Heaton’s and Reddish Area Committee!

This committee discusses Reddish issues every month and the public can attend and ask questions. But did you know that local Community groups can come and make a short bidding presentation and there are modest area grant’s available to help them in their work?

The next meeting is at the Heatons Centre starting at 6pm on Monday 26th April. Meetings alternate between the Town Hall and the Heaton’s Centre on Thornfeld Rd next to Heatons Moor library. The 42a bus stops almost outside. Contact David or Peter on 292 5693 or 432 2188.

New School to be built for North Reddish...

The contract for the new school at Mill Lane has been let to BAM Construction at a cost of £6.8million. We expect construction to start soon. This will give us a state of the art building including a full Children’s centre to help our teachers take our kids firmly into the 21st Century. We will be making sure that the construction phase minimises inconvenience to local residents.

Bedford St (near the Scout Hut)

The scouts want the pavement next to their hut to be properly surfaced. It’s made of stone slabs at the moment. Unfortunately this part is unadopted so repairs and improvements are the responsibility of the owners either side. However we are getting a costing done and we are looking to subsidise part of the cost provided the people on either side can contribute the rest of the funding needed. In the meantime we hear rumours that the Scout hut and the garaged behind are to be demolished and houses built. We’re investigating this as there is local opposition to such proposals.

Improving the roads...

SMBC Highways have listened and responded to the lobbying by local Labour Councillors with agreement reached on a 3 year timetable to completely resurface a number of roads to overcome long term neglect has now been put into the strategic area budget repair programme.

Priority streets include Harrogate Rd, Lindfield Rd at the railway bridge, the Tonbridge/Hardman/Barlow Fold junction, Newhall Rd/ Thornley lane Juction/Davenham Road and especially for long over due repairs at Ruskin Rd! (On Poets estate both Byron and Masefield will eventually follow). Each resurfacing will cost in order of £30,000 of your taxes.

PETER’S 5 CAMPAIGN PLEDGES!

1. FOR LOCAL BUSINESS INVESTMENT AND JOBS!
2. IMPROVED LESUIRE FACILITIES!
3. CLEANER STREETS AND PARKS!
4. BUILD MORE SOCIAL HOUSING!
5. SUPPORT FOR POLICE ACTION!

Personal Message from Peter Scott...

As a Reddish Councillor, Peter has campaigned for years on behalf of local resident’s, putting their interests first at Stockport Town Hall in order to get a fair share of the Borough’s money spent here in Reddish North!

He totally opposed the 2005 closure of Reddish Baths and his focus is now is to get new swimming facilities for Reddish North. The Lib Dem led Council has at long last recently conceded funds for a new gym and indoor sports development at the former Remploy building at Broadstone Mill. Planning has been granted, & funds secured. The Sport Trust who will run it will be based in Reddish thus giving our area a higher profile.

Both Peter and Labour locally are keen to promote a vision of increased investment to improve leisure facilities throughout Reddish.

Peter has pressed for far better level of spending on road repairs, to both fill in and prevent further pot holes, for an improvement in street cleaning, tougher enforcement against fly tipping and dog fouling and for more winter grit and dog mess bin’s installed across the ward.

He has worked with local Community group on Poets Corner estate in calling for more affordable social housing construction which local families and young people can afford, such as is envisaged at the site former Vale Pub on Longford Rd Wast.

Building Preservation Trust...

Reddish has a rich historic heritage with much loved buildings such as the Houldsworth Mill engine house complex, Baths and Library buildings and local Victorian era schools. They must be preserved. If you would like to join the non political Heritage Trust, please call Peter on 432 2188 or email:scottsclp@aol.com.

We’re celebrating St George’s day!

On April 23rd please shop locally in Reddish to celebrate St.George’s day! Sign our on line ‘public holiday’ request petition. Sign the petition at http://www.stockportlabour.org.uk.

Heaton Norris Community, Decide How Money is Spent!

Your three Local Councillors joined over 100 residents to attend a ‘You Say, We Pay’ event on March 20th at The Salvation Army on Short St to help decide how £27,500 should be spent to best improve their community. The event was organised by the Safer Stockport Partnership. Community groups and organisations working in Heaton Norris and Lancashire Hill were invited to bid for part of the funding to help pay for a project that would benefit community safety or improve local health. About 30 groups and organisations delivered three-minute presentations on what they wanted to use the money for. Through an innovative interactive voting system, residents decided which projects they thought would benefit their community the most and how much funding they should receive. The Belmont Area Action Group was awarded £3,000 to add to the money to improve the Grafton St Play Area. Whitehill Allotments Society was awarded £1,900 and a group on Cromwell and Ellen St were awarded over £600. Cllr Tom Grundy said” it was a great day and I commend everyone one who took part, It was wonderful to see that so many people care about the community they live in” We have asked that South Reddish be considered for a similar event.

Introduction from Councillor Andy Verdeille (South Reddish/Heaton Chapel)

Hello there I’m Andy Verdeille, and I have been honoured to represent the people of South Reddish/Heaton Chapel since 2008.I have been around in politics for quite a long time, having first been elected to the old County Borough Council representing North Reddish way back in 1972,I was then elected to the new Metropolitan Council in 1974-1982, when I came off the Council to concentrate on being a Trade Union Official. Coming back onto the Council this time representing South Reddish and Heaton Chapel has been a real joy. All the Labour team in Reddish are here to serve our community, we want to make a difference for all the people of Reddish. As Councillors we hold weekly advice bureau’s, Andrew Gwynne our local Member of Parliament has regular advice bureau’s in Reddish, and our aim, to try and represent the views of the people of Reddish, and to make Reddish and Heaton Chapel a better place to live in.

Fighters and Believers!

Council Tax Figure is a 'Massive Hike'...

So that’s it for another year – the Lib Dem Budget for the next twelve months has been forced through without any real opportunity for scrutiny, and we will all have to pay even more in Council Tax.

The Budget is a big deal for all of us, since everything the Council does stems from it – it sets out how much of your money the Council is going to take from you, and what it will be spent on. The Lib Dems keep their Budget plans a closely-guarded secret, and even though it is now in the public realm, it is full of mysterious savings, the effect of which we will only find out when things start to go wrong.

The simple fact is that as far as the Lib Dems are concerned, if you if you are not a member of their council group, the Budget is none of your business. No effort has been made to find out what the priorities of local people are, or what their views are on the level of the Council Tax, and as opposition councillors, we have been given very little opportunity to make these points on your behalf. There was a sham “consultation” earlier in the year, involving the Council’s scrutiny committees, but that was it.

The Lib Dems have been in power at Stockport for over ten years now. When they first took control, the Band D Council Tax rate was £916.65 including the precepts for the Fire and Police Authorities. This year, it will £1559.96, and increase of well over 50%. Even allowing for inflation, this is a massive hike, despite Stockport receiving over £110 million more per year in Government funding than it did back in 1999. Stockport once again has the highest Council Tax rate in Greater Manchester. I don’t believe our Council services are good enough to justify such a hefty bill.

Walter Brett
Stockport Express- 04/03/10.

An Introduction from your Local Councillor: Walter Brett...

Hello, I’m Walter Brett, it has been a great honour to have been one of your Local Labour Councillors since 2002. I have been a member of the Labour Party for more years than I care to remember! I certainly remember canvassing for Colin Foster in the Old Road Ward sometime in the early 1970’s. Why did I join the Labour Party? I believe Labour Governments have been responsible for the greatest achievements of the past from establishing the National Health Service in the 1940’s to the introduction of the Minimum Wage under Tony Blair. The Labour Party believes in fairness and equality and so do I.

Please Join Our Dog Fouling Campaign!

Ring David or Peter for petition forms and leaflets to distribute on your street(0161 432 2188) . You can come and sign the petition at our street stall on the last Saturday in the month at Houldsworth Square from 11am to 12:30pm. Or you can sign it at the shops where we have left copies. We need your support.

Visit our street stall or get friends and neighbours to sign the petition. We can send you a sheet or two. In addition you can sign it electronically on our website www.stockportlabour.org.uk.

The situation at Stockport County Football Club...

Last month’s Council meeting was a model of how we as an opposition party can set the Council agenda and, along with Reddish & people in the rest of the town, hold the Council’s leadership to account. The issue was the future of Stockport County. So, Peter & the Labour councillors put forward proposals pointing out the ways that other councils have supported their local clubs & to call for Stockport Council to do the something similar.

The Council Leader admitted that communication with fans and councillors has been poor and has pledged to keep everyone better informed in future. The public gallery was packed with County fans who came along to see the future of the club finally debated in public. Now that Labour has brought this issue to the fore, the Council has formed a clear plan of action with strategic support for the bid to save County and to secure the future of the ground and the club itself. At the time of writing it’s very hopeful but things could go wrong.

Stockport County is just too important to Reddish & our town for it not to survive. It is crucial to our town’s identity, and we’re pleased that the whole Council supported our call for action.

Your MP's Private Members Bill...

After I came third in Parliaments Private Members Ballot I gave a great deal of time and consideration to which issue I should take forward.
When I was elected to parliament one of my personal pledges was to ensure I would always do all I could to tackle the excessive burden of third world debt and help those who are less fortunate than ourselves in this world. I do this not just as a Labour MP, but as a member of the Christian Socialist Movement.
I have been fully supportive of what this Labour Government has already done to relieve third world debt, and the real steps we have taken to help the very poorest in the world.
One of the things I have personally been concerned about has been the operation of so called “vulture funds” whereby a small number of investment companies buy up the defaulted debts of the world’s poorest countries at very low prices and then take them to court to aggressively recoup the debts at full value. So after long consideration this is the issue I have decided to deal with through my Private Members Bill.
There have been a number of cases that particularly spurred me to take on this issue. Very recently in the UK High Court two investment funds won the right to recover over $20m from Liberia, one of the poorest countries in the world. This was for an initial loan in the 1970s of only $6m.
In government finance terms this may not seem like a fortune, but in Liberia this accounts for over 5% of government revenues, in one of the poorest countries in the world where almost half the population lives on under a dollar a day.
Surely this is money that could be better spent on things such as health and education.
This practice is simply unacceptable to anyone who believes in reducing third world debt and helping the very poorest in our world. And I aim to put a stop to it. So the aim of my Bill will be to prevent creditors of the poorest countries from reclaiming excessive amounts on these debts.

Latest estimates say that worldwide claims worth $1.2bn against Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPCs) are being litigated on by commercial creditors or have an outstanding judgment awarded but the case remains unresolved. It is an issue with a strong international dimension and through my Bill the UK can take a lead on world debt, much as the Labour Government has done before. If we managed to pass this Bill it may prompt the rest of the international community to take similar action.
I have carefully considered the best way to make my Private Members Bill most effective to those who need the protection most. My Bill was published last week and has a number of provisions. I will take the Bill forward with my co sponsor Sally Keeble MP.
It will cover the debts of the 40 Highly indebted Poor Countries (HIPC), the poorest in the world, that qualify for international debt relief initiatives, but it will specifically exclude new lending. This will ensure that all creditors play their part in providing the necessary relief on historical debts, without cutting off these countries from the possible benefits of supporting their development with new commercial borrowing.
I will seek to make sure that creditors cannot pursue payment beyond the level assessed as sustainable by the IMF and World Bank. In short they will get back the proportion of the money owed to them that the country can afford to repay and which offers a fair reduction comparable to that being provided by other creditors.
I am determined to ensure that these activities of this small number of investment companies do not prevent resources being freed up to finance development and tackle poverty in the poorest countries. I do think it is important that we still have the smooth running of financial markets, which can in the right conditions support development by enabling countries to finance projects that will accelerate their growth. And I recognise and welcome that the majority of commercial creditors already do negotiate in good faith with the governments of HIPCs to provide the expected level of debt relief. My legislation aims not to undermine or replace that, but to deal with the minority of creditors that refuse to participate.
But let’s be honest, commercial companies do have role to play in helping to provide debt relief and I want to see all commercial creditors provide their share of debt relief for the poorest countries. Under the HIPC Initiative, $4.3bn of relief, some 6% of the total, is expected from commercial creditors, so they form an important part of the jigsaw for debt relief.

If my Bill passes into law it would represent a major step forward in tackling these so called vulture funds. It cannot be right that companies are allowed, in British courts, to make profits unfairly out of the world's poorest people.
For too long, some companies have been allowed to get away with exploiting the debt relief received by developing countries for their own profit; taking vital resources away from those that need it most. Through my Private Members Bill I aim to put a stop to it.

An Introduction From Your MP, Andrew Gwynne...

I’m incredibly proud to be a local man who has been our voice in Parliament since 2005.
I am a member of UNITE trade Union and a member of the Co-operative Party and the Christian Socialist Movement. I am also Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to the Rt Hon Ed Balls MP, the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families.
I know this Labour Government has done a great deal for Families in Reddish. I honestly believe we have made a real and positive difference to how we all live our lives.
I have certainly made our voice heard in Parliament to ensure the very best for our community. I took a stand to protect our community when I spearheaded the “No” campaign against the congestion charge. I will always put the interests of the community I represent above all else.
With your support at the general election I will continue to be our voice in Parliament, and continue to represent all of us in Reddish.