I attended both Police Community Action Meetings in Fairfield & Howley this week.
We are blessed with a dedicated team of Police CSOs in the area and they make a welcome contribution to community life providing a reassuring presence for local residents.
ASB continues to be the No.1 concern for the majority of people who attend and the police gave re-assurances that a number of operations are ongoing in the area particularly around the Watkin St area which has been subject to gangs of youths causing damage to property.
CCTV is now playing a significant role in the area and will lead to action being taken against the ringleaders.
STOP PRESS
Planners gave consent last night for the former Fairfield Primary School to be converted into a hub for community use. This is good news for the area and special thanks must go to the trustee board who have worked very hard over the past 6 months.
Thursday, 27 November 2008
Tuesday, 25 November 2008
Traffic Notice affecting Marsh House Lane
Official notice of essential works to the railway bridge located on Marsh House Lane have been posted by the council.WARRINGTON BOROUGH COUNCIL
ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT 1984
THE BOROUGH OF WARRINGTON (MARSH HOUSE LANE) (PROHIBITION OF DRIVING) TEMPORARY ORDER 2008
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that, in not less than 7 days from the date of this Notice, the Council intends to make an Order under Section 14 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984. The effect of which will be to introduce a temporary prohibition of driving on Marsh House Lane from its junction with Godfrey Street to its junction with Hume Street.
The Order will be effective from Monday 5th January 2009 and shall remain in effect for a period up to 18 months or such lesser period as determined by the earlier completion of the works, however it is anticipated that the closure will only be in operation for a period of 6 weeks. The closure will be in place as and when the signs are in place on site. Access will be under the control of the relevant Contractor for the duration of the works.
The alternative route will be via Battersby Lane, A57 Manchester Road, Padgate Lane and vice versa.
The closure is required to allow for essential maintenance works to be undertaken by Network Rail to the railway bridge.
DATED 27th November 2008
Reference Number TRANSPT/1063
I MASON
ACTING SOLICITOR TO THE COUNCIL
CORPORATE SERVICES DIRECTORATE
QUATTRO BUILDING
NEW TOWN HOUSE
BUTTERMARKET STREET
WARRINGTON
WA1 1BN
Pre Budget Report
In extraordinary times, we have a clear choice – act now to come out of the downturn sooner and stronger or sit back and watch as it gets deeper and longer. This Government will not abandon people to sink or swim in the face of the global downturn.
‘Letting the recession run its course’ is exactly what David Cameron set out this week, ruling out providing extra support to people and businesses through the tough time ahead. The Tories needs to start being straight with people. The ‘do nothing’ party, and their ‘No Action’ plan would mean a deeper, longer and more painful recession. Their ideology means that they are isolated, when the rest of the world is taking the co-ordinated action needed to help get us through.
In the 80s and 90s, the Tory Government stood by as businesses and families suffered. The 1981 Geoffrey Howe budget was a case in point.
There is a widespread consensus across the world that a fiscal stimulus to help the economy is the right thing to do. It is backed by the major countries of the world, the international institutions, business groups like the CBI and Institute of Directors, parties on the left and right, the Bank of England and many more.
Opposing it, completely isolated, is David Cameron and the Tories.
The responsible thing to do is to put money into supporting the economy now – it will mean a shorter downturn rather than the longer and deeper recession that doing nothing would entail. A prolonged recession means people out of work for longer, more repossessions, businesses taking longer to start growing again and a country scarred, as happened following the home-grown recessions of the 80’s and 90’s. For example in previous recessions:
• people losing their jobs risked losing skills and touch with the workforce, which meant they stayed unemployed for longer.
• many viable small businesses went under because they faced short-term cashflow problems. Once they have been made bankrupt it is more difficult for entrepreneurs to raise the money necessary to get started from scratch.
• when the public finances have come under pressure, the first spending to be cut has been long-term investment in skills and public infrastructure, the investment we need to ensure our economy is stronger for the future. Instead of cutting this necessary investment we must keep it going.
The reason we are in a position to support the economy at this time is that over the last ten years, we have cut debt to one of the lowest levels among the world’s major economies. Lower than that of the USA, France or Germany.
Of course as everyone recognises, the public finances are being affected now by the global credit crunch as we have seen in the latest figures out today. The global financial crisis has particularly hit the banking and finance sector which used to contribute around £40 billion a year in tax revenues. And there is uncertainty too about how long the financial sector will take to recover. But as our economy grows again in the future, then, as the Chancellor has said, borrowing must come back down again and we must live within our means.
‘Letting the recession run its course’ is exactly what David Cameron set out this week, ruling out providing extra support to people and businesses through the tough time ahead. The Tories needs to start being straight with people. The ‘do nothing’ party, and their ‘No Action’ plan would mean a deeper, longer and more painful recession. Their ideology means that they are isolated, when the rest of the world is taking the co-ordinated action needed to help get us through.
In the 80s and 90s, the Tory Government stood by as businesses and families suffered. The 1981 Geoffrey Howe budget was a case in point.
There is a widespread consensus across the world that a fiscal stimulus to help the economy is the right thing to do. It is backed by the major countries of the world, the international institutions, business groups like the CBI and Institute of Directors, parties on the left and right, the Bank of England and many more.
Opposing it, completely isolated, is David Cameron and the Tories.
The responsible thing to do is to put money into supporting the economy now – it will mean a shorter downturn rather than the longer and deeper recession that doing nothing would entail. A prolonged recession means people out of work for longer, more repossessions, businesses taking longer to start growing again and a country scarred, as happened following the home-grown recessions of the 80’s and 90’s. For example in previous recessions:
• people losing their jobs risked losing skills and touch with the workforce, which meant they stayed unemployed for longer.
• many viable small businesses went under because they faced short-term cashflow problems. Once they have been made bankrupt it is more difficult for entrepreneurs to raise the money necessary to get started from scratch.
• when the public finances have come under pressure, the first spending to be cut has been long-term investment in skills and public infrastructure, the investment we need to ensure our economy is stronger for the future. Instead of cutting this necessary investment we must keep it going.
The reason we are in a position to support the economy at this time is that over the last ten years, we have cut debt to one of the lowest levels among the world’s major economies. Lower than that of the USA, France or Germany.
Of course as everyone recognises, the public finances are being affected now by the global credit crunch as we have seen in the latest figures out today. The global financial crisis has particularly hit the banking and finance sector which used to contribute around £40 billion a year in tax revenues. And there is uncertainty too about how long the financial sector will take to recover. But as our economy grows again in the future, then, as the Chancellor has said, borrowing must come back down again and we must live within our means.
Monday, 24 November 2008
Lib Dem Troubles
Whilst the Tories lead in the opinion polls has been pulled back in recent months and the PM's ratings show an upward trend, it is easy to miss support for the Lib Dems falling.
With the popular Charles Kennedy and the lacklustre Ming Campbell consigned to the political dustbin, for how much longer will LD MPs continue to support the invisible Nick Clegg - especially with the one star (Vince Cable)in their midst. Southern Lib Dem MPs will be especially concerned given the Tory poll ratings.
As I said in May the LDs have peaked in Warrington and missed their one opportunity to gain outright control of the council. Expect Lib Dem casualties in May 2010 with a rejuvenated Tory party in Warrington South and Labour gains in the North.
With the popular Charles Kennedy and the lacklustre Ming Campbell consigned to the political dustbin, for how much longer will LD MPs continue to support the invisible Nick Clegg - especially with the one star (Vince Cable)in their midst. Southern Lib Dem MPs will be especially concerned given the Tory poll ratings.
As I said in May the LDs have peaked in Warrington and missed their one opportunity to gain outright control of the council. Expect Lib Dem casualties in May 2010 with a rejuvenated Tory party in Warrington South and Labour gains in the North.
Tuesday, 18 November 2008
Planning List Approval/Refusal
The planning applications which can be downloaded by clicking on the heading above have been approved/refused under delegated powers.
Nursing Home Plans
Over the summer plans to build a 40 bed nursing home on land at the corner of Norris St and O'Leary Street (land containing the former Methodist Church Hall) faltered when it became clear that the developer's plans were unlikely to receive the go-ahead from planners.A well organised campaign by local residents and businesses put the idea on the back-burner - for now at least.
Off course the developer will not lie down and go away - he has invested his own money in purchasing the land so I fear a revised plan will soon find its way to the planners at New Town House.
Watch this space!
Monday, 17 November 2008
Post Office boost as card account stays!
Local Post Offices across the town have received a boost as the Labour Government awarded the contract for the Post Office Card Account (POCA) service to the Post Office. The news will be welcomed by local post offices who rely on the business people picking up their pensions or benefits through the Post Office Card Account brings into branches. Around 12,200 people in the town have their pension and benefits paid this way.
With the financial crisis that started with the American banks now being felt here in Britain, people are feeling worried about their finances. Post Offices are often the only providers of banking services in some areas so this vote of confidence in the post office is very welcome
The Government has decided to award a new contract for the continuation of POCA directly to the Post Office. The National Federation of Sub Post Masters had said that, without POCA, 3,000 Post Offices would close.
This is the right decision for Warrington.
With the financial crisis that started with the American banks now being felt here in Britain, people are feeling worried about their finances. Post Offices are often the only providers of banking services in some areas so this vote of confidence in the post office is very welcome
The Government has decided to award a new contract for the continuation of POCA directly to the Post Office. The National Federation of Sub Post Masters had said that, without POCA, 3,000 Post Offices would close.
This is the right decision for Warrington.
Latest Planning Applications
Click on the heading to view the latest planning applications submitted to the council.
Thursday, 13 November 2008
Titan Prison
If newspaper reports are to be believed, and many local politicians believe this to be so, then the Omega site on the north-west side of Warrington could be the location of a so called 'Titan Prison'.This should be opposed for two reasons;
1. Warrington already 'boasts' two penal institutions - Risley and Appleton Thorn YOI. We are also placed within 25 miles of prisons in nearby locations. I think we make a contribution already towards the nation's prison needs.
2. Omega is the next phase in the town's ambitions to attract inward investment, jobs and prosperity. A prison on the site clearly hinders achieving that ambition.
Wednesday, 12 November 2008
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