Following a week away for my birthday, I was back this week and have been kept very busy- which I welcome! Across my week there’s been three very strong themes- our green economy, children and young people, and our communities.
On Monday I was down in London to participate in an event marking Circular Economy Week. I was there with colleagues from Greater Manchester to highlight our brilliant Renew Hub and the work we undertake as part of Recycle for Greater Manchester. I’m always very pleased to celebrate Greater Manchester’s approach to the circular economy, the efforts we’re making to reduce landfill waste, and the funding provided to initiatives in the local community. I also enjoyed hearing about initiatives happening in other parts of the country, alongside an update from Defra Minister Emma Hardy.
Later that week I was delighted to speak at an event where Groundwork Greater Manchester launched a 2035 Strategic Framework for Action. Their three core goals -people, communities and places- resonate with the environmental goals we have in our own Greater Manchester Strategy. One of the key themes to come out of this event -and indeed the event on Monday too- was the recognition of how integral the environment is to our economy, skills, our jobs and our communities. So many positive examples were brought to live at the Groundwork event, and it was also a great opportunity to catch up with many familiar faces from across GM.
As mentioned in an earlier blog, my Greater Manchester portfolio has been updated to cover Transport, Clean Air and Green City-Region. So this week it was helpful to have a catch up with Dame Sarah Storey (in between her tango rehearsals) to discuss the Bee Network Committee and active travel; followed by an update from Greater Manchester’s Clean Air team. At the end of the week, I chaired a meeting of the Greater Manchester Five Year Environment Plan Partnership. This meeting included some interesting updates on solar power and our programme to empower schools to lead on environmental sustainability. And it was good to visit two schools this week and welcome children from another to the Town Hall!
On Wednesday I joined my colleague, George Devlin, at Seymour Park Community Primary School for the Trafford Rights Respecting Schools Award Launch. This is a Unicef initiative that some of our schools -Seymour Park, St Mary’s CofE and St Matthew’s CofE- have been invested in for several years. I loved hearing the children be so passionate about their rights and the positive action they take to support both their school and local communities. I’m really pleased to hear our Public Health team are supporting this award and more and more local schools are signing up.
On Thursday I welcomed the Victoria Park Junior School Council to the Town Hall- where I asked the school councillors lots of questions and they asked me a lot about my role and what Trafford Council does. I love showing schools around the Town Hall and seeing younger people sat in the council chamber. The future of Trafford is in safe hands if they elect great young people like the ones I met this week. Later that afternoon I joined the first part of our regular Corporate Parenting Board meeting before travelling to Urmston Grammar School to take part in their annual GCSE Awards Evening. The best part of the evening was hearing about, and from, the students at the school, seeing the pride teachers, parents and carers had in them, and celebrating their success.
From a communities perspective, I had the great pleasure of meeting people from Trafford’s African Caribbean Over 50s Club (TAC) as we launched a new exhibition at Trafford Local Studies to celebrate Black History Month. Our brilliant team at Local Studies have worked with TAC and local historian Linford Sweeney to help celebrate the stories of people from one of our fantastic communities that make up Trafford. I enjoyed talking with Norma, Grace, Linford and others as we celebrated their stories and some brilliant photography courtesy of Sonya Smith. Later that week I was in Sale again to enjoy another Black History Month event supported by Mike Kane MP and co-organised by my colleague Bilal Babar. It was a lovely event that brought so many different people and communities together. It included some powerful speeches and very enjoyable music, dance and song. At a time when cohesion is being tested, I’m proud to lead a council that continues to celebrate our diverse communities.
On Saturday morning I joined my colleagues Eve, Liz, Waseem and Mike Kane MP at the Village Methodist Church in Sale Moor for the Telugu Christian Harvest Festival. It was a wonderful celebration of food and the importance of sharing, and I was able to try a range of the Indian food and chai tea on offer. Thank you very much to Rev Dr Raj for the invitation.
Our business community is also so important to Trafford, and on Friday evening I joined our Mayor and Connor Rand MP at the annual Altrincham & Sale Chamber of Commerce Business Awards. The evening was a reminder of the valued relationship we at Trafford Council have with the Chamber and it was a privilege to present the Business of the Year Award. Under Sue Aldridge’s leadership, the Chamber continues to be a powerful voice for the diverse business community we’re proud to have in Altrincham and Sale. It was great to see pride for both towns shining though the evening.
In addition to this, I had my weekly meeting with the Council’s Chief Executive, a meeting with our Adult Social Care team, a meeting regarding community cohesion, catch ups with Labour Group colleagues, a doorknock in Stretford and a meeting of Council.