Allotments are brilliant places.  In return for some rent, people have access to their own plot, can escape to valued greenspace and join a community of sowers and growers.  We have 34 allotments sites across Trafford, including 4 in the ward I represent.  I started this week in one of my favourite places in the Borough, Moss Park Allotments in Stretford, which is a beautiful haven a short walk from a main road.  I was joined by my ward colleague Cllr Jane Slater and the Executive Member with responsibility for our allotments, Cllr Rose Thompson.  Moss Park Allotments had opened their gates as part of the National Garden Scheme open gardens initiative and the plots were looking as stunning as ever.  It was lovely to catch up with old friends and enjoy some tea and cake at the same time.

Greenspaces and nature were a recurrent theme this week, with other activities including speaking at the launch of a new National Nature Reserve at Risley Moss, and chairing a meeting of the GM Green City-Region Partnership and Board.  An item on the agenda of that meeting was our Greater Manchester Local Nature Recovery Strategy, which is set to be approved next month.  It will be the first Local Nature Recovery Strategy in the North of England and something to celebrate across Greater Manchester.

I referenced the Local Nature Recovery Strategy when I attended a meeting of the Council’s Scrutiny Committee at the start of the week.  I was there to set out my priorities for the year ahead and I focussed on different themes from our five corporate priorities.  Other areas I mentioned included our Improving Lives Everyday agenda for Adult Services, the expansion of our Family Hubs, ensuring our existing residents and businesses get the best they can from our regeneration projects, and celebrating our Borough’s rich and diverse heritage.  I also raised the need for us to review how residents access our services and ways that can be made better.

On Tuesday I chaired the latest Trafford Locality Board meeting where we review our local health services.  It was a packed agenda but we had some good discussions, particularly around prevention and current public health initiatives.  Later that day I was back out on the doorstep in my ward, where issues raised included speeding, litter and trees.

I’ve been fortunate to see some great productions this week too.  On Thursday morning I was at Victoria Park Junior School for the Year 6 summer performance.  The theme was courage, and the focus was on our young people having the courage to make that transition to secondary school.  That evening, I joined Cllr Eve Parker at Urmston Grammar School to watch Urmston Musical Theatre’s production of We Will Rock You, which was superb.  It’s so good to see children and young people of all ages enjoy performing on stage!

On Friday evening I joined Eve again, along with Cllr Aidan Williams, to watch Waterside Art Centre’s latest commission, Daddy’s First Gay Date.  It’s the second show created by Sam Danson and commissioned by the Waterside.  We’re so fortunate to have an arts centre in Sale supporting new and upcoming artists. The Waterside is currently up for the I Love Manchester Awards for Most Loved Art & Cultural Venue.  Please show your support for the Waterside by voting here.

Wednesday’s Council meeting brought its own dramas with quite a bit of heat, but not much light.  Cllr Karina Carter and other Labour Group colleagues did an excellent job challenging inaccurate statements made by others regarding school place sufficiency.  It was also great to hear Cllr Keleigh Glenton propose a motion in support of our Live Well Agenda.

On Thursday Cllr Liz Patel and I hosted Andy Burnham at the Town Hall.  It was a productive catch up where we discussed partnership work taking place between the Council and the GMCA, with a shared understanding that we want to make sure we improve the lives of our residents, from employment opportunities to new homes, better public transport and good access to healthcare.  The following day I joined the Council’s Chief Executive at an Apprentice Graduation Event, where we celebrated members of our workforce completing work-related qualifications.  We’re so fortunate to have such dedicated and talented employees at the Council.

Finally, I was so proud to see great teamwork on display on Friday and across the weekend.  Teamwork is so important in politics, supporting one another so we can do our best for the residents we represent.  That sense of working as a collective faced a challenge earlier this week, but I am so proud of my group colleagues and activists for coming together to show our support for our wonderful Broadheath councillors, Amy Whyte and Denise Western.  By the strength of our common endeavour we achieve more than we achieve alone.

This is my final update for now, I’ll still be working over the summer but will be back writing updates again from September.  In the meantime enjoy the rest of the summer!