Chorlton Central Community Centre Festival Fun Day
On Saturday May 19th, Chorlton Central Community Centre are hosting a festival fun day. The event takes place between 10:30am-4:30pm and includes live performances from Matthew Petit (indie singer/guitarist), Shanice (r n b singer), as well as a poetry open mic session.
TREMENDOUS VICTORY FOR LABOUR IN CHORLTON AND MANCHESTER
Once again Labour swept the board in the Council elections in Manchester on 3rd May.
The Chorlton result was as follows :-
LABOUR 2,433 votes
LIB DEM 797 votes
GREEN 503 votes
TUSC 368 votes
TORY 180 votes
This gave Sheila Newman a majority of 1,636. Turnout was down at 39 %, but this was still the highest in Manchester.
Labour gained 56.8 % of the vote – a truly remarkable result. Thanks to everyone who voted Labour. We appreciate your support.
The Lib Dems vote crumbled as they continue to prop up the government and tell people they are better off when clearly people know they are not. The “so called” Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition made a lot of noise but this didn’t translate into votes as residents knew they didn’t offer a realistic alternative. The Green vote held up, but the Tories polled their lowest vote in many years.
Sheila Newman and Matt Strong as local Labour councillors will continue to stand up for Chorlton and want to work with local residents to improve the area. We want to see a redeveloped district centre with a new Library and Leisure Centre, more 20mph roads and a cleaner, better environment by tackling litter, graffiti and potholes.
Any residents are welcome to get in touch with us by telephone or email or by coming to our advice bureaux , which are held every Saturday morning in Chorlton Library betwen 10.30am and 11.30am.
Sheila Newman tel: 0161 881 9641 cllr.s.newman@manchester.gov.uk
Matt Strong tel: 07788978677 cllr.m.strong@manchester.gov.uk
Chorlton Labour Local Elections Campaign Launch
On Wednesday 4th April at a packed gathering of Chorlton Labour party members and supporters, Sheila Newman launched her campaign for re-election as a Chorlton councillor.
Sheila pledged:-
To a strong voice for Chorlton at the heart of the Council. When times are difficult the area needs an experienced councillor who will speak up for Chorlton.
To protect Chorlton’s unique character. Sheila has lived in Chorlton for many years and brought up her family here. She knows what makes the area special: good schools, quality buildings, excellent independent shops and a strong sense of community.
To work with residents to improve Chorlton and defend valued local services. Over the years Sheila has supported many campaigns to improve our area. She has worked with the Labour Council and Labour government to deliver Metrolink, refurbish and extend local schools and wants to see a new Library and Leisure Centre as part of the district centre development.
To oppose the government’s attempts to dismantle the NHS. Like many Chorlton residents Sheila is appalled at the Tory led, Lib Dem supported government’s NHS Bill, which is damaging, costly and unnecessary. Changes could have been made to the NHS without this Bill, which will privatise much of the NHS. Sheila will continue to campaign with local residents to preserve the valued NHS.
To protect vulnerable residents from the impact of government cuts. The government has forced disproportionate cuts on Manchester; a city with a high number of residents in poverty. Sheila is committed to ensuring that vulnerable residents like children in care, elderly residents who need home care and families in need are protected from the worst effects of the cuts.
Sheila and the Chorlton Labour team have been out and about in Chorlton in recent months. If we haven’t called on you yet we hope to see you soon to discuss issues affecting our area.
Real Nappy Week 2012
To celebrate Real Nappy Week 2012, Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority (GMWDA) are hosting 18 nappy events between 16th and 22nd April so come along and have a chat to see how easy they are to use.
The week aims to promote the view that nappies have changed. “Gone are the fiddly terry towels you needed to fold and pin” GMWDA say, “in their place, soft, comfortable, absorbent and adjustable nappies you can wash and use again and again. You coul save hundreds every year if you’re using real nappies and you’ll be doing your bit for the environment by cutting waste”.
Further information can be found at www.recycleforgreatermanchester.com/nappies
South Manchester Environmental Forum Event…
The South Manchester Environmental Forum are hosting Chorlton Big Green Festival’s ‘WHAT NEXT 2012’ event on Thursday 29th March at St Clement’s Church, Edge Lane in Chorlton, at 6.30pm.
You can register for the meeting at event-brite: http://smefchorlton.eventbrite.com
Speakers and community leaders from South Manchester’s most vibrant projects will explore the biodiversity theme ‘Plants and Plans’. Arrive 6.30pm for refreshments with a prompt start at 7pm – the event is due to finish at 9pm.
Chorlton Big Green Homes
Chorlton Big Green Homes – a joint project of Green Chorlton, organisers of Chorlton Big Green Festival (www.greenchorlton.org.uk) and Chorlton Refurb – are holding an evening of information and discussion on how to make our homes warmer, more energy efficient and cheaper to run.
It takes places on Thursday March 22nd at St Clement’s Church, Edge Lane, M21 9JF, with Refreshments and Stalls at 7pm; Presentations and Discussions at 7:30pm
Chorlton Refurb presents:
-Energy efficiency experts to answer your questions.
-Local home owners describing successful improvements
-News on the Government’s Green Deal
-Findings from Chorlton LEAF.
Chorlton homes are some of the least energy efficient homes in Manchester as they are older, bigger than average and solid-walled. What can be done?
Chorlton LEAF, funded by Dept of Energy and Climate Change, is a project that aims to find out. 20 comprehensive energy assessments are being carried out on typical Chorlton homes, investigating household behaviour and building performance and making detailed and practical recommendations.
All the reports will be available at www.chorltonrefurb.net
On the night, there will be a free prize draw to win a home energy assessment and sign up for a reduced price thermal imaging survey.
Save Our NHS Rally
Join supporters of the NHS at the ‘Drop The Bill’ Save Our NHS rally at 11am on Saturday, March 3rd at Albert Square.
Oswald Road Primary School/Local Jobs Fair
I have been a governor of Oswald Road Primary School for over 20 years. On Thursday I
was pleased to welcome Councillor Afzal Khan, the Executive Member for Children’s
Services to the school. I asked Councillor Khan to visit as I wanted him to see the
excellent new foundation area that has been created by extending the school nursery.
Two new classroom spaces have been created and there is an excellent shelter to
allow children to play outside in bad weather. It wasn’t quite snowing, but young
children where happily playing outside despite the cold.
Oswald Road school was originally built in 1906 and has had some extensions and
new buildings added over the years. The school was a two form entry school until two
years ago when, because of the need for more reception class places, they were asked
to extend their reception to three form entry. Reception and Year 1 each have 90
children in three classes. As the increased numbers are likely to continue, the school
will need extra space to accommodate more children.
Oswald Road is a very happy school with children from a wide range of backgrounds
getting on well together. Councillor Khan enjoyed the visit and it was great to see the
children positively engaged in their learning.
After the visit to Oswald Road School I attended a Jobs Fayre being held at Chorlton
Central Community Centre. Job Centre Plus, Connexions, the Manchester College
and several employers all had stalls to show what is on offer to residents looking
for work, wanting to change their job or start their own business. Trained advisors
provided help and advice on applying for jobs, drawing up a CV and preparing for
interview. There was even help and advice on grooming and dressing for interviews.
This is just one of many excellent events organised by Chorlton Central Community
Centre. They provide training courses on basic skills, ICT and cookery, a community
café and tea dances for older residents. I hope they will be able to repeat the
successful Jobs Fayre in the future.
Sheila Newman
Manchester City Council Meeting – Indoor Leisure Review
Today Councillor Matt Strong and I attended a meeting of Manchester City Council. The Council endorsed the indoor leisure report which commits the Council to working with the developer of Chorlton District Centre to rebuild Chorlton Library and Leisure Centre on a joint site. This will provide Chorlton with modern, environmentally efficient leisure services fit for the 21st century.
I spoke at the meeting welcoming this opportunity to improve leisure facilities in Chorlton even at a time of budget restraint. However I made clear that this does not mean that any plans will be acceptable. We want a plan for the District Centre that will encourage more Chorlton residents to shop in Chorlton, supports the popular independent shops, delivers social and environmental improvements and provides some free parking for shoppers.
The Council also unanimously voted to support the “20’s Plenty for Manchester Campaign” which proposes a 20 mph default speed limit where people live. We all recognise that reducing traffic speed is the most effective way to improve road safety and want to see a 20 mph limit on all non-major residential roads. 20 mph zones have been put in place around most schools in the city but we want to see this spread out further.
Even the majority of drivers support the extension of 20 mph zones. The Council will hold discussions with the relevant government ministers to seek extra funding for this important priority. I am very pleased this has been agreed, as I know most Chorlton residents support 20 mph zones and it is a policy I have long supported.
Councillor Sheila Newman
Chorlton District Centre
Two recent stories in the Manchester Evening News have caused a lot of interest amongst Chorlton residents. In last Saturday’s paper an article said that plans were due to be submitted to redevelop the Chorlton shopping precinct, with a new store and possibly a health centre.
The Chorlton precinct is owned by a private company called Citybranch and they have been proposing redevelopment for a few years, but detailed plans have yet to come forward. Citybranch recently amalgamated with a company called Development Securities. A couple of years ago, there was a consultation about the District Centre organised by the Council. The main conclusions were that people supported the excellent independent stores such as Unicorn, Barbakan, the butcher’s, fishmonger’s and bookshop but wanted less take-aways and bars. They also wanted some free parking in the district centre and environmental improvements.
As local Labour councillors, Matt Strong and I will only support plans for redevelopment of the district centre that:-
1) Do not include one of the Big 4 supermarkets
2) Make Chorlton residents more likely to shop in Chorlton (currently a lot of Chorlton residents do their main food shop outside Chorlton)
3) Supports the role of the independent stores
4) Brings social and environmental improvements to Chorlton
5) Provides some free parking to reduce pressure on local roads.
This was only part of the story, as an article in the Evening News on Monday reported on Council plans for indoor leisure. A report on indoor leisure provision was submitted to Communities and Neighbourhoods Overview and Scrutiny Committee on Tuesday and will go to the Executive Committee next week. This report talks about leisure provision in Chorlton, Levenshulme and East Manchester.
Manchester City Council plans to build new leisure facilities in each of these venues using a combination of Sport England grants, receipts from sale of land, revenues from developers and prudential borrowing. It is hoped to rebuild Chorlton Leisure Centre and Chorlton Library as part of the district centre redevelopment.
I attended the Scrutiny Committee on Tuesday and said that I welcomed the new facilities for Chorlton. I also said that the existing Leisure Centre and Library, despite having limitations because of the buildings, are popular and well used and provide activities that residents value. In the case of Chorlton Library, as well as the usual library activities, it provides a much needed meeting room for community groups, a base for the Chorlton Surestart provision and organises the popular Chorlton Book Festival. I sought and received assurances that it was the intention of the Council to keep these facilities in place until the new provision was available.
Before final plans are agreed, there will be consultation with Chorlton residents, businesses and community groups.
Cllr Sheila Newman
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