Riverside Park clean up

The materials outside the Tatton have been reported to the owners

I was at the river Mersey in Northenden yesterday with a friend and noticed how untidy the place was looking around the Tatton Arms.

We took a few photos and reported everything to the authorities to get cleaned up.

It's a shame things get to such a state in such a beautiful area. It should be cleared up soon.

This Graffiti has been reported to the council

"From Stalin to Mr Bean"

Brown under fire - responding to the latest crisis in Labour party donations, acting Lib-Dem leader Vince Cable MP has said the Prime Minister has transformed from "Stalin to Mr Bean" in a matter of weeks.

The wheels of the Labour bus haven't just wobbled in recent weeks, but are smashing against the axles.

The Northern Rock crisis, 25 million records being lost, a military ambush by former chiefs of defence and now dodgy donations.

I sense there is added meaning to New Labour's mantra "things can only get better"; but after 10 years, will they?

The Labour Party have had an unbroken reign over Manchester City Council since 1973, but where are we now, 34 years later?

Have we a clean and safe public transport network that is the envy of the region? Do our buses, trains and trams run quickly and on time throughout the city, connecting up with every part of the city on a regular basis? Is it quicker to hop on a bus than get in your car?

Are our children well educated, inspired and aspirational; eager to shape the world in their own vision with a shared sense of purpose and ambition? Do our citizens have high life expectancy and high expectations of our future together?

Are our neighbourhoods safe and free from the terrible grip of criminal gangs? Have we a well funded police force that has time to properly engage with their communities and the space and resources for proper detective work?

Have we harnessed the technological innovations and expertise of our local scientists, city planners, architects and engineers to create a beautifully efficient, modern, advanced and splendid metropolis, flowing and cutting between green open spaces and urban public places?

If we cannot answer 'yes' to these questions, then what - quite frankly - is the point of Manchester Labour? And more so, what has it been up to these last 30 years?

"Magpie" Labour steal Lib-Dem ideas - again!

The Northenden Labour team - working hard for Manchester.

Found an interesting twist to the "Palatine Road Focus Group" story (see below) at the weekend.

The day after the Civic Society meeting, where our group was adopted as sub-committee, Labour were out delivering letters to the traders inviting them to a hastily put together rival meeting.

Looks like Gordon Brown isn't the only one nicking ideas - nice to know our local gang still following their leader's example!

Interestingly only traders have been invited - but why haven't residents?

Spot the difference - Lib-Dems invite both Residents and Traders, whilst Labour exclude the residents from talks about the future of their high street.

A Focus Group for Palatine Road

The Northenden Lib-Dems have started a "Palatine Road Focus Group" which aims to give our high street a wider variety of shops and services.

The Farmers Market has taught us all, even the traders, that if we get the shops right on Palatine road, we can have a thriving centre of shops, services and amenity.

Many residents have told us over the years that they are disappointed in the lack of certain shops - butchers, fishmongers, shoe shops etc. They complain that we have too many fast food takeaways and bars.

It was always difficult to respond - apart from reacting to planning applications or inviting other shops to set up business, it would be difficult to step in. How could we convince the existing traders to support a scheme to add other shops on the road, even if they weren't in direct competition?

Since the traders (even the new grocers) have had extra trade on Farmers Market day, they have now realised how beneficial it would be for them to have a wider variety of shops.

I spoke with the Chair of the Northenden Civic Society (NCS) about a joint tenants and traders meeting to discuss all the issues facing Palatine road. We didn't want it to be overtly political, indeed we thought the best way forward is to attract the Councillors and Council Officers to this meeting to make it more useful.

He suggested the NSC adopts it as a formal sub-committee, effectively "de-politicising it". I'm pleased to say that when he put it to the Civic Society on Tuesday, it was agreed that it would become a formal sub-committee.

We now have the extra clout and access the NCS can give this group which is a great start for a meeting yet to happen!

If you live or Trade in Northenden and would like to attend the meeting, please meet us at:

Northenden Methodist Hall

Victoria road (just off Palatine Road)
Northenden

8pm, Thursday 29th November

Remembrance day 2007

The plaque in St Wilfrids church bearing the names of those from Northenden who fell in World War I.

This year remembrance day coincided with a Sunday, and so the 'proper' 2 minute silence was held at the Methodist Church service we attended this weekend.

The service was quite moving, and the Rev Bown
spoke of the cost of war and the society we live in today. He recalled a 15 year old boy he knew in south Manchester who was scared witless by a local gang that had threatened to shoot him unless he paid them £90.

"Was this the society our men made the ultimate sacrifice for?" he asked.

After the service we walked across the road to the memorial and I laid a wreath on behalf of the Northenden Lib-Dems. More Vets, the Rev Forster and his congregation, the councillors and about a hundreds residents joined us outside.

The veterans are getting quite frail and few now. Only about a dozen medal bearing veterans were to be found either in the service or at the war memorial afterwards.

After the short service at the memorial I was invited into the social club where one proud vet, Tommy, told me that his captain had recently given him a parade rod with his name inscribed upon, a small vial of whiskey hidden inside and a small compass in the also hidden in the head of the rod.

I was impressed with this exquisite gift and Tommy told me he was very proud of it. He showed me the George Cross he earned in the war for saving his captain's life. Amazingly at 92 he is still with us, thanks to Tommy!

I am so proud of the generation that saved our nation from fascism. They deserve all the respect and gratitude our nation can bestow upon them. We have so many young men and women now serving in other nations, fighting for their freedom. I only hope that their sacrifice is honoured with the same respect for generations to come

Amusing Cartoon

Very witty!

Courtesy of the Times.

Lord Mayor attends Farmers Market

Martin Eakins talking to a resident at the Farmers Market

The Lord Mayor attended the Farmers Market on Saturday, and despite the soggy start the parade was packed with shoppers again. Just goes to show how attractive Palatine road can be if we get the shops right!

We collected a few more dozen signatures for the Parish Council petition, meaning we're almost at the 10% threshold needed to submit the proposal to the Government.

So many residents are keen on the plan, which is very encouraging. I keep on thinking of all the different issues in the village the Parish Council could improve. Bins, street lights, open spaces, parking, roads, Christmas Lights, crime fighting, conservation areas and so on.

The scope of powers these small councils have is impressive, and I'm itching to see it set up. The council officers who work in improving our area are both hard working and talented, but often the link between the residents and the work of the council feels semi-detached, as if the council isn't really engaged with the mind set of the community.

Set Communities Free - say MPs

Manchester City Hall - MPs from all parties say Local Authorities should have greater autonomy over funding

I was most impressed to read that an influential committee of MPs have concluded a 2 year review of local governance by recommending devolution of funding to Local Authorities.

This is a most impressive report. It highlights the overwhelming need for power to be distributed from the centre to local communities.

We're attempting to do just this in Northenden by creating a Parish Council - the smallest unit of government. It would be a local council elected by only 5,000 voters just for the Northenden Village part of the ward. It would mean that decisions can be taken quicker, by people inside the community who are directly accountable to their neighbours.

At present planning decisions for Northenden are taken at Wythenshawe Area Committee, which is a collection of all the Northenden and Wythenshawe Councillors who meet almost every month at the Wythenshawe Forum. Unfortunately the Labour Councillors for Northenden are frequently absent (last year they only managed an attendance rate of 42% between them), and decisions affecting the ward have been taken in their absence.

This means that the rest of Wythenshawe is taking decisions over what happens in Northenden - which we think is a bit bonkers considering how different Northenden is to the rest of Wythenshawe.

We invited Labour to support the idea, but heard nothing from them for months until they rubbished the idea in the press- which is a bit odd as it was their legislation in 1997 that encourages communities to set up these sort of councils.

So much for putting differences aside for the good of the community!

A new month, a new blog and soon, a new leader.

Chris Huhne and Nick Clegg

- but which one will lead the party by Christmas?

November has arrived.

The clocks have gone back, frost now appears on lawns, the leaves have fallen and so has our leader, Sir Ming Cambell MP, the latest victim of ageism in press.

It was the ageist sentiments in the press that eventually hamstrung poor Ming, every time he made an important speech or announcement, savage cartoons and ageist comment would be published in our national papers, silencing the wise yet passionate words of a great and honourable man.

If Ming was black or disabled, this sort of nonsense wouldn't be tolerated, but ageism is one of the last great forms of prejudice that has yet to be conquered.

Who will replace Ming - Clegg or Huhne? I hope it's Clegg - he has the vision to lead us into Government.