Nearly 12,000 on the waiting list. This excludes all those who’ve self-excluded their chances of obtaining suitable social housing. It leaves so many in overcrowded or unsuitable housing. This is a terrible indictment of Trafford Council. It needs to play its part.
Mike Cordingley
image: northwest labour
We’ve just received word that call in has been allowed. Parents and other interested parties haven’t got long to get submissions in. The working deadline for submissions to this call-in is Tuesday 23rd March. It may be possible to submit til Thursday but much better if the submissions are by Tuesday. (Just a reminder that the decision being called in is the decision to begin the process to close the two schools)
Dear Councillor / Colleague
Please note that Councillor Mrs. Reilly, as Chairman of Overview & Scrutiny Core Committee, has agreed that the above decision be called in for scrutiny by the Overview & Scrutiny Core Committee. A copy of the call-in proforma is attached, for information, along with the decision report and decision statement, for ease of reference.
In view of the required timescale for hearing the call-in and a range of other scheduled meetings and logistic considerations, the options for the timing of this meeting are extremely constrained. It is therefore envisaged that the meeting will take place on Monday 29th March, at 6.30 p.m. I would be very grateful if Members of the Committee could confirm their availability.
Further details, agenda papers, etc., will be circulated in the usual way.
I am advised that members of the public will not be allowed to address the meeting; but that if written representations are submitted in advance they will be made available for the Committee’s consideration. Any such representations should be forwarded to the Scrutiny Office at TTH by the afternoon of Tuesday 23rd March to enable them to be included with the initial agenda distribution. It will be possible for additional items to be circulated as “to follow” papers provided they are received in the Scrutiny Office by 12.00 noon on Thursday 25th March at the very latest. Please note that any such representations are to be considered in a public forum; it is envisaged that they will be in the public domain, and their content should therefore avoid anything inappropriate for the public domain.
Regards –
image: my own
Mike Cordingley
The Council has recently been notified that Receivers have been appointed in respect of Stretford Town Centre Mall.
In light of the above; and of the lawful consent of 80,000 sq ft of food retail at White City, and the recent decision made by the Planning Committee to support the application to build a mega 175, 000 sq ft Tesco superstore, both of which are situated near to Stretford Town Centre, this Council recognises the urgent need to support the regeneration of Stretford town centre and the Mall.
To this end the Council resolves to:
- Do everything it can to support the Town Centre Mall in these difficult times
- Develop a proper and thorough Town centre plan and strategy.
- Develop a new improved and strengthened Town Centre partnership, and the development of a more effective partnership role with whoever becomes the new owners of the Mall.
- Ring fence the income from the mall and re-invest it back into Stretford town centre and the Mall.
This Council recognises that investment in our town centres has been proved to be effective in protecting them and making them fit for the future, helping them to serve our local communities. This has been proved to be successful in Sale, Altrincham and Urmston, this Council recognises that it is now time to look at Stretford.
Labour Motion to Council
Looking back at this motion in 2025, I cringe a little. What were we thinking? By 2010, Stretford Mall’s best days were long behind it. The motion will have been amended by the Conservatives, but neither party was prepared to conceive of a Stretford that played to its strengths and we’ve bequeathed a crumbling Edge Lane with a locked up Essoldo.
Call in Request -LACK OF CONSULTATION WITH PARENTS/LACK OF INFORMATION
The parents feel very strongly that there has been a lack of meaningful consultation with the Council concerning this decision. A 5,000 named petition has been signed by people objecting to the decision. There are a range of concerns consisting of whether there will be enough places at a new Academy, particularly in the long term when it’s planned to build 900 dwellings around LCCC – year 5 is already at capacity, and there is a lack of vacancies at any other school – a lack of information about what will happen in September, whether siblings will be guaranteed a place – severe disruption to children’s education – parents whose children are not yet in secondary education haven’t been given any information and haven’t been invited to any consultation, yet this decision affects their lives – the Stretford High School land should not be sold and the capital receipt given to LCCC, particularly so when the site of the proposed school is barely large enough for a new enlarged school – the 6th Form provision has been dropped from the original proposals for a new school. These are just a few of parents’ concerns, there are many more issues. The parents are also concerned that the decision on moving to statutory closure consultation has been made and the Executive will sign funding agreement with the Department for Education prior to the completion of the statutory consultation. This to them seems to be completely wrong and unacceptable. These concerns need to be heard by the committee and we suggest parents are invited to the call-in meeting so that the committee members can listen directly to those concerns.
Dave Acton – Labour Councillor for Gorse Hill
Mike Cordingley – Labour Councillor for Gorse Hill
Dave Jarman – Labour Councillor for Longford
Image: author’s
The Old Trafford stadium is 100 years old today. Still think they could do a lot more for their neighbourhood. Gordon Brown has had a good day in the polls, or at least the lead is shrinking; unlike Chelsea’s.
This story highlights just how out of touch Tories are. Gating schemes don’t just deter burglaries and anti social behaviour, they can create communal spaces that give pride to neighbourhoods.