Look around Trafford at the moment and there are so many positive things going on in the borough from improvements to our town centres, more homes being built, pioneering schemes to help people back into work, new cycle lanes and an exciting sport and culture scene.
These are all part of our ambitious plans to improve the lives of everyone who lives and works in Trafford. So, I was pleased that our efforts to create a thriving borough have also been recognised following an independent review of our work.
Earlier this year we undertook a Corporate Peer Challenge (CPC) organised by the Local Government Association (LGA) This involves receiving feedback from peers from other councils with the aim of helping to improve the services we offer.
The CPC praised our plans to help improve the lives of our residents and communities. It painted a positive picture about the Council’s role in our neighbourhoods and found we have a high level of ambition for the borough and the different communities we serve.
The final report sets out 15 recommendations for how we can further improve and we have started work on an action plan to help us implement them. LGA Corporate Peer Challenge: Trafford Council | Local Government Association.
However, it also recognised that addressing the structural financial deficit in our budget is the ‘biggest challenge’ we face. This was a similar point was made by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) which conducted a financial review of our finances last year.
It confirmed that we as a council manage our finances well but we face historical funding issues, including a structural deficit and this needs to be addressed if we are ever to find ourselves on a firmer financial footing.
This has led us to make some tough decisions to balance the books this year and we face more challenges in the years to come. That is one of the reasons why we are continuing to lobby the government behind the scenes to ensure we get a fairer funding deal for Trafford.
While Trafford is a safe borough we do sometimes have to deal with anti-social behaviour and you may have read in the media recently about some of the enforcement action taken by council officers and our partners to deal with troublemakers. This is a side of our work people don’t often know about but we take the safety of our neighbourhoods very seriously and will continue to protect our communities.
Finally, I would like to thank our outgoing Mayor of Trafford Cllr Amy Whyte for her efforts in the last 12 months and to wish our newly elected Mayor, Cllr Jane Brophy, all the best in her civic role. It was one of the proudest moments of my life to serve as Mayor and I know Amy and Jane both feel the same.
Best wishes Tom