This afternoon I took advantage of a break in the torrential rain to join the Liberal Democrat’s parliamentary candidate for Salford & Eccles, Councillor Norman Owen and Weaste & Seedley Councillor John Deas for a few hours.
We toured both Langworthy and Weaste & Seedley wards to examine some of the problems in our areas, but it was also great to talk to local residents and hear, first hand, what the main issues are.
Our first stop was Dodd Street where there are more potholes than actual flat road surface. As you can see from the picture on the left, previous attempts at patching the road have been nothing but a waste of time and money. This road needs investment. Investment that Labour seem unwilling to pay for. For now, all we can do is continue to report potholes and highlight to residents the ridiculous rule that states repairs will not be considered unless the pothole is 2 inches deep. The only way to change this stupid rule is to vote Labour out and bring in Liberal Democrat councillors who understand what our area needs.
I brought Councillor Deas down to Derby Road, which spans both wards of Langworthy and Weaste & Seedley. The two pictures below show the state of the road 12 months ago and today. Can you spot the difference? The road’s terrible state has been a crumbled mess for as long as I have lived in Langworthy – I cannot see the situation ever changing under Labour. Again, we have reported these holes to Urban Vision, but it’s obvious their hands are tied by the “2 inches rule.”
As we moved away from Weaste & Seedley into the heart of Langworthy, Councillor Owen and I left John talking to residents and we hopped over to the new Glendinning Primary School, which is almost directly opposite my house. Parents are rightly concerned that the school is not big enough to house the pupils from the three closing primary schools of Langworthy Road, Seedley Primary and Tootal Road. I blogged about this back in September, when I spoke with the new headteacher of Glendinning Primary School, Ros Munro.
Chimney Pot Park proved to be an eye-opener for Councillor Owen when I pointed out the serious lack of lighting, which means that the CCTV coverage is not as effective as it could be. The poor lighting also means local residents are afraid to venture out after dusk and criminals use the situation to their advantage. I’ll be pressing our Neighbourhood Manager to seek funding for improved lighting in Chimney Pot Park at our next Local Delivery Partnership Group meeting. What a shame that Langworthy’s Labour ward councillors never attend this vital group meeting, which is made up of Police & Fire authorities, Salix Homes, Environmental Services and other service providers of our area.
