Following complaints from residents, Cllr Pam King asked the Council’s Enforcement team to investigate vehicles being sold in front of 1 Stonepail Road.

The Enforcement team have investigated and we’ve now heard back that selling vehicles is not permitted from those premises.  The owner was given fourteen days to remove the vehicles or further action will be taken.

I spent today in the appeal over the Tatton cinema site.  The developers were appealing against the Council’s rejection of plans for a small supermarket and a care home.

The short report is that the Inspector heard both sides, had a site visit and will make his decision in around six weeks time.

Now for the slightly longer version.

This was  my first planning appeal - I had a general idea of what to expect, but no more.

We gathered in Committee Room 3 at the Town Hall.  There were five people from the developers’ side, four councillors, a few council officers, and a few other people (including four other Gatley residents - three against the development and one for).

It was a small enough group that we could all sit around one large table, and everyone was able to have their say.

Parts of the meeting got very technical, with the experts from each side throwing around obscure acronyms and quoting bits of the Development Plan we base planning decisions on.

Others were more understandable, and no-one was forced into technical jargon - we were able to make our points in plain English.

We have no idea about the outcome. The Inspector heard our arguments and will now go away and reach his decision.

The issues that were considered were:

• The effect on the living conditions of future residents of a care home, with regard to amenity space and  noise.
• Disabled parking
• Over-development of the site
• The effect on the conservation area
• Traffic
• Viability of the local centre

There was substantial discussion over issues such as the amount of amenity space around the care home (and a rather technical discussion about the definition of “amenity space”), the noise from delivery lorries to a supermarket, parking spaces in front of the Tatton and wider traffic issues with the complexity of the junctions.

If anyone would like to know more detail, I’ll happy to provide it; but for now all we can do is wait.

The next step in a radical shake-up of the way disabled people use state funding took place, as Jonathan Shaw, Minister for Disabled People, named the Trailblazer areas which will test the Right to Control. Right to Control gives disabled adults more choice and control over the state funding they receive – allowing them to shape the support they receive, or use the money to buy their own services or equipment.

Disabled people in the Trailblazer areas can expect a more personalised service joining up housing, support into work and community care. There will also be extra support and advice to help people choose services and decide how to spend their money.

The eight Trailblazing local authorities have been named as:

Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council and Sheffield City Council (joint)

Essex County Council

Greater Manchester – incorporating Manchester City Council, Oldham Council, Bury Council, Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council and Trafford Council

Leicester City Council

London Borough of Barnet

London Borough of Newham

Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council, and

Surrey County Council (two Districts Epsom and Ewell Borough Council, and Reigate and Banstead Borough Council)

Each of these local authorities will have to work with disabled people to develop individual support plans and each plan will make effective use of all the funding available to an individual, to meet their goals. £7 million will be available for Trailblazer local authorities and Jobcentre Plus to make the changes necessary to deliver the Right to Control.

This nationwide scheme is supported by the Council as part of the Stockport Boost campaign, Home Access is a national project to supply low-income families with a

laptop and access to the internet through a national application process. The aim of the programme is to support families by ensuring access to the educational and social benefits of current technology.

Applications for the Home Access grant were invited from January this year. Feedback from Welfare Rights and other local support services has identified a high level of interest. The scheme is due to run until February 2011, or until the grant money has been allocated.

There are no catches - if approved, the Home Access Grant is yours to keep and does not need to be paid back and equipment given back when your child finishes school. At the end of the initial 12 months of the programme, you can decide if you want to keep the internet - you won’t be locked into anything that you don’t want or can’t afford.

Full details of the scheme, including eligibility criteria, are available by clicking here.

For further information contact Mike Partridge by email at mike.partridge@stockport.gov.uk or the National Team on 0333 200 1004. If you would like Home Access posters to display contact Aine Graven by email at aine.graven@stockport.gov.uk.

As reported in Craine’s business:

BSkyB is to create 550 jobs with a new Sky call centre in Stockport.

The 23,500 sq ft regional office in the St Peter’s Square development in the town centre will open in June.

The centre will handle enquiries for pay television, broadband and telephony and recruitment is expected to start in March. Roles will include training, coaching and HR, as well as customer services

This is something the Council has been working very hard to secure for some time.  We’ve known for a couple of weeks that a big company was moving in; now we know it’s Sky.  Great news for the town.

I was very glad to see that the no-entry signs at the north end of Old Hall Road, Gatley (around the triangle) are now lit again, after several months.  I’d been told there was a technical issue being investigated, so it seems it’s been solved.

I’m aware of a number of other signs that should be lit and aren’t around Cheadle & Gatley - those are being chased up too.

At Cheadle Area Committee yesterday councillors rejected an application for a small tapas restaurant at 76 Stockport Road, Cheadle.

Residents were concerned about parking, noise and smells from the restaurant.  Planning officers actually recommended rejection on a slightly different basis - that the location was outside the “district centre” (in this case, the centre of Cheadle village).

Councillors were concerned in particular that, in granting permission for a restaurant at that location, we would be giving permission not just for this venture but for any future one that might come along should it fail or close up.

The result was a rejection of the application.

I admire the aim of the two brothers in wanting to set up a small Spanish-style community restaurant, and I wish them every success in finding the right location and making a go of it.

This was application DC/043443.

Some might say we get more than enough genuine charity bags through the door, but at least anything we donate is going to a good cause.

A label came through my door - and others in the area too - that gives every appearance of being a complete scam.

This claims to be from “ASTHMA charity”.  There’s no such organisation as far as I know, there’s no address, website or charity number.  The email address is from gmail - anyone could have set it up.

The label claims it has authorisation from the local council -  not true.

I’ve contacted Trading Standards, who in turn have contacted the police.

Please - only donate to genuine charities with a genuine charity number.

A telephone scam involving fraudsters posing as Council staff has recently been reported by a Heald Green resident.

The scam was first uncovered in other areas of Greater Manchester last year, and the Council issued a warning to local residents on its website at the time. The scam involves residents being contacted by phone and informed that they have “overpaid” their Council Tax.

They are asked for their bank account details so a refund can be processed and a £39 administration fee debited. It is believed that several scammers are operating in the borough and the amount of the so-called ‘fee’ they ask for varies. Residents are asked to report any suspicious calls to the Council by phoning 0161 217 6014.

Anyone with information about the scam such as a name, phone number or address of the person or business making the calls to households are asked to contact Consumer Direct on 08454 040506.

Stockport’s first ‘Enterprise Centre’ has been launched as part of the Stockport Boost programme, offering free help and guidance to new businesses or those thinking of setting up a business.

The Centre is located in the Business Incubator at Broadstone Mill in Reddish, Stockport Enterprise Centre and offers companies up to three years of free one-to-one advice, general awareness sessions, assistance with business plan generation and networking opportunities.

The Centre will act as a focal point for business start up support and assistance across the borough. Business Link’s Intensive Startup Support Programme (ISUS) is also available through the Centre. ISUS aims to help people to start their own business through a series of workshops and one-to-one support.

The Centre has been launched as part of an expansion of the Stockport Business Incubator which now operates 37,000 square feet of high quality, flexible workspace at Broadstone Mill. It is home to 24 small businesses and over 100 employees.

For information on Stockport Enterprise Centre call the Council’s Economic Development Team on 0161 474 3734 or 0161 474 3737. Information on ISUS is available through Business Link Northwest on 0845 00 66 888.

Here’s the official announcement on Stockport’s Council Tax. Because of rising costs and the small grant we get from central government, millions have been cut from spending to keep the rise this low - I’m very happy to go into more detail about exactly what’s changed, and any other details (some of which I’ll try to post over the next few days anyway).

My personal feeling is that we’ve got the balance about right.  We’ve cut spending but protected services in this budget.  The Conservatives are arguing for big cuts in services too (15-20% over some years - equivalent to hundreds of job losses).  I’d prefer to pay a few pence extra a week to secure the important services.

At the Budget Council meeting on 25 February, Stockport Council set its budget for the financial year 2010-11 and a Band D Council Tax of £1,362.98 for Council services. This represents a 3.25% increase in the Council-controlled element of the Council Tax or an extra 83p per week for a Band D household.

When taking account of the Greater Manchester Police and Fire and Rescue precepts, which the Council does not set but has to collect, the overall Band D Council Tax is £1,559.96, an increase of 3.6% or an extra 91p per week for a Band D household.

The overall Band D Council Tax for the Offerton Park Parish area is £1,626.70. This is because of the precept of set by the Parish Council which results in an addition of £66.74 to the Council Tax.

The Council Tax charges in 2010-11 are:-

For quite a while the fence alongside the alleyway from Gatley Station to Gatley Road (passing the end of Brentwood Drive) has been falling into disrepair.  At the Gatley Road end, a couple of panels have been missing for ages; at the station end a couple of panels were bending inwards.

I’ve been trying to get it sorted out for a while.  The sticking point seems to be the ownership of the fences.  They’re the responsibility of the landowner to sort out, but we didn’t know who the owner was and it’s hardly fair to saddle taxpayers with the cost.

A couple of days ago, I was told by the Council that they’d tracked down the owners via a land search.  That means the Council can serve 14 days notice for problems to be sorted - if not, the Council do the work and charge the owner, recovering the costs through the courts if necessary.

But then I was told the fence had partially collapsed.  I went over to look and saw two panels had fallen into the path and were mostly blocking it.

On this one, the Council’s Rights of Way people were very helpful.  Within a few hours, the fence panels had been removed from the path, making the alley passable again.  We still need to get the landowner to sort it out properly

Stockport had two Full Council meetings tonight.  The first passed a resolution saying we would only go into a City Region if it retained two-thirds majority voting and we could leave in three years if we chose.

The second passed Stockport’s budget for 2010/11.

As usual, I was reporting from the meeting via Twitter, so here it is.

Cllr syd lloyd taken ill before mtg - hope he makes a swift recovery.
1st of 2 full council mtgs kicking off. Let’s hope we’re not here to 2am.
1st mtg considers whether we support new city region plans for greater manchester.
Fond farewells being said to our retiring chief exec, John Schultz.
Leader dave goddard presenting report & recommendation for city region
leader - why are we rushing decision: new region won’t meet until apr 2011.
Leader - red line 1: losing 2/3rds on new combined authority.
Leader - red line 2: a council must be able to withdraw in 3 yrs.
Leader - we will oppose the city region plan unless red lines met.
Leader - at least 1 other council will take same line tomorrow.
Labour supporting motion. Tories reject idea of city regions,
Cons agree with red lines, can’t support motion due to overall opposition to city region.
resolution passed, only tories voting against. Red lines will stand.
And we start the 2nd meeting, to agree stockport’s budget for 2010/11.
Cllr syd lloyd enters the chamber, glad he’s recovered.
Cons critical of healthy eating & fitness agenda.
Cons say ld have good intentions but concerned over delivery.
Lab disagree with con - work on lifestyle & quality of life important.
Cllr candler (ld) 1 yr plan prudent given huge unknowns.
Cllr candler (ld) “kill the chill” campaign saved lives - money worth spending.
Cllr candler (ld) rejects con claims that communicating with residents should be cut.
cllr les jones (con) singing praises of stockport homes.
Cllr foster-grime (ld) stockport homes good; we will look to make it even better.
now running through med term financial & capital strategies, agreed by all.
Now onto the substance of the budget for 2010/11. Cllr derbyshire presenting.
if we had same central gov funding as manchester, our coun tax bill would fall by 90%.
we get £296.33 per head support grant. Even Trafford gets more. Manchester gets £729.62.
Our council tax increase will be 3.25%
by end 2010/11 efficiency savings of over £16.5 milliom per annum will be achieved.
8 people in public gallery tonight.
Con-led bury has higher council tax rise than stockport, tho’ get much more govt. Funds
Stockport council employees get no pay rise this year, in line with national agreement.
Neither lab nor tories offering any amendments to lib dem budget.
Lab don’t think stockport should get higher govt grant - we get less than Trafford!
Cllr weldon’s phone goes off. That’s a contribution to the mayor’s charity (mine is on silent).
Cllr lloyd (con) appears to be critising us for making efficiency savings. Bad lib dems!
Cllr lloyd (con) not a happy bunny. Cons will not offer amendments or an alternative budget.
Cllr syd lloyd (con) runs out of time whilst accusing lib dems (inc. Me) of lying about tory cuts.
Sadly for cllr lloyd, tory leaflets call for no council tax rise: an extra £5m in cuts. Nice try, Syd.
You can’t have it both ways, syd. If you want no tax rise, it means cuts.
cllr bailey (lab) wants more involvement in settng the budget.
Cons claiming budget is too large. Odd: stockport is one of the lower spending authorities.
Cons calling for council to do less; but reject our suggestion they want cuts. Very confusing.
Cons claim lib dems inconsistent - not all ld councils have same council tax increase. Wonder how cons measure.
Deep into “worthy but dull” phase - lab theme is lack of transparency & not enough consultation over budget.
Cllr pantall “after 30 budgets…”. I was in primary school at the first of those,
full council brings out ding-dong politics - cllrs on all sides behave differently in other meetings.
Lib dem speakers attacking cons for calling for big cuts, sticking up for council’s record.
Cons want 15-20% cut in council spending. Would mean 500+ job cuts, but no clues where they want the axe to fall

lib dem stockport gave opposition 10 days to review budget. Lab tameside & con trafford produced on night.
budget is passed 36-18 with lab & con against, much to everyone’s shock.

Although we’re all hoping not, I’m told this evening’s Full Council meetings at Stockport Town Hall could go on to 2am.

First we’ve got the meeting to consider whether a proposed City Region is right for Stockport and for Greater Manchester.  This would create a new body, on which the leaders of the ten Greater Manchester authorities would sit.  It would deal with transport (replacing the current Independent Transport Authority) and take on some roles around economic development of the region.

I’ve written more about it here, and there are several good comments too.

Next there’s the meeting to set the budget.  The Lib Dems are taking what I firmly believe to be a responsible approach.  We’ve found ways to cut Council spending that won’t impact on front-line services and so are proposing a reduced rise to 3.25%, which is a good deal lower than in recent years.

Despite being a low-spending authority, Stockport receives less money from central Government than most, and the difference has to be made up with Council Tax, so it’s always a tough decision.

I believe we’ve got the balance about right.  The Lib Dem proposals protect services, are the result of spending cuts within the council and come in at under the rate of inflation.

Stockport Council took part in a major operation to crack down on illegal activity in Reddish and Brinnington last week.

The Council’s Licensing and Trading Standards teams joined forces with Greater Manchester Police and HM Customs & Excise in ‘Operation Mistral’.

Activities carried out during the operation included:

Underage test purchasing which resulted in one premises being found to sell alcohol to an underage volunteer. Over 600 bottles of wine and 234 bottles of spirits of illicit alcohol was seized in raids on off-licences.

A warrant was executed by the Police at a residential address on Brindale Road which resulted in the Council’s Trading Standards team seizing around 8,000 counterfeit DVDs and associated equipment.

Two prohibition notices were issued on Private Hire Vehicles by the Council’s Licensing team following a series of roadside checks which revealed potentially dangerous defects.

A public house was issued with a notice of closure for the remainder of the weekend following evidence of widespread smoking on the premises.

Investigations by the Council’s Licensing and Trading Standards teams, Greater Manchester Police and HM Customs & Excise are ongoing in relation to the above issues.

To report illegal activity in relation to counterfeit DVDs and the sale of illicit alcohol, contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Yesterday evening I attended my first Children and Young People’s Scrutiny Committee at Stockport Council.  This is the committee, made up of councillors of all parties plus a non-councillor rep, which looks at what the Children and Young People’s Directorate are doing and, hopefully, makes useful suggestions.

We saw an excellent example yesterday of how this can work well.  Over several months, a small cross-party group of councillors with officer support have been investigating the way young carers are helped.  These are young people who find themselves caring for parents or siblings for a variety of reasons.

National statistics suggest that there are probably around 1,000 young carers in Stockport, but we only know of around 150.  That’s the first problem: young carers often don’t want to admit it.  They fear being bullied or stigmatised at school, or simply don’t recognise that they are carers - thinking what they’re doing is the norm.

But caring for others is a heavy burden for any child to take on without support.  Young carers often do poorly in school, get into trouble when they arrive late and so on.

The report we saw last night identifies that these young carers need help, but not huge amounts.  If we can identify them, there are small steps that could make a real difference.  For example, schools simply understanding their situation and giving them a little more leeway, or giving them access to a phone at lunchtime so they can check all’s OK at home would make a real difference.

You can read the report here, starting on page 169 of the agenda.

The ten local authorities in Greater Manchester have a decision to make over the next few weeks: whether to go ahead and form a new “City Region” - a body which would see the ten authorities working together to deliver transport (as now), post-16 education funding, skills & training funding and inward investment.

In Stockport we had an all-party briefing from officers, including Howard Bernstein who’s closely involved with  the plans.

The aim is for Stockport to make its decision at an Extraordinary General Meeting prior to the budget meeting on  25th Feb, with the Manchester-wide decision being taken before the General Election.

I should say up front that I haven’t made up my mind on this one.  I can certainly see some logic to it, but I’ve some big concerns too.

The current situation

After Greater Manchester County Council was abolished in 1985, the ten metropolitain borough councils established AGMA - the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities - as a voluntary way to work together where it made sense to do so.

Four “joint authorities” were also created to oversee/run fire, police, waste and (some) transport services across Greater Manchester.

It’s argued that AGMA has been beneficial, giving Greater Manchester a bigger voice, more influence over national and regional policy and more direct control city-wide decisions.

AGMA and the join authorities are not directly accountable to voters.  They have some accountability to councils.

The case for a City Region

The “City Region” is something new from central government.  The idea is to take regionally some of the powers currently held by Government agencies and quangos, in the area of our economic development.

For example, the City Region would control the £600 million annual budget for post-16 education in Greater Manchester, would work to attract investment and boost jobs.

We’re all joined at the hip, the argument goes.  We (the ten Greater Manchester authorities) need to work together more to benefit  us all.

The consultants say there’s no reason for this new “Combined Authority” City Region to cost more  - it’s claimed to be an efficient and effective option.

The alternatives

We’re told that there are two alternatives to this new Combined Authority City Region, covering economic development and transport.

1. Leave AGMA and the joint authorities as they are now, but create a new joint authority for economic development (on top of transport, waste, police & fire).

2. Keep the status quo.

The concerns

Here are some of the concerns that were raised in the briefing session:

• AGMA requires a 7-3 majority vote to take action - meaning that no one political party can force things through on its own.  The new Combined Authority will work on simple majority voting.
• The Combined Authority is not answerable to voters in any way.  If you think they’re doing something wrong, there’s no way you can vote to express that - especially if the leader of your council voted against the decision.  Local Authority councillors can have a degree of oversight.
• It’s much more difficult (and potentially not possible) for local authorities to withdraw from the Combined Authority once they’re in.  In fact, authorities could potentially be forced to join even if they don’t want to.
• The details are vague.  No-one knows exactly what the new body will do, how much money it will cost (or save) and whether it would be better than going it alone.  Lots of time and money has been spent investigating, but we’re still going on educated guesses.
• What if it went in the wrong direction?  Remember the Congestion Charge?  Had a referendum not been forced through, that would have been imposed by a similar body.
• Why bundle in transport (which is something we probably do want to continue being dealt with on a Greater Manchester basis) with the much woolier and less clear-cut economic investment?

This certainly isn’t my area of expertise, so there may be errors and omissions, which I’ll correct whenever they’re spotted.

In the meantime, please have your say.

Martin Lewis, the UK’s best known financial journalist and founder of the Money Saving Expert website, has given the Stockport Boost campaign the big thumbs up.

MoneySavingExpert.com has become one of the UK’s biggest independent financial advice websites with over nine million people visiting it each month. With regular appearances on GMTV and the Tonight programme, Martin Lewis is one of the country’s best known consumer champions offering information and guidance on a wide range of financial issues.

The Money Saving Expert website can be accessed by visiting www.moneysavingexpert.com

Further information on the Stockport Boost campaign is available by logging on to www.stockport.gov.uk/boost (free internet access is available at all Stockport libraries).

Last week I was writing about Cllr Maureen Walsh resigning from the Tory group on the Council.  I was interested to know why the Conservatives were being less than honest in their leaflets.

Syd Lloyd, another Tory councillor, didn’t want to answer that and, in time honoured fashion, challenged me on something totally different to distract attention.

Syd said that Lib Dem claims of Tory cuts were untrue and challenged me to provide evidence.

Well, I can only suggest that Cllr Lloyd reads the material his party is putting out.

In their recent newspaper, the Conservatives called for free parking in Council car parks.  Reasonable idea, of course - worth considering.  In the run-up to Christmas, the Lib Dems found ways to offer free parking on several days.

But I oppose it as a general scheme because the money from car parking in Stockport (several million pounds of revenue) pays for parking enforcement and a range of other services.  If the money doesn’t come in,  it means cuts to Council services.

The Lib Dems are working hard to improve parking enforcement at the moment - it seems odd that the Conservatives are calling for something that would reduce parking enforcement further,  leading to more cars parking illegally on our streets.

Stockport Council has continued to keep the pressure on rogue traders in a bid to safeguard borough residents. The crack-down focused on targeting rogue traders who prey on the elderly and vulnerable members within the community. The Council’s Trading Standards, Licensing and Environmental Services teams worked in partnership with Greater Manchester Police, the Bailiffs Department and the Vehicle and Operators Service Agency (VOSA) as part of the operation. As part of the Operation Storm:

• Around forty vehicles were stopped by the police and four vehicles were seized as the drivers had no insurance.
• Traders were advised by the Council’s Trading Standards team on business documentation and their legal responsibilities.
• The Council’s Environmental Services team also advised traders on their legal duties and are writing to a number of traders for carrying waste without holding a waste carriers licence.

The Council’s Licensing Team came across an alleged bogus charity collector who had taken possession of numerous items of clothing donated in good faith to the National Blind Children’s Society. The items have now been passed on to the charity and a full investigation into this has been launched by the Council’s Licensing Team.

Anyone with concerns about rogue traders should call Consumer Direct on 08454 040506 or visit www.stockport.gov.uk for further information.

Green minded Solutions SK, a Stockport Council wholly owned company are converting waste oil from secondary school kitchens to bio-fuel.

With the help of their suppliers Solutions SK have arranged for the used oil to be taken from the kitchens and used as bio-fuel by local company Green2Go. The oil is used by Green2Go to fuel generating systems that provide heat and power to public buildings.

The use of this fuel delivers an 80% reduction in carbon emissions compared to an equivalent amount of energy from the National Grid. Waste oil will therefore make a valuable contribution to reducing carbon emissions.

Stockport County fans packed the (not enormous but normally still half-empty) public gallery for last night’s Full Council meeting.

As last time, I was tweeting from the meeting.  Here are all my tweets together in one place.

full council about to start. Cllr maureen walsh sitting with independents for 1st time.

I’m sitting right behind the executive - best behaviour, then.

Rabbi Chaim from Gatley’s Yeshurun synagogue opens with a prayer.

Mayor detailing smbc gritting efforts - members of gritting team in gallery.

Round of applause for council’s gritters - which they fully deserve.

Stockport county motion withdrawn, leader will address all points raised.

members declaring interests - all county season ticket holders coming forward.

Everyone with a bus pass now declaring an interest - almost the entire council.

stockport county interests turning into “I support county more than you” competition.

John abrams of liberal revolution blog joins us in the gallery - hi john!

Questions on stockport county, footpaths, childcare, education funding from public.

leader says sale sharks should become stockport sharks - scandalous that it doesn’t.

2 questions have been ruled out as illegitimate by legal folks, questioner refuses to sit down.

Presentation on children & young people’s services. First a dvd to watch.

brilliant to see the positive ways young people getting involved.

3 young people shadowed our head of children’s services - 1 had been through care system.

Children are inspecting our services, more inspections planned.

“children in care council” - young people affecting what the council does.

Children involved in shaping children’s programmes in Stockport.

Executive from sk youth now presenting to whole council. Much braver than I ever was.

council needs to speak to young people & do more to tackle cyber-bullying.

Gatley sk youth rep: have more events @ skate park.

Leader offers sk youth a regular slot in Review - great idea.

cllr foster-grime wants more young people to stand as councillors - yes!

cllr ben alexander suggests sk youth coming to local area committees - another good idea.

brilliant stuff from sk youth - thanks to all involved.

Cllr meikle telling us all the hard work greater manchester people doing in Haiti.

we were hoping to get docklands cast-off trains but even those are delayed. NW stuck with ancient diesel.

cllr porgess defending grtr man police performance in face of lab attacks.

leader rises to speak about Stockport County.

Leader: there is a way out for Stockport County & it’s a critical part of our community.

Council supports County £50k a year for last six years.

Leader revealing huge support: more time spent helping County than on own half billion pound budget.

sale sharks own edgeley park, their mortgage is higher than the value of the ground.

When you buy a stockport county match programme, every penny goes to sale sharks.

Meeting in Preston next thurs with football league - hopefully to get county out of administration.

Leader: Council does not have money to buy County - it’s not an option. Melrose bid passing all the tests.

meeting suspended whilst shouty member of the public is ejected after repeated warnings. 15 min break.

And we’re back…Leader:council offered facilities to County e.g. Gym, pool facilities.

Lab cllr scott: County is very important to the town, need to shout about it. Lot’s of benefits.

Con cllr les jones: stockport county gets us name recognition across the country.

All parties supportive of action the Council’s been taking on Stockport County.

Leader: money raised selling pixels of County ground has vanished - no one seems to know where it is

Leader: need to get County out of administration, then build trust & move the club forwards.

Cllr Dave White: £50m for improving stations not from Govt, part of next rail franchise deal.

Council has 330 tonnes rock salt avail, pressing for more deliveries.

Cllr white: thanks to stagecoach & other operators keeping buses running during freeze.

Cllr Bagnall (con) congratulates stockport on good gritting - better than Manchester.

questions to cllr dave white constructive, except Mick Jones’ point scoring against me. Nice try, Mick.

Cllr White: Cheadle railway station raised with ministers and elsewhere many times.

sen transport budget has been overspent this year, no cuts. Review to provide service within budget.

Cllr weldon: falling pupil nos mean £6m less for secondary schools; we’re talking to schools.

cllr bodsworth: properties with no green bins to get 21L caddies for weekly food waste collection.

Motion on police funding from cllr foster-grime: manchester suffers from unfair poor funding.

Cllr foster-grime: we want level playing field on police - if it’s good enough for London…

3 hours in and my tweeting enthusiasm slightly waning.

Lab line on police is there’s enough money from Govt: management is the problem.

Cllr Derbyshire: Stockport has excellent record on partnership working to to tackle crime.

Down to 3 in public gallery. Pauline Banham, John Abrams + 1 - I salute you.

3 hrs 15 mins in - I may get to vote on something soon.

Tories supporting motion calling for more police funding, doesn’t know if a Tory gov would deliver.

lab attack motion on police funding. Apparently, we should just let the issue drop.

Lab cllrs disagreeing with each other over whether gmp police is doing a good job.

Cllr Bailey (Lab) thinks we should give up asking for a fair deal for Greater Manchester police.

Cllr Porgess (ld): why is Surrey gaining more funding at Manchester’s expense?

Cllr porgess (ld): g man police to lose 100 officers to balance budget.

Cllr Weldon attacking Labour cllrs for dodging the issue on police funding.

I don’t think Cllr Bodsworth meant to say Cllr Bailey was “right on the game”. (It was corrected).

yay - 3 hrs 45 mins and I’ve cast my first vote of the night. ld & con for, lab against.

guillotine at 10pm focusing minds. Motions on gritting & wooton bassett soldiers agreed by all.

Lab motion on concessionary travel - last motion of the night.

Ld amendment concerned that age for free travel to be raised by lab gov from 60 to 65.

Lab: all benefits moving to 65, concessionary travel should be no different.

very detailed discussion on semantics of sub-clause of previous clause of consessionary travel motion.

ld & con for amendment & motion as amended. Lab agin amendment, abstain on final vote. Passed.

And we’re done - woohoo. Home to the family.

Councillor Colin MacAlister, the Mayor of Stockport, has joined the Liberal Democrat Group on Stockport Council.

Having begun his mayoral term of office as a Labour councillor, Colin first became Independent and has now joined the ruling Lib Dem group.

Colin’s move comes hot on the heels of Cllr Maureen Walsh leaving the Conservatives to sit as an Independent.  Maureen was the Deputy Leader of the Conservative group.

Labour remain the second largest group on Stockport Council, with the Conservatives being third (the Independent Ratepayers Association also hold three seats).

Margaret Newton and Rosie Deverell from FLAG will be holding a drop-in information session on Wed 10th Feb from 2-4pm at Cafe Unity in Heald Green.

FLAG is a free independent service that puts people who need practical or emotional help, due to disability or illness or age, in touch with those local organisations who provide it.

FLAG is your link to the health and social care services provided by a consortium of independent voluntary organisations in the area, as well as the services provided by Stockport Council.

Whatever your problem, issue or need, talk to FLAG first. If help is available, FLAG will make sure you find it. The service is informed, independent and confidential.

For more information, email info@stockportflag.org.uk, telephone 0161 474 1042 or drop into Cafe Unity in Heald Green, 2-4pm on 10th Feb.

This is a letter the police are putting out, reporting on Operation Beach in the Gatley area.

Over the last two and a half months the West Neighbourhood Policing Team has run an anti burglary operation within Gatley called Operation Beach.

Operation Beach has reduced the rate of Burglaries by 67% compared to last years figures. The operation has also assisted to reduce robberies by 75%. This is an excellent achievement.

As part of the operation, the mobile police station was deployed to the area to be used as a base to conduct the operation. Over 1800 residents were visited by officers and given crime reduction advice including leaflets about burglaries and to avoid being a victim of crime.

The area was split up into various zones, these zones were patrolled and suspected offenders stopped and questioned which drove the offenders out of the area. Target offenders and their friends were constantly visited to disrupt criminal activity, which also proved a success.

As a result of the operations success we have now continued a similar style operation in the Cheadle Hulme and Heald Green areas however patrols will continue within your area. The public can help assist us by joining a local neighbourhood watch. I ask you to promote the joining of the neighbourhood watch in your area. If you need to contact a member of the neighbourhood policing team please call 0161 856 9770. I would like to thank you all for your support throughout this operation over the Christmas period and for your continued support.

Many thanks

Sgt 11366 Darren Spurgeon
PC 02780 Mark Shaw
PCSO 65081 Mark Salt

Stockport West Neighbourhood Policing Team
Cheadle Heath Police Station
Europa Way
Adswood

Further Support and Information for Stockport Borough Council:

Littering/Graffiti stockportdirect@stockport.gov.uk 0845 833 4444

Parking parking@stockport.gov.uk 0161 474 4926

Road Safety Unit traffic.services@stockport.gov.uk 0845 833 4444

Street Lighting stockportdirect@stockport.gov.uk 0161 217 6111

The school admissions consultation is launched from Monday, 25 January to Monday, 22 March 2010. You can have your say on the Stockport website.

The Council have told us that the key proposed changes are:

· New admissions criteria proposed – from September 2011

· Holiday dates: Queen’s Jubilee – 2012.

· Primary In-year admissions – from September 2010: done centrally by Admissions Support & Advice Team.

· New closing dates and acceptance of offers for Reception & Year 7 intakes – for September 2011 admissions.

· Proposed Increase of Published Admission Number at Stockport School from 185 to 215.

Full details of the proposed changes, their rationale and the option to make responses to the consultation can be found on the Council’s website.

Kevin Melling, from Stockport Council, and Cllr Dave White have been visiting every Local Area Committee meeting to get feedback from councillors on how Stockport can improve its response to freezing weather conditions as we saw for nearly a month from around 18th December.

The Tories have been attacking the Council for not gritting more pavements.  Odd when you consider that Stockport did better than most and that you can’t just scatter grit on pavements like you can on roads.  It’s the action of cars grinding the grit into the ice on busy roads that actually does the job.

That doesn’t happen on pavements - you need to clear the snow and ice first and - as many of us found over the cold period - that can be a very slow and laborious process.

But I guess making that sort of attack is easier than understanding the issues and coming up with serious suggestions.

I had two comments:

1. If we can get more business owners to clear in front of their premises, the people clearing pavements could focus on those used by elderly people: paths from sheltered accommodation and old peoples’ homes, and to medical centres and doctors’surgeries for example.  We need to counter the misinformation being spread in the media about the risk of being sued.
2. Where residential roads have steep slopes (e.g. Kendal Drive, Eskdale, Rydal Close, Airedale Close), they should be given higher priority on the gritting list.

Overall, and having seen and heard from many other areas around the country, I believe Stockport did better than most at keeping the roads clear, resuming refuse and recycling services as quickly as possible and getting help to the most vulnerable.

Many Council staff went above and beyond the call of duty in working to keep everything moving.

But, of course, that doesn’t mean no improvements can be made and I was very pleased to see Cllr White and Kevin Melling taking the initiative to go out and ask for feedback.

On Wednesday morning I met with Mrs Yule, the Headteacher at Lady Barn House School on School’s Hill, Cheadle.  This followed concern from local residents about traffic and parking around the school at dropping off and picking up times.

Hopefully I’ll find the time to write more detail about what the school has been doing, but for now I’ll give the summary.

The school does make efforts to minimise the problems.  In the morning children are dropped off in the car par, in the afternoon picking up is obviously trickier as the kids can’t always be there at just the right time.

Exiting the school, there are “no right turn” signs, though some parents ignore them.

The school encourages parents to be responsible when parking and driving, and are very happy for the police to hand out tickets to those breaking the law.  They regularly send out letters to parents reminding them of the need to be responsible.

Of course, most people who live near a school recognise that traffic increases for short periods in the mornings and afternoons - it’s a problem every school in the country has.

And, as Inspector Gilbertson told us at the Area Committee meeting, when you have parents parking illegally and willingly accepting the fine, with no intention of changing their behaviour, there’s little police or the school can do.

But that doesn’t mean we can’t improve the situation in this case.  I was keen to look at ways the Council could help the school to stop traffic needing to come onto Schools Hill at all.

We’re going to explore whether there’s a safe and affordable way to have parents parking off Schools Hill (perhaps Cheadle Baths or the Sainsburys/John Lewis car park) and be bussed or walked to school from there.

For both the school and the Council there are issues and challenges to be overcome; but we’re talking about it, and that’s got to be a positive start.

Stockport has appointed Eamonn Boylan as the Council’s new Chief Executive, subject to confirmation. Mr Boylan’s appointment goes before a full meeting of Stockport Council on 4th February for ratification.

Mr Boylan is currently Deputy Chief Executive of national housing and regeneration body the Homes and Communities Agency where he is responsible for improvement programmes for land, private finance, growth and new initiatives

Stockport Council Leader, Councillor Dave Goddard, said: “We are delighted that Eamonn is to become our new Chief Executive. This is a real statement of intent from Stockport that we want to move from excellent to exceptional. Eamonn has a proven track record and we are absolutely certain he will drive us into the best possible position.

“We know that Stockport has a great workforce, we have good transport links and we have sites ripe for development. The climate is still challenging economically and we have total confidence that Eamonn is the right person to take us on the next stage of our journey.

“National inspectors have told us we run one of the best authorities in the country but there is no room for complacency. We need to provide value-for-money in all the 600 services we deliver. We want to build on our current success to improve life for everyone here in Stockport. Eamonn will play a crucial role in that constant improvement, regeneration and in providing value-for-money.

“He knows the region well and he’s played key roles already in attracting international investment and in working with other authorities to achieve great results.”

Mr Boylan, who lives in south Manchester, is expected to take up the post later this year when current Chief Executive John Schultz retires.

Previously Deputy Chief Executive of Manchester City Council (2002-2009), Director of Housing and Community Services at Manchester (1999-2002) and Director of Housing and Operational Services at Sheffield (1997-1999), he has played a key role in the development of the Housing Market Renewal Programme, the Northern Way Growth Strategy and, through his work with the Core Cities Group and the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities, in the emerging policy framework for city regions.

Said Mr Boylan: “I am delighted to be appointed Chief Executive. Stockport is renowned for being a well-run authority and I look forward to building on those strengths. There’s no doubt this will be a challenging time but I am determined we maximise the opportunities available for improvement, investment and regeneration.

“I look forward to working with colleagues not just within the Council but also in partner organisations across the borough and the region.”

The Deputy Leader of Stockport’s Conservative Group, Cllr Maureen Walsh, has this week resigned from the Conservative Group, leaving local Tories in disarray.  She now sits as an Independent on Stockport Council.

Having got to know Maureen over the last few months, I personally feel  angry at how she has been treated, and how local Tories have tried to cover their tracks and pretend there’s nothing wrong.

There are some councillors you respect, whichever side of the chamber they’re on, and Maureen is one of them.  She’s represented her ward of Bramhall North well and done a great deal of charity work through the Council, raising thousands of pounds for good causes.

I understand Maureen is going to put out her own leaflet to put the record straight, so incensed is she at how she’s been treated.

Here’s what we’ve said in our latest leaflet to North Bramhall and Hazel Grove:

Bramhall residents have been stunned by the news that popular local councillor Maureen Walsh has decided to quit the Conservatives.

Cllr Walsh, who has represented the Bramhall North area for 10 years, has decided to leave the party after a string of disagreements which have left local Conservatives deeply divided and in turmoil.

In a sign of desperation, the Tories have now selected a candidate for the local elections in May who doesn’t even live in Bramhall!

Cllr Walsh meanwhile is so upset, she is circulating her own message to local residents which directly contradicts the ’spin’ the Tories have tried to put on the chaos.

Rather than say more at this stage, I’d prefer to wait for Maureen’s own words

Stockport Council’s website – www.stockport.gov.uk – has had a re-vamp. The changes to the site have been made following valuable feedback from residents.

Changes have also been made following an independent assessment from The Shaw Trust - a national charity which supports disabled and disadvantaged people. These changes will ensure that the new website is as accessible to as many people as possible.

With over one million visitors a year and with online facilities for applying, reporting and paying for Council services, the Council’s website is becoming an increasingly important way for the authority to engage with local residents, businesses and visitors to the borough.

As part of the on-going evaluation, the Council would like to find out more about the users of the website and hear users’ views on how the Council can improve its online service. To comment on the Council’s website, please visit www.stockport.gov.uk/haveyoursay. Free internet access is available at all Stockport libraries. The closing date for people to give their views has been extended to 31st January 2010.

Let’s get active! That’s the message to all Stockport residents from some of the borough’s biggest sporting stars.

With 2010 here, local people are being encouraged to make a fresh start for the New Year by getting fitter, healthier and more active. To help everyone keep their New Year’s resolutions, the Council and Stockport Sports Trust have re-launched the Active Stockport campaign to help people fit more physical activity into their daily lives.

As part of the Stockport Boost programme, Active Stockport aims to help people of all ages improve their fitness levels and do the five, 30 minute sessions of physical activity per week that Government guidelines recommend. And to encourage all Stockport residents to fit more exercise into their daily routine, the borough’s sporting stars, including Stockport Metro swimmers Kerri-Anne Payne and Cassie Patten and Stockport County footballer Paul Gerrard, have given the Active Stockport campaign the big thumbs up.

To find out more about how the Active Stockport campaign can help you get fitter, healthier and more active, visit: www.stockport.gov.uk/active or call Stockport Sports Trust on 0161 433 4070.

Tickets are now on sale for the Annual Hatters’ Ball in aid of the Mayor of Stockport’s Charity Fund.

The Ball will be held on Friday, 29 January 2010 at 7.00 pm in the Ballroom at Stockport Town Hall.

Tickets cost £50 each and are available from the Town Hall Box Office by calling 474 3256.

The Safer Stockport Partnership is encouraging people who feel they have been the victim of a hate crime not to suffer in silence and report it.

Hate crimes are defined as incidents which may or may not constitute a criminal offence, which is perceived by the victim or any other person, as being motivated by prejudice or hate towards the victim because of their race, religion, sexual orientation, gender or the fact they have a disability.

There does not have to be evidence to suggest the motivation, the fact that the victim feels it is motivated in this way is sufficient for the police to deal with and record the incident as a hate crime. Hate incidents and crimes have a damaging effect on communities and need to be reported in order that the police and their partner agencies can protect other members of the community who may be targeted in this way.

To report a hate crime directly to Police, call 0161 872 5050. For more information please contact Dennis Bishop at Greater Manchester Police on 0161 856 9662 or 07901562722 or email dennis.bishop@gmp.police.uk.

Stockport Council will be marking the UK’s 10th annual Holocaust Memorial Day on Wednesday 27th January. Holocaust Memorial Day aims to educate people about the dangers of anti-Semitism, racism and all forms of discrimination.

It is commemorated internationally on 27th January, the date in 1945 when the allies liberated Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi concentration camp. The theme for Holocaust Memorial Day 2010 is The Legacy of Hope.

The Council’s 14 libraries have organised special displays during the week to mark the event which was established to remember the victims of the Holocaust and Nazi persecution, and to reflect on more recent genocides. As well as displays, library staff will direct people to booklists, for adults and children, on the Holocaust Memorial Day website www.hmd.org.uk

Stockport libraries open on 27th January are Central Library, Bredbury, Brinnington, Edgeley, Great Moor, The Heatons and Reddish. Hazel Grove and Marple are open until 1pm on the day. For more information about your local library please telephone 0161 217 6009.

The Heroes Welcome in Stockport campaign was launched on 11th November 2009 by the Mayor Colin MacAlister.  It aims to encourage local businesses and organisations including retailers to offer discounts to serving armed forces personnel on production of an identification card.

Sounds good to me.  If you’re a business sign up, decide what level of discount you’ll offer, get a sticker to display and (if you wish) go on the national Heroes Welcome in the UK database.

See the leaflet and application form below.

Application form:

Cheadle Area Committee is holding a special Public Forum: ‘Underage drinking, health and anti-social behaviour’ with representatives from Mosaic, the Police and the Community Safety Unit taking part and answering questions from the public at the next Cheadle Area Meeting on the 26th January.

Cllr June Somekh (leader of Cheadle Area Committee) has stated that:

“Underage drinking, health and anti-social behaviour is a very serious problem, and this area (Cheadle sk8) has a totally unacceptable number of teenage drinkers. It is particularly worrying that many, who are admitted to hospital, actually return there. I think we need to spread the message to as many people as possible”.

(Cut-and-pasted from AboutMyArea ).

Dignity in Care programme

Stockport Council is urging low income families to see if they are eligible for a grant to buy a Home Access Computer.

The Government Home Access Grants will assist families to purchase a computer and internet package helping to support children’s learning at home. The grant covers the cost of a computer, one year’s internet access, service and support and safety features.

The grant is available to parents or guardians responsible for and living with a child who is in school Years 3 to 9, (age 7–14) and claiming Free School Meals or certain income related benefits.

The Home Access Grant does not need to be paid back and the computer remains with the family even when the child finishes school. At the end of the first 12 months families can decide if they want to keep the internet – families won’t be locked into anything that they don’t want or can’t afford.

To check if you are eligible for the grant contact the Government’s Home Access Grant Service on 0333 200 1004, Minicom 0121 748 1471 for an application pack or visit www.homeaccess.org.uk.

Yesterday was our monthly meeting with the police, the one where we go through individual issues - often in some detail.

Our area, Stockport West, is headed up from the police side by Inspector Stephen Gilbertson of Greater Manchester Police.   Representatives from Stockport Council’s Community Safety Unit, Services for Young People and Neighbourhood Renewal teams also come along.

Several councillors also make it each time  - though rarely any Conservatives for some reason: at yesterday’s meeting there were three Lib Dems, two Ratepayers Association (from Heald Green) and no Conservatives at all.  (There are no Labour councillors in the area covered by Stockport West).

Anyway, down to business.

In Cheadle & Gatley issues discussed included:

• a recent increase in anti-social behaviour and incidents around Oak Road and Ashfield Road in Cheadle.  This area will be getting a lot of focus in the coming months and hopefully we can keep the problems down.
• traffic and parking issues around Lady Barn House School on Schools Hill, Cheadle (even worse in the last few days as they’ve had to close their car park for safety reasons).
• special advice has been given to shops and other premises believed to be at higher risk of robbery, such as the Spar on Foxland Road, Gatley.
• Inspector Gilbertson is working for improved enforcement of the “Access Only” rule on the South Park Road Estate, so hopefully we’ll see tickets given out soon.  A recent survey by Stockport Council found that 80% of traffic entering the estate is doing so illegally.

Inspector Gilbertson reported that a pre-Christmas focus on reducing burglaries in Gatley and Heald Green had considerable success, with just six burglaries (compared to 19 in the same period last year).  Operation Beach involved leafleting and visiting houses to give advice and contacting schools and churches.  The aim is to run similar operations in other local areas.

The meeting also highlights the good work being done by different agencies coming together, using all the different methods available to cut crime.

If you’ve any issues you’d like me to raise at the next monthly meeting, just get in touch.

Since the snow started falling before Christmas I’ve been trying to keep people up to date with what’s happening in Stockport with gritting of roads and pavements, schools opening and refuse collections.  I’ve had lots of comments from a wide range of people - many concerned that the Council isn’t doing enough to grit the roads and pavements they use.

I’ve also been seeing what’s happening elsewhere - it’s clear that the same sorts of comments are being made about pretty much every council in the country.

I’m quite sure that improvements can be made.  In Stockport I think there are ways we can improve the service to people on hilly residential roads (like Kendal Drive, Airedale Close  and Eskdale in my ward).  I also think we need to look at doing more to clear pavements in key areas - not only by shops but also near doctors’ surgeries, for example.  Along with Cllr Pam King and other councillors, we’ll be looking to make sure the Council learns those lessons.

But some of the complaints made against Stockport, and many other councils, do seem unfair to me, and I’ll try to explain why.

Gritting policies

Every council has a similar approach to gritting.  They have a list of priority routes (main roads, trunk roads, bus routes) that probably make up between 30% and 45% of the total road network.  Those get gritted first.

If those are done, and if there’s time, councils will then work down the list to minor roads, residential streets and cycle lanes.

In most cases, councils don’t get down to the lowest priority residential streets.  The main roads have to be gritted regularly (often twice a night in the worst conditions),, and they have to be gritted at the right time too.  It’s no use gritting in rain - the salt just gets washed away - and gritting too early will see the salt blown off the road before any snow arrives.

True, councils could buy more gritters, more salt and draft in more people.  That’s fine as long as we’re willing to pay higher council tax to fund it all - everything has a cost.  We’d also need to accept that other services would suffer.  If more of the people who normally collect our refuse are clearing snow, we’re going to have even less refuse collection.

Gritting isn’t a perfect solution

Gritting isn’t a perfect solution that magically clears snow and ice - as we all know.  Gritting works best on busy roads - passing traffic grinds the salt into the snow and ice, making it much more effective.  On quiet roads and pavements, just scattering salt may not do much at all.  (You’ll notice that clearing pavements normally involves shovelling the snow and ice away and then gritting the bare pavement to stop it reforming).

Pavements

Councils have no legal duty to clear snow and ice from pavements.  That doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be done (and Stockport has done it a lot in the town and district centres, along with some local centres).  But it does mean that clearing pavements comes after clearing the priority routes - which the Council does have a legal obligation to do as best it can.

In some other countries, householders are legally obliged to clear the pavement in front of their house if they’re able to.  In this country, nonsense in the media about the risks of being sued has scared a lot of decent people from doing even that.  Perhaps as a country we need to be looking at how we, as residents, can do more.

Steep slopes and grit bins

Where residential streets are on steep slopes, Stockport provides grit bins and has tried to refill them as often as it can (although clearing those priority routes takes precedence).

The system isn’t perfect.  There are places that, I would say, need grit bins but haven’t got them.  In others, bins are empty as the grit disappears as soon as it’s put in.

At least one council has put the locations of its grit bins on the Internet so people can find their nearest.  I’ve also heard suggestions of locking grit bins and having local volunteers in charge of them, to stop all the grit being pinched for private use - not sure how that would work in practice though.

I don’t think there are any obvious solutions, but I’m sure we can do better.

Running out of salt

Even just gritting priority routes, the country is now, we’re told, running out of salt.  The Government has ordered everyone to use less.  Hopefully this is an exceptional year and it’ll be another three decades before the next freeze like it, but we can’t be sure.

Had all the councils across the country started off gritting lots of residential roads and pavements, would we have run out of salt by now?  I don’t know, but we should bear it in mind.

Conclusion

I feel Stockport Council’s done pretty well.  The priority routes have been kept clear throughout the cold period.  Additional gritting has been done where possible.  Pavements have been cleared in the town, district and some local centres. Though disrupted, we’ve had more refuse collections than many other local councils and pretty much all our schools are now open.

But there is (in my opinion) room for improvement, especially  in clearing steep residential roads and pavements - though some of that may be a community effort rather than something we just leave to the Council.

Stockport Council has around £38 million of investments and, on Tuesday, around a quarter of the councillors attended a training session from Stockport’s Treasury team - the people who manage all those investments.

Across the country,  all local authorities make investments of this type.  It isn’t money sitting around doing nothing.

Part of it is money the Council knows it’s going to have to spend, but it doesn’t need to do so yet.  For example, it knows its insurance premiums will be payable at the end of the year but, until they’re due, the money should be earning a return.

The other big chunk is for contingencies - unexpected costs like the bad weather we’re seeing now.  Just like the rest of us, it’s good sense for councils to have something put aside for a rainy (or snowy) day.

Stockport is, by general agreement, pretty good at this.  Top considerations for any investment is security of the loan and liquidity (our ability to get the money back when we need it).  After that is the rate of return on investments (which for Stockport is currently a healthy 3.15% overall - many councils are getting 0.25%or less).

All of Stockport’s investments are with top-rated institutions and the Council works with external advisors and other councils to keep a close eye on the markets.

So far, so good.

But a change in the Government regulations that came through  late last year means that, for the first time, councillors across the country need to be scrutinising their council’s investments far more closely.

Hence the training session - two hours after which my head was hurting quite a lot (clearly being an investment banker isn’t my natural profession).  From now on, Stockport’s catchily-named Corporate Resource Management & Governance Scrutiny Committee - of which I’m one of nine members representing all the political parties on the Council - will be receiving quarterly reports from the Treasury team and doing our best to check, challenge and adviseto keep the Council’s investment portfolio as healthy as possible.