Canal27ways

Category: Trafford Council

  • Council Budget Time

    Bit late with this for one reason or another but I wanted to do a write up on Trafford’s Budget for 20/21.

    Council Income

    Unlike the national Government, councils only have a few ways that they can raise income to spend on our behalf.

    • Council Tax – the obvious one levied in 8 bands. Regressive, the more valuable your property, the less the rate of council tax you pay as a percentage of its value. And we have some very valuable properties.

    £11m for Scooby Doo Mansion

    • Fees and Charges – Some councils make as much from parking charges and fines than they take from council tax. Westminster Council takes in more than £80m from parking alone. Then you have all the bus lane infringement type penalties etc. Westminster Council has the lowest council tax in the country and some of the most expensive properties. Tourists are money!
    • Central Government Funding and Business Rates – Trafford’s business rates are pooled with the other Greater Manchester Authorities before they come back to us, but whilst the rates themselves are set by Government there’s still financial incentive for us to support business growth.

      Government Grants are by nature subject to the vagaries of central government’s priorities. Increasingly we are seeing Government ministers claiming they are putting money into social care when all they’ve really done is to allow councils to increase council tax.
    • Income from investment – Trafford’s asset investment strategy gives a sustainable revenue stream whilst facilitating development and regeneration and also supporting local authority functions.
    • Reserves – Trafford traditionally has held low reserves compared to other councils.

    This year’s budget changes

    • Trafford’s net budget is increasing from £169.94m to £175.20m or 3%.
    • Council Tax is increasing by 3.99%

    You can see from those two figures above we’re putting more in than we get back. This Tory Government is still not pulling its weight and it’s leaving council tax payers to make up the difference.

    I’m particularly pleased we’re taking £3.8m from the budget support reserve to invest in measures which are expected to increase the quality of services and lead to reduced demand on Children’s Services.

    • We’re increasing the amount we’re able to borrow for asset investment. It’s going to be £500m we can take our investment borrowing up to. So far this strategy is working. I would not abandon the strategy, but I do think we need increasing levels of oversight. The fund is now nearly twice the size originally envisaged.
    • Fees and charges are generally going up modestly.

    I am really pleased that Labour controlled Trafford (now entering it’s third year) is continuing to soundly manage the council’s finances. I take a little bit of pride in that, as it was something I really wanted to impress on colleagues and officers in that first year. Tom Ross my successor as cabinet member for finance has improved on this and it’s great to see the investment going into children’s services. We saw what happened in Conservative controlled Northamptonshire with the leadership there bankrupting a council. We will not allow that to happen in Trafford.

    The levels of council tax rises that all councils are having to impose does worry me. The council tax system is not designed to carry that weight. It is too much of a burden on young families starting out in life where all their income is being directed to mortgage and family. We should not be placing the financial burden of social care so much on the council tax system. That really needs addressing by central government. We won’t be able to shift it all at once but we urgently need to start the transition to a national care service.

  • Jane Baugh

    Jane Baugh

    Labour in Trafford lost a true heroine of its movement today

    Labour in Trafford lost a true heroine of its movement today. It’s so sad that Jane Baugh has passed away. She has been an extraordinary citizen of Trafford and a committed socialist throughout her life.

    She was terrific in the council chamber and could dish it out like a prize fighter but would remain the model of decorum outside. She took her civic duties incredibly seriously and was a true leading light of the Sale community. She will be incredibly missed.

    Jane and I were often on different sides of the debate but we always had time for each other. Our last exchange was lovely:

    Mike: Barry has said it all. Fifty percent of the vote in Priory tells you it’s not just your colleagues who love you, the voters do too.

    Jane: Thanks so much Mike. Your kind words really appreciated and keep up the the excellent work. You are an excellent councillor. Fondest regards Jane.

    Thank you Jane

    Councillor Andrew Western, Trafford Leader of the Council said:

    I am devastated by this news. Jane was an incredibly committed and passionate Councillor who always fought for what she believed in. She was a linchpin in the Sale community.

    Jane was an astonishingly talented politician. A brilliant speaker and a fearless advocate she was at her best in the Council Chamber championing the causes she felt strongly about.

    She was a force of nature. I will miss Jane’s friendship, her encouragement and her support. Most of all I will miss one of the most robust and steadfast voices I have ever known railing against poverty, injustice and intolerance. My thoughts are with Peter and all her family. Rest in peace Jane, you have been an inspiration to us all.

  • Planning Committee

    Planning Committee

    It was half term and so a quieter week than normal. However, it was dominated by a particularly heavy Planning and Development Meeting on Thursday.

    Sometimes you just have to site-visit

    Google Earth is a great resource for planning committee members but sometimes you’ve just got to get on your bike and go and see. So I took trips out to Altrincham and Partington.

    Altrincham

    Application for variation of Erection of detached dwelling, following demolition of existing garage block on eastern side of Greenbank House.

    Greenbank is quite an impressive mansion on Altrincham’s Downs. It already had been converted to flats and the landowners had planning permission to build a separate single storey detached apartment in place of the garage block. Construction was well underway but it hadn’t been built to plan.

    The planning officers recommended approval of the new plans. The temptation might be to refuse on the basis that they frankly had taken liberties in building something different. However, the changes weren’t radical, it wasn’t as though they’d built more storeys. You have to ask whether the plans now such that you would not have approved them had they come to planning committee in this form initially? In this instance I felt I would have voted to grant the application and so I was content to approve. The developer though takes a huge risk in not building to approved plans.

    Partington

    Cycling to Partington is not my favourite journey. The A6144 is a nasty piece of road; too narrow and too fast. The pavements have really high kerbs and you ride in fear of being taken out through too close a pass.

    When I have used a bus to get to Partington, the service has been infrequent and in this weather I don’t suffer long waits at bus stops willingly, so I end up risking it on the bike.

    The application was to convert a disused nursing home on the A6144 into a mini-housing estate, utilising the existing building and adding an extension to get four houses out of the site as well as a new separate bungalow at the back.

    The issue was parking. Planning officers had recommended approval.

    This is where planning rules get messy because the Local Highways Authority objected due to under provision of a single on-site parking space. This under provision against a maximum by one space. We don’t have a minimum provision but Local Highways officers can take a view as to the impact on the highways network. And we’re back to the A6144 being too fast and too narrow, so we don’t want overflow parking out on the main road.

    Anywhere but Partington, I think I would have wanted to allow the application as it was presented. We really do need to provide decent public transit for Partington. I’d love to encourage more to use their bikes but that main road really is horrible. So we’re left with a place dreadfully reliant on the car. That’s not going to be sustainable as we close down our city to petrol and diesel over the next decade or so.

    We deferred this particular application as we were advised it may be possible to get that extra space into the scheme but it’s not really the long term answer, is it?

    Warburton

    This is an application to build up to 400 (Four Hundred) dwellings on open land. The land which is situated beyond the southern edge of the built up area of Partington. The site extends to approximately 24.8 hectares and spans two parcels of land which are separated by the route of Warburton Lane (which divides the site on a north/south axis).

    The developers Redrow Homes have appealed against non-determination by the council within the timeframe. It now goes to inquiry.

    The applicant’s decision to submit a non-determination appeal came at a time when negotiations were continuing in an attempt to resolve outstanding issues; a process that it was understood both parties were committed to.

    To grant planning permission on this ad hoc basis for up to 400 dwellings, and on greenfield in the absence of supporting infrastructure would be at odds with central planning principles in the NPPF of providing sustainable development.

    The site of the 400 Dwelling Warburton Development just South of Partington

    The planning committee determined that it would have opposed and that should be the council’s stance at the inquiry commencing 21st April 2020.

    Other Applications

    • The Market Hall Urmston
    • Football pitches and supporting infrastructure adjacent to Soccer Dome, Trafford Park
    • Soccer Dome to become new location for Event City, Trafford Park

    All approved.

    Lastly,

    I wasn’t allowed to determine this one because I was supporting it. Approval was granted for the Wine Bar on Davyhulme Road East next to Della Roma. I was pleased that the committee agreed with me that the hours of opening should be allowed until 11pm (12 at weekend) rather than the 10pm proposed by officers. I’m hoping the new wine bar will be a welcome enhancement to our street scene.

  • Just don’t ask me to run

    Just don’t ask me to run

    Pulled a calf tendon at Parkrun on Saturday so I can’t run even for a bus. Thankfully the bike remains the best way of getting round and whether the calf is redundant on those pedals or it’s specific tendons, I don’t know, but I’m thankful I can get around. I actually had access to the car this week but you’ll be pleased to know I never used it once.

    You’ll see that the following update contains a friendly nudge to my council that they get a move on with the Bee Network.

    Monday was neighbourhood watch

    Gurdev Singh is one of those people who when he sees things need doing he gets on with doing it. It’s great that Gorse Hill ward has so many of these people. Gurdev lives in Lostock and he’s seen enough attempted burglaries and car thefts to know that it’s a growing problem, that the place is not kept as clean as it should be and there’s too much dog dirt in the park and paths.

    We receive the invitation in the morning for an inaugural neighbourhood watch meeting in the evening. He’s done some advertising on Facebook and we get enough people. It was such a worthwhile meeting it earned its own post here.

    One thing the meeting really underlined was the need for more policing resources and it very much prompted me to respond in favour of the precept increase on council tax proposed by our Labour mayor and Deputy.

    Tuesday Circle Court Drop-In

    With PCSOs Jonathan and Mike, as well as officers of Trafford Housing Trust and Ian Underhill of Safer Trafford for their regular drop in.

    Wednesday Trip to Trafford Park Hotel

    Thrilled to see the inside of Trafford Park Hotel for the first time in 30 years, maybe longer. More here

    Hopefully we can get this heritage jewel into use again.

    Thursday

    Design Guide Presentation

    There’s a lot of good work going on in Trafford about urban planning for the 21st century and beyond. I still worry that the Council’s decision makers are not yet ready to break old habits. So we might adopt new design standards, but only if we know we can ignore at leisure.

    Trafford habitually rejects planning applications for want of parking despite there being no minimum figure already. The car is given far more status than greenspace or play areas for children.

    Gorse Street

    This was my initiative. This street backs the shopping parade and pub in Gorse Hill. The combination of commercial premises, particularly take-aways as well as above-the-shop accommodation and a residential area means bringing people and services together is a challenge. The alleys and street needs a deep clean, we need better management of cleaning and litter removal and not just from the council.

    On Thursday I got councillors and officers together just to focus on Gorse Street. We need to identify what’s adopted and what’s not, work with the commercial waste and try to develop a permanent strategy. We can’t continue just tweaking, removing the odd bag of builders waste etc. So it’s an issue I want to return to.

    Urmston Active Travel

    500+ people in a wedding venue in Urmston to hear Chris Boardman launch the Urmston Active Neighbourhood. Lots of activities set up but the sheer weight of numbers was the big story.

    The numbers of people turning up to this meeting are really important. We’re now into the third calendar year of the bee network project. Whilst other local authorities like Salford are making good progress on moving forward from design stage, Trafford is beginning to lag behind now. It would be a shame if we didn’t make progress. The Talbot Road cycleway we inherited put Trafford at the forefront. The 500 people turning up to the Urmston event shows Trafford residents want to keep us in the leading pelatron on active travel.

    Bee Network Progress Tracker

    Saturday Canvass

    Over to Broadheath for a Labour Party canvass in support of Denise Western. Denise is a very popular councillor and that came through on the doorstep. It felt ok, better than I expected if truth be known. We see the polling, but out on the doorstep it felt ok, at least in Broadheath.

    Almost forgot to mention the Stretford town centre consultation. People are really keen. The mall is an issue, its physical presence sits on the wrong trajectory for me. There aren’t enough routes that place a person accidentally passing through the mall. I get the sense that I’m in a minority as far as the mall’s potential is concerned and I’m more than happy to see Stretford get its overdue attention.

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

    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.

    https://www.facebook.com/257808671805200/photos/a.272011923718208/456131941972871/?type=3&theater

    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.

  • The difference we make

    The difference we make

    Social value and local spending

    When we began our journey into control there was wide interest in using the council’s procurement and commissioning practices to strengthen the local economy.

    I’m pleased to report significant progress.

    In just one year, the share we procured locally almost trebled from 17% in 2017/18 to 49% in 2018/19. That’s an extra £22m of public money being used to support businesses and stimulate economic growth in Trafford.

    Andrew Western
    Labour Leader of Trafford Council

    So Proud of our Progress

    We prioritised local spend during my stint last year as cabinet member for finance and Chair of Star-Procurement, the service we share with Stockport, Tameside and Rochdale. I’m incredibly proud of the progress we made and particularly pay tribute to Lorraine Cox and all her staff at Star. They really turned it around very quickly. These are stunning figures.

    And More to Come

    Looking further ahead, I’d really like us to embrace the Fair Tax Mark proposed by the Co-operative Party (I’m a member). And yes that is Gorse Hill’s Mary Patel who is leading this.

    You’re going to hear a lot more of this