John Cameron

Until now, the Prime Minister has refused to be drawn on what would happen to the money in the event of a no vote, even when challenged directly by Mr Leech in the House of Commons, but Mr Leech is now demanding that Manchester should not be punished for rejecting the government’s scheme.

Mr Leech said:

‘The people of Greater Manchester have spoken and have emphatically rejected the government’s prescriptive proposals. But that doesn’t mean that they should now be punished by having the money taken away from Manchester.’

‘Gordon Brown must ring fence the money for Greater Manchester and we must still be given the chance to improve the region’s public transport. If the government’s half of the money was there on the table this morning, it should to be there tonight too.’

The Councillors hold advice surgeries every Monday evening (except public holidays) between 6pm and 7pm. These surgeries will be held at St Margaret’s Church Hall from the beginning of January 2009. St Margaret’s is opposite Burnage Community Centre.

Burnage Ward’s Councillors also hold an advice surgery every Saturday between 12.30 and 1.30pm at Christ Church Hall, at the corner of Parrs Wood Road and Fog Lane. There is no change to the Saturday surgery.

The advice surgeries are free and are open to all residents of Burnage Ward, which covers Burnage and parts of Withington and Didsbury. They are run on a first come, first served basis and no appointment is necessary. The Councillors provide help and advice on problems with Council and other services.

Councillor John Cameron said:

“We see our regular advice surgeries as an important way for local people to get in touch with us. We thank Burnage Community Centre for generously hosting our Monday evening surgeries for the past few years. The Community Centre is going from strength to strength and we are glad that so many activities are now going on there, even though this has made it a little over crowded on Mondays! However, our new Monday night venue at the new St Margaret’s Church Hall will provide a convenient and comfortable place for residents to come and see us.”

“The Government’s legislation urgently needs revisiting; although there is a duty on local authorities to increase the number of allotments where there is demand, the Government’s lack of guidance means that this is not happening. As a result, councils like Manchester are failing local people on allotment provision.”

“There is a clear demand for allotments in Greater Manchester; the waiting lists in some are several years long. We should be looking to reduce food miles and promote healthier living, and I am delighted that my suggestion to extend Southern Allotments has been taken on board.”

“However, Labour’s reluctance to reopen Parrs Wood allotments and the doubts surrounding the future of half of the plots at Bradley Fold threaten to scupper further advances on this front. This represents a real missed opportunity on the part of both the Government and the Council and I will be challenging the minister on this on Wednesday.”

Councillor Iain Donaldson said: “These improvements are very welcome and should help these local shops. We now need the City Council to find the cash to carry out similar schemes for other shopping parades in the area - such as Green End and Fog Lane.

The Lib Dems raised a petition of local people calling for a crossing and handed it in to the City Council, who have listened at last.

Councillor Iain Donaldson said:

“This is a junction of two busy roads. People need to cross to get to the park and fields, as well as to the local schools, shops, bus stops, etc.

“We have been telling the City Council for years that they need to improve the safety of the junction for pedestrians, especially children and older people. “We are delighted that they have listened at last and made the crossing much safer for local people.”

 Commenting on the Post Office agreed by the Labour Executive, Lib Dem Leader Simon Ashley said,

“This report does not do what the Council motion I proposed asked for. The Liberal Democrats will be calling this report in for further Scrutiny. The Post Office made the Council sign a non disclosure agreement, which meant that Councillors have not seen any detailed figures for how much it would cost to save these Post Offices.”

During questioning, Labour Councillors confirmed that a subsidy in the order of £1million over three year would be needed, and that the Post Office had specifically excluded the Parrs Wood Branch, as its reopening would affect nearby Post Offices.

Lib Dem finance spokesperson Cllr Simon Wheale added,

“The Post Office, in stopping the Council even considering re-opening Parrs Wood, has acted outragously. The Liberal Democrats are going to use Freedom of Information requests to try and get more detailed figures. Once we have that, we will do all we can to find the money in the Council’s budget to save these Post Offices.”

Councillor David Sandiford, Liberal Democrat Councillor for Didsbury East, proposed a motion at a packed meeting of the full City Council in Manchester Town Hall, calling for the Council to reverse their previous decision to sell the 3 acre site and instead revert the land to house 50 allotments.

However, the Labour Councillor in charge of leisure refused to agree to do this.

Councillor Sandiford said:

“There is a large and unfilled demand for Allotments in South Manchester. According to Council officers, the waiting list for Manchester’s allotments is greater than 700. People waiting for an allotment can and do wait over three years for an allotment in their own area.

“Everyone accepts the positive aspects of allotmenteering - keeping healthy because of the physical work that one does in growing crops, contributing to a sustainable lifestyle, the social aspects, the educational aspects, and being able to have access to a fresh supply of good food.”

Councillor Sandiford, who used to have an allotment in South Manchester when his family was younger, added:

“This three-acre site is big enough for 50 full size allotments. It would make an excellent contribution to the needs of the local community. The decision to sell the site was taken by the Executive of the Council. That is why the motion calls on the Executive to rescind that decision.”

The motion was seconded by Councillor John Cameron, who represents Burnage Ward, which is near to the Parrs Wood allotment site.

Councillor John Cameron said:

“Land owned by the City Council should not be seen simply as a potential sum of money to be realized through its sale. It should also be seen as an asset that belongs to the people of Manchester and which should be used for their benefit now and for many years to come. Selling off assets such as this land may appear to offer a quick buck, and we all recognize that the Council needs money for the provision of services. However, like the sale of school playing fields, this also represents a short-term gain at the expense of a long-term loss. When you consider that the Council has not even managed to sell the Parrs Wood allotment site, the argument for removing it from sale and returning it to use as allotments becomes even more compelling.”