My week started with an Executive meeting with some significant agenda items. Firstly, we introduced our draft budget proposals for 2027/28, where so far we’ve managed down a budget gap from £38m to £8.4m. We’ve published a set of income and savings proposals and whilst we continue to work on the final budget, the draft budget is now subject to scrutiny and other parties can work on an alternative set of proposals. I look forward to seeing what comes forward from other parties over the next few months.
Another substantial item to come to the meeting was the decision to agree the closure of St Teresa’s RC Primary School in Firswood. This was an incredibly difficult decision to take and one taken against the context of a falling birth rate across Trafford and falling primary school roll numbers. Our priority now is to support the remaining children at the school and work closely with our local school community.
I’m a governor at one of our local primary schools and just prior to the Executive meeting on Monday I had the first of two visits to Victoria Park Junior School for one of our regular meetings. My second visit on Friday was very different, and I had a great time joining a bike bus to school followed by recognising the school’s Eco Stars for all their efforts in encouraging more of their friends to walk, wheel or cycle.
In addition to being a school governor, I am also a trustee at HomeStart Trafford, Wigan & Salford and on Friday I attended the AGM where I had the role of recognising our volunteers who have achieved five years’ service. HomeStart is a fantastic local organisation that demonstrates the importance of early help. The AGM is always special as we get to hear about the impact our brilliant volunteers have on local families.
I celebrated my own long service to the Labour Party this week where I reached my 30th anniversary, having received my welcome pack on 22 October 1996. On the day itself, I welcomed Growth Minister Dan Tomlinson and senior officials from DDCMS to Trafford Town Hall before we embarked on a tour of the Old Trafford Regeneration area, ending up at Manchester United for a final presentation. I was so pleased to see the Minister’s excitement for the project and the commitment shown by government officials. Earlier in the week I joined colleagues for a tour of Media City as the owners seek to work with us and complement the regeneration taking place on the Trafford side of the quays.
I had a second visit to Salford Quays on Wednesday when I attended a session at the Healthy City Design Conference hosted at the Lowry. I was there to talk about our food partnerships at Greater Manchester and in Trafford and the participants in the session had a good discussion around food resilience, healthy food, education and the impact on the environment. It’s an area of public policy with a wide reach and I welcome the local attention we’re paying to food.
On a culture front, I joined my colleagues Barry, Eve and Keleigh for a lovely Tuesday evening in Sale where we celebrated outcomes from Our Creative Lives, which is something took place across Trafford over the summer months. There are several cultural clusters in Trafford and at the Sale Cluster we heard about celebrating the stories of local people, some fantastic poetry workshops, and some of Sale’s claims to fame (many of which were new to me!). Culture is so important- it supports our wellbeing, brings people together and supports our local economy. I’m glad we continue to treasure culture in Trafford.
I had various other meetings over the course of the week and a couple of sessions on the doorstep but ended on Saturday reunited with Judith Lloyd as we attended the Trafford Royal Navy Association Trafalgar Dinner in Urmston. I first got to know the association back when I was Mayor and have stayed in touch ever since. They’re always great company and it was an enjoyable way to end the week.