YMCA Furniture Project

I wanted to draw attention to a scheme to assist people living in Fairfield & Howley to obtain good quality used furniture.

The Furniture Project is run by the YMCA and helps single parent families, homeless people moving into accomodation, women fleeing domestic violence, the elderly and low income families obtain furniture.

If you have any unwanted furniture ( 3 piece suites, tables, chairs, beds or TVs) then give the YMCA a call on 232725 to arrange to have donated furniture collected free of charge. The scheme is based at 111 Orford Lane and the showroom is open Mon-Thurs 9.30am-4pm and Friday 9.30am-12noon.

Happy Birthday NHS

One of the main reasons I joined the Labour Party and became active in local politics was to fight for the NHS in our area. I believe it is one of our country's greatest achievements. A service that is available to all based on need - not ability to pay.

This year marks its sixtieth anniversary – something we can all celebrate. From being on its knees in the mid 90s the NHS is now in better shape with more nurses and doctors and the NHS is now performing more than one million extra operations a year. And virtually no-one now waits more than 6 months for their operation, compared with waits of up to 2 years under the Tories.

Behind every statistic is a life changed by having a better NHS for patients. Contrast this with the Tory years – when the NHS was nearly destroyed.

But I think people in Warrington want to know what is planned for the future.

Sixty years since we founded it, Labour is improving the NHS. Our mission is to make the NHS a more personal health service, fitted to the needs of families and focused on preventing ill health as well as curing it.

A lot of change has occurred over the last sixty years. And this means that there are new challenges for our NHS. New drugs, medical technologies and better clinical practices provide us with huge opportunities, whilst diseases like obesity and diabetes as well as an ageing population in Warrington present big challenges.

We need an NHS which is fit for modern life. We as patients should be given greater control, greater choice and a strong voice in our local services in Warrington. It's no good having a great GP if you can't go there after work.

By 2009 the majority of GP surgeries will be open for at least one evening or weekend session every week, and working with the local NHS ambitious plans for new health centres serving Warrington at Garven Place and Orford Park have been unveiled. Our local Primary Care Trust has begun a consultation process and it is important that local people take part in helping shape the NHS in the town for the future.

So sixty years on, we still have free access to high-quality healthcare and people feel safe in the knowledge that if they or their family need the NHS, it is there for them. We should also take time to say thank you to the wonderful staff who look after us when we need care and attention.

Latest Approved Planning Applications

The latest approved planning applications can be accessed by clicking on the heading above.

Planning Applications for the week ending 13th June

Click on the heading to download the latest submitted planning applications.

Why I am backing new primary care facilities in the town

I recently received details of Warrington Primary Care Trust's plans to redevelop the Garven Place Health Centre off Sankey St and a new health facility at the Orford Park Project.

Readers will recall that the PCT launched a similar debate last year but failed to make the case with the public and also failed to engage with GP's about their proposals. The PCT made a real mess of this major communications exercise and I think they have clearly learned from the debacle.

GP's from my own medical practice at Eric Moore Health Centre, Bewsey St medical centre, 4 Seasons Medical Centre, O'Leary St and the Eric Moore Partnership are interested in moving to the planned new facilities indicating that the PCT have convinced these GP's of the case for change.

As a town we should not stand in the way of this potential £multi-million investment in key primary care facilities delivered through the LIFT programme.

I work in Wigan and I have seen at first hand how the LIFT programme has provided state of the art new primary care facilities at locations across Wigan, Makerfield and Leigh.

Warrington now has for the first time in a generation the realistic prospect of major investment in primary care and we should not lose this opportunity to improve the health of the town and in particular the inners areas of the town like Fairfield & Howley.

You can have your say by clicking on the heading above or by using free phone 0800 389 6973

BT to remove 11 payphones

I have received a letter from the council advising me that BT are to remove 11 payphones in the borough including 1 on Manchester Rd near Bruche Park. The closing date for the consultation is 6th September and responses can be submitted to:

Camille Gamble
Research Manager
Chief Executives Unit
Town Hall
Warrington WA1 1UH

or by visiting the councils website by clicking on the heading above.

Please quote the telephone number of the kiosk in your response. In the case of the Manchester Rd payphone this is 01925 826487.

It is clear that in recent years the rise of the mobile phone has changed drastically the communications culture. BT state that the number of calls from BT payphones has more than halved in the last 3 years. 99% of UK homes contain a phone with 90% having a mobile phone.

I want to know if you value the payphone in place on Manchester Rd and should we seek to retain it - or do you think that BT's proposal to remove the phone is just a necessary reaction to the reality of today's communication culture?

Latest Approved Planning Applications

Click on the heading to view the latest approved planning applications delegated to council officers.

File is in pdf format.

The Labour Team for Fairfield & Howley Ward

Cllr Kevin Bennett
Cllr Paul Kenny
Helen Jones MP
Cllr Yvonne Fovargue

It's time we ended nation's 30 year wait for a new Bank Holiday

I am backing a campaign for a new UK Bank Holiday to be established.

Last month the Trades Union Congress (TUC) marked the 30th anniversary of the creation of the May Day Holiday - the last bank holiday to be introduced in the UK by calling for a new autumn holiday to celebrate the great British tradition of volunteering.

The Callaghan Government introduced the May Day bank holiday on 1 May 1978. As people across the UK celebrated the extra day off work, the Bee Gees were top of the charts with Night Fever, Nottingham Forest were on the way to winning the First Division and a pint of bitter cost just 40p.

But while the worlds of football and music have moved on, the UK's bank holiday allocation has been left behind. No new bank holidays have been introduced since 1978, leaving Britain with just eight public holidays a year (10 in Northern Ireland). Great Britain has fewer holidays than the average for EU member states. In fact, only Romania has fewer days than we do.

A real strength of public holidays is that because so many people are away from work at the same time on public holidays it makes it easier to get together with our families and friends.

The TUC believes that a new bank holiday would help repay employees for their part in building the UK's economic success and along with leading voluntary organisations, want a new Community Day bank holiday in late October to celebrate and encourage volunteering and community activity.

Click on the title above to link to the campaign website.