It’s the week before our Budget Council meeting in Trafford and in anticipation of that being the focus of what I write next week, I’ll devote much of this week’s review to all the other activity I’ve been up to. There’s been a lot this week.
On Monday I had two visits to the city centre. In the morning, I had an interview with Place North West where Old Trafford Regeneration was the main topic of discussion. In the afternoon I was back to speak at Unison North West’s Year of Green Activity launch event. I joined a panel discussion where we all recognised the challenges posed by our changing climate and the role workers can play in making the case for change.
At the town hall, I attended our monthly meeting where we put our Adult Services under the spotlight, before chairing a meeting of the Executive in the evening. It was a very short meeting- but one where we discussed our plans as part of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup this summer. It’ll be a brilliant summer of sport, leaving a good legacy around participation.
I spent much of Tuesday away from the Town Hall too. In the morning I joined my colleague, Cllr Eve Parker, as we hosted representatives from Historic England on a heritage tour around Trafford. We visited projects that have been supported by Historic England including the Empress Conservation Area and Trafford Park Village. We also visited our world-famous swing bridges at Barton and the beautiful St Werburgh’s Old Church- steeped in medieval history. We’re so fortunate to have such a rich and diverse heritage in the Borough and I’m looking forward to us formally launching our Heritage Framework next month.
Following a meeting focussed on Children’s Services in the afternoon, I walked over to Old Trafford to join an Iftar hosted by Manchester United and their official Muslim Supporters’ Club. It was a wonderful event to be part of with some very thoughtful speeches ahead of sunset. It was an important event for MUFC fans, staff and players and a privilege to be there with them.
I had an early start on Wednesday with a 7am trip to one of Greater Manchester’s recycling sites for an interview with BBC Radio Manchester. I was there to celebrate Greater Manchester’s recycling rate (50.1%) and discuss the investment we’re making to help make the recycling of items even easier. Trafford, with a recycling rate of 58.4%, has one of the best performances in Greater Manchester.
Later I attended the Trafford Partnership Summit at UA92. It was an event where key stakeholders -from the public, private and voluntary/community sectors- come together to consider some of the issues and opportunities we face. It was a good session, with an update from Karen Hirst around Old Trafford Regeneration along with an introduction to Trafford’s new Chief Superintendent, Michael Allen.
On Thursday I spent time outside the Town Hall once again. This time in Altrincham. In the morning it was a pleasure to visit Mackinnon and Saunders to have a catch up and see some stock animation filming taking place. It’s quite incredible to know we have an Oscar winning organisation in the Borough with such a culturally significant portfolio. My visit included a trip to their studios to see some stock animation filming. We have a thriving creative industries sector in Trafford, and a significant number of our residents work across the region in the sector. The industry is a major contributor to the economy and something I very much value.
Later that day I was back in Altrincham to join the Altrincham vs cancer 5k run. This is a great cause organised by Alex McCann so please do donate if you can. I’m delighted to say I improved on last year’s time of 30m 8s with 27m 22s this year. Room for further improvement next year!