Over the weekend Salford Labour Councillor Derek Antrobus fell and broke his ankle. I understand he has had an operation, but should be home by now.

I and my fellow Lib Dems wish Councillor Antrobus a speedy recovery. We may be political opposites, but those of us involved in local (or national) politics are all doing it for the right reason – to help our communities and to make things better for the people who live here.

Get well soon, Councillor Antrobus.

All this week Salford Council has being doing an admirable job of keeping critical services running, with reduced staff and resources. The council’s website at http://www.salford.gov.uk has (and continues to be) an invaluable source of the latest information.

Here are the updates for Friday 8th January 2010:

All refuse/recycling collection services are suspended. We are assured that when collections recommence, any black bags (properly sealed) WILL be collected as well.

All Salford schools are closed again. A decision will be taken later today regarding Monday. Check http://www.salford.gov.uk/schoolclosures.htm

Pendleton Gateway is open, but they are closing at 4.30pm

Salix Homes are operating, but only carrying out emergency repairs (burst pipes, gas repairs etc). Salix can be contacted on 0800 218 2000

There is a wealth of information on all other council services at http://www.salford.gov.uk/servicedisruption.htm

Sadly I have been forced to implement some rudimentary copy protection on my blog after I became aware that some sections of it were being reproduced elsewhere without my permission.

Should anyone wish to republish anything I write here, please just email me at: steve@stevemiddleton.info for permission.

Thanks!

There has been a lot of talk (both nationally and locally here in Salford) of gritting policy, or the lack thereof. It seems the official word in Salford is that primary routes are gritted, but other roads/streets and pavements are not. Salford Council justify their gritting policy by telling residents that “900 tonnes of grit have been used to date” and that the priority is for main highways and bus routes to be cleared.

The advice (for those whose vehicles are stranded on their streets, like ours) is to “try to purchase grit from your local garden centre” – something I would be perfectly willing to do, assuming I could get my car out. Of course, if I could, I wouldn’t need the grit anyway!

So, the council justify this failure to grit the streets by trumpeting the fact they are gritting bus routes. Really? I don’t agree. Liverpool Street in Langworthy has not been gritted, and it’s a bus route – therefore either it’s been forgotten, or the council is not exactly telling the truth.

Lastly, I’m going to suggest something outrageous. The council did not need to grit.

OK, I warned you. Actually, it’s true. They could have plowed the snow on the “primary routes”, rather than gritted. This would have cleared the snow and the resulting heavy traffic would have kept the roads clear, thus, the grit could have been used on streets and pavements.

Of course, one thing should be considered. By the time the snow has reached an inch or two, it’s too late to grit – this should have been done before the heavy snowfall (assuming it was predicted and environmental services were on the ball enough to have access to such information in place). Any grit put down after the heavy snowfall would have been a waste of time and resources – it would simply have no effect.

Salford Council are not alone (for once) with their membership of the grit mis-management club, they are joined by councils up and down the country, like Bury Council – who failed to grit Thatch Leach Lane in Whitefield, a major bus route servicing a large proportion of the town.

Listen up Salford (and Bury) Council. Think! Safety first. Government guidance may tell you to save your grit for “primary routes” and forget everywhere else – but you have a duty to protect your residents. Please do so in future.

Six inches of snow outside and, brrrr, it’s bloody cold. For most of us that means staying indoors all week, working from home if possible, and turning the heating up another degree. But for a few households, that extra 1 degree can significantly increase your gas/electricity bill – which in the current (financial) climate, adds a strain to already thin wages.

An uninsulated house loses 33% of all heat generated through your walls, 25% through the roof and (if not double glazed or poorly fitted) 20% through the windows. Fortunately, there is something you can do about that – and it might not cost you a penny*

Although it’s quite hidden on the Salford Council website, there is help for some households which means you can get cavity wall and loft insulation free of charge.

*If you live anywhere in Salford, it does not matter if you are a homeowner or renting from either a private landlord or Salix Homes/City West – if you are over 70 years of age OR earning less than £15,592 and receiving a benefit (perhaps Working Tax Credit or Child Tax Credit) you WILL qualify for FREE CAVITY WALL and LOFT INSULATION.

Simply telephone Salford Council’s Affordable Warmth Team on 0161-922 8732 or email: keepingwarm@salford.gov.uk
There is also an on-line form you can fill in to submit your request for FREE INSULATION here at: http://www.salford.gov.uk/lowcostinsulation.htm

In April 2007, Salford Council conducted an aerial thermal image scan of every household in Salford, you can check your own home’s results here: http://www.salford.gov.uk/aerial-thermal-images.htm

Type in your postcode and the Council’s database will automatically check the level of heat loss from your home (levels correct as at 5th April 2007).

Don’t forget, the governments boiler scrappage scheme also started today – but you’re unlikely to benefit unless your boiler is 15 years old, or older. If you still have a G-rated boiler (pilot light permanently lit), then you could get £400 off the cost of a new one.

Just a quick note to let everyone know that tonight’s Ordsall & Langworthy Community Committee meeting has been cancelled.

Will update here as soon as possible when it is re-scheduled.

I’m astounded by David Cameron’s pitiful attempts to “woo Liberal Democrats” to the Tory cause.  Clearly worried that a hung parliament is on the cards at next year’s general election, he’s stated “…between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats there is a lot less disagreement than there used to be.”

Cameron couldn’t be more wrong. Unlike the Lib Dems, he and his Tory party have no concept of what a fair Britain should look like. The Conservatives seem content to cut taxes for millionaires, while the Lib Dems would remove income tax for the lowest earners in the country (saving all those who earn less than £10,000 a year from paying a penny in tax).

Lib Dem voters (and indeed the wider electorate) will not be fooled by this wolf in sheep’s clothing who on one hand claims he wants “a fair fight” at the next election then with the other tries to cynically deceive the electorate by claiming that there is not much difference between the Conservatives and the Lib Dems.

Don’t be fooled by Cameron and his upper crust Tory cronies, they are playing clever games. Cameron claims he wants a fair Britain, but there’s a world apart between Tory “fair” and our fair.

I’m flabbergasted at what Cameron tried to do: make the public believe that there aren’t many differences between the Lib Dems and the Tories and scaremongering our supporters into voting for them under the pretence that a hung parliament would be “bad for Britain”.

While I agree that a hung parliament is not ideal, a Tory or Labour government would definitely be “bad for Britain”. Our country needs Nick Clegg and Vince Cable involved in the next government, if it takes a hung parliament for that to happen – I’m happy.

I know it’s Christmas-time and my thoughts should be on other things, but when it’s right outside your front window – the broken/non-working street light is hard to ignore. In fact, due to Christmas I haven’t really been too minded about hassling Urban Vision about the street light.

However, this evening I was clearing out old emails and came across the email (and reply!) I sent to Urban Vision about the street light which is not working on Seedley Park Road. Monday 30th November was the date – and I even received an email back confirming that it would be added to the list of jobs.

What is taking so long? Four weeks to fix a street light?

Once we are well into the new year, I’ll be highlighting this with Lead Members as an example of how inefficient the Council’s highway repairs are tasked and carried out (if ever). Things must change in 2010. It is unacceptable to pay through the nose, by way of council tax, for the quite frankly crap service we all get from Salford Council.

Following my earlier post here, where I asked “Are these the best Christmas lights in Salford?” in answer to Tony Flynn’s question over on Salford Online – Tony has now tracked down the owner of 37 Seedley Park Road and revealed that Donna McLoughlin is the genius behind the impressive festive display.

Salford Online retain full copyright of this video and it is re-published here subject to their consent.

I still think these are the best Christmas lights in Salford and I love the fact that Ms. McLoughlin’s display gets bigger and better each year. I can’t wait to see how she improves on her work in 2010! Well done Donna.

May I take this opportunity to wish all my blog readers a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Earlier this evening Councillor Norman Owen (Lib Dem Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Salford & Eccles) and I drove across to Irlam to attend a meeting called by residents opposed to council proposals, which involve building on 40 hectares (almost 100 acres) of land at Barton Moss. The plans seems to be to use this green belt for industrial use and “off-setting” this loss of valuable green belt by re-classifying some land in Little Hulton as green belt. The council says this will result in “no net loss of green belt land”.

Residents local to the area are quite rightly upset about these plans to remove what little green space we have left in Salford, and they are justifiably concerned the impact this will have on Irlam, Barton and Eccles if the plans go ahead. There will be a “net loss of green belt land” in Irlam.

It was heartening to see Irlam resident Keith Mann (also councillor for Cadishead), Irlam independent Councillor Houlton (who has suddenly appeared from his hidey-hole) joining Lib Dem Councillors Norman Owen (PPC for Salford & Eccles) and John Deas in cross-party support for Irlam residents. Even former Irlam councillor Roger Jones (who lost his seat to Cllr Houlton, following the rejection of the congestion charge) offered his support for the campaign.

Building on Barton Moss is just one small part of the Draft Core Strategy, a document the council have had out for consultation since 9th November of this year. There are just a few weeks left before the consultation period ends and the meeting was called in order to generate as much local opinion on the matter before 15th January 2010 (the last day for submissions to the consultation).

While the Draft Core Strategy takes some reading and undoubtably contains a lot of good ideas and objectives for Salford over the next 20 years, building on green belt is not one of them. Claiming they can “re-classify” land in Little Hulton, that has previously been for industrial use, as green belt is nonsense and residents are not stupid enough to be taken in by this ‘con’.

Tonight I signed the petition, which now contains over 1,000 names and I am urging all residents to have a say on the Draft Core Strategy, in particular, the council’s stupid plans to tear up almost 100 acres of green belt land and build an industrial estate on top of it.

You can have your say at http://www.salford.gov.uk/cs-haveyoursay.htm or you can email: plans.consultation@salford.gov.uk

Alternatively, you can write to:
Spatial Planning
Sustainable Regeneration Directorate
Civic Centre
Chorley Road
Swinton
M27 5BY

While there are aspects of the Draft Core Strategy that have noble and worthy objectives, ripping up 100 acres of green belt land is not one of them and I wholeheartedly support Irlam residents in their quest to remove this silly idea from the council’s plans. Councillor Norman Owen has promised to set up a meeting with local residents and council officers, so that views can be exchanged and hopefully an amicable solution can be suggested as an alternative. I look forward to that meeting.