Green Belt Consultation Extended, Walk-In Centre Decision Delayed

Two massive decisions affecting our local area are to see delays over the Christmas period.

Bury CCG (Clinical Commissioning Group) have decided to defer a decision on the future of Prestwich and Bury Walk-In Centres to it’s January meeting (15th January 2017).  Hopefully this will give it time to consider the massive public opposition to the closure…..

Greater Manchester Strategic Framework Consultation Extended

In addition the deadline in the consultation on the Greater Manchester Strategic Framework (the plan to destroy 20% of Bury’s ‘green belt land’ (nearly 50% in Whitefield, Unsworth and Prestwich) has been extended to the new year.

The deadline for comments in the consultation is now A23.59 on 16 January 2017.

You can submit your comments online via the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework via email: GMSF@agma.gov.uk

If you have not already done so, please do sign the ‘Hands Off Bury’s Green Belt’ petition – the more signatures we get the better.

petition_button

AGM and Committee 2017

Thank you to everyone who came to the AGM last night where we had an excellent presentation from the Liberal Democrat Greater Manchester Mayoral candidate Jane Brophy.

2017 Executive Committee
President – Stephen Stokes
Chair – Wilf Davison
Vice-Chair – Samantha Stretch
Secretary – Michael Powell
Treasurer – Jacob Royde
Membership Development Officer and Data Officer – Gavin Warnes
Ordinary Members – Steve Middleton, Laura Stoker, Felipe Fazenza
Council Group representative (appointed by Council Group) – Tim Pickstone

The next members meeting is on Tuesday 10 January 2017, 7.00pm – more information to follow.

Figures show full scale of Bury’s Green Belt Betrayal

Figures obtained by the Liberal Democrat Councillors on Bury Council have revealed to what extent Bury has been betrayed in the proposals to remove ‘Green Belt’ land in the draft Greater Manchester Spatial Framework.

Across Greater Manchester, just 8.2% of Green Belt land is proposed to be destroyed.

However, Bury Council’s Labour-leadership have signed-up to the proposals mean that 20% of Bury’s green belt will be lost, significantly higher than elsewhere in Greater Manchester. Together with the other nine Council Leaders, Bury’s Labour Leader voted in favour of the draft Greater Manchester Spatial Framework.

Yet it is in the Prestwich and Whitefield/Unsworth areas that have been most heavily let down: 

  • In Prestwich a shocking 46.7% of green belt land will be lost – that is everything on the Eastern side of Prestwich
  • In the Whitefield/Unsworth area 49.1% of green belt land will be lost, mostly on the eastern side of Whitefield and Unsworth.

screenshot-2016-12-13-08-35-09screenshot-2016-12-13-08-33-26

screenshot-2016-12-13-08-32-30screenshot-2016-12-13-08-33-12

 

The full figures are:
3.6% in Ramsbotton, Tottington and North Manor Township;
23.4% in Bury West Township;
0.7% in Bury East Township;
21% in Radcliffe Township;
49.1% in Whitefield and Unsworth Township;
and 46.7% in Prestwich Township.

The Labour Party in Bury made a very clear commitment in it’s Local Government Manifesto:
“Bury Labour Group will defend the greenbelt and do all we can to stop development of this precious resource.” 

The Lib Dems in Bury are totally opposed to this wholesale destruction of our Green Belt land. We DO need more homes, but we should use brownfield sites, empty houses and existing unbuilt planning permissions FIRST without destroying our precious country side.

The deadline for consultation on the Draft GMSF is 23 December 2016:

1 – Sign the petition to Save Bury’s Green Belt

2 – Respond to the Consultation yourself and let Greater Manchester Council Leaders know your views.

 

 

Help the team in Sleaford & North Hykeham

15338608_10154635289250435_418086068952589185_n

Hot off the heels of our success in Richmond Park comes another by-election! This Thursday is polling day in Sleaford & North Hykeham.

Our candidate Ross Pepper and the team on the ground have been working hard over the past few weeks to ensure a positive result.

Ross has the advantage of being the only candidate who voted for Remain in the referendum & now opposes a hard Brexit.

But it’s not just about Remain and Leave. Many people are alarmed by what has happened since the Referendum, how the Tories are pushing us towards a hard Brexit and how Labour are failing to provide much needed opposition.

We really need as many people as possible to hit the phones and speak to voters before polling day. If you can help, then ALDC are running a phone bank on Thursday 8th December from 5pm at 23 New Mount Street in Manchester.

If you can’t make it in person then you can also help by making calls from home. If you are a Connect user you can log in and visit the Virtual Phone Bank page for the latest Sleaford phone bank. If you need setting up with a Connect account then please email Louise at louise.bowe@aldc.org – full help and support on how to start calling will be provided!

 

 

Welcome to Britain’s Newest MP

Last week Liberal Democrat Sarah Olney sent a strong message to Government when she overturned Zac Goldsmith’s 23,000 majority to become the new MP for Richmond Park in London.

15385347_10158057656595647_7982949023740585106_o

The Lib Dem campaign in Richmond focussed on two issues, which clearly rang true with voters:

  • the underfunding by Government of NHS services, which is leading to severe problems for care services for elderly and other vulnerable residents
  • worry about a Government heading for a so-called ‘Hard Brexit’, without free trade with the rest of Europe, with huge concerns on what this means for people’s jobs and livelihood.

Many traditional Conservative and Labour voters, including many ‘Leave’ supporters backed the Liberal Democrats because of our strong positive messages on the NHS and ‘Brexit’.

Find out more and how you can get involved here.