Author: Rick Bowlby

GMP holding public consultation event in Whalley Range

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Aftab Razaq, Angeliki Stogia and Muqaddasah Bano, the three Whalley Range Labour councillors, are frequently in contact with Greater Manchester Police (GMP) about issues which have been raised with them by local residents.

Now, GMP are carrying out a wide ranging public consultation on their neighbourhood policing. This includes an online survey which all members of the public are invited to complete, and a number of public events to be attended by senior police officers. One of these will be held next week in Whalley Range at the British Muslim Heritage Centre (BMHC, College Road, Whalley Range, Manchester, M16 8BP) on Tuesday 8 March at 7pm (concluding at 9pm).

More details about the consultation are in the following GMP statement:

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Manchester’s budget consultation closing tomorrow

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Manchester City Council is asking all city residents to help ensure that the Council’s priorities still reflect those of Manchester’s people.

Whalley Range Labour councillor Aftab Razaq says “We won’t need to make savings beyond efficiencies already identified but the decisions we make now will affect our budgets in the future. We’re also having to consider raising our element of Council Tax.”

Have your say on the options before the Council decides in March. The consultation closes tomorrow Tuesday 8 February at 5pm. For more information about the consultation and to take part, please visit the Council website here.

BMHC consult public on preliminary expansion plans

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The British Muslim Heritage Centre (BMHC) are consulting on plans to construct new buildings on their site off College Road. The three Whalley Range Labour councillors Aftab Razaq, Angeliki Stogia and Muqaddasah Bano have written to residents in streets near to the Centre with information about the consultation and their first thoughts on the plans they have seen. The text of the letter is as follows:

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Whalley Range councillor wins national climate award

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Angeliki at the award ceremony on Wednesday night

On December 1, at the national Councillor Awards in London hosted by the LGIU and CCLA Good Investment, Whalley Range Labour councillor Angeliki Stogia won the Environment and Sustainability Pioneer award.

Working as Manchester City Council’s Executive Member for Environment, Planning and Transport between 2017-21, Angeliki oversaw the implementation of ambitious programmes across the city aimed at cutting emissions and encouraging more people to use low-carbon modes of transport. In July 2019 the Council declared a climate emergency, setting a goal for the city to be zero carbon by 2038 – 12 years ahead of the Government’s own target of 2050. A key pillar of this aim was the launch of the City Centre Transport Strategy, which outlined the Council’s ambition that, by 2040, 90% of journeys to the city centre during the morning peak will be done by walking, cycling or public transport.

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Night time clock-watching in Alex Park!

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Bano and Aftab at the ‘Switch-on’ event

On October 21, the Friends of Alexandra Park held a lovely “Big Light Switch-on” event at dusk, to celebrate the installation of two beautiful new clocks (back lit with LED lighting) in the ‘tower’ of Chorlton Lodge. This is the second ‘Legacy Project’ to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the opening of the Park (although because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the original plans to mark this milestone during the year have inevitably had to be scaled back).

Councillor Aftab Razaq, who attended the event with Councillor Muqaddasah Bano, says “We are so lucky to have this group of dedicated volunteers and supporters who help to look after Alex Park all year round, improving facilities in and promoting the heritage of the ‘People’s Park’ at the heart of our ward. As always, they deserve great thanks from us all”.

The Friends welcome visitors to their Information Point in Chorlton Lodge (near the Claremont Road entrance to the Park) which is open every Wednesday and Friday beween 11am and 2pm, and on the first Sunday of the month between 12 noon and 2pm. They also have calendars, Christmas cards and other goodies on sale, perfect for stocking fillers. For more information, see their Facebook page.