of fifteen minutes could reasonably define the catchment that Stretford needs to exploit. Applying this extends the area out towards:

      • Lostock/Sevenways/Derbyshire Estate,
      • Moss Road,
      • Gorse Hill,
      • The Quadrant,
      • Longford,
      • The Meadows,
      • Urmston Lane,
      • Moss Park.

      The routes serving these neighbourhoods from Stretford are typically busy fast roads with narrow pavements, often in poor condition and subject to aggressive pavement parking. Certain junctions are already notoriously unsafe.

      The council could work with Living Streets – Stretford to engage with the community in identifying further severance and improving walkability.

      The risk of not addressing this is that Stretford loses walking market penetration, putting people in a taxi to Manchester rather than taking an unpleasant 10-minute walk to their local town centre.

      Edit

      As a consequence of this post, my twitter friend Owler Nook has posted an isochrone map of Stretford showing increments of walking areas. This is a live calculation available here

      Isochrone from Open Route Service

      What really underlines the importance of attracting these potential customers for Stretford all living within 15 minutes is the scale. The plan is focusing all its accessibility improvements on the inner ‘red’ area currently accommodating 1500 residents. Take it out to the 15 minute range and you’re targeting fifteen thousand people.