Today Trafford Council heads in to its first full Council meeting this evening under new constitutional rules.
Trafford Conservatives oppose the new constitutional rules brought forward by the Labour led committee and spoke against these changes at the time:
People Power Removed by Labour at Trafford Council | Trafford Conservatives
Now these changes have taken full affect today for the first Council meeting where these new rules are applied. The Conservative Party Group has been allotted two questions to be answered in Council, hampering the ability of opposition to properly scrutinise the Labour run Council.
The prepared answers to these questions also leave much to be desired. We include these below:
Question submitted by Councillor Zhi:
“As the Bowdon Councillor representing the residents of Oldfield Brow, I am deeply concerned about the ongoing lack of action regarding road safety around Oldfield Brow School. At the Council meeting on 20th March, a petition was submitted and recognised requesting immediate safety measures for the area. Since then, despite the seriousness of the issue, no tangible action has been taken.
On 3 September, a car accident occurred on Taylor Road, close to the Oldfield Brow Primary School, necessitating the response of two first responder medical vehicles, an ambulance, and a police car. This incident highlights the urgency of addressing road safety concerns without further delay.
While I acknowledge that Oldfield Brow is now on the waiting list for the School Streets programme, this alone is insufficient. The Council must take immediate steps to mitigate the risks before another incident occurs. I am asking the Council for a clear and decisive update on what specific actions will be taken, and when, to ensure the safety of residents, parents, children, and the wider community in Oldfield Brow?"
Response:
Road safety is a widespread concern and the Council would like to do more to provide physical measures on our roads to address resident’s concerns. Historically the Council received significant government funding for widespread highway capital projects, but regrettably this is no longer the case.
In order to prioritise action the Council monitors collision and casualty data across Trafford to identify any patterns of collisions where interventions can be justified to improve road safety. The collision history for the whole area of Oldfield Brow, including Taylor Road, has been analysed and there are no recorded collisions involving personal injury recorded over the latest 5 year period for which data is available from Greater Manchester Police (2019 – 2023). This is no reason to be complacent but this data does not provide a demonstrable requirement to take urgent intervention action when taking into context the whole Borough.
As you might expect, owing to the size and age of the road network, the Council receives many requests to introduce highway improvements such as lower speed limits, traffic calming, new pedestrian crossings, better footways and cycleways etc.
‘School Streets’ are being introduced as a means of addressing some safety concerns near schools. There is a growing demand for this type of treatment that restricts vehicular access to streets outside schools during opening and closing times. Owing to the number of schools that have shown interest in having a school street treatment there is priority list, and Oldfield Brow Primary School has been added to the list.
In the meantime, we have made an assessment of the existing provision of School warning signs and have identified where improvements can be undertaken. We anticipate carrying out the work in the next 2 – 3 months and will share detailed information with the school and local Members shortly.
Question submitted by Councillor Evans:
“New Forest District Council have announced this month that all Council run carparks will be free at weekends in the run up to Christmas. This is to encourage shopping in the local area, and to support small local businesses to thrive.
In previous years, several Greater Manchester Councils, including Trafford, have made parking free in council run car parks after 3pm, to support local businesses. Last year both Wigan and Salford announced their Free After Three schemes.
Will Trafford Council be announcing a Free After Three scheme for Christmas this year?"
Response:
Like last year, we will not be announcing a ‘free after three’ parking scheme in the lead up to the holiday season. We do encourage visits to our high streets and centres, relaying the offer of public transport, active travel and the use of our car parks throughout the year. We’ll regularly review our parking tariffs to help ensure they’re attractive to our customers.
Our parking charges contribute to the upkeep, maintenance, and operation of our car parks and nearby realm. Reducing / eliminating parking charges after 1500 would reduce our revenue and affect the quality of service we’re able to provide. The weeks leading up to the holiday season often sees an increase in visitors, offering free parking could worsen congestion for others. Additional costs relating to the administration and complexities with communicating the changes have also led to the decision.
We do offer year around free parking on a Sunday, to encourage visits to our centres – generally when there is more capacity to encourage visits. Regent Road car park is also available for shoppers who want to stay longer than 2 hours in Altrincham. Parking is also free after 5pm on street (in most places) and after 6pm in council car parks. Our website provides information on our locations and tariffs.
These responses from the Labour Party leave a lot to be desired. It seems they have plenty of resources to allocate time and money to ensure the safety of roads near schools in the north of Trafford borough, but when schools like Oldfield Brow Primary School require the same effort to ensure safety, Council resources are few and far between.
At a time when small local businesses would benefit from a boost, the long-standing Free-After-Three scheme that was routinely offered by Trafford Council when it was Conservative-led, appears to have been all but abandoned. Parking at the Trafford Centre, meanwhile, remains free benefitting the many big chains with outlets at The Trafford Centre. High streets in Sale, Altrincham, and elsewhere in Trafford borough, however, will not benefit from the same free parking those making trips to The Trafford Centre enjoy.
Trafford Conservatives will continue to scrutinise the Labour-led Council wherever we are still allowed to do so. The ability to scrutinise Council narrows on a daily basis.
