“Two fingered salute” to Adswood’s metal thieves

Ann Smith and John Reid by the vandalised plaque in Adswood's Daisyfields estate
Ann Smith and John Reid by the vandalised plaque in Adswood’s Daisyfields estate

The Lib Dem team are campaigning to replace the plaque marking the opening of Adswood’s Daisyfields estate.

The brass plaque on a concrete base was erected in a quiet corner of the estate to mark the opening of the development back in 1991, with a government minister even attending the official opening.

Local residents contacted Ann about helping to trim the shrubs by the plaque. As Ann inspected the site it became apparent the plaque had been vandalised and the metal part stolen.

Now Ann is campaigning for a new plaque to be installed on the site. “The plaque commemorated a new beginning for the residents that moved into the area, many of whom are still here,” she said.

“We are exploring the possibility of replacing the plaque with a non metal version, as a two-fingered salute to the metal thieves operating in the area.”

Stockport: Best value Council in Greater Manchester

Lib Dem Stockport is top of the league for value
Lib Dem Stockport is top of the league for value

Treasury figures have been published showing Stockport to be the best value council in Greater Manchester.

A league table of council’s spending per-resident gives Lib Dem Stockport a lower figure than all other councils in the area, demonstrating the effectiveness of the balanced budget working Stockport Council has worked hard to maintain.

This compares favourably to both Conservative councils like Trafford, and Labour council’s like Oldham and Manchester – a Council which imposed savage cuts despite holding back more than £100 million in town hall coffers and faced national criticism for making “politically motivated cuts.”

The “excellent” financial management of the local authority since the Lib Dems took control of the borough means Stockport Lib Dems are able to propose a Council Tax freeze for 2014/15, something that will be debated by all Stockport councillors in what is expected to be a heated political debate at the Town Hall this Thursday.

Trixi Treat

John Reid with one of the trixi mirrors installed around Stockport
John Reid with one of the trixi mirrors installed around Stockport

Cycle Safety Mirrors (also called Trixi mirrors) have been installed around our area, and are being put in at 50 junctions across Greater Manchester.

The mirrors help drivers of large vehicles like lorries or buses see cycles alongside them. Those sorts of vehicles have a very large blind spot and one of the most common ways for cyclists to be killed or seriously injured is being trapped to the left of a large vehicle turning left at a junction.

The team has also enlisted the support of our Lib Dem MEP, Chris Davies, who is a cyclist himself and wants European rules to improve cycle safety, as many of the lorries on UK roads originate in other European countries.

Another Council tax freeze for Stockport residents?

Stockport's Lib Dems propose a freeze in council tax for all local taxpayers
Stockport’s Lib Dems propose a freeze in council tax for all local taxpayers

Lib Dems are proposing to freeze Stockport’s Council tax for year 2014/15[/caption]Stockport’s Lib Dem councillors want to freeze Council Tax for Stockport taxpayers for the year 2014/15.

This will be the third council tax freeze the Lib Dems council has delivered in the past four years, despite the unprecedented financial challenges it continues to face.

Lib Dem councillors want to continue helping residents with the cost of living. Cllr Sue Derbyshire said: “We know local authority finances will get no easier, with almost £60m of savings made since 2010 and over £40m more savings needed between 2015 and 2017. However, we have taken the decision to accept the government’s freeze grant this year in the interests of residents, and I call on the other political groups in Stockport to back this freeze.”

The Liberal Democrat budget proposals will be debated and voted upon by all political groups at the Budget Council Meeting on 27th February.

Japanese Knotweed Update

Ann Smith with an example of the Japanese Knotweed on Network Rail land
Ann Smith with an example of the Japanese Knotweed on Network Rail land

In the summer, Ann Smith wrote to residents in Davenport and Cale Green ward bordering Network Rail land after a Bridgehall resident had raised the issue of Japanese Knotweed.

If left untreated, the weed can cause damage to nearby property. One resident was refused a mortgage application because of knotweed growing on Network Rail land near his home.

Ann wrote to Network Rail asking for more to be done to manage the knotweed growing on their property, before it becomes a threat to neighbouring residents bordering their land.

Network Rail replied by saying that treatment can only be administered in the spring but that the sites Ann had referred to would now be “added to our noxious weeds database for treatment.” They wrote “we will spray this site as part of our Japanese Knotweed plan that begins in April”.

Ann is now asking residents to let her know if they have seen knotweed on Network Rail land near then so she can press for it to be included as part of Network Rail’s treatment plan.

Our awareness sheet about Japanese Knotweed can be found by clicking here.

Davenport Station Car Park Clear-up

Cleanup at Davenport station
Cleanup at Davenport station

Northern Rail has finally taken action following Ann Smith’s request for a clean-up of Davenport Station car park.

The state of the car park was raised by local residents in a Lib Dem Residents’ Survey. As well as litter and dog fouling, one resident reported criminal damage to a car. Ann asked Northern to do more to keep the site clean and look into better security with measures such as CCTV, as is used in similar facilities elsewhere.

Northern’s response read “Davenport has received some attention recently to improve security… Unfortunately there are no plans to extend CCTV.”

But trees were trimmed or removed and a large number of bushes were cut, and a general litter pick was undertaken.