It’s certainly been a busy week with meetings and events that covered children and young people, housing and regeneration, communities, sport, mental health and skills.
On Sunday I joined our Mayor, Deputy Lieutenant, council colleagues, cadets and members of the uniformed services at Trafford’s annual Battle of Britain Commemoration. It’s an important opportunity for us to remember that generation’s service to this country and give thanks for the freedom we still have today. Later in the week I joined by colleagues Waseem Hassan and Eve Parker at an interfaith event centred around a Raksha Bandhan Celebration. This is a celebration of friendship and protection through tying a thread. It was an opportunity to bring different faiths together and a shared recognition of the importance of promoting cohesion. Thank you to Sangha for organising such a brilliant evening.
As regular readers will know, making sure we give all our children and young people the best start in life is a priority for Trafford. As we continue to respond to this summer’s Ofsted findings, I had the opportunity to meet again with the Department for Education Expert Advisor. As a wider partnership we also convened a meeting of our Ambitions Board ahead of its transition to an Improvement Board. Our Expert Advisor joined us at that meeting and I welcomed the presence and contributions made from health partners, education, safeguarding, the voluntary sector and the police. The discussion over the course of the meeting was part reflective but mainly looking ahead to the future.
On Wednesday it was a real privilege to spend time with the staff and young people at Egerton High and ProVISION- their specialist provision based at BeActive in Urmston. I intend to use my next column in the Messenger to share more about my visit- there’s so many positive things to say. In the meantime, listening to the young people who have accessed ProVISION- and seeing the skills they have acquired was very inspiring. Likewise, having the opportunity to sit down and listen to some of the students at Egerton was very valuable. I was even persuaded to participate in a science experiment where, with safety measures in place, my right hand was briefly set alight! I know my colleagues Jill Axford and George Devlin also enjoyed the morning.
Housing and regeneration remain priorities for us in Trafford. I’ve had a couple of visits to housing schemes in Sale this week. First, I joined colleagues for a visit to the Courts development in the town centre. This is the site of the former Magistrates Court in Sale and it is becoming a mixed housing scheme, including shared ownership options. I had the opportunity to see inside different properties and see some of the steps taken to make them energy efficient. Later in the week I returned with partners from Irwell Valley for the official handover of the shared ownership homes that people are set to move into very soon.
Over at Sale West I joined Liz Patel, Connor Rand and Irwell Valley colleagues to see the progress made with the next stage of regeneration. I’m really excited to see new social homes almost complete- again incorporating measures that will keep energy costs low. Most importantly we met Lorraine, one of Irwell Valley’s local tenants, who shared some of her experiences and was a reminder of why a good home provides the foundations for good health and a better life.
Regeneration has to work for our residents, local businesses and local communities. Earlier this week I visited a local drop-in event regarding our Wharfside Masterplan, where it was good to hear that we’re receiving constructive and valuable feedback from local residents. Old Trafford Regeneration is one of the country’s most significant projects, and it is important we continue to work closely with the local community and make the best out of the opportunities on offer. This sports-led regeneration project has inspired conversations with other sporting bodies too, and earlier this week I joined colleagues for a meeting to discuss grassroots football and the aspirations in our Playing Pitch Strategy.
Finally, on Wednesday I joined Trafford Council colleagues, representatives from Lancashire Cricket Foundation and members of the local community for this year’s Walk of Hope, which forms part of Shining a Light on Suicide’s Month of Hope. It’s important we do all we can to raise awareness of suicide and where people can access support. It was important that I was able to show my support for this campaign once again.