I started the week by attending one of the most important civic events of the year- a Remembrance Sunday Service.  We have services at war memorials across Trafford and every year I attend Stretford’s ceremony where I join my colleagues, members of the armed forces, community and faith leaders and residents from the local area.  The services we hold across Trafford give us all a chance to pause and remember the huge sacrifices made by previous generations.  Monday was Armistice Day and I joined Trafford Council colleagues at our sunken gardens at the Town Hall to pause again at 11am.  It was a simple service, but a powerful one.

Following a day based at the Town Hall on Monday, I spent Tuesday morning in Altrincham, where I attended a Homestart meeting before catching up with Mandy and Kate from Altrincham BID.  Altrincham has been in the news a lot recently, so it was important to catch up with the BID team and hear about the plans they have for the town over the next few months.  There’s lots of exciting events happening and I look forward to supporting as many as I can.  At the other end of the day I attended Stretford’s Town Centre Forum to provide an update on town centre progress and also hear about plans for the next Stretfest.  The first Stretfest a few months ago was a huge success and so I’m excited to see plans for another one coming together!

I was back at the Town Hall on Wednesday for meetings- including an update on our budget position and a meeting regarding the regeneration of Old Trafford.

Thursday began with my weekly meeting with our Chief Executive, where there’s always a lot of ground to cover as there’s a lot happening in Trafford.  I then had a catch up with representatives from the GMB Union, who represent a lot of our workforce at One Trafford.

Thursday was also one of the sunniest days of the week, which was excellent timing for the ‘Topping Out Ceremony’ at Trafford Gardens.  This residential development is not far from the Town Hall, and I joined a group on the roof of the structure to celebrate progress with the apartment building so far and see some stunning views across Greater Manchester!  Trafford Gardens is part of our Civic Area, which is undergoing a transformation from being a space dominated by office blocks to a neighbourhood of new homes, including affordable housing.

After coming back down to ground level I caught a tram to Manchester to join a panel at a Regional Development Conference organised by the New Statesman.  The theme of the panel was ‘How can the net zero transition benefit the nations and regions of the UK?’.  I spoke from a Greater Manchester perspective and mentioned some of the many achievements we should celebrate- from the progress we’re making with integrated public transport to the work we deliver across Greater Manchester as part of our Five Year Environment Plan.  There’s a lot other parts of the country could learn from the work we do in Greater Manchester and I always enjoy having the opportunity to showcase it.

I based myself from home on Friday as a had a couple of virtual meetings.  Over the last few weeks the situation at the Cresta Court in Altrincham has been something I’ve received daily updates about.  On Thursday I issued an update on my previous statement.  There’s not much more I can add to the words expressed in my statement, other than to recognise the work taking place across different agencies in response, and to restate my belief that together, as a Borough, we in Trafford can stand by our values of compassion and inclusivity.