Councillors

Latest Whalley Range road improvements start soon

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Angeliki and Bano inspecting the current state of Yarburgh St road surface last week

As previously reported, Manchester City Council have been taking advantage of reduced traffic density to press ahead with essential road and pavement repairs during lockdown. Next up in Whalley Range is Yarburgh Street, with resurfacing work starting next Monday 1 March.

Muqaddasah Bano, Whalley Range Labour candidate in the local elections on 6 May, says, “The Councillors have been listening to concerns raised with them by local drivers and cyclists, and we know that this road is in quite poor condition now. This work is very good news for all users”. Whalley Range councillor Angeliki Stogia adds, “The project is part of the massive £100m investment which the Council is making to improve our pavements and roads across the city. This brings benefits to all – pedestrians and cyclists as well as motorists – and I’m pleased that Yarburgh Street will soon join the list of resurfaced roads in our area”.

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Fallowfield Loop improvement work gets underway

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Angeliki and Bano yesterday at the Athol Road junction to the Fallowfield Loop in Whalley Range

Last summer, Manchester City Council consulted users of the Fallowfield Loop (which runs along the south border of Whalley Range ward) about their priorities for planned improvement work.

Muqaddasah Bano, Whalley Range Labour’s candidate in the May local elections, says “There were over 5,200 responses to the consultation – it’s really good that so many people took the time to write in. It’s taken a long time just to process all these submissions – now we need to move forward with the work”.

Councillor Angeliki Stogia has been overseeing the consultation process. She explains “There’s a £4.9m project underway to enhance the Fallowfield Loop and the link to the Ashton Canal known as the ‘yellow brick road’. We know from the consultation that users want us to improve access points and signage and increase lighting to address security concerns, though without detracting from the rural feel of the route or harming biodiversity”.

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Enhanced Covid-19 testing area – Whalley Range update

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The testing area includes part of Whalley Range ward – click for an expanded map

As many of you may know, the Council, working with Public Health England and NHS Test and Trace, today began an enhanced community testing programme in an area of south Manchester which includes part of Whalley Range ward. This follows the detection of a small number of cases of Covid-19 mutation E484K, which is related to the so-called ‘Kent variant’. There are full details on the Council website here, and you can also click on the map for a more detailed view to see if you live in the area affected.

Whalley Range Labour Councillor Angeliki Stogia says “I live in the designated area so I’ll be getting a test in the next couple of days. And if you live in Whalley Range ward east of Princess Parkway, east of Withington Road and north of Yarburgh Street, or on Yarburgh Street itself, then please take a test as soon as you can. If you’re not sure if you’re included in the scheme, just check the map.”

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Go Postal – apply to vote early this year

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Mary, Bano and Angeliki have all gone postal

The government has reconfirmed that the local election postponed from last year will take place on Thursday 6 May. While electors can be confident that voting on the day at polling stations will be completely safe, it may be less convenient than usual – for example, some polling stations may have to temporarily relocate (especially those normally in schools), and voters may have to queue outside at busier times.

So if you haven’t already, why not Go Postal this year? You can easily apply to vote early by post online – follow this link to find out more on the Manchester City Council and download the form. After completing and signing the form, you can submit it by email with either a scan or a clear, legible photo of the completed form attached.

Muqaddasah Bano, Labour candidate for Whalley Range, says “I usually vote at my local polling station, but this year is different – I’m going postal. It only took a couple of minutes to apply, it was quite a simple form.”

If you still have questions about applying for a postal vote, contact us.

Whalley Range – local vaccination centres update

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Angeliki and Bano with some of the Everest team

As we reported two weeks ago, Whalley Range is lucky to have two neighbourhood centres administering the NHS Covid-19 vaccination programme. On Monday, Whalley Range Labour candidate Muqaddasah Bano visited Everest Pharmacy on Withington Road along with Councillors Aftab Razaq and Angeliki Stogia, where they met Mr Waqqass Sheikh and his staff who are hard at work delivering the service, seven days a week.

As Waqqass pointed out, anyone who has received an NHS letter or a message from their GP to say that they are now eligible for the vaccine, can make an appointment at one of these local centres – it’s not necessary to travel across the city to another venue. He says that currently Everest have plenty of capacity, and it’s often possible to get an appointment at short notice.

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