Stockport Liberal Democrats

Permanent Library for Bridgehall

Affter the £25,000 investment, Bridgehall's permanent library will be opening soon — Affter the £25,000 investment, Bridgehall’s permanent library will be opening soon

Bridge Hall WILL be getting a permanent library, after the massive response from local residents backing the local Lib Dem Focus team’s local petition.

Changes to the existing Community Centre have already begun. When it opens this autumn, Bridge Hall Library will have four computers with free internet access for residents as well as approximately 2,000 books.

“We care passionately that Bridge Hall residents are treated as well as any other in Stockport,” said John Reid. “The £25,000 local investment will give residents a full library service similar to other areas in Stockport, with everything from local reading groups to kids’ bounce and rhyme sessions.”

The library will be open every day during the week , but the Lib Dem Focus team is pushing for some evening and Saturday opening as well, and will report back in Focus and e-Focus about whether they can achieve this.

To receive e-Focus, an occasional e-mail update on what is happening in your community, just email your name and address to efocus@stockportlibdems.org.uk.

Crime falls in Stockport for 9th consecutive year

Sue Derbyshire addressed the Safer Stockport Partnership conference

Lib Dem Councillors Sue Derbyshire and Mark Weldon remain determined to keep crime in Stockport falling after the Borough’s partnership model was praised for helping lower crime in Stockport for the ninth year in a row.

The recent Safer Stockport Partnership conference heard how crime has continued to fall thanks to successful partnership working.

The SSP has helped deliver sustained crime reduction in Stockport over the last nine years with over 15,000 victims of crime. Over the nine year period all crime has been reduced by 51% and burglary in people’s houses by 52%.

Councillor Weldon, who opened the conference, said: “It’s a remarkable achievement that crime has continued to fall in Stockport for the ninth consecutive year thanks to the highly successful partnership work of the SSP. However, we are not complacent and we are determined to ensure that crime continues to fall even further by building on the close working relationships with community groups and partner organisations.”

Stockport teenager removes his own graffiti

Before and after his cleanup of his own graffiti — Before and after the graffiti cleanup from a graffiti culprit

A Stockport teenager cautioned by Greater Manchester Police for graffiti offences has removed his graffiti himself.

The formal police warning was followed by intervention from Stockport Council’s Youth Offending Service. The intervention can involve restoration to the victim to repair any harm caused by the offence.

The young person agreed to complete ‘restorative justice’ by removing the graffiti from the skate park at Woodford Recreation Ground.

Councillor Stuart Bodsworth, Executive Member for Communities and Sustainability, said: “The graffiti removal allowed the young person to turn a negative situation into a positive. He said that it made him realise how difficult it was to remove the graffiti and that it would change his behaviour in the future.”

“Graffiti is an illegal practice. It spoils public and private property and can be very costly to remove. The Council’s enforcement team works closely with the Youth Offending Service and the police to tackle incidents of graffiti to keep Stockport an attractive place to work, visit and live.”

Update on A6 to Manchester Airport Relief Road

A second phase of consultation for the A6 to Manchester Airport Relief Road will be open from This week to allow residents, businesses and road users to give their views on the emerging preferred scheme.

From Monday a four page leaflet will be delivered to 85,000 homes throughout areas of Stockport, Cheshire East and Manchester, to give an overview of the scheme and explain how residents, businesses and road users can find out more and comment on the proposals.

Further information on the consultation will also be made available on the SEMMMS website www.semmms.info. The website will also include an online version of the questionnaire.

The second phase of consultation will run until 19 July.

The first phase of the consultation looked at various options for junctions and asked people whether they were in favour of the road.

This second phase consults on the proposed route, drawn up from the earlier responses. It also gives people a chance to feed back their views fully, now the environmental studies and other information has been published on the Semmms website.

The proposed road will join up the A6 at the southern end of Hazel Grove to Manchester Airport, and will include a separated cycle path along the whole route.

Stockport’s Bus Blueprint

Stockport’s A6 bus service is set to be used as a blueprint for success in other towns in the North West.

The A6 Manchester-Stockport bus route is one of the busiest in the country, with more than 10 million passengers using the 192 service every year.

But as a result of Stockport Council, Transport for Greater Manchester and Stagecoach working together the A6 bus service has high scores for regularity, reliability and punctuality. It also scored well for high levels of customer service and passenger information.

The improvement in the service on the A6 means that Stockport’s partnership scheme is set to be copied in Salford, Rochdale and Wigan.

Our local 192 bus service calls along the A6 route every 5 minutes in the peak. Operator Stagecoach is investing £11.3m in 40 new hybrid-electric vehicles on the 192 route, buses that will be equipped with free Wi-Fi for passenger use.

The operator has also introduced more inspectors on the route to help improve the regularity of bus services. Buses are now cleaned mid-service at Manchester Piccadilly while they wait for their scheduled departure.

Councillor Iain Roberts, Executive Member for Regeneration and Economic Development at Stockport Council, said: “It’s great news that the Quality Bus Partnership in Stockport is being held up as a shining example for other routes. We’ve worked hard, alongside our partners, to maintain and improve the route along the A6 for the benefit of passengers.”

A new bus turnaround will be built south of Stockport town centre by the end of April, and Stagecoach plans to build a new passenger ‘Park and Ride’ at Hazel Grove with space for just over 400 vehicles.

Verging on a solution

Ann Smith and John Reid are leading a campaign to improve some of the grass verges that are in need of repair.

Verges were first installed to make the area look greener. Although this helped in some situations, in many they have become places for cars to park, and have become bald and unsightly.

It was Ann’s work when she was a Councillor that led to wooden posts being fitted on some verges, stopping parking. Now Ann wants the Council to help with a long term solution to the verges on Garners Lane and Bird Hall Road.

“I want the Council to consider a more practical, long term solution,” said Ann. “That’s why I brought the an Executive Councillor to the site. He promised a survey would now be conducted.”

Ann & John will keep residents informed about any further developments.