At tonights Prestwich Local Area Partnership (6.30-8.30pm Longfield Centre) the “URBED” design consultants who have been appointed to come up with plans for the future of the Prestwich Village Centre will be making an initial presentation of options to local people.

As your councillors we got a “sneak preview” last night, and there are some excellent ideas, but ones which give us all lots to think about. Issues we need to consider include:
- the link between Tesco’s and the Village, and whether Tescos should/could be rebuilt on the “road front” to bring it closer to the village centre.
- ideas for new buildings in the whole village centre area including shops, housing above shops, a new Health Centre and Library and extended open spaces.
- What do we do with the Longfield Centre? - its an excellent public facility now, but if it was removed would there be any chance of it getting paid for again?
- How do we make the A56 through the Village Centre a more “friendly road” for shoppers and pedestrians whilst maintaining its through traffic role both for local people and as a trunk route into Manchester?
- Is there scope for re-opening up a second road onto the A56 from the east to relieve Fairfax Road?

For me the most important thing is that as many people as possible get the chance to say what they think about the plans and options. Its our village centre and we need to get it right! Do come along to the Area Partnership meeting or to other events. As soon as I have some links or electronic versions of the options I’ll post them on this site.

More information from URBED here.

A number of local people will have noticed the signs that have been put up at the “Cash Office” at the Library announcing its closure. We have been assured that these have been put up in error (!) and the office is not closing at the present time.

Prestwich Councillors all met with Mike Owen, the Council’s Director of Finance and E-Government yesterday, who answered questions on the cash office. The Council does want to review whether the Office is viable nowardays and will be consulting on this over the summer. We made some very strong points about the benefits of face-to-face human contact - particularly as post offices are closing and some shops are reluctant to run the “Pay-Point” system because of security issues. The Prestwich Local Area Partnership will be receiving a full report and consultation at its July meeting.

Tim

Yesterday was the “Annual Council” meeting of Bury MBC attended by all 51 councillors - including the 17 that were elected or re-elected on 1st May 2008.

Annual Council is in two parts - a civic “Mayor Making” and the Annual Meeting itself. At Mayor Making councillors elected Cllr Peter Ashworth to serve as the Mayor of Bury for 2008-2009. Peter is a Conservative councillor for Moorside Ward in north Bury and we wish him well in his year as the borough’s “first citizen”. Councillors appointed Cllr Farook Choudrey, who has been the mayor for the last year as Deputy Mayor. This is the normal convention in Bury.

In Bury we’ve become used in recent years to Annual Council meetings being significant occasions when the council was in “no-overall control”. As the Conservatives now have a majority of one seat on the Council, the drama was missing from this year’s event somewhat! The only thing of note is that the Council’s Executive Committee will now just consist of Councillors from one Party (the Conservatives), whereas previously under both Labour and the Conservative minority administration last year, the two Opposition Leaders have been included on the Executive Committee as “without portfolio”. We will still be there, but as co-opted and non-voting members. Obviously as the ruling group the Conservatives have the right to do this. Bury has been somewhat unusual including the opposition on the Executive, but somehow it seems a backward move to me.

Some proposals for amending the questions at meetings from both members of the public and from ordinary councils were to be discussed, but these have now been referred to the Democratic Arrangements Forum (which brings together all three Parties on the Council) for further discussion. I think we all recognise that some reform is needed, but I am concerned that we still keep the right balance between openness and public participation, and efficient working.

The Annual Council appointed Councillors to the various Committees, Scrutiny Panels and Working Groups. Liberal Democrats are entitled to a mix of one and two seats on each committee and we’ve appointed to all these places. We have been allocated one Scrutiny Committee to Chair, and this will be my ward colleague Wilf Davison. Apart from Leading the Lib Dem Group, my main role will be as the new “co-opted non-voting member” on the Executive Committee.

Any questions, please ask!
tim