Saturday saw the ‘Love Burnage’ free family fun day at St Margaret’s Church on Burnage Lane. The weather was great and loads of local people attended and had a great time. There was music, dancing, stalls and free cream teas.

Councillors John Cameron, Iain Donaldson and Rod Isherwood, together with John Leech MP, all went along and had a great time.

John Cameron said:

“This was a fantastic event that really brought local people together. Well done to all at St Margaret’s, who worked really hard to make it happen.”

Councillors Jon Cameron, Iain Donaldson and Rod Isherwood thank the police and council officers who worked quickly and efficiently to remove the travellers who illegally camped on Cringle Fields again this year.A lot of hard work is being done by the Friends of Cringle Park and Fields Group, Burnage Multi Agency Group and the Parks Department, with the support of local Councillors and John Leech MP, to improve the facilities on Cringle Fields. It is important that the good work being done locally continues to be built on so that the fields can continue to bring pleasure and organised recreational activity to all our community.We would also like to congratulate the Friend of Cringle Park and Fields on their very successful Fun Day on Sunday, which was thoroughly enjoyed by all those who attended.

Greater Manchester’s 4 Liberal Democrats MPs have joined forces to campaign against today’s announcement that 67 of 380 Post Office branches in Greater Manchester, Cheshire and Derbyshire are to close.

Liberal Democrat Cheadle MP Mark Hunter, Manchester Withington MP John Leech, Rochdale MP Paul Rowen, and Hazel Grove MP Andrew Stunell launched a petition outside Spring Gardens post office in the city centre.

Withington MP John Leech said:

“I am appalled that Labour plan to close 5 more Post Offices here in Manchester, on top of the 21 they allowed to close over the last 3 years. Post Office branches are a lifeline for many residents, providing vital services in an accessible location. I urge local people to sign our petition against these closures! “

The Government are currently closing 2,500 branches. These are in addition to the 4,000 that have already been axed since Labour came to power in 1997 and the 3,500 that were closed by the previous Conservative government.

The offices to shut include 11 in Stockport; 8 in Oldham; 5 in Manchester; 7 in Bolton; 5 in Bury; 7 in Rochdale; 3 in Salford; 6 in Tameside; 3 in Trafford and 1 in Wigan.

 In South Manchester, Ladybarn Post Office on Mauldeth Road and East Didsbury Post Office on Wilmslow Road are now earmarked to close, making life harder for local people and underming the viability of nearby local shops.

 Councillor John Cameron said:

“We will fight tooth and nail to stop these closures. These Post Offices are needed by the people of South Manchester and Labour are wrong to close them on so-called economic grounds.”

Councillor John Cameron and Rod Isherwood, together with John Leech MP, attended a highly sucessful Neighbours Day event at Burnage Garden Village on Saturday. Neighbours Day is meant to promote interaction and cooperation between people in communities and the organisers had set up what was a fantastic event, enjoyed by all the many people who attended. There was cream tea, burgers, a bowls competition and stalls. Councillor John Cameron said: “This is just the sort of community based event that we are happy to support. The organisers worked really hard to make sure that it a great success.”

Other events coming up in our area include the St Margaret’s Church ‘Love Burnage’ Fun Day, which is on between 2pm and 5pm on Saturday 14th June. The next day, Sunday 15th June, sees the Cringle Park Festival, which starts at 12 noon. Both should be great events and if you are able to get along to either, or both, of them, you are garanteed an enjoyable time.

John Cameron and the Lib Dems support the volunteers of Burnage In Bloom, which won a prize in last years North West In Bloom competition.Do you want to get involved in Burnage In Bloom? Let us know and we will put you in touch with the organisers.

Cllr John Cameron, John Leech MP and the Lib Dem team keep in touch all year round through door to door surveys and street surgeries accross our area. Door to door surveying is going on every week and a new round of street surgeries will start soon. Look out for a flyer advertising a street surgery near your home coming through through your letter box over the summer.

CCTV and other security measures are going to be installed at Burnage and Mauldeth Road Stations, after pressure from the Lib Dems.John Cameron and John Leech have also been working together on a Rail Users Survey to find out peoples views and experiences of public transport in the area. If you would like a survey to fill in, just get in touch and we will post one out to you.

The long awaited improvements to the shopping area around Lane End Road and Burnage Lane has finally got underway, following constant pressure from Lib Dem MP John Leech and local Lib Dem Councillors John Cameron, Iain Donaldson and Rod Isherwood.The scheme, which includes a parking bay for local residents, new street furniture and improvements to the pavements around the shops, has been funded through money obtained from Tesco as part of the planning permission for their Burnage store. However, there have been long delays in the work starting.John Leech MP said:“The Lib Dem team have continued to raise the issue with the Council, to keep it at the top of the agenda and make sure that it got off the ground.”Councillor John Cameron added:

The Labour run City Council have paid out compensation to people who have tripped on broken pavements a staggering 1,473 time since 2000. The average payout is £3290.John Cameron said:“Labour’s policy of only patching up the worst potholes is a false economy. They should properly resurface all the roads and pavements that need it. They could have used the £5M of taxpayers money that they have thrown away since 2000 to do the work.”

John Cameron and the Liberal Democrats are calling on the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive (GMPTE) to improve bus services to parts of our area which are poorly served at present.John says:“The bus service along Kingsway is pretty good during the day, but services along Errwood Road, Parrs Wood Road and Burnage Lane, south of Green End Road are much less frequent. However, instead of these routes having more buses put on them, some services have actually been cut.“This is not good enough. I have written to the GPMTE to complain about the service cuts and to ask for assurances that no other services will be cut. I have also asked for improvements in the timetables for these services .”

Figures show that the council house waiting list in the Manchester has grown again.Since Labour came to power in 1997 the waiting list in the City has increased by a staggering 86%.Councillor John Cameron said:“Access to affordable, decent housing is a right, not a privilege, but Labour have left too many people in South Manchester inadequately housed.“There are now over 18,000 families on the waiting list in Manchester. I know from my advice surgeries that many are stuck in overcrowded or very unsuitable accommodation, with no real chance of being properly rehoused in the near future.”

Focus readers will know of the devastating fire that destroyed the building site on the corner of Burnage Lane and Lane End Road last month. There was no security on the site, despite Lib Dem MP and your local Lib Dem Councillors raising the fact that kids were getting onto the site every night, putting themselves and nearby residents at risk. Councillor John Cameron said: “We warned the authorities that the site was not secure weeks before the fire and yet no security was put on at night or at the weekends. Now that this terrible fire has taken place, they must act to ensure that the site is secure from now on.” Pic - The Lib Dems warned that the site was not secure.

A number of mature trees on plot of land behind Burnage Lane have been felled by the land owner. Shawbrook Meadow was an area of Woodland which was a habitat for bats, woodpeckers and other birds. John Cameron and the Lib Dems are working with local residents, Council Officers and the Forestry Commission to try and get the owner to replant trees on the site to replace the destroyed habitat. John said: “Shawbrook Meadow was one of the last small pieces of woodland left in the area. It is terrible that this habitat for wildlife has been lost. We will explore every possible means of getting new trees planted here.”

Cllr John Cameron has been working with John Leech MP to ensure that Tesco honour their commitment to build a new medical centre for our community. John says: “We have met with the doctors and have held a series of meetings with planning officers to ensure that Tesco are not left off the hook, and build the new medical centre, as promised.”

The passageway leading to Ladybarn Park from Northbank Gardens has been cleared of litter, weeds and graffiti, after local residents asked Councillor John Cameron for the area to be tidied up. John took part in the clean up and said afterwards: “Thanks to everyone who took part in improving this popular route to the park. It looks so much better now.”Do you know of a grot spot or place where there is dumped rubbish, please let us know - you can use the ‘Report a Problem’ page on this website.

Manchester Withington Liberal Democrats are celebrating the results from last week’s local elections where the Lib Dems received nearly 50% of the vote in Withington constituency.

Liberal Democrat MP for Manchester Withington, John Leech, said:

“We were delighted to win five of the seven seats in Withington constituency. Labour were reduced to only winning two of the seats, and the Lib Dem lead over Labour has now accelerated to 17%.

“The results reflect how hard Lib Dem councillors work all year round. Local people realise what a difference having a Lib Dem councillor makes to our area. Labour clearly felt under pressure, even in the seats where they have councillors.

It is a shame that such an excellent candidate as Lianne Williams was not elected to council this time. It was a credit to Lianne that she received the highest ever Liberal Democrat vote in Chorlton.”

Burnage, Didsbury East and West, Chorlton Park and Withington wards all enjoyed huge Lib Dem victories. Most significantly was the result in Burnage ward, where Councillor John Cameron received a massive 2096 votes - 1328 votes ahead of the Labour candidate.

The Lib Dems narrowed the gap on Labour in Old Moat ward by nearly 200 votes.

John Leech MP also congratulated the Lib Dem victories in Miles Platting and nearby Northenden.

New recycling figures show that Manchester is still failing to make the necessary increases. Compared to the same period last year, the figures show that Manchester has made no progress at all in terms of rates for “dry recyclables”, such as paper, metal and glass. In fact the figures show Manchester moving slightly backwards in this category.

Lib Dem Councillor for Burnage, John Cameron, said:

“It is unacceptable that Manchester has made no progress in dry recycling rates over the last year, while other Greater Manchester Councils are recycling more, or making dramatic progress in improving their recycling rates.

“Thousands of homes in Manchester still have no doorstep recycling collections at all and yet the Labour-run Council is resting on its laurels. Everyone knows how important it is to recycle more of our household waste to fight climate change, reduce the amount of landfill and to save money for council taxpayers. It is high time that Labour start to take this issue seriously.”

Notes:

Total Dry Recycling for Manchester, Quarter 4 2006/07: 32429 tonnes

Total Dry Recycling for Manchester, Quarter 4 2007/08: 31657 tonnes

Liberal Democrat Councillor John Cameron has condemned the decision of the Labour government to slash funding for the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), which promotes recycling, by 30%.

Funding for other environmental organizations, such as British Waterways and Keep Britain Tidy, has also been cut by the Department for the Environment and Rural Affairs.

Councillor Cameron, who represents the Burnage Ward, said:

“Climate change and the lack of landfill sites make it crucial that we recycle as much of our waste as possible. WRAP have provided funding in the past for various schemes to promote recycling across the UK, including Manchester. It is crazy for the government to slash funding for this at a time when they are hiking up landfill taxes on local authorities year on year.”

“Yet again Labour are talking about taking the environment seriously, while their actions show that the opposite is true.”

Notes:

DEFRA has announced a 30% cut in funding for the Waste and Resources Action Programme, from £59m to £43.2m.

British Waterways has its funding cut from £48.5m to £34.1m.

Natural England, which looks after conservation and wildlife, faces a £5m reduction to £176m.

Encams, which runs the Keep Britain Tidy campaign, has had its budget frozen.

Manchester Liberal Democrats have proposed a cash boost of nearly £ 1.7m to fund an extra 40 police officers on the beat to tackle crime on Manchester streets. The call comes after an alarming increase in gun crime in parts of Manchester.

Opposition Finance Chief Cllr Marc Ramsbottom said:

“Fighting crime has got be our number one priority in Manchester. Labour talks tough, but has failed to deliver when it comes to making our streets safer. Many residents tell us that what the police need is not more laws and ASBOs, but more police on the streets to catch thugs and yobs. We will work with the police to fund an extra 40 police officers dedicated to Manchester to reduce crime and make our communities safer.”

Lib Dems would fund the extra police by reducing the subsidy to URBIS museum and spending some of the cash dividend the Council receives from Manchester Airport. Lib Dems also say they would cut back Councillors’ allowances and get rid of other waste such as bottled water and posting out pay slips to Town Hall staff.

Cllr Ramsbottom also slammed the unfair and unjust Council Tax:

“We believe that the Council Tax is an unfair tax that disproportionately affects people on low incomes, and should be scrapped. Nationally, the poorest 10% pay over 4 times more of their income in council tax than the richest 10%. Therefore we will be proposing a zero increase in Council Tax bills for the coming financial year, ” he said.

Leader of the Opposition on Manchester City Council Cllr Simon Ashley said:

“Our budget delegates more decision making to local communities and Councillors, beefs up the police presence on our streets, takes action to cut truancy, clean our streets, improves recycling, and freezes the country most unpopular tax, the Council Tax.”

Hundreds of local people have been signing John Cameron’s petition against Labour’s latest round of Post Office closures. Labour are going to announce which post offices in Manchester they are going to axe this month.John Cameron said:

John Leech, the Liberal Democrat MP for Manchester Withington, and Liberal Democrat Councillor for Burnage, John Cameron, are calling for 20mph zones to be extended to all Manchester residential streets that are not main roads, as new evidence shows that 20mph zones save lives.

Manchester City Council has announced a dramatic drop in the number of children killed and seriously injured on Manchester’s roads since 2000. The drop has been largely put down to the introduction of 20mph zones near schools.

John Leech MP, who has tabled a parliamentary bill calling for 20mph to be made the default speed limit for residential streets, said:

“It is great news that the number of child casualties on our roads is falling, thanks to 20mph zones near schools. However, children live and play on all residential streets, not just those near schools. If 20mph works to reduce casualties near schools, it would work on all residential side streets.”

John Leech MP has been working with local Lib Dem Councillors to collect petition signatures for streets in South Manchester to be made 20mph zones.

Councillor John Cameron said:

“We have been calling for the 20mph zones to be extended to other streets, such as Barcicroft Road, Overlea Drive, Westcroft Road and Brayside Road. However, the City Council has said that these roads are not near enough to schools to qualify.”

“Liberal Democrat-controlled Stockport Council take a different attitude, and have introduced many 20mph zones in its residential streets. This has left us with the bizarre situation where the half of Barcicroft Road that is in Manchester is 30mph, while the half that is in Stockport is 20mph.”

“It is time that Manchester City Council started to take road safety really seriously and backed our call for 20mph to be made the norm.”

Liberal Democrat Councillor for Burnage, John Cameron, is calling on Manchester City Council to encourage residents to reduce their household waste by requiring all new houses built in the city to come equipped with a home composter.