Last week was the regular meeting of the Prestwich Township Forum which is the regular meeting which brings together councillors, community reps and members of the public. There were three main items being discussed: Parklife The organisers of the Parklife Festival in Heaton Park came to give feedback of some of the issues from the […]

Last night was the regular meeting of Bury Council’s Cabinet. This is the important decision making meeting for the Council which I get to attend as an opposition leader. Three main issues: Libraries As previously report the meeting considered a recommendation from the Labour Group to abandon their previous plans for an investment in ‘community […]

Last night was the annual ‘Budget Council’ meeting of Bury Council. This is an important meeting where Councillors set the budget for the next financial year (2013-14) and set the rate of Council Tax rise which will take effect in April. Headlines – Our council tax will rise by 3.5% in April – Council House […]

Last night was the regular meeting of Bury’s Cabinet which I attend as an Opposition Leader. Three main issues: Home to School Travel for Faith Schools At present the Council pays for a bus pass for children who attend a faith school, which is not their nearest school. This is in addition to paying for […]

Last night was the regular meeting of Bury’s ‘full’ Council – the 5 or 6 times a year where all 51 councillors meet together. Yesterday we also met for a Special meeting of Council – to bestow on three people the honour of ‘Freedom of the Borough’. This was bestowed on former Whitefield councillor Derek […]

Thursday was the first meeting of the Prestwich Township Forum for this ‘municipal’ year (2012-13). This is the meeting that brings together the nice Prestwich councillors, together with a similar number of appointed ‘community reps’. As it was the first meeting of the year, the first thing we did was elect a Chair. This year […]

Last night was Bury’s Budget Council, where councillors get to set the budget and level of Council Tax for the new financial year which starts on 1 April 2012. Getting the good news out the way, the rise in the Council Tax from 1 April 2012 will be 0% (no increase). This is thanks to […]

Yesterday was the regular meeting of the AGMA/GMCA* Scrutiny Pool. (* Association of Greater Manchester Authorities, Greater Manchester Combined Authority). This brings together three councillors from each of the 10 districts in Greater Manchester. This year I’m one of two “Co-Chairs” of the pool, and yesterday was my turn to chair the meeting. There were […]

Report from last nights meeting of Bury Council’s Executive Committee. Last night was the regular meeting of Bury Council’s Executive Committee, this is the meeting that brings together the eight Labour Executive members, together with the two opposition leaders as non-portfolio members. As part of the ‘tour’ of the Borough, we were in Tottington, though […]

Bury’s Full Council Meeting Last night was the regular meeting of Bury’s “Full Council”, the five or six times a year where all 51 Councillors meet together. Here’s the highlights as I saw them: Announcements We got told a few pieces of information that will be news to most people: – Brown bins – current […]