From the Canal to Sevenways

Category: Environment

  • Focus on Derbyshire Lane West

    Focus on Derbyshire Lane West

    We’ve been out and about in Derbyshire Lane West, asking how it’s going. As you can see below, you’ve been saying lots of good things about the area.

    But there are things you’d like to see improved…

    You don’t feel as safe as you deserve to feel.

    This has been raised a few times. The police figures are not too bad, but they don’t tell the whole story. You’ve told us about drug dealing in alleys and instances of self-injecting in the open. The area is not far from well-publicised tragic events involving knives and there has been a lot of worry about an incident in Moss Park about a year ago.

    I want to bring the police into this. I’d like to see some community engagement. I’m not sure police surgeries are the answer, but there are actions we need to consider.

    It’s not good for anyone if we don’t feel safe enough to engage fully in community activity, particularly if that means children are denied the freedom granted to older generations.

    Flytipping and graffiti

    We need to do better at clearing flytipping. There’s graffiti on the back of the flats above the shops. People have told me it adds to the general sense of a neighbourhood that’s not looking after itself.

    Decline of the road

    The state of the speed-humps in particular has been raised. They’re by no means the worst, but I get that people expect better.

    Subway under railway

    The subway has received some attention lately but it needs major investment. Andy Burnham wants all Greater Manchester stations to be accessible. The condition of the Humphrey Park subway means it can not be said to be wheelchair accessible.

    Actions

    I’m going to talk to the police over the general perception of personal safety in the neighbourhood. I’m already talking to Trafford over graffiti.

    Ideally, I’d like to improve general engagement with the area. The Friends of Moss Park is not currently active because people have left the area.

    I almost live too close to the area, because it’s easy to take things for granted and I’d like us to improve our channels of communication with the area.

    I’d really love for people to engage with the comments below and tell me how we need to respond. Should we be doing more in terms of litter picking for instance? I’d suggest public meetings but is there an appetite?

    I’m intending to update the site on how we’re getting on. But please do comment below!

  • Le Tour de Barton

    Le Tour de Barton

    A trip around the ward to check out what’s happening

    Kellogg’s Closure

    Although the Kellogg’s factory is just outside the ward boundary, the warehouse and loading bays are ours. There’s a perceptible slowing down of activity on the site. It’s rare to encounter an incoming HGV on Park Road now. Landscape maintenance has lost its edge. It’s sad seeing the slowdown. Manufacture might continue for a few more years, but the focus is shifting to what happens next. The land remains allocated for industry in Trafford’s strategic plan. We’ll have to see if that changes. I’ve not heard any discussions. These are quite large parcels of land and there may be more than one solution.

    Barton Dock Road and underpass

    I don’t remember a time when there wasn’t a cycleway down Barton Dock Road. It was there when Massey Ferguson was there. It might even go back to the war. Trafford Park has always had a lot of workers travelling by bike. So it’s sad to see parts getting overgrown. I’m going to try to get Amey to attend to it.

    For some reason, the underpass is decked with Red Bull cans, dozens of them. We have had some rough sleeping there in the past. It might be happening again although there was no obvious sign of bedding, just the empty cans. I’ve reported.

    Surf Centre and Therme

    There are no visible signs of life at either of the two proposed water-based projects on Barton Dock Road although, by coincidence, new planning applications have come in both for Therme and the site of the Surf Centre. I suspect the surf centre is only one of many options for that site, but I’d love both Therme and the Surf Centre to happen!

    Link to latest Therme planning application

    Link to latest Surf Centre site application

    Asda Crossing

    There’s been some bad press lately for the company. They’re slipping down the Supermarket popularity charts. Having said that, the Trafford Park store tends to be my supermarket of choice largely because it’s so accessible by bike. I just wish they’d improve their bike parking. If you’re blessed with a segregated cycling route all the way to your front door, make the most of it, get rid of the wheel bender brackets and install some proper stands! Please!

    That crossing outside Asda that links to the Trafford Centre needs to be more responsive to allow the crowds to cross. It’s an incredibly long wait for the lights to change even when the traffic is barely moving. The Bee Network is improving crossings across GM. I’m asking them to look at the Asda crossing.

    Bee Network Publicity 31st August 2024

    Church of All Saints, Barton on Irwell, Barton Swing Aqueduct and their joint Conservation Area

    Note: All the interior photos are from the Greyfriars website

    The church is Trafford’s only Grade 1 listed building north of the River Mersey. We’ve got a small number of Grade 1s in around Dunham Park and Hale, but nothing as highly regarded as this up here.

    Nikolaus Pevsner described the church as (Edward) Pugin’s masterpiece. It sits with Barton Swing Aqueduct (listed class 2 + star) in its own conservation area. You would not know it. The area opposite is a dumping ground for old fridges and mattresses and the swing bridge is looking unloved.

    According to April’s ‘Tablet’, the Greyfriars who are the current custodians of the church are moving on. I want to engage with Trafford’s heritage officers to prioritise this conservation area.

    I also want to visit the church and attend a service there. Definitely on my to-do list.

    Trafford Centre Premier Inn

    An application has been submitted to demolish the former premier inn next to the motorway (not to be confused with the one on Trafford Boulevard). This one has been empty for a few years.

  • Committees may not be a good way to design a car, but they’re the way to make sure the city ticks

    Committees may not be a good way to design a car, but they’re the way to make sure the city ticks

    There have still been a few meetings happening as we enter the summer break. Whilst I haven’t attended all in person, the importance of the subject matter has made it imperative to read the reports and catch the video streams. Committees are hard work and you still get the occasional member who can never reach a full stop, but there’s been so much else to take on board.

    Executive
    Greater Manchester Scrutiny
    Trafford’s Health Scrutiny
    Datalab update
    National Policy Forum

    Executive

    Although I’m not a member of the Council’s Executive, primarily it’s their decisions upon which I’ll be judged when it comes to being re-elected. I like to follow what they’re up to.

    Items on the agenda included:

    A new Culture Strategy for Trafford.

    The culture strategy document is available here. I like that the emphasis is as much on bringing on new talent as putting on shows. My own feeling is that Greater Manchester has improved its arts output hugely since Salford fought off the City of Manchester in winning the BBC to Media City, but Manchester still dwarfs everyone else combined. The fact that Oldham Colosseum closed shows how tough it is. I think I’d like to see a Greater Manchester approach and Trafford feeding into that with its strategy but not competing.

    Tennis Investment Project

    This involves a charging policy and the procurement of a specialist operator for the tennis courts the council owns such as at Davyhulme Park and Victoria Park. Initially, it will be trialled and I don’t think they’ve announced yet where the trials will be.

    Active Travel Reprioritisation

    The battle of the A56 cones has almost become a defining cultural phenomenon. However, it looks as though Trafford has received the go-ahead to move forward with a designed scheme that would make permanent arrangements. From the funding point of view, this means including it within the Mayor of Greater Manchester’s Challenge Fund Budget. (The Dept of Transport originally funded the cones as an emergency measure during Covid)

    Sadly, we do not get junction improvements to the Barton Road gyratory and active cyclists heading towards Altrincham will still be deposited into the fast lane of the A56. The approach to design has been to leave the junction in place, but weave a cycle and walking route on and through the central island. It’s a problem because it involves so many crossings which will delay the active traveller.

    Trafford is bidding for £1.6m for the whole scheme to provide permanent segregation from Talbot Road to the M60 including the gyratory weave and crossings. A lot of active travellers have already pointed out that the M60 is not where they usually choose to end their journey and that is a problem, at a minimum their heading to Dane Road.

    My conclusion on the A56: So the A56 scheme is not perfect; far from it. Despite this, I am still supportive of the bid. The cones have been so divisive and have brought out the worst in people. We need to move on.

    Additional Schemes

    The two Talbot Road junctions with Chester Road and with Greatstone Road have already received full business case approval and they’re particularly anticipated with a degree of eagerness. I’ve been pursuing Greatstone Road junction improvements for pedestrians for a number of years so there’s a degree of fulfilment attached to that.

    Pipeline Scheme – Davyhulme Active neighbourhood (technically route D). I really need to publicise this more. I am yet to be convinced it’s a worthwhile scheme. They’re hoping to have the business case submitted by January 2024. Essentially, it’s five low-traffic neighbourhoods (LTN)s. We know Rishi Sunak does not like LTNs, but they can be worthwhile – most of Stretford around Victoria Park is essentially a low-traffic neighbourhood, they’ve cut off exits onto Chester Road or Kingsway. My initial reaction to the Davyhulme scheme is that it condenses the traffic onto residential streets rather than main roads and that’s a problem.

    Greater Manchester Scrutiny Committee

    Again, I’m not a member, but in this case, I am a substitute member. Items discussed included.

    Topics included:

    • National Waste Strategy – essentially balancing the need to recycle more with the practicalities of fine-sorting the waste. The government are shifting their position
      Trafford’s Leader, Cllr Tom Ross gave a really top-notch presentation that’s worth watching on the GMCA site
    • Bus Fare Initiatives including capped fares. Funding is in place for 24/25. The introduction has led to an increase of 12% in patronage so GMCA is keen on continuation. To review it again next summer. Franchising will have a positive behavioural effect. In fact, franchising is so exciting in that it opens up so many possibilities. The tragedy would be if funding was pulled from 2025.

    Trafford Health Scrutiny

    Another packed meeting. Items included:

    Adaptations Team and Occupational Therapy Update – This is a major contributor to quality of life and hospital discharges. The team has a serious backlog that can be traced back to Covid. Scrutiny was looking at the action plan to alleviate the delays.

    Hospital Discharge – A broader look at resilient discharge – making sure that patients leaving hospital have the support needed to sustain themselves.

    Integrated Care System Update – This is yet another reorganisation; in this case to replace the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG). Although it sounds dry, this is a vital element of health provision. The Greater Manchester model is proving itself in terms of life expectancy. The journey to transform health care though is only just beginning and building a system that integrates both care and health provision requires organisational change. There’s a huge amount of work going on behind the scenes. It’s vital that scrutiny monitors this change but it’s quite a significant task.

    Trafford Datalab Presentation

    This was presented last week as part of my induction on returning to the council, but I don’t need any persuasion. I love the work they do and their output is generally open data. I just want to highlight one particular page – the census data. It’s a cornucopia of intelligence but vital in targeting and championing resources.

    Labour’s National Policy Forum

    Gender recognition law has been a divisive subject in the Labour Party and elsewhere, but particularly in the Labour Party.

    I wanted to briefly state that I believe the position taken at the National Policy Forum at the weekend seems to me to be just about right. I know that others will disagree but I back Anneliese Dodds:

    We need to recognise that sex and gender are different – as the Equality Act does. We will make sure that nothing in our modernised gender recognition process would override the single-sex exemptions in the Equality Act. Put simply, this means that there will always be places where it is reasonable for biological women only to have access. Labour will defend those spaces, providing legal clarity for the providers of single-sex services.

    Anneliese Dodds – Labour Shadow Secretary of State, Women and Equalities – Guardian 24 July 2023
  • We hear good words but we’re not delivering the change needed

    We hear good words but we’re not delivering the change needed

    I’m indebted to my colleague Councillor Jill Axford for sharing this video. Jill herself has been ahead of the curve with regard to climate change for a long time. She’s absolutely spot on. We’re nowhere near where we need to be. We must stop deceiving ourselves that technological solutions will make it all disappear. Please watch this video. It’s only 16 minutes but there’s clarity here.

    We’re seeing the significant weather events. We’re seeing the damage to our community. We really do need to take this seriously.

    Raglan Road
  • 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.

    • Canvassing Kingsway Park

      Canvassing Kingsway Park

      Things I heard:

      Better maintenance of drains and general upkeep of streets wanted including weed control

      – I heard this from quite a few residents. It’s a difficult one but we shouldn’t dismiss it. There was one grid pointed out to me that actually looked as though it had been cleaned. I might be wrong but if we have residents who believe their streets are not being serviced, and it worries them, shouldn’t we be giving better data. They’re paying council tax but we’re giving back information that’s borderline facetious describing the leaf clearance in terms of its weight in elephants. If residents want to know when and how often their grids ought to be cleared and whether that has happened we should be telling them.

      I do think there’s a discussion to be had about street upkeep more generally. Cheap black tarmac patching on pavements highlight the fact that the pavements were originally laid to a standard that we’ll never match again. Whilst hopefully we can fund better than we do now, it’s probably unrealistic to think councils will ever realistically have sufficient funds to bring pavements and roads to a standard that people truly aspire to. How did that happen? Looking at it from a lay perspective, it looks to me that we’ve gone backwards even allowing for the increased workload we place on roads and pavements. Are we really using low tech and manual labour to standards lower than we used 100 years ago? Have councils and highway authorities demanded the sufficient improvements in technology and productivity that we’ve seen in almost every other field of work?

      We really do need to enforce encroachment of vegetation onto the pavement. We’re denying people the right to move about freely if they’re pushing a pram or using mobility aids. This was raised by a resident in connection with a near neighbour and she’s absolutely right to raise.

      I thought it interesting that one resident felt political parties ought to be more capable of working together. It’s polarised. I don’t know how we can change that.

      Doorstep conversations are always interesting and provocative. I always come back with more challenges to the way we do things.