Latest News

EARLY DECEMBER 2022 CLOSURE OF ALTRINCHAM LEISURE CENTRE CONFIRMED

Jamie Lees, Head of Leasure, Trafford Borough Council has confirmed as follows:          
” In line with investment Altrincham Leisure Centre will be closing late December and we anticipate the full closure of the building for up to 18 months. We are working to keep closure to a minimum, however it’s a large and complex site with a tight redline boundary so we anticipate this amount of time is needed.
Activities will be relocated and other facility providers are being approach so that activity can be sustained within or close to Altrincham where possible and our other leisure sites.  Full details of this will be communicated out by ourselves and Trafford Leisure asap.

ALTRINCHAM TOWN HALL

LATEST NEWS – Due to the enormous amount of hard work by the Civic Society, Trafford Borough Council has reinstated the  Asset of Community Value (ACV) Status to the Town Hall, which will help to secure its future for community use.

Last month Trafford Borough Council were looking for ‘Expressions of Interest’ for the possible leasing of Altrincham Town Hall, as their current limited budget will not support the running costs. We now await the outcome and look forward to working with them to secure the future of the Town Hall.

In a response to the above, Altrincham and Bowdon Civic Society have submitted an Expression of Interest.

We know the hospitality sector in the town better than most and will be seeking to set up a partnership with other organisations which will preserve the historic council chamber and save the part of Altrincham Town Hall that remains for community use for many years.

We would welcome suggestions for where else the community groups can meet in a town without resources. Please use the form on the contact us page of this website or email us directly at altrinchamandbowdoncs@gmail.com

FRIENDS OF CARRINGTON MOSS – UPDATE

Guys, I am sure you will all be aware that the Places for Everyone documents have now been submitted to the Secretary of State (Places For Everyone – Greater Manchester Combined Authority (greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk)).

I wanted to let you know that I am in the process of establishing a “Community Consortium” to support preparations for the P4E Examination in Public.  I am working with organisations such as Friends of the Earth (Manchester), CPRE, Steady State Manchester, GM Housing Actions and more.  These are all organisations that have reviewed P4E in detail and have responded in their own right.  I am also talking to the Wildlife Trusts about their responses and how they can help with this preparation process. Paul Beckman from Warburton Parish Council is already part of the group, as are representatives from Trafford’s Civic Societies.  The group will be looking at how we can best work on the preparations, how we can work together to fund specialist, expert or legal advice and who is the best person to present information to the Inspector on a range of topics.
This is an important step because a number of developers have joined together to create a Housebuilder’s Consortium – you can find the document if you scroll down the New Carrington comments at this link  https://gmsf-consult.objective.co.uk/portal/pfe21/pfe_2021_consultation?pointId=s162932179223829#section-s162932179223829 to the Redrow Homes response and you will find the Lichfield’s response on behalf of a number of developers.  Their conclusions are predictable – the housing number is too low, bigger houses are needed, not enough Green Belt has been used for housing!
You may also be astounded that Trafford has been able to create a 119 page document that sets out their Consultation approach – https://www.greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk/media/5646/110410-trafford-sci-compliance-statement.pdf.  I will be sharing this on social media to ask residents if they felt consulted with.  I’d be very interested in your comments about this document and, in particular, how Parish Councils feel about the level of consultation they have had about these plans – did they actually get any of you around the table to do any planning at any point???
Thanks
Kind regards
Marj Powner
Chair, Friends of Carrington Moss (https://friendsofcarringtonmoss.com/)
Vice Chair, Save Greater Manchester Green Belts Group (https://www.savegmgreenbelt.org.uk/)
Vice Chair, Community Planning Alliance (https://www.communityplanningalliance.org/)

Manchester Airport Future Airspace Project

We have all shared the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. With international travel severely restricted and passenger numbers down over 99% in the initial phase of the lockdown, this has been a testing year for MAG Manchester Airport, our colleagues, our communities, and the wider aviation industry. Like many other airports, in the UK, the Future Airspace project at Manchester Airport was effectively paused in 2020.

The Government has made it clear that the need for investment to upgrade and modernise the network to address existing constraints, reduce delays for travellers and reduce environmental impacts remains unchanged. We have now restarted the Manchester Airport Future Airspace project and expect that we will deliver our next phase of engagement later in 2021.

Reminder of how far we have come

The airspace process that we, and other airports are following, was introduced in 2017 (and was last amended in March 2021) and is set out in a document called CAP1616 that is published online. On page 18 of CAP1616 the seven-stage, 14 step, process is defined as below:
Manchester Airport issued a ‘Statement of Need’ to the CAA, Step 1A of Stage 1 ‘Define’, in March 2019; the CAA approved, and the change process was started. As part of Step 1B, we produced an information pack on the ‘Design Principles’ and promoted it widely through the community and industry. We also met with elected representatives, held Focus Groups, and provided opportunities to discuss the process, face-to-face, at outreach sessions in August, September, and October 2019. At all sessions and meetings, we encouraged those who were interested to feedback through an online survey on suggested Design Principles.

We evaluated the feedback from Focus Groups and insights from members of the public to produce a set of draft Design Principles that were tested with a further set of Focus Groups. We carefully considered the comments and feedback and produced a set of nine proposed Design Principles. These were sent to the CAA in a report for evaluation. The CAA reviewed our report and proposed Design Principles, and they gave their approval for Manchester Airport to move to Stage 2 of the CAP1616 process. It was at this point that the Manchester Airport Future Airspace project was paused.
Our next steps
We have now started Stage 2 and appointed airspace designers to develop flight path options. Stage 2, like Stage 1, is not a consultation, but we are keen to provide an opportunity for the community and industry to input into the process and help us to ‘Develop and Assess’. Later in 2021 and again in early 2022 we plan to test the first outputs from our airspace designers with the stakeholders we engaged with during Step 1B of Stage 1. We will seek feedback to ensure that we have developed the envelopes with the Design Principles in mind. We will do this by testing the comprehension of the rationale for designs, and the design envelopes, with our stakeholders.

You can keep up to date on the Manchester Airport Future Airspace project through the CAA portal or the page on our own website: www.manchesterairport.co.uk/futureairspace.

Best wishes
Jonathan Challis
Future Airspace Consultation Manager (MAN)
MAG, Olympic House, Manchester, M90 1QX

t: 08000 967 967
e:futureairspace@manairport.co.uk


TFGM have launched a brand new website dedicated to all things active travel, to help you with everything from getting started, sharing inspiration to change the way you travel and finding out the latest Bee Network route updates in your area.

You can explore your neighbourhood on the ‘Where you live’ page. Get a personalised map of landmarks in your neighbourhood that you can reach by walking 15 minutes. Make walking and cycling part of your daily routine. It’s the easiest, most fun and reliable way to get around for everyday journeys.

CLICK ON THIS LINK activetravel.tfgm.com/where-you-live

 

Active Neighbourhoods in Greater Manchester

Harrie Larrington-Spencer & Dr Graeme Sherriff, Healthy Active Cities, University of Salford

Watch the YouTube video about Graeme and Harrie’s findings from their jointly funded research (TfGM and University of Salford, HEIF) on the implementation of Active Neighbourhoods in the region, with a focus on case studies in Salford, Manchester, Bury and Stockport. The research takes a qualitative approach to understanding lived experiences of Active Neighbourhoods amongst residents and potential residents in order to develop more nuanced understandings than are produced on social media or through news reporting. Using walkalongs, their research found that primary mode of transport for local journeys was an important factor in perceptions of Active Neighbourhoods, with those who walk less likely to perceive benefits in their implementation compared to residents who both walk and cycle. Those who walk considered the benefits of
Active Neighbourhoods to be limited if  pavement conditions were not improved – which remains important even if motor vehicle traffic on the roads is reduced. Whilst social media and news reporting commonly divides people who walk and cycle, in reality everyone who participated in the research, irrespective of whether they cycled or not, wanted improved pedestrian conditions.

https://youtu.be/W1DyKUv9YmA

 

Strategy for the future of Community Town Centres

NALC The National Association of Local Councils has produced a report on the Strategy for the future of Community Town Centres.

The report can be read by clicking on the link below:

Future of Community Town Centres

Note: There is a short summary from page five on the conclusions of the report, before continuing to the main detailed report.

 

 

 

Why not try our Altrincham Heritage Crossword.

For the Crossword CLICK HERE

For the Answers CLICK HERE

 

 

Voluntary Sector North West

We are pleased to announce that the Society is now a member of the Voluntary Sector North West Organisation (VSNW)
VSNW is a membership organisation that connects to the region’s voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector through infrastructure organisations, equalities networks and large regional and national providers.
Through local infrastructure organisations and equalities networks they look to support grassroots community organisations that constitute the vast majority of the 30,000 plus groups working in the North West.
Core to their work is their partners and members. They have a membership of over 80 full members and 40 associates who support and engage with VSNW and their mission.
VSNW facilitate key partnerships working in the sub-regions wherever and whenever they can. This includes VS6 operating across Liverpool City Region, the emerging Cheshire and Merseyside VCFSE health and wellbeing Leadership group and the Greater Manchester VCSE Leadership Group.

REGENT ROAD ARCHAEOLOGICAL DIG

As the planned open day for the Regent Road Archaeological Dig cannot take place,

click on the link below to see the footings of Chapel Street & associated area.

Archaeological Dig LINK

 

TACKLING AIR POLLUTION

The A56 passing North-South through our town has a very poor record for air quality. Air pollution has been linked to a range of serious health problems. The Greater Manchester Clean Air Plan aims to tackle nitrogen oxide emissions from the most polluting vehicles.
The GM Clean Air Plan seeks to upgrade the region’s buses, HGVs. Taxis, and van fleets. There will be an expected £116 million behind the upgrade.
More information can be found at cleanairgm.com.

If you have any comments or suggestions about any of the above, please get in touch via the
CONTACT US page, we would be pleased to hear from you. Or contact your local councillor directly and copy us in.

Last updated  23rd September 2022         Refresh pages regularly to see up to date content

Links to other stories