He cheerfully confirmed how John (“he was no Thatcher”) Major once phoned him from Downing Street – he mimicked Major’s accent – to ask how the Sun would be covering the Biritsh ERM débacle in 1992. “I said I’ve got a bucket of shit on my desk, prime minister, and I’m going to pour it all over you,” he explained.
Oh god what a dream it would be to be in his shoes answering the Present Tory Prime Minister
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I am not a councillor for the ward any longer. Should i put a view on over the site or wait for the planning panel? Should i be concerned over the possible death of most of the shops on site?should i be concerned over the noise pollution?the strain on the roads? the possible job losses?the environmental concerns?the people losing there homes?well if i don’t offer a view perhaps we should be asking the Labour COUNCILLORS we never see in the area for a view,or have they already decided that the planning application will go through without a hitch? what ever you hear Labour dominate the planning panel within this city and what the leadership want will go through no matter what. Take Chapel street as one fine example of Labour Planning within the city.
If you have a view write in.tells us your thoughts,if you want a voice at planning we need you to tell us.
New comment on your post “So Asda plan to rip up the Graves at the back of the car park in Swinton addendum to objections already sent.
On further investigation into the this matter ,it has been noted that there is an 18 tonne weight restriction on Station road, in place until 2019.Having worked on many construction sites and have had to sign in and out, and therefor take note of the weights being delivered, a road with such a restriction will be totally inadequate for this job. This means that all traffic to and from this site must travel up and down Swinton Hall Road or Wellington Road , both classified unnumbered roads, i.e. less than a B road . By their classification alone, I cannot understand how such roads will be expected to cope with vehicles taking away debris from the worksite, or bringing in construction materials at a later date, never mind deliveries to the store.
There is also the extension of Morrison’s store,confirmed in conversation with their manager, which may go so far as another storey being added to the existing structure, but at the very least, a horizontal expansion.With all this new build and extensions being done all around them,does anybody really doubt that ALDI will not want to try for a bigger share of the customer pool? With the current planning application,the confirmed intentions of Morrison’s, and a reasonable assumption with regards to Aldi, there is a very strong possibility that the centre of Swinton will be turned into the gridlocked worksite,served by a crumbling ,inadequate road system, best typified by the Spanish costa’s late 70′s early 80′s, for a considerable number of years to come,accompanied by the inability of people to sell their homes to escape the blight.Apparently people are reluctant to buy homes in the middle of a gridlocked, ongoing and perpetual worksite.
There is,as yet, no sign of alternative plans that,we were told, were considered and dismissed as being unsuitable, I am led to believe that this is a legal requirement , not a request, and I find it unbelievable that demolishing 10 homes and 10 businesses is the most suitable option.
There is still no sign of what is to be done to ease the inevitable strain on local residents parking, garages already withdrawn from renters, this leading to more cars to be parked in local streets, 2 new round -a -bouts to be put in place, leading to less road space to park a car that used to go into a garage, and all local side streets resident parking restricted.Any information on this matter would be very much appreciated.
Then we come to the disturbing feeling that this proposal has already been given a “green light”. As residents of Chadwick Walk we have been pleading for years for some residents parking, at the start of last year, 2011, we were informed that the council were to give us 6 parking places, this is between 23 homes, and while some of the residents are elderly and do not have cars, it is my feeling that 1 parking space per 4 homes (figures rounded up) is ,unless you live in the Orkney or Shetland islands, totally inadequate,Salford being a city and this being the city centre. We were then told that this scheme could not go ahead, as the council had “run out of money” , perhaps if they hadn’t commission Damien Hirst to do the painting,it may well have been affordable.We now arrive at the beginning of this year, 10 homes to go and this, what was at the time, laughable decision now makes perfect sense, or was it just sheer good luck (see sarcasm). We have also had people from the housing dept, not sure what its “catchy and upbeat” title is this week, coming around and explaining what our entitlement is with regards to re housing. People from ASDA and Grimley explaining to the older residents what will be put into their newly refurbished flats,people calling into Swinton Conservative club and stating that it WILL go through, all this being done on a planning application that will not be heard until,I’m told, until the end of February. There is also the matter of the letter from Grimley’s offering a certain amount of money to be gone by a certain date,a pointlessly risky strategy unless some “insider knowledge” is available. Now if the obvious is the case, then the council cannot make an unbiased decision and therefor all this becomes invalid and a case for the relevant ombudsman.
there is then the case of “regeneration” of Swinton precinct
April 24, 2010
Asda, Britain’s second-biggest grocer which is owned by U.S. retail giant Wal-Mart (WMT.N), last week set a target to become the country’s biggest non-food retailer Source – Routers = negative impact on local traders and workforce.
Given that 87% of all retail floor space given planning permission since 2008 has been to the big four supermarkets, the UK is already on its way to becoming a collection of empty high streets and clone towns. = negative impact on local traders,workforce and Swinton.
The House of Commons All-Party Parliamentary Small Shops Group, High Street Britain 2015, also noted that “the cessation of trading by many small retailers located close to national multiples seems inevitable”. = negative impact on local traders and workforce.
Local choice is eroded as smaller, independent shops struggle to compete with the supermarkets. Between 1997 and 2002 more than 13,000 specialist stores around the UK – including newsagents, Post Offices, grocers, bakers, butchers – closed. = negative impact on local traders and workforce.
Money is siphoned away from local communities and towards shareholders and distant corporations. A Friends of the Earth study of local food schemes found that on average just over half of local business turnover was returned to the local economy – compared to as little as five per cent for supermarkets. = negative impact on Salford.
Traffic congestion increases. The distribution systems used by supermarkets generate large amounts of traffic. Recent work for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) indicates results in costs to society of more than £3.5 billion per year, from traffic emissions, noise, congestion and accidents. = negative impact on Swinton,Salford, nationally and internationally.
Local jobs are lost. Supermarket claims that new stores bring in jobs fail to consider the wider picture of independent retailer bankruptcies. A 1998 study by the National Retailer Planning Forum (NRPF) examining the employment impacts of 93 superstore openings between 1991 and 1994 found that they resulted in a net loss of more than 25,000 jobs or 276 per store opened. = negative impact on local traders,local workforce,workforce from further afield,Salford and nationally.
Food and packaging waste is generated. Packaging now makes up nearly a quarter of household waste. A shocking 35-40 per cent of all household waste which ends up in landfill begins life as a purchase from one of the big five supermarkets. = negative impact on a locally,national and international scale.
Suppliers are exploited and the environment is damaged. Supermarkets use their market dominance to exploit suppliers and farmers and drive down prices, thus ensuring that environmentally damaging practices are continued both in the UK and overseas. = negative impact on a local.national and international scale.
Before any consideration is given to this plan I urge anyone involved to go and have a look at Walkden and Eccles precincts and have a look at the utter commercial devastation that these things inflict on the local and business communities, then go and have a look at “The Crescent”,my daughter informs me that it has taken her, on more than 1 occasion, 2 hours to travel from Walkden to Manchester city centre. Should this plan go ahead ,both these scenarios will be taking place in Swinton.
Albert Einstein’s definition of insanity was “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”
should anyone not agree with the above statements my recommendation is an immediate drugs and alcohol screening,should they pass this screening, my recommendation is a more robust screening.
Take a Look at Barbara Spicers wage packet,then John Merrys and ask your self the question.
Are we getting value for money? I really think chief executives pay is a scandal and if you look around the city,Cuts in Old peoples centres,A Rugby Ground for a team that struggles to fill it’s last,Blocked roads,Crime,No facilities for our kids,No jobs ,housing shortages,etc. well make your own mind up about the leadership of the council.
They have just seen the stoppages from the Council pay role for the pension strike. Cant you see it now,”bloody hell Bill few more strikes and we can balance the Budget” LABOUR economics
We can’t afford to pay people pensions who have worked all there lives under the Condems,but we can fight wars,bomb countries and build expensive train lines so the likes of the Tory Councillor from Walkden and friends can get to London a little bit quicker. Strange the minds of the Tories.
Just a thought!!
We have the Tories ripping apart every section of British society except the top tier which we expected, and we have Labour saying in the press they would keep every thing the Tories have implemented which of course Mr Darling said they would in the first place,so what is the alternative.
Vote with your Heads and take on a party that week after week promotes change,offers alternative policy and is not afraid to offer some thing totally different.
VOTE GREEN
