Tim Pickstone

Goals Soccer Centres have submitted an application to Manchester City Council for their controversial commercial “soccer centre” in the part of Heaton Park just off St Margaret’s Road in Prestwich.

Full details of the application can be found here.

This is the Location Plan which shows the area of park which would be converted into the Soccer Centre.

This is a more detailed plan showing the 12 football pitches, 6 tennis courts, club house with cafe and function rooms, car park and skate park.

Parents and the wider community are invited to attend an information day at Heaton Park Primary School on July 13.

The school, on Cuckoo Lane, Whitefield, has been identified as requiring significant modernisation, and a children’s centre. It is planned to integrate the children’s centre on the school site.

Proposed drawings will be on display showing facilities and services being offered. Bury Council officers and the Heaton Park school management team will be available to answer questions.

Work is planned to start in early to mid 2010, and take nine months to complete. The information day is on Monday July 13, from 3pm to 6.30pm.

Please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you need to more about these proposals.
tim

Today was the Prestwich Carnival Parade - seemed to be loads more entries this year.
Well done to everyone involved.

More pictures here.

At today’s meeting of Greater Manchester’s Independent Transport Authority (ITA) (formerly the GMPTA), Manchester Liberal Democrat Councillor Keith Whitmore was elected as its first ever Lib Dem Chair.

Keith said “I am honoured that colleagues have put their faith in me. I will work across the political groups to campaign and lobby for a better deal for Greater Manchester, and a better Transport system across Greater Manchester.

This is a big day for Keith and the Lib Dems across Greater Manchester. He has been a Levenshulme Councillor for 30 years, and a member of the PTA/ITA for 20 years. No-one I know has more knowledge of transport issues, or is more committed to improving Public Transport across Greater Manchester.

It’s started with a storm at Prestwich Clough and should end in glorious sunshine at Prestwich Carnival. After 35 days, 55 events, 1,000’s of visitors to events, money raised for charity Prestwich Festival puts its feet up and says goodbye for 2009 with a final 5 days of fun.

The last free archery session is today (Thursday 18 June) at The Phoenix Centre. During the festival over 100 11 to 8 years olds have already enjoyed these free session’s.

This evening also sees the Festival Music Night taking place between 7pm and 10pm. It promises to bring the some classical sophistication to The Longfield Centre with a wonderful night of music with the Bury Music Service Band, Affetside Choir and to round off the evening, in grand style Besses o’ th’ Barn brass band.

Tomorrow, there will be a Friday Night Social - Shangri La at 8pm at, Carlton Club, Bury Old Road featuring live music. And finally a bumper weekend of family entertainment will take place at the Prestwich Carnival.

On Saturday 20 June a Football Tournament organized by FC United of Manchester will take place from 9am until 4pm at St. Mary’s Park.

As well as Butterstile Fun Day which takes place from 12.00 noon at Butterstile Primary School. The friends of Butterstile will be holding their traditional fun day. As part of the fun all the children from the school will have the chance to enter a series of competitions to celebrate Prestwich, the four categories are photographs, poems, paintings or portraits.

And finally on Sunday 21 June Prestwich Carnival Grand Parade kicks off at 1pm. The Parade arrives in the park at 2.30pm with six arenas showcasing local talent.

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The Highways Agency is advising drivers using the M60 between junctions 19 at Middleton and 23 at Ashton-under-Lyne in Greater Manchester to allow extra time to complete their journeys over the next six weekends.

Starting Friday (June 19), work is being carried out along this 6-mile section each weekend until August, weather permitting.

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Planners at Bury Council have given approval for state of the art new facilities at Prestwich Arts College, marking the end of a long campaign for improvements to the successful local school.

The Council’s Planning Control Committee voted on Tuesday 16th June to grant planning permission for a new dining room and arts auditorium for the school, which was threatened with closure back in 2005. Commenting on the news, local Lib Dem Councillor Tim Pickstone said “This is great news, not just for the school but for the whole community. Prestwich Arts College is the only high school in Bury without a dining room, and this news is long overdue. We’ve been lobbying the Council for years, and I’m glad they’ve finally seen sense and given Prestwich young people what they need.

Commenting on the new arts auditorium, Cllr Pickstone, who is also a governor of the school, said “This will be a first class facility for a top quality school. But more than that, it will be used as a community facility, bringing better arts provision for the whole of Prestwich. I’m delighted it’s been given the go-ahead.”

The new facilities will be built in the near future. Cllr Pickstone said “We need to listen to the concerns of local residents on Heys Road, Glebelands Road and other nearby streets to ensure that the plans do not adversely affect local residents. When we get the process right, Prestwich Arts College and the whole area will have splendid new facilities.

The summer edition of “News from Six”, the newsletter of Bury Council’s Housing Management Organisation Six Town Housing is now available and can be downloaded here.

After nearly 9 years of planning and over 2 years of renovation works, the Fusilier Museum in Bury opens its doors to visitors on the 27th June – British Armed Forces Day.

The museum displays a rich Regimental history spanning over 300 years and is the new home to the collection of the XXth Lancashire Fusilier Regiment, following the closure of the museum at Wellington Barracks last August. The museum also has a new collection, that of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers. Although the Regiment is 40 years old, this is the first time the Regiment has had its own museum and place to commemorate its history – from the streets of Northern Ireland to Afghanistan, were the Regiment is currently on active service.

The doors will open at 11am to welcome visitors. As this is also British Armed Forces day, there will be a chance to meet with colleagues and friends associated with the regiment, past present and future. There will also be children’s activities from 1pm onwards.

Said Mike Booth, the museums General Manager, ”The entrance today is free to thank all who have helped support this fantastic project that has had the support of the whole community – though of course, donations are always welcome!”

The museum also has a shop, café and is home to the towns Tourist Information Centre. The Fusilier Museum is set to become a major tourist attraction for visitors to Bury and the surrounding area.

WWW.fusiliersmuseum-lancashire.org.uk

The following statement was released from the Prestwich’s local Lib Dem Councillors last week:

Lib Dem Oasis Verdict: Room for Improvements, not 200,000 fans

Local Lib Dem Councillors have praised clean-up staff following recent Oasis concerts in Heaton Park, but voiced concerns that not enough was done to protect local people during the recent events. The concerts, which saw
210,000 people enjoy music in the park over three nights, generated controversy over noise, but passed largely without major trouble.

Commenting on the concerts, Cllr Vic D’Albert, Liberal Democrat member for Holyrood and Parliamentary candidate for Bury South said “What’s clear is that over 200,000 people came to Prestwich and had a great time. But there
were lots of problems for the people that live here, and we need to get the balance right. Before Manchester City Council think about having more concerts here, they need to think about Prestwich residents.”

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