The Lib Dems won Cheadle ward for the first time, as well as taking Bramhall East and West. In the process, Patsy Calton - later MP for Cheadle - joined the council, as did my good friend and colleague Brian Millard, who would go onto lead the council before his sad death in 2009.

In 1993 we saw two future MPs (Patsy Calton and Anne Coffey) win seats on the council. This year Andrew Stunell - now MP for Hazel Grove and a government minister - joined them.

Current council leader Dave Goddard was elected (for Labour) in South Reddish and other current councillors who won in 1994 include Ann Graham, Eddie Gallacher (over 80% of the vote for Eddie), Ingrid Shaw, Sheila Bailey, Kevin Hogg, Peter Burns, Colin Foster and Martin Candler.

Stockport Council is launching a month long appeal to raise the profile of the flooding disaster in Pakistan to give the borough’s residents the opportunity to support the victims. The flooding has had a devastating effect on millions of people’s lives in Pakistan and funding is urgently needed for aid to help those affected.

The Council is urging employees, residents and community groups to organise fundraising events to raise much needed funding for the UK Disaster Emergency Committee (DEC) throughout September. Council employees have already held a number of fundraising events to raise money for the appeal. To raise the profile of the flooding disaster the Pakistan flag will be flown from the Town Hall at various times throughout September.

The Council is encouraging people to donate funds directly to the DEC Pakistan Floods Appeal by phoning 0370 60 90 900 or send cheques to DEC Pakistan Floods Appeal and post it to DEC Pakistan Floods Appeal, PO Box 999, London, EC3A 3AA or visit http://www.dec.org.uk/donate_now. However for those who wish to donate through the Council there will be two collection points on the Town Hall Reception and one at Stockport Direct and people can also contact the Council on 0161 474 3176 to arrange to give any fundraising money to the authority to send to the DEC.

Traditional pie-tasting and intriguing Town Hall tours are just some of the new events on offer in Stockport for this year’s Heritage Open Days, from Thursday 9th – Sunday 12th September.

A pie-tasting event will take place at Stockport Tourist Information Centre on Saturday 11th September. John Titterton and his father Tom are part of a distinguished family of master butchers dating back to 1875, when John’s great-great grandfather founded the business. The current shop was opened in the 1920s and Tittertons has been a feature of Stockport Town Centre ever since.

Stockport Town Hall will also be offering special tours throughout the weekend with The Mayor of Stockport, including the recent discovery of an intriguing County Borough Of Stockport Committee Wage Book, which dates back to 1942.

The large metal bound and leather covered book details the names, weekly wages, sickness records and overtime details of staff employed at the Town Hall.

In Stockport this year there will be over 45 free events co-ordinated by Stockport Council. Visitors can grab the chance to explore somewhere that is normally closed or usually charges an entrance fee. Other highlights of this year’s festival include ‘Remembering Rationing’ at Stockport Air Raid Shelters and ‘Dig Again for Victory’, at Woodbank Park Nursery both on Saturday 11th September.

Stockport Heritage Open Days are organised and funded by Stockport Council with additional funding from English Heritage. For more information about this year’s Stockport Heritage Open Days, please visit www.visit-stockport.com or contact Stockport Tourist Information Centre on 0161 474 4444.

By the end of September, six people will have successfully completed the business training provided by Market Start and started a new life as a trader on Stockport’s fabulous and historic market. By Friday 4th September (the day before the Historic Street Market family event on Saturday 5th September) we will have:-

· Nicola, trading in cupcakes, tray bakes and wedding favours

· Irene, trading in fashions for the mature woman

· Caroline, trading in children’s formal wear, occasion wear and fancy dress outfits

· Shilpa, trading in scented candles, soaps, bath bombs and all the mini treats you could want

By the end of September they will be joined by Marcus, trading in collectable toys, comics and games and Nick who will be trading in baby essentials and baby wear.

If you know of anybody in that situation or who has been out of work for some time, why not come along to our open mornings and see if you have what it takes to join us? Open mornings are held on the first Tuesday of every month.

View the Market Start leaflet (pdf) or telephone the Market Office to book a place – 0161 480 1564.

Stockport Council is encouraging residents and businesses throughout the borough to save money whilst reducing their carbon footprint. The CarbON-CarbOFF initiative has been launched to help everyone in Stockport reduce the amount of carbon they produce, save money by being more energy efficient and become more environmentally friendly. One of the simplest ways to reduce carbon emissions, as well as save money on energy bills, is to get loft and cavity wall insulation. To help all Stockport residents do this, the CarbON-CarbOFF initiative sees the Council team up with the Greater Manchester Energy Saving Trust advice centre to offer loft or cavity wall insulation for a discounted price of £99 – each can cost up to £400. To find out more, residents and businesses can contact the local Energy Saving Trust advice centre on 0800 512 012 or email eeac@manchester.gov.uk and quote “CabOFF.”

As well as installing cavity wall insulation, other simple measures can also make a difference. If every household in Stockport switched off their appliances, £4,100,000 and 15,000 tonnes of CO2 could be saved in one year. By turning their thermostat down by one degree, the savings would be £4,700,000 and 25,000 tonnes of CO2. And by washing laundry at 30C we would save £1,030,000 and 4,300 tonnes of CO2. For more information on how to reduce carbon emission visit www.stockport.gov.uk/carboff.

Central Library will be partially closed from 4.00pm on Saturday 11th September and will reopen at 10.00am on Monday 20th September. The closure will allow the Information Library to be incorporated into the Lending

Library on the ground floor of the building, which will provide easier access for customers to a wider range of materials.

This is made possible by the growth in digital information and reference resources and decreasing reliance on paper and print materials. The vacated Information Library will then provide much needed additional space for the ever expanding local history collections of books, maps, newspapers and archives. The move will give customers a larger room to study in and access to more computers and scanners within the Heritage Library.

The Information and Local Heritage Libraries, which are located on 1st floor of Central Library, are also closing at 5.00pm on Wednesday 15th September. This floor will reopen at 9.00am on Thursday 23rd September as the Heritage Library.

Radio-frequency identification (RFID) self service technology is also being installed. The RFID technology will free up Library Assistants’ time from the processing of routine transactions, allowing them to concentrate on the customer service aspects of their job such as helping people with reading choices and coaching customers in the use of IT skills.

During the temporary closure of Central Library customers can use other libraries across the borough which can be found by visiting www.stockport.gov.uk/libraries.

Ninety percent of the stories on this blog are very local, mostly relating just to my ward, so I’ve no idea who might have voted for me, but a big thank you, whoever you are.

Having been named Greater Manchester’s second most influential political tweeter last month,  it may be downhill from here, but I’ll do my best to continue to improve communications with residents by all the means at my disposal.

He was a larger than life character in many ways and will be sadly missed.

More on Cyril at Lib Dem Voice.

As the Manchester Evening News reports

Cheadle-based Umbro will manufacture the national side’s strip until summer 2018, which will take in the World Cup in Brazil in 2014, and the 2018 competition, for which England is in contention as host.

Umbro will also be a sponsor of Wembley Stadium, the FA Cup and the National Football Centre in Staffordshire.

The deal, for an undisclosed sum, was announced on the day that members of the England team including Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney revealed the new Umbro strip which they will wear during the Euro 2012 qualifying campaign.

 As an aside, I should point out that companies like Umbro don’t end up in our area by chance.  Stockport Council does a lot of work on attracting businesses into the area, and supporting those already here, through things like Stockport Boost.

The outcome of spending that money might not be as immediately apparent as when we’re fixing potholes or cleaning the streets, but done well - as it is in Stockport - it can repay the tax money spent many times over and bring jobs and prosperity to an area.

I don’t have any firm information on why, and I don’t know if it’s likely to re-open as a pub.

Gothic’s closure follows on from that of the Red Lion a few months back and leaves three pubs in Gatley - the Prince of Wales, the Horse and Farrier and the High Grove on Silverdale Road.

Before last September when we had those smells, it was always a problem at Longley Lane tip with the green waste. They then built an enclosed building for the green waste on the other side of the site, with odour suppresant, which looked to have cracked the problem.

Pam has been investigating these new odour issues, and the people at Longley Lane tip have been saying that they check for odours daily and as far as they’re aware there haven’t been any.

We’ve now been pointed to a large quantity of agricultural waste dumped earlier in August which may be responsible for the problem.

As the Manchester Evening News reported back on 12th August

A huge pile of agricultural waste dumped in a field is being blamed for a smell blighting large parts of south Manchester.

The unpleasant odour has been noticed in Flixton, Urmston, Didsbury, Altrincham and Stockport since it was first reported in Sale on Tuesday.

By yesterday the smell had reached as far as Heaton Mersey, Stockport. At first investigators suspected a farmer spreading liquid fertiliser or manure.

But last night Environment Agency officials found a huge 30 cubic metre pile of agricultural waste dumped in a field in Carrington near Sale.

Pam and I will continue to monitor the situation, so please let us know if there are more bad smells.

Here’s another one, and it claims to do a bit more.  It’s from Transport Direct and covers quite a few towns and cities including Greater Manchester.

This one includes options for quietest and quickest routes, a gradient profile to spot those steep climbs (something that’s caught me out a few times) and something called a GPX file (apparently for loading onto GPS devices).

Celebrate the 200 year anniversary of Cheadle Green, discover the history of Cheadle Hall and view the improvement project.

Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th September from 11am to 4pm at Cheadle Green.

For more information, please contact Brian Nash 0161 474 4519 or brian.nash@stockport.gov.uk.

View Cheadle and Gatley in a larger map

We thought the problem had been cracked last year when a new building was put up to hold green waste, along with odour suppresant sprays.

Right now Viridor Waste, the company that runs the site, are not admitting to any odour problems at any time - well, from my back garden I can spot the problems.

We’ll continue working with the Council and Viridor Waste to solve the issue.

The league is free to all schools. It’s been in existence for 35 years and around 300 runners come to each race meeting. For more information contact Ian Burnett on 0161 485 2155 or email i.b.burnett@googlemail.com.

Wilf Richards Memorial Primary School Cross-Country League

Saturday 18th September 2010

Saturday 9th October 2010

Saturday 6th November 2010

Saturday 15th January 2011

Saturday 5th February 2011 (includes parents race at 10.30)

Thursday 17th February 2011 - Walter Hesketh Trophy Cross Country Relays

Saturday 5th March 2011

Now they need to find somewhere new, or they may have to close.

They’re looking for a small area of land to rent or buy where they can set up 6 cat pens and a cat-proofed outdoor area. It could be part of a farmyard or an unused corner of a park or garden, but it needs to be in the Stockport area (close to Bramhall would be ideal).

They have to move by the beginning of October, so if you have any suggestions, please let them know (call Jacky Goodman on 0161 439 1274 after 6pm or comment here and I’ll pass it on).

As you may know, fly-posting has been a problem particularly on the now closed George & Dragon pub in Cheadle. Because it’s a privately owned building, it’s more complicated to get it removed.

I wrote to Punch Taverns, who own the pub, asking if they would remove the fly-posting or, failing that, authorise me to remove fly-posting on their behalf.

I’ve now received a reply, which is they won’t do that because they’re hopeful a sale is imminent and the new owners should clear it up.

We’ll wait and see, but having that building under new ownership and, hopefully, being put to good use, would be very positive for the village.

My namesake Ian Roberts was re-elected for Cheadle, John Pantall was safely returned in Cheadle Hulme North.

Les Jones (now leader of the Conservative group on the Council)  whilst Tom Grundy, now a Labour councillor, missed out in Heaton Moor.

Two recent examples in Cheadle:

• an advertising hoarding had been erected on the side wall of the Village Deli (next to the old BT building) without planning permission.  When a resident brought it to my attention, I put in a request to Planning Enforcement at the Council.  They gave the owner of the building a few weeks to take it down and down it came.
• Stockport Homes had erected a large sign in at the front of Queens Gardens.  A resident complained and planning looked into it.  In the end, Stockport Homes withdrew their planning application.  I checked a couple of months later and the sign was still there.  I let the planning department know and now it’s gone.

There are a few other planning enforcement issues Pam and I are pursuing - we’ll see how they go.

You tick up to three of 20 priorities and, if you’re able to you want to, provide information on when and where issues are happening and who is responsible. This information is then used by the police to tackle local issues identified by the community.

Officers from the Cheadle Neighbourhood Policing Team will also be on hand to speak with and to provide crime reduction advice.

Stockport Council and The Friends of Abney Hall have secured a £10,000 grant from the Big Lottery Fund ‘Awards for All’, to enhance Abney Hall Park.

Some of the exciting improvements to be made over the next year will include new picnic benches, a board walk, interpretation board, new educational material, new ponds and a ‘dipping platform’.

Floating islands will be added to the park’s larger pond to improve vegetation and provide a safe habitat for birds, amphibians and other pond life. Accessibility will also be improved, with some of the park’s paths being resurfaced.

The park’s existing orchard will be expanded with more fruit trees and soft fruit bushes added.

Councillor John Smith, Executive Member for Leisure, at Stockport Council, said: “This is fantastic news and is thanks, in no small part, to the hard work of dedicated members of the community. We look forward to working closely with the Friends of Group throughout the next year to further improve the park for even more people’s enjoyment.”

Jean Goulden from The Friends of Abney Hall, added: “We are delighted to have secured the grant. Abney Hall Park is a great local asset, with unique wildlife and habitat. All of the improvements are aimed at developing the biodiversity, as well as increasing what the park has to offer for the benefit of park users.”

Abney Hall Park was designated a Local Nature Reserve in 2006 and is a Site of Biological Importance, which recognises the importance of the park for wildlife. 2010 is the International Year of Biodiversity and this project will help towards further improving the natural biodiversity within Abney Hall Park.

For more information visit www.stockport.gov.uk/parks or call 0161 474 4560.

Stockport Council provides over 600 different services to local people and maintains and improves over 150 parks and play areas. For more information visit the Stockport Boost website www.stockport.gov.uk/boost.

The owners of 10 Priest Avenue, Gatley have asked to lease a pond on the edge of Scholes Park from the Council. They had previously fenced the pond (which is a small pond within a copse on the edge of the field - see map below) without permission and are seeking to make the arrangement formal.

Some local residents are concerned about this. The Council officers have produced a report going through the details and recommending that an annual tenancy be granted.

Rather than make the decision on the night, we decided to give local residents more opportunity to put their opinions. The matter will be advertised both in Priest Avenue and in Scholes Park, and will come back to Cheadle Area Commitee on Tuesday 12th October. Councillors can then make an informed decision.

Even if this is approved, the owner may still need to apply for planning permission for change of use.


(Note, the recommendation is missed off in this scane - it is to approve).

View Scholes Park in a larger map

The councillors have always taken the view that this money was not to be frittered away and the informal policy has been not to spend any until it was growing in real terms (i.e. above inflation).

However, we took the view this time that, in light of the economic problems we all face, it was right to release a small amount and invite local voluntary organisations to bid for the money. That decision was not unanimous, though I felt it was the right approach on balance.

We’ve decided to make up to £5,000 available. Local organisations will be able to bid for the money in a similar way to how local flexibility funding is bid for. There will probably be a maximum set for any single bid - I’d think around £1,000.

I’ll publish more information when I have it. For now, consider if you’d like to bid for some money but nothing’s going to happen immediately so no rush.

There were several concerned residents (Warren Avenue and Dixon Court are most affected).  The complaints were about the noise and the smell.

The environmental issues are complicated by there being three takeaways on that parade, so it’s not certain which are responsible (and it may be all three).  In terms of this planning application, we could only talk about KFC and only about what they’d actually applied for.

The planning officers had recommended a condition for approval that the noise from KFC not exceed the existing background noise by more than 5 decibels.  That sounds sensible to me, and would also give residents an important new legal avenue to force KFC to comply.

The committee decided that it was important to see, hear and smell what was going on before a decision was made (especially as one resident was concerned some of the photos we’d been given were misleading).

There will be a site visit by councillors on 2nd September after which the decision will be taken by the Council’s Planning & Highways committee that evening.  The Planning & Highways committee meets at the Town Hall at 6pm on 2nd September.  Members of the public are welcome to attend but can’t speak in the meeting.

View Dixon Court in a larger map

Here are the main points from Tuesday’s meeting, from Inspector Steve Gilbertson, PC Jim Wilson and PCSO Adam Brown.

• Pubwatch is still going strongly in Cheadle and Cheadle Hulme.  A “nightwatch” system is being considered - two way radios in each pub and the police control room so problems can quickly be reported.  Gatley’s pubwatch, we were told, has been less successful and isn’t currently active.  (Hopefully it can be resurrected soon).
•  The police operation to deal with problems on the last day of the summer term was successful.  Letters were sent out so teachers, pupils and parents knew there would be a strong police presence and action would be taken where there were problems.  The police were patrolling early - as soon as the schools were out - along with the Council’s anti-social behaviour team.  The result was a quiet evening with few problems.
• Crime overall is down over the last 12 months in the Cheadle/Cheadle Hulme area.  An exception is theft of, and from, motor vehicles which is very slightly up on a year ago.  Residents are urged to take sensible precautions about not leaving valuables on display in cars.

The proposals must now be advertised, allowing anyone the opportunity to object. They’ll come back to Cheadle Area Committee (probably in October) when those objections (if any) will be considered.

If councillors then decide to approve the plans, the lines can be painted and the new restrictions imposed.

The section to be resurfaced (and no prizes for guessing - anyone who’s seen it in the last few months will know) is from Pendlebury to near Leyland.

According to the programme, it’s due to be done in “summer” - whenever that might arrive.

You can see the full list for this phase of work on the Council website here.

Right now fly-posting is dealt with by Planning enforcement (unless it’s on Council property).  Unfortunately, though understandably, it’s low on their priority list with many other enforcement cases to deal with.

The plan is to move the responsibility for sorting out fly-posting to the Area Conditions Officer.   The details are still being worked out, but hopefully the result will be less fly-posting which gets removed faster when it does appear.

We’re very keen to get this sorted.  The grids are being cleared on Broadway as I write and Pam and I have been, and will continue to be, in touch with Solutions SK and the Council to ensure whatever work needs to be done, is done.

Last night at Cheadle Area Committee we spent some time discussing similar issues relating to a culvert along Ladybridge Road in Cheadle Hulme, which has been an issue for several years and resulting in disagreements between the council and United Utilities as to who’s responsible.  We’re keen to get that one resolved and make sure Broadway gets sorted out a lot quicker.

View Broadway in a larger map

Yesterday’s Cheadle Area Committee approved the final stage which means the order can go in and the lines painted.

They are:

• On Grange Park Road (both sides) near the junction with Wilmslow Road.
• On Wilmslow Road north and south of the entrance to Whitegates
• On Wimslow Road north and south of the junction with Warren Avenue
• On Schools Hill at the junction with Daylesord Crescent

None of these are long sections of lines - in every case the aim is to protect junctions rather than remove legitimate parking spaces.

Hopefully we’ll see these lines appear soon.

I knew it was on the cards,  but I didn’t know when.  I’d like to thank Pete and everyone who’s worked there over the years. A sad loss for the village.

Some months ago the AGMA local authorities jointly agreed with the Homes & Communities Agency a £30M programme of new housing across Greater Manchester. While the Government reviewed the capital programme the allocation of this funding was put on hold.

This week, despite the reduction in the overall Homes and Communities Agency budget, it was announced that three Stockport schemes have been given the go ahead and the fourth will be approved once certain conditions are met. This is great news for residents in need of affordable housing in the Borough.

Stockport Homes Limited have been given funds for a new rented scheme in Offerton (Bideford Road). “Johnnie” Johnson Housing Trust have been given funds for a shared ownership scheme on Ratcliffe Street alongside their award winning Citadel conversion on Hillgate. Equity Housing Group have been allocated funds to re-develop and expand the outdated older persons block of bedsits at MacNair Court in Marple. In addition Guinness Northern Counties have been promised finance for the next phase of Elisabeth Mill in South Reddish.

Once design and planning issues have been resolved this will deliver almost one hundred new flats for a mix of tenures. All in all the Partnership continues to be successful in delivering new affordable housing in Stockport despite the harsh economic climate.

Stockport Council is encouraging parents/carers to apply for school places online. The online process for admissions is now open for nursery, primary and secondary schools for September 2011. Parents can apply online at www.stockport.gov.uk/schooladmissions

It’s quick and simple and available 24 hours a day 7 days a week up until the following closing dates:

· The closing date for secondary school places starting in September 2011 for children born between 1st September 1999 – 31st August 2000 is 31st October.

· The closing date for primary school places starting in September 2011 for children born between 1st September 2006 – 31st August 2007 is 15th January 2011.

· The closing date for nursery schools and classes starting in September 2011 for children born between 1st September 2007 – 31st August 2008 is 31st March 2011.

Among the victors in 1990 still sitting in council chamber are Sheila Bailey, Peter Burns, Tom McGee, Kevin Hogg, Tom Foster, Bryan Leck and Dave Goddard.

Patsy Calton, who of course went on to become Cheadle’s first Lib Dem MP in 2001, stood unsuccessfully in West Bramhall - we’ll see Patsy join the Council before too long.

Stockport Council is urging borough based voluntary groups and charities to submit bids for funding from the Mayor of Stockport’s Charity Fund. The Mayor of Stockport’s Charity Fund is registered with the Charities Commission and the money from the fund is distributed throughout the year.

To submit a bid for money from the Mayor of Stockport’s Charity Fund people need to complete an application form which can be found at www.stockport.gov.uk/mayor or contact the Mayor’s Office on 0161 474 3300.

In some places the drains simply couldn’t cope with that volume of rain falling in such a small period, and we saw some flooding and road closures in that afternoon.

The road passing under the railway bridge in Bramhall, which was under a metre of water at one point.  Station Road, by Cheadle Hulme station, was also under several inches of water.

Plenty of people had all sorts of problems getting home on the Thursday evening, some telling me a 10 minute journey turned into a 90 minute slog.

At around 4.30pm that day I was driving back from Cheadle Hulme to Gatley.  I got through before the roads were closed.  I stopped in Cheadle and saw that parts of the Massie Street car park were under a couple of inches of water, with a couple of the shops having water leaking in through the back door.

At the Wilmslow Road end of the High Street there was more water, with both road and pavement covered.

If your property was affected by flooding, the National Flood Forum has  a wealth of advice on what you should do next.

One warning: flooding is often followed by cowboy builders trying to take advantage, telling houseowners that they need various (often expensive) pieces of work to be done.  Be very careful and check the facts - don’t get taken for a ride.

Locally across Stockport councillors were kept informed of the key problems and council workers were out doing everything they could to improve the situation.

From what I saw, it seems to me that the water drained away pretty quickly after the rain stopped.  Certainly by Friday morning I didn’t see much water still around.

I’m interested to know of any places where that didn’t happen and where we still had water causing problems by the Friday morning.

Seven visitor attractions within Stockport Council’s cultural portfolio have recently been awarded rosettes for successfully passing a ‘mystery shop’ inspection by VAQAS, the Visitor Quality Assurance Service provided by Visit Britain. It is the first time all seven attractions have gained the accreditation together, as Stockport Art Gallery receives

its first ever award. The quality mark is used by the national tourism board, Visit Britain, to assess cultural venues across the country for the quality of the visitor experience. For more information about the visitor attractions log onto www.visit-stockport.com/attractions or contact the Tourist Information Centre on 0161 474 4444.

I’m a big fan of taking a common-sense approach to the law.  If a couple of kids are having a kick about on a quiet road and doing no-one any harm, I’d no more advocate taking action than I would suggest fining everyone who ever drives at 31mph in a 30mph zone.

But not all street football is benign.  When heavy footballs are flying into people’s gardens, breaking windows and teenagers are jumping over hedges and onto flowerbeds to retrieve them, or where balls are smacking into parked vehicles, that can cause serious problems.

If you have an issue with street football causing you problems, do get in touch with Pam or myself and we’ll get action taken.

The Oak Road area’s had an on-and-off problem with anti-social behaviour for quite a while, which Pam and I have been working with the Police to crack.

The message we got on the doorstep yesterday was positive: people told us they aren’t  having problems with anti-social behaviour at the moment (particularly good to hear in the middle of the summer holidays.

I do think that’s in large part due to the hard work of the Police and the Council who have really focussed on the area to deal with the small minority of residents causing problems (and it only takes one or two to make a lot of people’s lives a misery).

No-one’s naive enough to think this state of affairs is permanent, and it’s important we keep on top of the problem, so please let us know if there are more problems in future.

The next step in the process will be the Council sending out information leaflets about residents parking and doing an evaluation on the road.

The whole process will take several months, during which time residents will have the opportunity to have their say and express any concerns before a final decision is made.

If it goes ahead, residents will be able to buy parking permits for £20 a year, or  additionally get a book of one-day permits for a pound a time, which may work out cheaper for those with occasional visitors.

Anyone with concerns about the process can contact Pam or myself.

The move, planned for October, would see a standard bottle of wine costing at least £4.50, a 700ml bottle of whisky £14 and a six pack of lager at least £6.

Stockport Council has come out against the plans, for the simple reason that the council doesn’t think it makes sense to do it on a Greater Manchester basis rather than nationwide.

I have to say I agree.  There’s a case for minimum alcohol pricing, but if implemented, this would see alcoholic drinks sold at one price in Cheadle, Gatley and Heald Green and a totally different  price in Handforth, Poynton, Wilmslow or Macclesfield.

The cost of alcohol in Sainsburys and Cheadle Royal or Tesco at Baguley would be a lot higher than the same products at Tesco in Handforth Dean.

I wonder what people will do.  Pay more - or just pop down to Handforth Dean.

My feeling is that implementing a minimum price in this way won’t reduce alcohol consumption - it will just change shopping habits.  And it will be shops in Stockport that lost out as people go elsewhere to save money.

The Marketing team at Solutions SK, Stockport Council’s wholly owned company, has won a Local Catering Association’s (LACA) Education Marketing Award for the school meals service.

Over 700 people from the UK’s catering and hospitality industries attended the LACA awards and conference event which recognises the best performers and their successes over the last year. In providing a schools meals service, the team involves the whole school, working with children, parents, employees, suppliers, and local sports personalities such as Stockport County footballers.

The many successes in the last 12 months included a High School Meal Deal Pilot in partnership with the School Food Trust, National School Meals Week, Stockport’s Healthy Weight Strategy and the ‘Go 4 Lunch’ promotion.

In the wake of the merger, a small rump of SDP and Liberal members decided to go it alone. The SDP folded after a few years, but the Liberals are still out there with a few councillors (though not in Stockport).

Look through these results and you’ll see that fallout, with several seats being contested by both SLD (i.e. Lib Dem) and SDP candidates. The SDP don’t seem to have fared too well.

Thursday, 12th August sees Stockport Market’s first Family Dog Show, running from 11 till 3! Classes include:-

· Waggiest Tail
· Scruffiest Dog
· Best Six Legs (Dog and Handler most alike!)
· Saddest Eyes
· Dog the Judge would most like to take home

Entry costs £1.50 per class (£1 per class for Leisure Key Holders) and £1 for each try at the time trial Agility Course! The Agility Course will run all day.

Collect your entry forms from Dave the optician in the Covered Market Hall or the Tourist Information Centre at 30 Market Place; you can either pay on the day or in advance.

Bring your whole family (and your dogs) for a great day out - we will also have demonstrations by the Guide Dogs for the Blind, dog grooming, dog identity chipping by SMBC dog wardens and agility exhibitions in St Mary’s churchyard.

As I understand it, concerns about odours and litter have been addressed by the applicant and in the conditions applied, so there were no valid grounds to reject it.

Locally I think it’s fair to say opinion is divided.  Some people have told me they’re concerned about another take-away.  Others note that there’s nothing similar nearby and welcome a take-away in that local parade.

View Proposed take-away on Silverdale Road, Gatley in a larger map

Pam and I will, as always, be keeping an eye on developments and looking to ensure there aren’t problems with litter, smells, parking or traffic along the road.

Playschemes take place in 20 Stockport primary schools and parks over the next five weeks, having started on Monday August 2nd. The Stockport Council-run playschemes are all FREE and are for children aged 5-11 years on a ‘first come first served’ basis. Parents/carers leave their children with qualified staff. The playschemes offer arts and crafts, outdoor activities, organised games, free play and many more.

All playschemes (apart from Reddish Vale Country Park) operate from 10.00am – 12noon and 1.00 – 3.00pm. Parks are in bold.

· Week August 2nd-6th (except August 4th): Warren Wood Primary in Offerton; St George’s CE Primary in Heaviley; St Mark’s Primary in Bredbury, and St Joseph’s Catholic Primary on St Petersgate in Stockport town centre.

· Week August 9th-13th: Banks Lane Junior in Offerton; Orrishmere Primary on Cheadle Hulme; Abington Primary in Reddish; and Cheadle Heath Primary in Cheadle Heath.

· Week August 16th-20th: St Christopher’s Catholic Primary in Romiley; Prospect Vale Primary in Head Green; Vernon Park Primary, Peak Street; and Alexandra Park in Edgeley.

· Week August 23rd-27th: Arden Primary in Bredbury; Outwood Primary in Heald Green; Brinnington Park; Meadowbank Primary in Cheadle.

· Tuesday August 31st-September 3rd: Fir Tree Primary in Reddish; St Paul’s CE primary in Brinnington; and Cale Green Primary in Shaw Heath,

· Tuesday August 31st- September 2nd: Reddish Vale Country Park (1.00 – 4.00pm).

Over 60 Offerton residents attended a ‘You Say, We Pay’ event to help decide how £20,000 should be spent to improve their community. ‘You Say, We Pay,’ held last weekend at Dial Park Primary School, was organised by the Safer Stockport Partnership.

Community Groups in Offerton were invited to bid for part of the funding to help pay for a project that would benefit the community. A total of 11 groups delivered 3 minute presentations on what they wanted to use the money for. Through an interactive voting system, residents decided which projects they thought would benefit their community the most and how much funding they should receive.

The event aims to bring community groups together and provide an opportunity to involve local people in making decisions on spending on their communities. The community safety projects awarded funding were:

· Youth Service Crime & Disorder Group - Rock Bus and other activities (£1,935)
· Success Stories at Work - Offerton What’s the Story? (£2,250)
· Offerton Senior Youth Club - Fishing & art project (£875)
· 3rd Offerton Scouts - Purchase of trailer (£768.45)
· Dial Park Allotments - Fencing & Equipment (£768.45)
· Offerton Youth Forum - Community Sports Event (£2150)
· Offerton Women’s Group - Domestic Abuse Conference (£3,000)
· Offerton Mum’s Group - Fun Days for young people (£3,000)
· Searchers - Research project for older people (£1,612.50)
· Educise - Educational sport activities (£1,500)
· Offerton Park FC - Offerton Park Monday Project (£2,140.65)

Funding came from the Home Office, Stockport Council, Stockport Homes, Offerton Estate Community Empowerment Fund, Stockport IMPACT, Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive and Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue Service.

I’ve now been told that the problem has been sorted, with the Council’s drainage team flushing through the dry drains with water and disinfectant - good news.

From the Council:

Work has now started on site in preparation for Stockport’s newest leisure centre. The £2 million investment in the new, state of the art leisure facility is a joint venture of Stockport Council and Stockport Sports Trust.

Target Fitness+ Houldsworth Village, adjacent to Broadstone Mill in Reddish, is to be managed by Stockport Sports Trust and will provide a range of facilities for all abilities. These include three indoor football pitches, 70 piece fitness suite, aerobics studio, spinning studio and multi-use pitch, as well as high specification changing rooms, café/bar and parking.

The new facility is planned to open in autumn this year. Huge savings on membership are now available and bookings are already being taken for pitches. For more information visit www.sportinstockport.com or call 0161 443 4070.

A car turning right from Gatley onto Kingsway was hit by an ambulance, flipped over and ended up on its roof. By a miracle, the elderly driver had only minor injuries.

This sort of issue is, of course, one of the things Mark Hunter, Pam King and myself have been arguing with the Highways Agency about for some time.

The Highways Agency and Manchester Urban Traffic Control (who control the junction and have the final say over any changes) have so far resisted right turn filters due to fears over safety, but the current situation clearly isn’t as safe as it should be.

They even proposed their own solution, backed up by their own evidence: reducing the total cycle time of the lights from three minutes to two. This would increase the number of cars able to turn right from Cheadle and Gatley by 50% (as the cars would have an opportunity to nip right onto Kingway every two minutes instead of every three) and, I would hope, make it a bit safer if only because we’d all get less frustrated waiting in queues to turn right and so be less likely to take risks.

Unfortunately, having promised they would implement the change (which required no roadworks - just a change in the computer that could have been turned back had it caused problems), they then reneged on the agreement without telling us and so nothing has been done.

That discussion is ongoing - though taking far longer than it should be. How many more accidents and how many more months or years of long queues will we have to endure before the Highways Agency acts?

The 62 groups involve over 1,000 voluntary youth workers (of which, in my own small way, I’m one) and engages with over 5,000 young people and children.

SAVY provides supports and guidance, CRB and safeguarding training, an active youth forum, training and advice.

Stockport Council has been awarded a Silver Gilt at this year’s National Flower Bed competition at the RHS Tatton Flower Show.

The entry, which was designed and created by the Council, took inspiration from Stockport’s historic market, which is celebrating its 750th birthday later this year.

Judges and visitors alike were impressed with the interesting and creative display, which included bright rainbow stripes of summer bedding plants, a rustic cart of plant produce, and a metalwork representation of the Grade II landmark market hall.

I was never in the scouting movement as a kid so I’ve never really known what to expect from camps. I started helping out at Beaver Scouts because my children were going and now help out at 1st Gatley Cubs as an Assistant Leader.

In total there were over 4,000 Beavers, Cubs, Scouts, Explorers and leaders on the site on Sunday afternoon. The Beavers were there for the day, the Cubs for the weekend and the Scouts and Explorers for the whole week.  Most were from Cheshire but we had visitors from as far afield as South Africa, Sierra Leone, Sweden and Germany.

The Cubs get a flavour of what’s on offer over their two days (Scouts have five days to cover the activities the Cubs do in one). Among the activities our Cubs enjoyed were

• Crossing the rope bridge
• Inflatable assault course & gladiator-style battles
• Human table football
• Circus skills - learning the diablo
• Airhockey, pool table, table football and a load of stuff like that
• Air rifle shooting
• Archery
• Football with a six foot inflatable ball.
• Climbing wall
• Volleyball, softball
• BMX track
• Handbell ringing
• Cooking drop scones

There’s a fair bit more I can’t remember, plus lots of extra for the Scouts and Explorers (on the Sunday, Explorers were off at CSI crime skills day in the woods, with the help of Cheshire police).

On the Sunday afternoon, we watched a medieval jousting display and then broke the world record for the most people playing the wobble-board (yes, I’ve dreamed of that moment all my life).

Taking the Cubs camping has to be one of the most exhausting experiences of my life - and this is just the second time I’ve done it.   At some point, if I can summon the energy, I’ll post a bit more about what it’s all like as a leader (especially for someone like me who isn’t really into camping or that outdoors stuff).

Meanwhile, the Scouts and Explorers are there to Friday - I’m sure they’re having a great time.

The public consultation period for the review of these two policies began on 19 July 2010 with a closing date of 15 October 2010. These are being conducted at the same time as they are closely related matters involving related business premises.

Stockport Council is the licensing authority for the sale / supply of alcohol, the provision of hot food and drink (after 23:00 hrs) and the provision of regulated entertainments (plays, indoor sports, live and recorded music and dancing etc.). Any amendments or additions to this policy must be agreed by the Council by 7 January 2011.

For full details of the consultation, please click here.

Playday is the annual celebration of children’s right to play. The theme for Playday 2010 is ‘Our Place’ which aims to put children at the heart of the community and asks everyone, young and old, to help create better places for all of us to live and play.

The free event, organised as part of the Stockport Boost campaign, is being held from 11am-4pm and will include bouncy castles, sand play, den building, clay making, bird feeders, craft activities and face painting. The event is ideal for all ages.

Children and adults will all be given a special Playday passport. When an activity is completed the passport will be stamped. Once 10 stamps have been received they will be entered into a free prize draw to win a gift voucher.

People will also have the opportunity to tell the Council what they think about play in Stockport. People’s ideas and suggestions will help raise awareness of any issues that are restricting children and young people from being able to play. For more information about this event and play opportunities for children and young people, contact the Council’s Play Development Team on 0161 474 4471.

Stockport Music Service showcased a very successful week of five summer concerts at the prestigious Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. All the pupils involved had a great experience on their respective nights.

The Stockport Council service celebrated the achievements of its young musicians, aged between five and 21 years and of all abilities, representing 9 Stockport primary schools, one special school, and a wide variety of musical groups and genres of music.

There were also adult singers, including teachers, comprising the Sing Up Choir. Anybody wishing to join any of the Music Centre groups in September or wanting more information should contact Stockport Music Service on 0161 483 7636 or email craig.eastwood@stockport.gov.uk.

(I was there on the Friday, watching my son and his friends in the brass Five Notes Band and Prep Band).

People of all ages can explore the world of books and learning with Stockport Council’s week long ‘Reading Comes Alive’ celebrations between 31st July- 6th August. A series of lively and informative free events will be taking place throughout the week in Merseyway Shopping Centre precinct, including:

· Saturday 31st July 10am-4pm and Sunday 1st August 11am-4pm – “Summer Reading” – what’s hot and what’s not; find out about the best of summer reading

· Monday 2nd August – “Help yourself to better health” – help and support from organisations such as Stockport Health Trainers, stop smoking, weight management and alcohol NHS services and Disability Stockport

· Tuesday 3rd August 10am-4pm – “Your Heritage Your History” – a chance to find out more about Stockport’s fascinating history

· Wednesday 4th August 10am-4pm – “Making the Most of Your Money” – free help, information and specialist advice on everything from how to manage your debt to claiming benefits, fuel efficiency in the home to discounts on leisure facilities.

· Thursday 5th August 10am-4pm – “Stories Come Alive” – lots of books to share with babies and children

· Friday 6th August 10am-1pm – “Going the extra mile” – find out more about the Home Library Service in Stockport

Look out for more information in Stockport libraries about the week of events, ring 0161 217 6009 or email libraries@stockport.gov.uk.

Stockport has been awarded nine Green Flag Awards and one Green Pennant Award for 2010-11, in recognition of the high standard of its parks and open spaces.

Three parks were entered for the first time and all were successful: Diamond Jubilee Park, North Reddish Park and Shaw Health Park.

The following parks retained their Green Flags: Adswood Park, Brinnington Park, Hallam Gardens, Heaton Norris Park, Oak Meadow and Reddish Vale Country Park.

This brings the total number of sites that are at Green Flag standard across the borough to 20. To be eligible for a Green Flag Award, sites must be freely accessible to the public and meet strict criteria including being safe and secure, clean and well maintained, support conservation and heritage and encourage strong community involvement.

Meanwhile Gatley Carrs was successfully submitted for the Green Pennant Award. The Green Pennant Award recognises high quality green spaces that are managed by voluntary and community groups, in this case Gatley Carrs Conservation Group. For more information on Stockport’s parks visit www.stockport.gov.uk/parks or call 0161 217 6111.

The robbers stole a security van with money, dumped it on Bruntwood Park and crossed the park on foot to another vehicle.

No-one was injured in the robbery.  If you have any information that might help the police, please contact them.

Congratulations to everyone at the Gatley Carrs Conservation Group who’s hard work has turned this former builders’ rubble tip into such a lovely place.

View Gatley Carrs in a larger map

As a new item, we discussed the Council’s use of RIPA, the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000.

RIPA provides a framework for a variety of public bodies - including councils, the police, the Benefits Agency and others - to use covert surveillance to gather evidence against members of the public suspected of breaking the law.

It’s been pretty controversial, with a typical Daily Mail comment against it being

When it was passed in 2000, the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act attracted little public attention.

Those who did take an interest were informed that, far from being a cause for alarm, it would offer greater protection from Big Brother by regulating for the first time spying by the police and the security services.

Yet in only eight years, RIPA has become one of the most powerful tools of the surveillance state, used almost without restraint by councils determined to catch anybody daring to put their rubbish out on the wrong day.

It hasn’t been used for that in Stockport.

Stockport Council, we now know, used RIPA seven times in 2008 and seven times in 2009.  It wasn’t used to catch people putting out their bins on the wrong day, or to catch dog walkers.  It’s mainly been used to tackle anti-social behaviour and illegal selling of alcohol to children when other methods of gathering evidence have failed.

Councillors on the CRMG Scrutiny committee will be getting a quarterly report on how RIPA is being used by the Council so we can keep an eye on it.

Overall, I’ve long had concerns about the RIPA legislation - whether it’s too broadly drafted and gives too much power to the various public bodies that use it.  The Coalition government is considering changes and it may be that authorising RIPA requests moves from the Council to  Magistrates.

However, Stockport Council’s use of the legislation seems to me to be both appropriate and proportionate at present, and I look forward to monitoring it and ensuring it stays that way.

The event, at the mosque in Heald Green, is for the whole community and is well attended by muslims and non-muslims alike.

Attractions on Sunday included stalls selling everything from curries to jewellery, a bouncy slide, football, cricket, tours of the mosque and a magic show and archery demonstration for the kids.

I was able to demonstrate my rather limited athletic prowess, leading my team to fifth place (out of six) after the relay race, egg and spoon race, sack race and tug of war.  The highlight was a tug-of-war between the winning team and the mosque committee.  To make it a little fairer, the committee were assisted by three fine member of our neighbourhood policing team and that swung a tight 2-1 victory for the committee and police.

These fun days get better every year and I can genuinely say it’s a good and very enjoyable afternoon out for the family.

Children at Orrishmere Primary School in Cheadle Hulme won first prize in the Stockport Young Entrepreneurs competition for the second year running. The children ran a company called ‘The Money Tree’ which gave out micro loans of £2 and challenged pupils to make as much money as they could. Children gave half of their profits and the £2 loan back to the school. The profits amounted to over £1,000! They received their trophy from Ruth Badger runner-up in the BBC TV series The Apprentice. Ms Badger is treating the winners to a business lunch at one of Manchester’s top restaurants. Runners up were Queens Road Primary School’s ‘Clock Clickerz’ who worked with their business mentor Phil Millar from Creative Apparel in Cheadle to design and produce personalised clocks.The best trade stand at the final, voted for by other children at the event, was Cheadle Heath Primary School’s ‘Pom Pom Pets’ who produced pom pom animals, complete with adoption certificates.

Over 250 children, some as young as seven, from 15 schools, were given £500 through extended schools funding to set-up and run a small business. They did their own market research and designed, produced, advertised and sold a product. Each child had a role within the ‘company’ such as finance director or marketing manager. Every school was supported by a business mentor - a local businessperson - who generously gave their time and expertise to help the pupils.

The finale, in front of over 600 people at Stockport Town Hall, was in the style of the Dragon’s Den. The children ran trade stands displaying their products with the school’s business links acting as ‘Dragons’ interviewing and judging them on criteria such as originality of design.

I’ve reported ones on Peckforton Close, Clifton Drive and Springfield Road, which should (on past peformance) be cleaned pretty quickly.

If you spot any more, please report them. Just email streetscene@stockport.gov.uk with the location of the graffiti, or let Pam or myself know.

From the Council:

A notice has now been published advising that until Friday, 30 July “any person interested, on application initially to Business Services Directorate, Stopford House, Piccadilly, Stockport, SK1 3XE, telephone 0161 480 4949, ext 4124, may at the appropriate offices of the Council inspect and make copies of the accounts of the Council and the residuary body for the period ended 31st March 2010 and all books, deeds, contracts, bills, vouchers and receipts relating thereto.”

A copy of the public notice can be viewed here (pdf).

Water mains improvements affecting roads in Bramhall village centre will be carried out during the school summer holiday. Stockport Council has worked closely with United Utilities (UU) to schedule the work during the holiday period when there is less traffic, and to minimise the impact on local businesses and motorists. Warning signs will alert motorists to the work and houses and businesses have received leaflets. The work starts on Monday 26th July. The work will be carried out in three phases:

· Phase 1, from July 26th for 2 weeks: Temporary two way traffic lights on Ack Lane East in the direction of Moss Lane.

· Phase 2 from August 9th and every day for 2 weeks: Temporary four way traffic lights at the junction of Ack Lane East, Moss Lane, Woodford Road and Bramhall Lane South. During the first week Syddal Road at the junction of Woodford Road with be closed and a local diversion will be in operation. Excavation work takes place 7 days a week on the water main beneath the mini roundabout. UU staff will be on site to alter traffic light timings to reflect demand throughout the day. During the work, pedestrian islands at the junctions of Ack Lane East with Bramhall Lane South and Woodford Road, and Moss Lane with Ack Lane East will be removed to help traffic flows. Improvements to the Moss Lane island will be made when reinstated.

· Phase 3, August 23rd until the end of the month: Temporary two way traffic lights on Woodford Road away from Syddal Road junction towards the A555.

There is likely to be further work on Moss Lane and possibly Woodford Road, to take place either during September or future school holiday periods.

Just a reminder to be on the look-out for bogus callers.  The advice is:

• When answering their door remind people to always use their door chain, check who is there by looking through a window, door viewer and always ask for identification – IF IN DOUBT KEEP THEM OUT!
• Please advise people not to do business or accept services from a cold caller on the telephone or at the door
• Remind people to lock all doors and windows securely
• Double check with family, friends and people they know within organisations they deal with to check the authenticity of callers

The old crossing over Gatley Road will be replaced with a Puffin Crossing.

Although the details are yet to be finalised, we’re hoping to get, at the request of Pam King, improved lighting under the railway bridge.

Other planned safety improvements include a widening of the pavement by Springfield Road and an anti-skid surface approaching the lights.

All this is subject to some revision - I’ll pass on more details when I have them.

This uses a computer to link together the three sets of lights along Cheadle High Street (the junction with Wilmslow Road, the pedestrian crossing and the junction with Manchester Road and Stockport Road).

The system then monitors traffic flows and optimises the traffic light changes to get traffic moving as fast as possible.

As the Scoot website explains:

 SCOOT is the world’s leading adaptive traffic control system.

It coordinates the operation of all the traffic signals in an area to give good progression to vehicles through the network.

Whilst coordinating all the signals, it responds intelligently and continuously as traffic flow changes and fluctuates throughout the day. It removes the dependence of less sophisticated systems on signal plans, which have to be expensively updated.

Sounds good to me - let’s hope it helps.

Each year a few thousand people are invited to attend one of two Royal Garden Parties held at Buckingham Palace. As well as those from the world of politics, there are bishops and other religious people, quite a lot of military folks, some from the world of Scouting and Guiding and many others who were doubtless invited for some very good reasons I simply don’t happen to know.

At Stockport there were three pairs of invitations. One went to the mayor, Cllr Hazel Lees, one to the ruling Lib Dem group and one to the opposition parties. In the Lib Dem group, everyone who’s interested in going puts their names into a hat and the lucky person’s picked at random. This year it was me.

So it was, on Tuesday 20th July 2010, that I headed down to London on the train with my wife Carol, the Mayor and her husband and the leader of the Labour Group, Andy Verdeille, and his partner. My suit was freshly dry-cleaned and I was even wearing a tie (something I normally reserve for weddings, funerals and job interviews).

After a pleasant lunch in the rather impressive National Liberal Club, courtesy of one of our fellow councillors, we headed over to Buckingham Palace (all smartly dressed and with the ladies wearing hats, so the taxi driver knew just where we were heading before we’d said a word).

With the exception of foreign diplomats and royals, everyone queues. We stood in line at the front of the palace for around forty minutes alongside the bishops, army officers, mayors and all the rest. But the weather was good, everyone was happy and - oddly - the queueing never seemed an imposition.

At the entrance to the palace forecourt everyone had their tickets checked against their passports (we’d been asked to bring a second form of ID to prove our address just in case - if anyone’s was checked, I didn’t see).

We then queued again to file through Buckingham Palace and out into the back garden. As we walked through, around twenty or thirty people were relaxing in a roped-off area to one side - presumably they were more important (or, at least, better bred) than us.

Out into the forty acre garden, already filling up with eager party-goers. Facing away from the rear of the palace, two roped-off food tents to our right were signed as for diplomats and royalty. The rest of us would get our refreshment over to the left - a tent about a hundred metres long where guests (after more queueing, of course) could get tea, ice coffee, apple juice and some sweet nibbles and sandwiches. Apart from one building that looms across the skyline as you look beyond the gardens, you’d barely know you were in central London at all.

Two large gazebos at opposite corners of the main lawn sheltered military bands alternating their playing (cunningly, each had a flag which was raised when playing and lowered when not - I assume they used it to signal to each other when their moment of glory had come). They played all sorts of music - the theme from Steptoe and Son sticks in my mind - perhaps as being oddly incongruous with the event.

Queen Elizabeth with an assortment of other royals emerged at 4pm to the National Anthem. The royal party split into two and circulated around the lawn - again (probably quite rightly) speaking to people far more important than the likes of us.

Along with quite a few other people, we figured that the royals would at some point go through the entrance to their tea tent, so we dutifully waited there for a glimpse. Half an hour went by with no sign of them approaching and our small crowd was starting to get slightly restless.

After a little while longer, the Yeomen of the Guard (the “Beefeaters”) marched out with pointy sticks of some sort. Their job was - in a very friendly and chatty way - to create a corridor through the crowd to ease the passage of the royals to their tea. Unfortunately this meant that Carol, from having nabbed quite a good spot near the front, found herself staring at a Yeoman’s back (and later commenting on the stitching on his badges), though she did manage to find a decent viewing angle in the end.

Finally Queen Elizabeth appeared, and shot past us moving impressively fast for a lady in her 80s. We got maybe a second or two of close-up viewing time. Since she’s also not the tallest person, those a little further back either missed her entirely or just saw the hat zipping along.

We hung on and, about fifteen minutes later, Prince Philip strolled past at a more leisurely pace, stopping to exchange a few words with some people on the way.

I think Charles and Camilla were there too, but we didn’t see them, and there were some other royals who I wouldn’t recognise if I did see them, along with a lot of impressively posh people.

And that was pretty much it. We had a tub or two of ice cream and stroll around the rose garden and arboretum, before heading out back to Euston for the train.

Was it worth doing? I’m no great royalist, but I enjoyed the day and it was definitely an experience worth having. It’ll probably be the only time I go to the garden party…but perhaps not. Andy Verdeille was on his second visit - the last being in 1975 (apart from everyone getting a bit older, not much has changed according to Andy).

We arrived back in Stockport with aching feet, but there are certainly much worse ways to spend a warm Tuesday in July.

For anyone looking for information on Nick Griffin, he was refused entry to the Royal Garden Party on Thursday 22nd July - we attended the one on Tuesday 20th July.

The other Gatley Co-op has an external ramp, but at the Gatley Green one the pavement simply isn’t wide enough.  Instead, they have a removable ramp which staff will put down for you if you ring the bell.  Many elderly and infirm residents have told me they’re not comfortable with that and they’d really like a proper, permanent ramp.

Now I’ve had confirmation from Vicky Jolly the The Co-operative Group that a permanent ramp will be installed inside the store, though as always it’ll take a little while to happen.  Good news!

Although  a little sad, I can’t say I’m totally surprised.  The store’s been looking fairly tired for a while now, and the current owners admit that, whilst still profitable, it isn’t generating enough money for a substantial redevelopment.

First we had fence panels leaning out dangerously - which the Council quickly removed when we let them know (the panels aren’t owned by the Council).

Since then there have been the resulting gaps in the fence and rubbish dumped onto the property behind the fence - not great!

Pam and I have been pursuing a couple of different routes to get the landowner to resolve the situation, via planning enforcement and the area conditions officer.

I’m glad to say that, after inspecting the site, the Council’s Planning Enforcement team have issued the owner of Summerfield Court with a notice to sort out the problem by 31st August:

1. Remove all litter and waste items deposited on the land;
2. Remove from the land all broken fence panels and
3. Replace the broken fence panels with those of a match in height of the existing fence panels.

Chris Davies MEP

VANS – THE BATTLE TO RAISE STANDARDS

Even when you think you must be on a sure-fire winner a combination of commercial vested interests and short-sighted politicians can line up to defeat you. But in this case we’re not beaten yet!

The European Commission has proposed a regulation intended to reduce CO2 emissions from new vans and light commercial vehicles by 33% (to 135gCO2/km by 2020). I strongly support this. I’m confident that affordable technology exists to make it possible.

The protests from the vehicle manufacturers began as soon as the draft was published. They claim that they can’t do better than a 20% reduction over the next decade except at disproportionate cost.

Cynics might point out that these same manufacturers opposed measures requiring lead free petrol, catalytic converters, compulsory seat belts, rules for recycling end-of-life vehicles, and reductions in CO2 emissions from passenger cars, yet they comfortably met (or are meeting) the standards once introduced.

With such a track record you might think that the words “Cry Wolf!” would come to mind but alas not. The French and German governments have listened to the manufacturers and are challenging the Commission proposals. Major business organisations like the CBI, Confindustria and Business Europe are also calling for them to be diluted. The European Commission faces a tough fight.

The next round takes place in the European Parliament. The transport and industry committees have already voted, bowing in the direction of the vehicle makers, but it is my environment committee that leads on the issue and we don’t vote till mid-September. The result looks too close to call.

In charge of steering the legislation through the Parliament is North East Conservative MEP Martin Callanan (the rapporteur). His proposals were drawn up before the formation of the UK coalition government and describe the Commission’s 2020 target as “too ambitious.” To be fair, he is helpfully calling for the compulsory introduction of speed limiters on commercial vehicles, set at below 70 mph. (The manufacturers tend to install engines that are much more powerful than they need be; compulsory speed limiters will remove the incentive for this practice, reducing CO2 emissions at a stroke).

When we debated the subject in committee, German voices from the right were loud in attacking the Commission targets, but then found the tables turned when their most senior colleague broke ranks, declared that he was tired of the motor industry always opposing measures of this kind, and said that he knew perfectly well that the changes could be made. (He has been under pressure from colleagues since then to change his mind but I spoke to him last week and he told me that he was sticking to his position, so that should help break the ranks of the opposition).

The Commission’s plans have been taking a kicking. Part of the problem stems from its failure to present the proposals in a way best calculated to win political support.

The economic depression has forced the issue of global warming off the agenda of most politicians just at present; they are much more likely to want to defend jobs than insist that industry reduces CO2 emissions. But what has been missing from the discussion so far is that reducing CO2 and increasing fuel efficiency are one and the same thing. The Commission’s proposals will raise the fuel efficiency of vehicles by 33%. This will make them cheaper to operate and save scarce resources. Any increase in the purchase price should be offset within a couple of years by reductions in fuel costs.

Instead of gloom and more gloom, the Commisssion’s proposals should be regarded as ‘Win, Win, Win.’

This was the approach I took in the committee debate. I argued that far from the measures being a burden on industry they would prove a real benefit to it. They would reduce transport costs for business, promote competitiveness, and encourage innovation amongst vehicle manufacturers without which they will be lucky to survive the coming competitive threat from China.
Governments have been happy to sign up to the so-called EU2020 strategy which seeks to promote all of these things, yet the moment a measure is proposed that will give their words some practical effect they abandon the visionary approach and fall back into defensive mode.

I’ve been lending a helping hand to the Commission and doing some work to try and win backing for the proposals. I’ve managed to secure endorsements from the European Small Business Alliance and from the UK’s Federation of Small Businesses. In the run up to the votes in the European Parliament I shall use these to try and win support from MEPs and overturn the argument that the ‘pro-business’ position is to oppose the measures.

Meanwhile, in the Council of Ministers, the position of the UK government is likely to be crucial. Should it choose to do so, it could prevent the Commission proposals from being overturned. But as yet the coalition government hasn’t got an official position.

As Climate Change Secretary, Chris Huhne will have to represent the UK when the EU environment ministers meet, and I am told he is taking the same line as myself. But within government it is the Department for Transport that leads on the issue, and that is Conservative led. Civil servants there might be sympathetic but, as we have seen, the Conservative position in the European Parliament is less so. I have yet to hear what view is taken by Transport Secretary Philip Hammond, but I hope that Business Secretary Vince Cable can be encouraged to throw his weight behind the Commission position.

So that’s where we are as politics moves towards its summer hibernation. It’s frustrating that ‘the vision thing’ is so lacking, but there’s all to play for.

Chris Davies MEP

P.S. I’ve just read that the European Investment Bank has loaned £450m to Ford’s to help it develop a new petrol engine that will produce the same power as current models but will use 20% less fuel – enabling it to reduce CO2 emissions by 20% without downsizing or the use of any of the many technical improvements available on the market. Excellent. But is this the same Ford’s whose representatives told me in my office last week that the Commission’s proposals for 2020 van targets were simple not credible?!

(Chris Davies is the Liberal Democrat MEP for the North West of England)

Colin Macalister got an impressive 73.8% of the vote in Brinnington, my Conservative namesake Ian Roberts won in Cheadle and the Alliance march across the Hazel Grove seats continued.

There we were, walking along by the river on a windy afternoon and, with a loud crack, a dead tree crashed down across the road just a few metres away from us.  A lamppost which, we were told, had only been installed yesterday, was destroyed and a car damaged (very lucky it wasn’t worse).

Courtesy of Google, here’s the rather dead tree before it blew over.

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The result is a report you can read in the Children and Young People’s agenda for July 2010.

There’s far more than I can put here, but cyber-bullying is a serious issue.  It can happen not just through PCs, but with young people accessing online services via mobile phones, Wiis and anything else with an internet connection.

Sometimes the young people don’t appreciate the effect their actions are having on the victims, and frequently parents don’t know what’s going on and don’t know how to deal with it when they do.

The report finished with several recommendations for the Council, schools and school governors.

The next stage is for this report to go to the Executive - the Council’s ruling body.  If agreed, it will start being put into practice.

The decision to go to consultation was supported by 14 of the 15 members present and opposed by none (Cllr Rowles abstained).

What I’ll do here is put down my personal thoughts as a committee member. I don’t know Offerton School well - the only connection I have is my son attending the music service there every week, so if you’d like to comment from a different perspective, do go ahead.

It was clear to the committee that something must be done about the excess secondary places in East and South Stockport, and the strategy is to tackle the East first, then look at the South afterwards.

The East schools (Stockport School, Offerton, Hazel Grove, Marple Hall and Werneth) will have over 2,000 spare places by 2014/15 if nothing is done. That needs to come down to around 1,000.

Why? Money follows the pupils, so a school with fewer pupils has less money. But many of the costs are fixed: there’s little you can save on buildings maintenance and utilities, for example. As the money drops, it’s staff and equipment that bear the brunt. That means larger class sizes and a poorer education for the children.

The most obvious way of correcting the excess of places is to close a school. Of those above, Offerton is considered the most appropriate to close:

• Offerton has the largest number of surplus places (32%), and this is forecast to increase further.
• Last November, Offerton was inspected by Ofsted, judged to be Unsatisfactory and given formal Notice to Improve. On a return visit in May 2010 inspectors judged that, while some progress has been made, it’s inadequate
• Offerton’s buildings are in poor condition and it’s forecast to run up a deficit of over £2 million by 2011/12
• Over the last few years, only just over half the parents in Offerton’s catchment area have chosen to send their children to the school.

If the Council fails to do something (and that might be something other than closing the school) we’d be letting down our children. More and more of the money to educate them would be going on building maintenance, utility bills and the like, and less on their teaching.

The consultation that will now go ahead cannot, in my view, be simply to ask whether or not the school should close. Carrying on as we are now is not an option. Continuing to have a failing school with over 30% of the places unfilled and a debt which will soon be in the millions is not an option.

But the Council must be open to alternatives. Any alternative must deal with those three issues: the standards, the places and the finances. If, through the consultation, a viable alternative can be found that allows the school to stay open, to flourish and protects children across the borough, we’ll be the first to cheer.

Offerton’s Chair of Governors, Paul Beatty, has outlines an alternative plan which will come into the consultation. It still needs fleshing out with those details.

At yesterday’s meeting we also looked at the transition plans, should the school close. I can’t remember all the details, so I’m not going to write things down here and risk making a mistake.

What I can say is that the education of the children currently at the school is the top priority. Fuller details of how the transition to closure would work will be included in the consultation booklet currently being prepared.

One, from Robert Whalley, makes (again) the completely false claim that councillors have awarded ourselves a 5% increase in our allowances.

The increase this year was zero, last year was one percent. The 5% claim is simply untrue.

Then we have a letter from Eric Kime suggesting (I think - it’s not entirely clear) that no councillor should have any allowance at all.  It’s a lovely idea, but many of us - myself included - simply couldn’t afford to do the job without some form of financial compensation.

I do feel strongly that councillors should get no increase in our allowances whilst council employees also have a pay freeze.

From the Council:

The revised policy will be considered by the Council’s Environment and Economy Scrutiny Committee on 15th July.

By November 2010 the Council will have concluded the improvements to waste collection with the delivery of black wheelie bins for waste that can’t be recycled and the introduction of a weekly collection of food waste.

The new improved service has been designed to encourage and maximise the waste that residents recycle. As most household waste will be able to be recycled from November 2010 the new policy has been updated to reflect these improvements. The policy supports the service improvements by making it very clear that residents should be using the new services to their fullest. For further information please click here.

Stockport Council press release:

Stockport’s Executive agreed on Monday (12th July) to share collective responsibility for the savings across a wide range of activities so that no single service or group of people is affected too much.

The bulk of the savings is being found by cutting back on revenue and capital expenditure planned for later this year; it was also agreed to make a contribution from Council’s reserves. In addition, the Council and partner organisations had to revise their spending programme to reflect the loss of special Performance Reward Grant.

Specific reductions within the £6.5m agreed at the Executive include:

* saving £70,000 on senior management costs in the Children and Young People’s Directorate

* saving £60,000 from a £200,000 campaign for carbon reduction

* saving £100,000 by reducing training, publicity and printing within Children and Young People’s Services

* revising a £50,000 campaign to tackle vacant shops to now spend only £25,000

* saving more than £100,000 by scaling back a programme of traffic calming, pedestrian and cycle ways in the borough

Council leader Councillor Dave Goddard told the Executive: “We have to save £6.5 million this financial year. This is about sharing collective responsibilities to deliver the most important priorities for the borough. All services will be affected to some extent but we are protecting frontline services as much as we can. These are decisions for the times we are facing, everyone is being affected by the national financial position and Stockport is no exception.

“At the heart of our approach lies our commitment to improve all our communities by building on Stockport’s position as one of the best-run Councils in the country. Partnership working is a strong point in Stockport, and we are pleased that our partners agree with us that this is the best way forward,” Cllr Goddard said.

Councillor Sue Derbyshire, Executive Member for Finance, added: “These are decisions for the times we are facing. The role of councils is changing and we have to respond to that. It is with deep regret that we have to deal with these savings in-year.

“However the financial situation found by the current government has led to this result. We have and will continue to make representations to government about the need to protect local services, especially to the most vulnerable. Plans had been in train for some time to identify savings that were inevitably going to be needed in future years and those plans assisted in forming these recommendations.”

Looking further ahead, the Council expects to face significant reductions in government grants over the next four years and is carrying out a thorough review of all its services and budgets to identify where the necessary savings can best be found. The Council knows it will have to employ fewer people in the future, but says the introduction of compulsory redundancies will be the last resort.

In addition to the website, they bring out a regular newsletter that I manage to get my hands on. One item in the latest issue struck me as a good example of what’s wrong with rail fares in this country.

Here’s the Northern Rail page for this special offer. Nice idea for the offer, but could they have made it any more confusing? Only valid at certain times, which vary depending on which station you travel from. Valid for weekends, except in December. Only valid on certain lines and between certain stations.

And we’re supposedly in the era of simpler rail ticketing - weren’t we told that it had all been simplified a couple of years ago?

Stockport Homes have been nominated for two NFA (National Federation of ALMOS) awards.

To see why, visit http://www.almos.org.uk/awards.php and then click on the Stockport Homes videos.

For further information please email cheryl.harrison@stockporthomes.org

Unfortunately, it turned out that the side of the road with the problem (the north west corner of the junction) is in Manchester, so we just had to pass it over and keep our fingers crossed.

But, credit where it’s due, they’ve got it sorted and everything’s been removed. If only we could get the old, rusting metal bench on the corner sorted too.

Stockport Council’s ‘Access for All’ mobility scooter training has been going from strength to strength and has received some very positive feedback from residents.

The Council has been working in partnership with Shopmobility Stockport to give free scooter training to mobility scooter users within Stockport, through a number of events that have run around the borough. First launched last year, the Council-organised events provide residents with scooter training and useful tips to ensure mobility scooter users are safe whilst out and about.

For more information on staying safe on a mobility scooter contact the Road Safety Team on 217 6111.