Regeneration, planning and building have been a main theme of this past week. I received a briefing on a potential development in the Trafford Wharfside area and visited a new development in Sale, where we’re prioritising family homes. As part of our housing strategy, we want to see the right mix of housing.
I also received an update on our Stretford Regeneration project with Bruntwood- where over the course of 2025 we can expect announcements on new arrivals to the Town Centre as well as different public events to support the project. I know there has been a significant amount of consultation followed by a significant amount of upheaval over recent years in Stretford, but the new town centre is coming together and there’s a lot to be optimistic about.
I joined Bruntwood and other developers at a round table this week too- where we discussed all the regeneration opportunities Trafford has and what an exciting time it is for the Borough. Getting the balance right with regeneration is important too- projects can, and will, provide housing opportunities, access to leisure opportunities and employment opportunities to existing residents of Trafford, as well as opportunities for people who would love to make Trafford their home.
Good regeneration projects are underpinned by good planning and good quality building. So it was timely this week to have one of my regular catch ups with our Chair of Planning, Cllr Barry Winstanley, as well as meeting our Building Control team. My meeting with Barry is an opportunity for him to update me on applications that have been to planning committee. He explains recent decisions from a planning perspective. I’ve never sat on the planning committee, but it has an important quasi-judicial role that I know committee members take very seriously.
My meeting with the Building Control team was also fascinating- officers talked me through the framework they must work to and examples of projects they have supported. They also provided examples of where they have had to intervene when projects -large and small- have not complied with regulations, sometimes with significant safety implications. Meeting the team was a reminder of what the varied amount of important services Trafford Council provides.
Good regeneration also requires resilient green infrastructure and I joined a very valuable session academics and researchers from the University of Manchester regarding risks around green infrastructure failure, a risk that is higher in urban areas. It certainly gave me a lot to think about from a Greater Manchester perspective and I’ll be having follow-up conversations.
Elsewhere this week, I chaired a meeting of the Trafford Locality Board. This is the place we discuss local health services. Later on in the week I met separately with members of our Health and Social Care team for a more in depth discussion about the challenges and opportunities around local health provision.
I also participated in two interviews for students currently writing their dissertations. One interview focussed on sustainable transport, whilst the other related to local government finance. I hope the insights I provided were helpful and support both students as they complete their dissertations.
Finally, local government finance remained high on the agenda. On Thursday we were advised that Trafford was one of a record 30 local authorities to receive exceptional financial support for the 2025/26 financial year. The volume of councils in this situation suggests major systemic issues in the sector, and that the use of the word ‘exceptional’ should be reviewed.
At the end of the week opposition amendments to our budget proposals were published. There is only one amendment this year- from the Liberal Democrat Group. Given the amount of noise the Conservative Group has made in recent weeks regarding the budget, I found it interesting to read that they have failed to come up with a prudent alternative to our plans. From memory, this is the third time in six years that they have put forward a imprudent set of proposals, not a record they should be proud of.