I’ve had a great day out in Irlam and Winton this afternoon, and – with the exception of a brief downpour - it has just about stayed dry.
At lunchtime I popped in to the Brown Cow at Winton for their festival and fun day. It was great to see everyone enjoying themselves – especially the children – and there was a good turnout for the car boot.
In the afternoon I met up with Councillor Liz Hill (pictured below with local residents) for a wander around the Irlam & Cadishead Community Festival on Prince’s Park. It was fantastic to see such a wonderful turnout, so many things to do and so many people enjoying themselves.
Alongside the main Festival was the Irlam Fire Station Open Day. This was also brilliantly attended and I’m grateful to all the Fire Service staff who made it possibly. While I was there I saw a first-rate demonstrations of a rescue from a road traffic collision and of the effects of a chip-pan fire.
Overall it’s been great fun and I hope everyone who attended had as much fun as I did.
I’m really pleased to read that the Eccles Metrolink branch is set to reopen on Tuesday, with the summer engineering works being completed on schedule.
Obviously the last month has not been ideal for commuters but I hope that we’ll see an improved service from now on. We’re used to hearing about engineering work overrunning so it’s a huge relief that the work seems to have been completed on time!
First Bus have announced some big changes to their services across the local area, to be implemented after the bank holiday weekend. Click here to read their service changes bulletin in full.
- The 68 bus will no longer go to Manchester – it is being diverted to the Trafford Centre. It will still serve Salford Royal Hospital though (this was a big concern that the Hospital bus would vanish) and will turn back at Stott Lane into Eccles. It is also reducing from a 20-minute frequency to a half-hourly frequency.
- The 10 bus to Brookhouse is run by both First Bus and Arriva Bus. The First buses will now no longer run to Brookhouse and will go to the Trafford Centre via Trafford Road instead, and are being renumbered as service 110.
- The 100 Manchester-Eccles-Trafford Centre bus will now run every ten minutes, and will not serve Trafford Road. Trafford Road will be served by the 110 service (see above).
It’s a bit of a mixed bag. I’m pleased that Walkden and Little Hulton will now have a direct route to the Trafford Centre again, but I’m concerned that the frequency of the new 68 has been cut, and I’m concerned that residents of Brookhouse have had their buses cut considerably.
These buses all run as commercial services so the decisions are made by First Bus. If you are unhappy with the changes, please call them on 08457 881 155.
Iain Dale has today posted the list of the top 100 Conservative blogs, according to those who voted in the Total Politics Blog Awards for 2009.
This year this website comes in at #51, which I’m very pleased with. Thanks again to everyone who voted in the Total Politics poll, and particularly of course those people who were kind enough to vote for me. Ta!
The Irlam & Cadishead Community Festival takes place on Bank Holiday Monday, 31st August. You can find out more information on the Irlam & Cadishead Community website. I’m really looking forward to attending – hope to see you there!
Just a short post to say best wishes to everyone participating in this year’s Manchester Pride festival, and especially to my friends in LGBTory. Have a great weekend!
This morning I spoke to Spatial Planning at Bolton Council about the Cutacre proposals. The officer I spoke to confirmed that although Salford City Council planning officers had been consulted, there had been no attempt to directly consult local people in Little Hulton about the proposals. This was disappointing but not surprising, and perhaps the Salford officers should have notified residents.
More importantly, I sought reassurances that Little Hulton residents who still wish to comment would be able to do so. I was assured that should local people write or e-mail in over the next couple of weeks, their views would still be taken into account, even though the notional deadline is tomorrow (Friday 28th).
This is excellent news and I urge the local community to send in their views to Bolton Council over their proposals for Cutacre.
You can order the full report by ringing 01204 333218, and it can be viewed online at www.bolton.gov.uk/corestrategy or in the Planning Reception at Bolton Town Hall.
Comments should be sent by e-mail to ldfconsultation@bolton.gov.uk or by post to Spatial Planning Team, 5th Floor, Bolton Town Hall, Bolton, BL1 1RU.
There’s some excellent news for bus passengers in Boothstown from next week.
Local bus companySouth Lancs Travel are increasing the frequency of their 132 service – which runs from Wigan to the Trafford Centre via Hindley, Atherton, Tyldesley, Boothstown and Worsley Brow – from hourly to half-hourly from 1st September. They’re also introduced a new half-hourly Saturday service.
The changes mean that the number of daytime bus services along Leigh Road from Boothstown to Worsley Brow will increase by a quarter on weekdays and double on Saturdays.
Boothstown residents have suffered badly from bus service cuts in recent years, and my Conservative colleagues who represent Boothstown & Ellenbrook ward have fought hard for improvements to the service.
I’m delighted that things have now taken a step for the better – I hope now that the usage levels from Boothstown residents will demonstrate that further services in Boothstown and the surrounding area are worthwhile.
Click here to view the new timetable.
High-Speed Rail Plan
I’m really pleased by this week’s Network Rail report about bringing high-speed rail to Greater Manchester and beyond. It is absolutely the right thing to do, and in the medium-term would likely more than pay for itself.
Conservatives are fully behind proposals to bring high-speed rail to Manchester, and I hope that the Government’s lukewarm response can be heated up into enthusiasm over the next few months.