I read with interest today the news that the MEN Media group, which includes the Manchester Evening News as well as our own Salford Advertiser, has been sold by Guardian Media Group to rival publisher Trinity Mirror.
I’ve made it clear in the past that I feel that our local newspapers have been treated very badly by Guardian Media Group – jobs have been cut and coverage slashed at their regional titles in order to prop up the loss-making Guardian and Observer.
I hope that our local titles are treated better under Trinity Mirror than they have been by GMG – but I’m not holding my breath. The MEN Media group staff, who have already been through a huge upheaval with job losses and the closure of local offices including the Advertiser office on Church Street in Eccles, now face a further period of uncertainty, and I wish them all the best.
Tomorrow lunchtime (Sunday 31st January) I’ll be a guest on Andy Crane’s Sunday lunchtime show on BBC Radio Manchester, along with Liverpudlian comedian Steve Gribbin.
The show is broadcast live from the Lowry centre from 12 noon until 1pm. Local residents in Greater Manchester can tune in on 95.1fm and you can also listen live online on the BBC Manchester website.
Do tune in!
Tonight (27th January), the BBC programme Crimewatch will feature a reconstruction of the fire at Little Holme Walk, Bolton which killed Alana Mian, aged 4, and her grandmother Hameeda Begum and left Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) Firefighter Steve Morris with extensive injuries including 50% burns.
The programme will include a filmed reconstruction of the events of the night of the incident, which Steve’s colleagues from Bolton and Farnworth Fire stations volunteered to take part in.
It will also include interviews with Mumtaz Chisty, Alana’s grandfather and Hameeda’s husband, Detective Chief Inspector Jeff McMahon from the Major Incident Team at Greater Manchester Police (GMP) and FF Steve Morris.
County Fire Officer Steve McGuirk said, “The terrible events at Little Holme Walk, which took the lives of Alana and Hameeda, and so drastically affected our colleague Steve Morris have left a lasting impression on each and every member of Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service.
We support wholeheartedly Greater Manchester Police’s appeal for anyone with any information to come forward, and help to find who caused this terrible fire and give justice to all the people it has affected”.
Anyone with information is urged to contact GMP’s Major Incident Team on 0161 856 2197 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
(GMFRS press release reprinted in full – if you have any information, please pass it on to the police or via Crimestoppers)
I’m really proud of the Greater Manchester firefighters who have travelled out to Haiti to aid the rescue efforts following the terrible earthquake in Port-au-Prince. Nine fire service staff from Greater Manchester have flown out as part of a UK search-and-rescue team to lend their expertise, and I know they are already making a real difference.
Four of the team are based here in Salford at various locations, and I’ve met Mick Dewar the dog handler in the course of my Fire Authority duties who is the most dedicated person I could ever hope to meet. Echo, the search-and-rescue dog, is a remarkable animal and I know that their presence will save lives.
You can donate to the Haiti appeal through the Disasters Emergency Committee – click here for more information.
Last week, I went to the awards evening for the latest group of young people from Salford to successfully complete the 12-week course that the Fire Service offer with the Prince’s Trust.
You can read more about the work that the Prince’s Trust do with Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue Service here, but I would just like to pay tribute to the young people who have completed this course and indeed previous courses. Many come from difficult backgrounds, and most needed help to ensure that they fulfil their full potential, and it is inspiring to hear their stories and how the Prince’s Trust course has helped them to raise their sights. A truly worthwhile project, and one that as a member of the Fire Authority I am proud to support.
I understand that this afternoon, GMITA wil be discussing a paper on Sunday service rail provision, including a proposal to reintroduce Sunday services on the Walkden line from next May.
I sincerely hope that they approve this proposal which will be a huge boost for local residents in Walkden, Swinton and the surrounding areas. I firmly believe that there will be a demand for this service and I hope that, at the very least, GMITA take a “suck it and see” approach and give the go-ahead for a limited period.
Fingers crossed…
You may have read in the Manchester Evening News that Greater Manchester is set to get an equivalent of the “Oyster” smartcard scheme available in London. It’s a cute piece of Government spin but don’t expect a smartcard scheme any time soon.
The Government has pledged £2.2m towards the implementation of the scheme. In London, the initial contract (subsequently torn up) was for a minimum of £100m, and that was at 1998 prices. Years later, the scheme is still not available on most National Rail routes, and although I do possess an Oyster card, if I want to visit my friends in Chingford or New Eltham I have to buy a paper travelcard even now.
Although Greater Manchester is smaller, it is also much more complex, with a myriad of small bus companies, unlike London’s franchise system. The idea that £2.2m would even come close to implementing such a scheme is ludicrous – local residents will rightly see this as nothing more than a pre-election gimmick designed not to improve public transport but to grab headlines.
Smart ticketing has my full support, but let’s see a workable proposal first, rather than an inadequate bribe.
David Ottewell has an interesting post on his blog about the future of the Integrated Transport Authority. It’s a complicated situation and David puts the options on the table as succinctly as I’ve seen so far, so I hope he won’t mind me repeating parts of his post here:
AGMA, the umbrella body representing the 10 councils in the city-region, wants to assume power over economic development, housing, planning and transport. There is a problem, though. Put simply, no one can agree what to do about transport. There is already a GM-wide body with power in this field: the Greater Manchester Integrated Transport Authority (GMITA). Three basic options have been drawn up.
- ‘A’ options are roughly the status quo. Keep GMITA as a sort of add-on to the new ’super-AGMA’.
- ‘B’ options involve keeping GMITA, but giving the 10 council leaders a much greater role in how it is run.
- ‘C’ options would scrap GMITA and put the council leaders (plus perhaps some other councillors) in direct charge.
When this came to Salford City Council, I had no hesitation in voting for Option A.
We have already seen what happens when we allow Sir Richard Leese and his merry band of Labour Council leaders to take charge of transport policy – we had the ludicrous congestion-charging proposal together with a Transport Innovation Fund package that was of little benefit to local residents in Salford.
The last thing we need is to go down that road again.
Today, David Cameron and the Shadow Security Team 
What Do We Get From The “Association Of Nuclear-Free Authorities”?
There’s an interesting article over at David Ottewell’s blog – the University of Manchester is to benefit to the tune of over £4 million through the establishment of a nuclear research centre. It’s a clear example of how the regional economy can benefit from embracing new technology.
It reminded me that this financial year, Labour-run Salford City Council will waste £2332 of taxpayers’ money on affiliating to the Association of Nuclear Free Authorities. We get nothing back for this dreadful and misguided symbolism. It might only be a small amount in the grand scheme of things, but surely with budget efficiencies being made across the board, this affiliation fee should be one of the first things to go.