Tim Pickstone

Cllr Ann Garner was out with neighbours on Glebelands Road for three hours today, helping the driver of an articulated lorry who’d taken a wrong turn to get up the hill and back on his journey. The driver had been heading to pick up sandwiches from the busy food outlet to take them to Asda, however he ended up blocking Glebelands Road instead. Apparently the team used sand from children’s sand pits and spare bags of grit to after clearing snow away to enable the lorry up the hill. All in all an opportunity to moan that we don’t have any grit bins on our street!

Earlier that day many thanks to the unnamed boiler contractor who spent an hour digging and pusing my car out of a rut at Prestwich Hospital - thank you!!

Snow on the phone lines, 8am on 5 January 2010

Bin Collections cancelled…..


Al fresco living in the back garden, and Upper Wilton Street, 2nd January

A Christmas poem, presumably sent to all Councillors, from the people at the Save our Suite campaign.

Merry Christmas Dear Councillors and a happy New Year too.

You all went to the Mayors Ball and enjoyed the Longfield Suite didn’t you.

This wasn’t a one off, you must appreciate, next year you will be wanting to go again about the same date.

So lets end the suspense and pointless chatter come on committee decide on the matter.

For all to benefit both young and old the pleasures of the Longfield Suite just have to be told.

We don’t want it to become a memory, so listen to the Longfielders and hear their testimony.

I work in Hebden Bridge, which is part of Calderdale Council.

This was the scene arriving at work on 23 December 2009, you’ll notice I work on a steep hill, but you’ll also notice the refuse collection lorry collecting recyclables.

This is was the scene back at home - this is the view near Heaton Park Congregational Street on Bailey Street. (Actually a day later, but the weather hadn’t changed.)

KEEP FIGHTING FOR OUR HERITAGE
SAY NO TO FORTRESS FOOTBALL
SAY YES TO JUMPERS FOR GOAL POSTS

For the second time in three months Goals Soccer Centres have been
forced to withdraw their planning application to build a sports centre in
Heaton Park. When will they get the message that a huge number of people
do not want their park fenced in and covered with concrete and astroturf.
As a result the Planning Committee Meeting to be held at Manchester
Town Hall on the 17th December 2009 has been cancelled.

Goals need to realise we are against their plans to build a sports complex in
the park. We say no to traffic congestion, parking chaos, noise and light
pollution, having 8 acres of our beautiful park covered in concrete and
astroturf, protected species such as bats threatened.

Thank you for your continued support.

Goals Soccer Centres planning application to build a five-aside
centre in Heaton Park

It’s time to turn up the pressure - we need your help.

Write to the Manchester Evening News
Lots of people have started to write to the Manchester Evening News. This
has raised the profile of the campaign and kept the pressure on
Manchester City Council
Write to:

Postbag,
Manchester Evening News,
1 Scott Place,
Hardman Street,
Manchester,
M3 3RN.

Or email them at postbag@men-news.co.uk

If you do email your letter please follow the following guidelines.
Please send plain text only and do not include attachments.

It doesn’t have to be a long letter. You could mention all or some of the
following, traffic congestion, parking chaos, noise pollution, light pollution,
air pollution, loss of historic parkland and greenbelt, protection of
endangered species such as bats.

Join the Save Heaton Park Facebook Group
Search for “Save Heaton Park” on Facebook. Current membership 1200

Attend Save Heaton Park Meetings and Events
We plan to arrange meetings and events to keep people informed and raise
the profile of the campaign

The new £4.3 million Fusilier Museum in Bury was officially opened today (Friday, September 25) by the Duke of Kent.

For some unknown reason, the invitations to myself and the Leader of the Labour Group in Bury only reached us the afternoon before the event! I’d have really liked to have been there, but regrettably not at such short notice!

The museum commemorates more than 300 years of Regimental history and includes the impressive collection of the Lancashire Fusiliers and the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers – who are currently on active service in Afghanistan. Apparently more than 5,500 visitors have been through the doors of the museum since it opened in late June this year.

The new building houses the Fusiliers collections, the Tourist Information Centre, Hero’s cafe and a shop. The Lancashire Headquarters of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers have also relocated here along with a new Army recruiting office.

The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers is the only organisation to enjoy Freedom of the Borough in Bury. It allows the Fusiliers to march through the town on all ceremonial occasions with drums beating, bands playing, colours flying and bayonets fixed.

Prestwich residents might be interested to learn just how confused the wannabe Conservative MP for Bury South - Whitefield Councillor Michelle Wiseman - seems to have become.

On her “blog” (here), Michelle appears to be confused about the Liberal Democrats saying, quite rightly, no to a massive commercial soccer centre in a Prestwich corner of Heaton Park, whist at the same time promoting sports in a motion to Bury Council about the Olympic Games.

She has, of course, missed the point. Probably all of us are in favour of better sports facilities. This is what we’ve said all along about the Heaton Park Soccer Centre - its a great idea in the WRONG PLACE! Why turn a beautiful piece of public parkland into a commercially run soccer centre where pitches seem likely to be £45 a hour to hire? Surely there are better places to put such things?

What our motion on the Olympic Games attempts to highlight is the lack of action, by both the current Conservative and the former Labour people who run Bury Town Hall on sports in our local area. One of the sensible ideas we’re putting forward tonight is about a Greater Manchester Leisure Card so that people can make good use of sports facilities across boroughs - a sensible idea you’d expect a Parliamentary candidate to support?

The Conservative Councillor seems to be particularly confused in what she is saying. Michelle has told the Campaign Group against the Heaton Park plans that she is 100% supportive of our campaign to stop the Soccer Centre being built there. Brilliant - but at the same time she’s trying to make a cheap political point about the Liberal Democrat group supporting the Campaign AND supporting sport. Do we really want such a confused MP?

In Bury lots of organisations and projects involve volunteers to deliver valuable services and support to the people of Bury. They face the highs and lows of involving volunteers. Many are working in isolation dealing with similar problems and concerns and they don’t have anyone to celebrate the successes and achievements they have with volunteers.

Bury vinvolved Team and B3SDA want to change this. They are working together to launch Bury’s Volunteering Forum. The first meeting will be on Wednesday September 30th from 12pm until 2pm at the New Kershaw Centre on Deal Street.

Read the rest of this entry.

Following a meeting on Friday 3 rd July 2009 Prestwich Arts College will now be open to all students at 10.15am on Tuesday 7th July 2009 ,contrary to the letter sent from the head teacher to parents and carers of students at the school  on 3rd July.

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.