The Leader's blog

Delivering on our corporate priorities

Welcome to my first blog of 2020. I hope you all enjoyed the festive season are ready to make the most of the next 12 months!

We produced our Corporate Plan last year which outlined the priorities we believe are key to helping people and businesses thrive in Trafford. One of these is to build quality and affordable housing for residents in the borough and that’s why I am delighted that plans for 30 new social rented homes in Timperley have been approved.

The project is a partnership between ourselves and Trafford Housing Trust and will help address the chronic shortages of affordable accommodation in the borough. Finance for the scheme has come from our Trafford Affordable Housing Fund which invites bids from housing associations to build new homes.

Another of our corporate priorities is to create successful and thriving places and one area we are looking to revitalise is Streford. Last summer, along with Bruntwood Works, we bought Streford Mall and the second community consultation on its future takes place this Saturday (January 25) from 8am-6pm in the shopping centre. Please come along and have your say on the future of the site.

One ongoing area of concern for me and my fellow councillors is the bin collection service. To be blunt, Amey has not been delivering a service that the residents of Trafford deserve despite repeated meetings at a senior level where we have expressed our frustrations and that’s why we have written to them demanding they get their act together.

Amey has now responded positively to our worries and promised a better service but I will be keeping a close eye on the situation to make sure there is lasting improvement.

Finally, I must end on a sad note, the death of long-standing councillor Ray Bowker. Ray, 83, was a great servant to the residents of Trafford and in particular spent a lot of time trying to help the young people of the borough.

His political career stretches back to the 1970s and he served the Council with great distinction including a year as Mayor in 2000. Despite being in different political parties I regarded him as a friend and someone who I could trust and whose advice I would listen to. My thoughts are with his wife Hazel, his children and grandchildren and all his family and friends during this sad time.