The Year that was 2012

The year started off with delivering a leaflet across the Ward of Standish. It is never a great idea to deliver 5000 leaflets in the wet and cold but it was important to update people with the work that Cllr George Fairhurst had been carrying out, espically the work to Save the Library.

One of the first things that we campaigned for in 2012 was getting rid of those horrid "Welcome to Wigan Council sign". Thankfully after being elected I put a motion to the Council and shortly after those signs where removed.

Horrid Signs.

In March we learnt that Wigan Council where in discussions with a developer, Morris Homes, about moving the football pitches at Ashfield to the former site of the Old Golf Course on Rectory Lane, Standish. This would then allow the developers to build on Ashfield. This prompted a quick response from myself to get a campaign up and running to inform people about this and Save Ashfield. Whilst I informed residents of this, Labour and Wigan Council denied all what I was saying, so I published all the files that I had gotten from Wigan Council under the Freedom of Information Act plus some minutes from Labour about the discussions.

Ashfield was a huge challenge in March and April which was made worse because at the same time we had the Election Campaign running as well. I know some might say that they are one of the same thing but there was some work being carried out separately. One of those pieces of work was I put in a Village Green application for Ashfield playing fields. This was all new to me and I had to learn about this matter whilst carrying out the election campaign.

I was overwhelmed by the huge support I received from residents in the local elections and won quite overwhelmingly, which is always nice.

Giving my Victory Speech on the Election Night (1am).

Getting set up as a Cllr on Wigan Council was challenging in some ways including the fact that it took them 6 months to install a phone line in my house for residents to contact me should they wish. Also the huge domination on Wigan Council by Labour highlighted that used the position to influence officers of the Council and unfortunately I have had to put in a number of complaints about officers acting unbiasedly and treating all Councillors the same.

During the Summer I suppotr Cllr George Fairhurst in getting football sessions, skateboarding and bike ramps organised during the summer whilst children where off school and to give them something to do. These were very popular and we will be organising them again in the next summer holidays.

Later in the year the Council started to consult on the Core Strategy and we started another campaign to highlight this issue and again the residents come through and fight the cause and this time we won the support of the Council and next year the planning inspectorate will come to Wigan and hopefully agree that there should not be any developments on the three sites being considered, the Old Golf Site, the land opposite and the Line behind Standish High School. We will keep you updated on this matter.

In terms of Ashfield it was later in the year that we learnt that Wigan Council were the only people to object to the Village Green application. If they had no desires to sell it then why have they objected? They say now that they are not looking to sell it and the Developers and the Council have now said that all discussions in the plans have now stopped.

At the end of the year Morris Homes held a consultation on putting a planning application in for the Old Golf Site regardless of the fact that the Council are proposing not to allow any developments on the site. Also Himor the owners of Bradley Hall Trading Estate are looking to put a planning application in for that site. We have told both parties that we will oppose their applications.

Another contentious in Standish are Takeaways. Standish has a great choice and many think there are to many already so when the former site had a planning application for another TWO more takeaways we objected. Unfortunately Labour voted them through with not one of them objecting to the applications.

One thing that is encouraging is the surgery we hold each Saturday morning in Standish Library are well attended and many residents come to us for help. Some of the issues have been residents with mental health issues that needed help to residents wanting areas cleaned up. Also I have helped residents with some flooding issues. Also I have been helping residents get some allotments which I will be continuing in 2013.

One of the new things that I got this year was a new bus stop opposite St Wildfrids C of E School as there was not one there but there was one for the other direction. This has just been installed and the residents that came to my surgery all them months ago have said they are pleased with the result.

All in all a busy year and it sure looks like another busy next year. One thing you can be assured on is that both Cllr George Fairhurst and myself will be working throughout the year for residents.

I would like to thank this opportunity of thank you all for your support throughout the year and I hope you have a Happy Christmas and a Great New Year.

The Week that ended......2 December 2012.

This week there has only been one topic that many residents have been talking about and that is the developers looking to build hundreds of houses on the site of the Old Golf Course.

Tuesday of this week saw the developer Persimmon homes hold a consultation at the Owls Restaurant in Standish and we asked many residents to tun up at 6.30pm on mass to show a unity voice to the developer. This happened. Persimmon Homes said they where going to put an application in regardless of what we thought, so I am not sure why they had a consultation if they had made their minds up. But one thing they said was that they intend to build another 600 houses in phrase two if they can win phrase one.

I asked the developers to send through a link to view the plans and they said they would but to date no link has been sent.

Another thing I can't understand Persimmon doing was not to answer questions. Surely a consultation is just that. But when residents where getting frustrated at no answers a Director of Persimmon Homes called the Police and asked them to attend. They where about to close the meeting over an hour early and thought residents would not be happy. This was over the top and what was surprising the police sent two officers to attend. I hope Persimmon pick up the Bill for the Police attending.

Residents want a meeting of a plan of action and Cllr George Fairhurst and myself have now organised one to be held on the 10th December 2012 @ 7.30pm at the Unity Club. Hope to see as many of you there.

We are having thousands of leaflets of printed and will be doing a deliver to as many homes as possible.

The week that ended ...25 November 2012

This week has been another reasonable busy week. At the beginning of the week I attend the Places Committee meeting that I sit on. Nothing to much to report from that meeting.

Tuesday saw the planning committee meeting and pass two different applications for two more takeaways in Standish. Both of these takeaways will be sited on the former ATS site on Market Street. I was against this for a number of reasons.

• We have enough takeaways in Standish and I think the residents of Standish have a good choice to choose from and two more pizzas or kebab shops will not make the village centre any better.

• Also since the closure of ATS the council have installed a zebra crossing on the road in front of the site. With vehicles accessing the parking spaces that will no doubt be in front of the shops it will make it a reality that residents on the crossing will be placed in more danger and this crossing was there to stop this.

It is a great site and it is a shame that no other business thought it was suitable for them to rent or buy.

Later in the week I was sent an email from Morris Homes indicating that they intend to put in a planning application for 250 new homes on the former site of the Golf Course along with what they are calling state of the art leisure facility's. This is a great worry for a number of reasons.

We have just had the core strategy and it was deemed that the  site was not needed for house building but yet the developer still goes ahead with the application.  Another worry about this story is the fact that at the beginning of the year it was this developer and this site that was being discussed with the Council about moving the pitches from Ashfield to this site. The Council once rumbled said they had stopped talks with the developer about the proposals, although I had been told that the Council where meeting with the developers off site so no one could gain the minutes of the meeting under the FOI rules. I smell a rat here.

On Tuesday the developer is holding a consultation at the Owls on Rectory Lane where residents can go and see the plans. We are asking residents to turn up at 6.30 and we will all turn up together and go on mass to show the level of support that we want to stop this ridiculous application. I hope to see many of you there.

Finally had a busy surgery yesterday at the Library. This is for an hour but yet again because of the number of residents I had to extend this the surgery by 30 mins so I could see everyone and I would like to thank those that waited patiently. The concerns where from the house building mentioned above through to anti social behaviour to people wanting to apply for some of my brighter borough funding.

The week that ended 11 November 2012.

The week started with the Council finally getting a phone installed into my home. It only took 6 months to do. The new number is 01257 423212.

On Wednesday we had the Full Council meeting. The important issue of the meeting was ratifying the Core Strategy. It was good that the Council agreed and backed the residents of Standish for not allowing the 2500 houses to be built in Standish. The Labour Cllr for Standish Emma McGurrin agreed but said she wanted more Council houses in Standish, which seeing as we said we didn't want any more mass housing building going on in Standish that she now wants to build more Council houses. I disagree as we do not need any more houses in Standish.

Another issue was that Labour spoke for nearly 45 minutes calling the Tories for the new benefit cuts that are coming in. What Labour did not say was that Wigan Council is working in partnership with the Tory led Coalition Government on these cuts and bringing in the new cuts 6 month earlier than other Council's, as Wigan Council have volunteered to be a pilot for the scheme. Labour went quiet when I raised this and they didn't know what to say. During the 45 min rants Labour Cllr Hunt compared the Tories to the Nazi's, which to me is a disgrace. People might not agree with the policies of the Government but to compare them to the Nazi's is a disgraceful act, especially given that at the end of the week we had Remembrance Sunday.

Also I seconded a motion to have the Council meeting recorded and put on the Council website. This, I believe would help residents see what their local cllr says, does and how they vote. Labour voted for the motion and then realised that they had done a mistake and then asked for the vote again. I believe this is against the rules and the vote should stand. They just keep making it up as they go along.

I have been helping some residents who want to turn a piece of waste land into allotments. Wigan Council want to turn this into more Council housing, so I guess this is why Labour Cllr Emma McGurrin wants more Council houses. I think it is a shame that the Council want yet more houses. These Council houses, if built, will not be used for residents in Standish but for people out of the area. So often the Council just take out of Standish and very rarely gives back and I think it would be a great opportunity to let these residents have some allotments on the waste land rather than Council houses.

I held my bi-weekly surgery at the Library on Saturday morning and I had to extend it by 20 minutes as there a number of residents turned up over various issues, including two letting me know that some youths tried to set fire to the new equipment at Ashfield. We are asking for more patrols from the PCSO and the police to keep an eye on this as this new equipment is a great asset to the area and for the Children of Standish.

Myself and Cllr George Fairhurst are working on a new play facility in Standish and there was a meeting with some officials from the Council this week who do not seem to be against the idea so we are hopeful that we can get this agreed soon.

Finally, I was honoured to lay the wreath  on behalf of the Council at Standish today. It was great to see the large turnout from residents attending the walk and service at the cenotaph and remembering our service men and women, past and present.

Phone now installed.

After 184 days Wigan Council have finally got a phone line installed. Council phone number is 01257 42 32 12.

Any issues please ring me on the number above or email me gareth.fairhurst@wigan.gov.uk .

If it takes Wigan Council this long to put a phone in then no wonder Wigan is in the mess it is in!

The month that was October 2012.

The Core strategy is still an important issue in October and the report came out from the Council that over 2000 residents in Standish where against the idea of building the 2500 houses in Standish under the Core Strategy proposal. Now this report has been drawn up it will be voted on in November's meeting of the Council, which I suspect will get voted through OK. The issue then is when the planning inspectorate comes to Wigan and views the report that he supports the report and does not change it, which he can.So yes we have won round one but there will be another fight later. That will not mean any more letters or petitions but putting all our points across which we told the Council. I will be in them discussions and fighting for Standish.

With the financial situation that we are all in the Council is no different and they too are looking at ways at saving money. There are many jobs being lost are in the front line services. I believe that there are other areas that the Council should be looking at first.

One area the Council are looking at is the depot in Sovereign Road, Hindley Depot and a depot in Leigh and putting them in the old Asda Warehouse in Ince. This will cost the Council £3 million to purchase and then there are the rehousing costs, which will cost millions too. The possible sale of these 3 sites plus any savings will take decades to save unless the Council are going to get rid of more jobs from these 3 depots, which will result in loss of more services.

On the last point the Council are proposing to service all street gullies in the borough with just one vehicle. There are 61500 gullies in the borough and that means the housing estates will only see the vehicle once every 4 or 5 years, which is unacceptable.

There are rumours that the old Langtree Garage in Standish is being turned into a McDonalds fast food restaurant. I have asked the Council who say they are unaware of this and McDonalds have not responded to my email. So we will watch the situation carefully.

There is a planning meeting on the 13th of November to vote on whether to allow the old ATS garage to be turned into 2, yes 2 more takeaways. Standish does not need any more takeaways and I am Cllr George Fairhurst have objected to this application.

Also Standish traffic lights give us concerns as motorists are still turning where they should not and jumping the red lights and we are committed to having a camera on these lights.

The month that was September 2012

I normally try and do a post each week on the blog but with things busy at work and more appropriately the Council work. A number of residents have contacted me about issues that effect them from parking issues to anti social behaviour. I with Cllr George Fairhurst are working on those issues.

September has been a very month with the core strategy consultation taking the most of the time up at the beginning of the month and it is looking like that the people have Standish have sent in nearly 50% of the whole borough responses in. This is a massive achievement and I thank all those that helped to achieve this great result. Now we wait to see what the response is. During the consultation I was invited to attend a another residents meeting in another area that was under the same threat as Standish. In there a Labour Cllr told the residents that they where good at moaning and not good at action, although there were hundreds in the room. I guess if he was trying to motivate people he didn't achieve this. I guess this is the difference between Standish Independent Cllrs is we work with residents and Labour just shout at them if they don't get their own way.

Also Ashfield issue has not gone away and we have now got the Council to agree that the way to resolve this is to hold a public enquiry. This will hopefully be held alter in the year and this will again a huge amount of work to achieve a good hearing for us. We have hundreds of Witness statements in already and when we know more we will start the exercise again to get even more.

Also I have been involved in a working group where Labour have changed the constitution of the Council (the rules of the Council). I was strongly against these as these lead the Council to not being open and transparent which I believe the Council should be but one thing is apparent that in the Council there is a Councillor who is an independent on his own in Hindley and he is being bullied and I hate bullies. Also the rules restrict debate at best and at worst it stops debate, which is clearly what Labour want to do. They do not like issues like Ashfield being brought up and raised. Now their plan is to restrict and stop debate.

 

The week that ended......26 August 2012

Another busy week. It started off on Monday with the Demo against the mass house building in Standish. It is interesting that people are strongly opposed the 2500 houses that the Council are looking at on greenbelt land in Standish plus also the 1500 houses on brown field sites too. 4000 houses equal 8000 cars and the roads cannot cope and that's before we get to schools and doctors etc.

Hundreds turned out and we estimate at the height of the demo we had about 500 residents there so it was well attend and the Council where left with no doubt that Standish residents do not want the houses and Standish is Full!

It is interesting that a Council Officer who was in the room given talks and info resorted to lying to me about Ashfield. When he was asked why Ashfield was not on the maps he said that, " I was misleading everyone with that and that Ashfield is protected and cannot be built on." My response is why have the Council objected to the Village Green and if it protected why are the planning dept and the Council talking with Morris Homes to build on it? I guess we all know who is lying.

I wish to thank all those that attended and the media that helped promote the issue and event too, including WISH FM who did an interview with me on Monday and then did a follow up on Tuesday, given the massive response that we had.

Also I had a meeting with officer of the Council including the Chief Executive where updates were given. The Council have now finally said what I have been saying for ages and they have got the budget figures wrong and they will have to do more cuts over 2 years longer. I would estimate that this will lead to another 500 Council officers jobs. I believe that the Council can find other savings before cutting more front line services and get rid of the leisure trust.

Then I had another meeting where the Council's Constitution is being changed. Less than 24 hours before the meeting I was given the report, over 335 pages. Ridiculous! How on  earth can anyone be expected to read this in 24 hours. When I scanned through I was dismayed that Labour are cutting debates in the Council Chamber and stop opposition Cllr exposing Labour over issues, like Ashfield. I will oppose these ridiculous changes and push for an open and transparent debate and democracy in Wigan.

The week that ended......19 August 2012

Wow what a busy week not had one like this for some time.

I suppose I should start with the start of the week. Monday we had the public meeting at the Methodist church and we had a fantastic turn out and I would like all those that attended. We had about 150 people squeezed in and we discussed Ashfield and the fact that we will be going to a public hearing later in the year.

We then spoke about the new plans for Standish having so many houses if the Council gets their way. It was felt that we will all be writing in to object and of what I have seen so far this is the case. Also we agree to hold a demonstration on Monday night (Monday 15th Aug) at the community centre on Moody Street near the globe. This is where the Council are holding a drop in centre for the plans. With the about of emails and discussions I have heard I am expecting hundreds there and it will send a clear sign to the Council that we do not want these houses.

So many residents have been getting involved and it has been hard trying to keep pace of where residents have done in terms of delivering leaflets and letters etc..but we are nearly there and we are having more done tomorrow. Although we are holding the demo tomorrow the letters have got to be in by the 11 Sept 12, so we have a bit more time to get these in.

I held by surgery yesterday and there were numerous residents coming in with issues and I will try and get to these next week, after the demo.

Had a couple of meetings this week, one being with the chief executive of the Council with some issues, especially how officers will not meet me and are biased towards Labour and they have to be neutral in terms of Cllrs. A couple of complaints will be going in against these officers.

I have spent the last couple of hours going through all the emails and letters today and catching up on things. I intend to write back to all those that have taken the time and trouble to write to me. If you have not had a response yet no not worry I will.

Thank you for all the support this week and look forward to seeing you all there tomorrow.

The week that ended.......... 12 Aug 12

Well the week is not over by a long shot. I have just nipped back to have some breakfast between delivering leaflets. The responses have been great and it look likes the meeting will be well attended tomorrow.

The leaflet and some posters say the meeting is at the Unity Club  but due to the club doing a double booking we have had to move it to the Methodist church on High Street. I thank the church for helping out at short notice.

In terms of Council work Council officers, including the Chief Executive have said no to a meeting with me. What these pen pushers civil servants don't realise is that  they work for us, Councillors, who in tern work for you the public and they are at the bottom of the pile and not the top. What is interesting it is not just me but other Cllrs of other opposition too that are being subjected to this treatment.

Yesterdays surgery was another busy one with me having to extend the surgery again by half an hour so I could deal with everyone.
Next week is looking increasingly busier with numerous meetings including the public one on Monday night  plus a Council meeting on Wednesday night. Along with these I have two meetings with some residents and groups as well.

O well I have eaten my breakfast now and going back out to deliver some more leaflets.

Bye for now and hope to see as many of you tomorrow night.

Objection to the Village Green for Ashfield

...Breaking News...Breaking News...Breaking News...Breaking News...

I am hearing that the Concil has formally objected to the village green application for Ashfield. I will post more once I have all the details and what happens next.

Here is a copy of the areas that Wigan Council are currently proposing to develop in Standish. Watch this space for how you can help stop these crazy ideas.

The week that ended....27 July 12

After last week this week was quieter. There was a couple of articles in the press this week over the motions for Council signs plus the Ashfield debate that Labour ducked but I have had some great feedback from residents in Standish and all over Wigan so that is encouraging and I would like to thank all those that have emailed or posted on the facebook pages.

I have been preparing for next week where I have my second Places Sub Committee on Monday and the pack look like a heavy agenda and I will be speaking on a couple of items.

Also yesterday was the end for any objections to the Village Green application for Ashfield that I have put in. Mid week I was told that no one had objected but I guess when I hear on Monday the Council will have objected on the last minute. I will post on my facebook page and the website too so keep watching for where the fight goes from here.

The week that ended 22 July 2012

What a week. I guess the main focus for the last week was the first proper full Council meeting since after the May's local election. Seems ages ago now and that just shows how slow Wigan Council are.

The first thing I must say was the Major waffled on issues for over 24 Minutes. This is worth noting because the Council can only be for a max 3 hours in duration and this shows that Labour are just trying to waffle and what they call talk the meeting out. This means the more they talk the less the opposition can talk and call them.

I made several comments during the meeting and was disgusted that just because Cllr Bob Brierley ( Ind for Hindley Green) was talking about something they did not like what he was saying they banned him from speaking for the rest of the meeting - what happen to free speech and all that.

Then it came to the motions I had 3 motions in. One of them would have been real quick as I would hope that the full Council support it and this could have been the case for another one. The first and main motion that I put in was about the Council supporting Ashfield Village Green. I know this was going to be controversial but it was important. The Labour Cllr for Standish did not even speak about it although she had been quoted in the press earlier in the week saying she wanted more house buildings in Standish - what a disgrace.

Peter Smith tried to amend my motion by saying that the motion should go to the regulation committee to be heard. Well he did this and that means that he did not want a debate in the Full Council and more importantly he did not want Labour to vote against it as that would show everyone that the Labour Council council are wanting to sell it off. So now we have yet more proof and evidence that Labour do not support Standish having a Village Green at Ashfield and they want to build houses on it. To me doing this just proved that Labour are spineless and gutless and chicken out the vote, as they did not want to talk about it or be exposed more on it. So when I said they were spineless gutless chickens they banned me too from speaking at the Council meeting, which in turns they could not support more other motions which one was congratulating some special needs children that had won a national competition at Table Cricket. Well done to them. As for Labour it is clear that if they are being called and they do not like it they use their block vote to stop any one from talking. To me this is against free speech which is allowed in this country and I have now began to challenge that.

Also I have been continuing with more Village Green Statements and processing them and more staements will be submitted to the Council this week.

The week that was....ended 24 June 2012

This week has seen a number of residents bring to my attention a number of issues.

I have had a couple of residents with regards mental health issues and one of those has been resolved with after care being agreed and a programme to help them being put in place. The other issue is on going as it is a case of discrimination against them so I will be dealing with that this week.

Other issues are drains flooding and 3 cases have been brought to me this week. Two are having some investigation work done this week and the third I have asked what we can do as it is a big problem and a quick fix is not something that is needed here as that has been done before and nothing works so a proper solution is needed and I have sent some emails off asking for meetings and what we can do to fix it once and for all.

A couple of tidy up programmes have been asked for and I will get the beat it team in next time they are in Standish.

I attended the Standish 4 Youth meeting this week and this was interesting seeing what they are planning over the next 10 months, including a bmx/ skateboard day. football events with Wigan latics attending and showing the kids some skills. I will update the blog with the dates once these have been agreed.

With the Full Council meeting next month I have started to look at what has been happening and see if there are any issues to bring up. Obviously Ashfield will play a large part of my involvement as this will be the first meeting after the elections. Also I intend to bring up the "Welcome to Wigan Council" signs asking these to be replaced with the old signs.

My surgery saw a large number of residents attending. Normally it is for one but this week I had to keep it open for 2 hours so that I dealt with all of them. I thank the people that came and thank them for their patients whilst I dealt with everyone

Last but certainly not least I would like to congratulate the pupils at Oakfield school that attended Lords where they won the table cricket competition. Many of these children attended Mere Oaks school which I tried to keep open. It is good to see after years of hard work and many years of getting to the finals this year saw them the victors, so a big well done to them.

The week that was...

Quite a bit going on this last week.

I had my first meeting with the Places Committee. The Committee is chaired by Labour's Cllr O'Brian, who I have got on with before but he has obviously been told to not deal with me and be a pain towards me so he can keep the chair and the money that goes with it. Well I give as much as I get and will have to work for every penny as I will be pushing hard on this committee holding the Council and Labour to account.

Also I have held talks with the Chief Executive of the Council and then another meeting with the legal dept over issues. I guess the Chief Executive was not to happy with my election campaign, could it be she backed the wrong horse?Oops! But going forward she says she wants to work together and my response is actions speak louder than words and she will now have to demonstrate this.

Ashfield is now a big back office issue at the moment as we have to verify all the questionnaires and then photocopy them and then we will be handing those completed into the Council this week.

I have a few outstanding issues and queries in with the Council at the moment and I am working with Cllr George Fairhurst on a couple of issues that we want to introduce into Standish, so some exciting times ahead.

If you have a query please get in touch.

The week that was

It has been a recently quite week. Success of week is the bus stop that I asked for on Rectory Lane opposite St Wildfrids school has been approved and this should be going in soon.

This bus stop was at the request of residents of the estate opposite the school saying that they can get off the bus at the school but going down Rectory Land they would have to walk to the Owls.

The new bus stop will help these residents plus also any parents going to or from the school.

One of the blights of the week is the Council will not switch on the BT phone line on. They want me to use a new system which takes phone calls over the Internet. I was all for this at first but when the system turned up it consisted off 3 units that would all have to be plug in and I would need 4 plugs plugged in all the time. This was crazy and I simply did not have the room for all these units and plugs so I asked the Council to switch the BT line back on that they had installed last time I was a Cllr. They refused and said that if I wanted this then I would have to pay for it myself. What they simply do not understand is simple maths. I have a Council Blackberry so using that phone will cost more than calls from a BT land line so with them arguing over £10 per month for the line rental will cost them more in mobile call charges. Calls over the Internet is a new thing and I am all for technology but not when it is not practical.

The week ahead sees me having meetings on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday at the Town Hall. One of these is the Places Committee which I will sit on plus another one is a meeting with the Chief Executive.

I have worked on the next phrase of the Ashfield Campaign as I would think this will heat up after the 27th July 2012. That is the deadline for the Council to formally object to the Village Green application. I would guess they will leave it till the last minute.

New Bus Stop on Rectory Lane

I was contacted just a week after my election success and was asked to get a new bus stop opposite St Wildfids School on the direction of travelling towards the bleachworks. The residents that raised it were concerned that you could travel up to the school but when on the return journey you had to walk down to the Owls to get the bus stop.

I am please to announce that this has been agreed and we are now in a final consultation. This will give local residents an opportunity for their comments.

Great success in a short period of time.

Bus Stop consultation

In just under 4 weeks as being newly elected I have now had my first consultation agreed to go ahead for a new bus stop on Rectory Lane opposite St Wilfrids school

Some residents came to me about the issue saying that there is a bus stop on the school side of the road but none going down Rectory Lane and people have to walk to the Owls, which is crazy.

As soon as I know the outcome I will let you all know and if you have any feelings on the matter please let me know.

Surgery

I have my surgery at Standish Library every Saturday between 10am and 11am.

A number of residents came today with issues ranging from planning to rights of way and public footpaths. I will be looking into these.

This is a picture of me doing my victory speech on the night of the Election. I think this was about 1.30am on the Friday morning.

Council email working now

Got the Council email working today, so any problems you can email me now. I will be putting the phone in over the week end.

My Council email is Gareth.Fairhurst@wigan.gov.uk

Just over a year ago Cllr George Fairhurst (Standish) and Cllr Debbie Fairhurst (Shevington) secured £75000 for Ashfield Park at Standish for new play equpiment. This is now going in and the work will soon be in for all to enjoy.


What's interesting is the Labour Cllr Emma McGurrin is putting a letter out saying that it was her and Cllr George Fairhurst that got this money. What another Labour lie!

It is interesting that after all that has gone on with Ashfield that Labour now want to associate themselves with us. Wonder why that is? Wouldn't have anything to do with a local election last week.:-)

The Council have now issued me a email address. This is Gareth.Fairhurst@wigan.gov.uk If you have a problem please do not hesitate to email me.

The phone number they have given to me is 01942 487671. Not quite sure how this works as I live in Standish which is 01257 but I guess they will let me know soon. The number is not live yet as they have not put the line in but as soon as it goes live I will let you all know.

Thanks

Thanks for all the kind words and support. The Council are getting me up and running with my number and email address. As soon as I know it I will let you know.

On Thursday it was the Local Elections. I stood in the Standish with Langtree Ward and was successful in this. The Conservatives got 589, Labour got 913 and I got 2069. Thank you for all that supported me in Standish and I look forward to working for you over the next 4 years. Wigan Council website showing result.
http://kinnear.wigan.gov.uk/electionresults/ShowWard.asp?WardID=202&ElectionDate=03+May+2012

New Junction on M6

I have been calling for a new Junction on the M6. This would be situated between the Junction 27 and 26. If it is situated near Spring Road near Heinz then the road is already there to take it to Martland Mill.

By having this new junction it would easy traffic in Standish, Shevington, Pemberton and also Saddle Junction. Got to be a good idea to look at.

Wigan Council playing politics with jobs!

I noticed this week's Wigan Observer that this publication has an advertising wrap around it from Labour. This is calling the Government over all the jobs cuts and services that Labour are doing in Wigan Council. But one of the biggest supporters to the Labour Party, The Union called Unison.

They have claimed now that Labour are DOUBLING the level of cuts that are needed. This just demonstrates what I have said before that Wigan Council play politics with peoples' lives and jobs. This is a disgrace, people deserve better the taxpayers of Wigan deserve better!

I notice that still today that the Council has not cut Councillors perks including the £70 000 food bill for Councillors each year.

See the link below.

http://www.wigantoday.net/news/business-news/jobs/town-hall-cuts-are-too-much-1-4360903

Public Meeting for Ashfield Park Campaign

As many will know Wigan Council are in talks with a developer over selling them Ashfield Park for them to build on. We have the website and petitions about but we are calling a Public Meeting next Monday at the Unity Club in Cross Street at 8pm.

Please come along if you can and we will be updating everyone there about where we are up to.

Great night last night.

What a fantastic night last night. the event at Ashfield House was a sell out. Everyone I spoke to said they really enjoyed it. The food was good and Andy Gregory was an excellent speaker. His timing was spot on and if you get chance to see him speak i would recommend it.

With Henderson Gill in he room with other Rugby legends including Shaun Wane it was a rugby night.

What was really good was how many people said they want to know when the next one is.

Thanks for all the support that came and look forward to seeing you soon.

Sportmans Dinner tonight.

After months of planning and organising we have arrived at tonights fund raiser at Ashfield House. This was arranged months ago and here we are fighting to Save Ashfield Park so I guess it is a rather fitting venue.

100 guests will be attending and it looks like it will be a great night.

If you are attending I will see you there.

Save Ashfield Park campaign going well.

After 24 hours of going live with the campaign to save Ashfield Park the campaign is going well. With over 100 signatures already and the website having over 500 hits it is clear that Standishers want to Save Ashfield Park and with word spreading I am hope full we can get 500 signatures in the first week.

Save Ashfield Park.

Wigan Council are currently in talks with a developer over selling off Ashfield Park to a developer for a massive housing estate.

I have started the campaign to save Ashfield from being turned into a massive housing estate. Check out the website

www.saveashfieldpark.co.uk

You can also sign the petition either online or in one of the shops in Standish.

USA Treaty

It is interesting that when in opposition David Cameron was against the USA treaty whereby they can ask for any British Citizen without evidence and we hand them over. Now in Government and two years on the Tories and David Cameron have done nothing about this and today, Christopher Tappin, was handed over and no evidence has ever been given to back up their request.

In opposition like I have said David Cameron said he would change the law. Now he said in this weeks' PMQ's that he will ask for a report into the situation.

If any opposition says vote for me and I will X and then they get in and do not do x, then they is a trust issue.

Sportsmand Dinner 2012.

Well this years fund raiser sportsman dinner looks like it will be another sell out with only a few tickets now remaining. Plus with some other big name rugby celebs buying tickets too it looks like it will be a great night.

If you are interested in attending please let us know as soon as possible as there are now only a handful tickets left.

Wigan Council spend £500K on legal Fees.

I can reveal that Wigan Council will spend £500 000 on outside legal experts when they have their own legal dept. Wigan Council has its own legal consisting of a whole range solicitors but yet none of them can make decisions it seems and that is why the Council has to go outside for advise. They could employ their own top barrister for less than the figure that they spend going outside.

Also I have concerns that the head of the Legal Dept IS NOT a solicitor and this is probably another reason why the solicitors have to go outside as the head of the dept cannot give legal advise.

If the Council wants to be taken seriously surely this demonstrates how they need to improve and become more efficient.

New Leaflet out in Standish!

This weekend saw the roll out of our winter newsletter for Standish Residents. This is giving residents an update on what we have been doing plus also what we are planning.

The leaflet is going to every household in the Ward and yet again demonstrates our commitment to all residents no just the ones that vote for us.

A number of people have commented on disgusted they are at the Tory Councillor for claiming expenses they were not eligible for and the huge payout for the Chief Executive with her golden handshake.

There have been positive comments on Cllr George Fairhurst effort to saving the Library with residents and with an update on how Labour will try to close it by the back door we will fight to stop this happening.

Shevington Parish Council getting more corrupt.

I recently went to the meeting of the Shevington Parish Council as some of our councillors were telling me some practises that the Council was doing. I knew they were bad but I did not believe how bad it had gone.

One thing that I saw in this week’s Observer was someone complaining about Councillors having meetings in a Councillors house. This is against guidelines where by members of the Public are meant to be able to view meetings. What is Labour hiding? Obviously when it comes to Finance meetings and contracts it seems the Oarish Council do not want to let the public know about them.

None of the Shevington Independents Councillors attend these meetings as they will not be part of this corrupt practise.

Sportsman Dinner

We are holding one of our annual events, our sportsman dinner. This year it will be on the 9th March 2012. After the huge success we had last year at Ashfield House we will be returning there for this years event too. Wigan Rugby Legend Andy Gregory will be this years guest speaker. Andy Gregory will not be the only Wigan Rugby Legend in the room as we believe Wigan Legend Henderson Gill looks like he will be coming too. Looks like it is going to be another great night.

With tickets at£25 each you can see why the people from last year are already buying tickets. If you want to attend and get tickets please let me know before they sell out.

Chief Executive to get £250 000

Chief Executive of Wigan Council is to give up her job. She says this is to save the Council money. Therefore she is asking for early retirement. The Council are looking to give her a golden hand shake of £100 000 lump sum plus £150 000 EXTRA into her pension pot. What is interesting is that I have learnt that she is not retiring but but got another job. If this is true the Council should not be giving her a £250 000 golden handshake when Labour are closing Library's and other front line services.

She has been with Wigan Council for 6 years and paid just short of a basic salary of £200 000 per year for her salary. To give her this extra money is crazy! One thing Labour call Conservatives is for them looking after fat cats in the private sector but here we have Labour creating Town Hall fat cats. This should stop and the taxpayers of Wigan should get value for money.