Cheadle and Gatley Lib Dems are moving
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by Lib Dem team on 8 March, 2012
A Conservative attempt to take money away from Cheadle and Gatley – along with the rest of Stockport – and spend it in Heaton Moor was defeated by the Lib Dems last week.
The Liberal Democrats proposed spending an extra £150,000 to sort out highway trees right across Stockport Borough. Stockport is the greenest borough in Greater Manchester, but highway trees – especially some of the inappropriate species planted a few decades ago and now causing all sorts of problems – really need more money spending on them.
The money will allow us to:
The Conservatives, including Cheadle & Gatley’s Conservative councillor, voted to divert all this money – every single penny – into the Peel Moat leisure centre in the Heatons. This is an area where the Conservatives are in a tough fight with Labour for council seats in May.
Lib Dem councillor Iain Roberts said “Residents have long complained about tree stumps and empty tree pits on the pavements and we’ve found the money to get it sorted. The Lib Dems will continue to fight for the best deal for local residents, and resist Conservative attempts to divert funds away from Cheadle and Gatley.”
8 Comments
Over the last eleven years the Libdem council have spent £1.5 on the Libdem Review (aka The Stockport Review). This publication is an outrageous waste of public funds and should be published twice a year – if not once – although I have noticed that it is now published quarterly instead of the previous SIX issues a year. That is where you can save some money!
Tree stumps on pavements are extremely dangerous for older people and runners, as my friend can vouch! This is an excellent use of public funding.
i live in acorn avenue and its impossible to walk to the end of this avenue because of two very large trees blocking the footpath outside no 10+ no9 but i know the council wont cut these down because they dont touch trees outside the village green and they wont even trim them so all this hype about removing trees is just not true for the residents
Seems like a very worthwhile environmental improvement for the Borough at comparitively little cost.
Suggest though that, when replacement trees are considered, thought also be given to how suitable they are for encouraging and sustaining wildlife – the only benefit of the otherwise unsuitable “forest” trees is that they are very wildlife friendly.
In reply to John Harding – the Council do cut down and trim highway trees when they are causing particular problems, so I’ll find out what’s happening with the one you mention.
This £150k isn’t to cut down existing trees – it’s to remove tree stumps and plant new, suitable trees, but there is already work in progress to trim and remove those trees that need action, following a full survey of all the highway trees across Stockport completed last year.
I would welcome more trees on roads – we have a tree stump outside our house in Gatley (the Council remove a rotten tree) and there are now very few trees on the avenue. It makes the place look better if there are trees. However, the type of replacement tree needs careful consideration.
Hi Alistair,
You’re right. I wouldn’t claim to know enough about trees, but the people who do put a good deal of time into selecting the right species of tree so we don’t repeat the mistakes of the past.
All the trees planted outside my house have died through lack of follow up I think – they have just left them to take their chances.