Aftab Razaq

Aftab Razaq selected as Labour candidate for May 2022

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Aftab with Bano and Angeliki in Manley Park earlier this year

At their meeting on 21 September, Labour Party members in Whalley Range selected Aftab Razaq to stand as the party’s candidate in the local elections on Thursday 5 May 2022. Aftab has been a councillor since he first stood for Whalley Range in 2011, and this will be the fourth election he has contested.

After the meeting, Aftab said “I’m very humbled to have been chosen again by my fellow Labour members as the election candidate, and I will be starting my campaign straight away, getting out and meeting as many voters as possible between now and May. I urge anyone who has questions to ask or issues to raise with me, to please get in touch”.

Eid Mubarak from Whalley Range Labour!

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The festival of Eid ul-Fitr, which marks the end of the Ramadan fast, is celebrated across the Muslim world and begins today. Our local Councillors have this message for all Whalley Range residents who are taking part in the festival:

Councillors Aftab Razaq, Angeliki Stogia and Muqaddasah Bano wish a very Happy Eid to everyone in our area who is joining the celebration today. Eid is a day to cheer and to laugh with all your heart. It’s a day to be grateful to Allah for all of his heavenly blessings on us. Wishing you a happy Eid ul-Fitr. We all deserve to celebrate it safely with our family and friends, so please:

  • Limit social gatherings
  • Maintain physical distance
  • Wear a mask
  • Wash your hands and use sanitiser
  • When you have the opportunity, get vaccinated!

And last but not least, remember the sick and needy around us in your thoughts and prayers

Neighbours join BMHC to plant remembrance trees

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A group of local residents and garden enthusiasts recently approached the British Muslim Heritage Centre about creating a small avenue of five new trees in the grounds, close to the College Road frontage. They proposed a range of species which will all blossom in the spring, intended to provide an annual reminder of the onset of the pandemic in 2020 and support reflection on the terrible toll of lives lost to Covid-19, while also leaving a symbolic legacy of beauty pointing to a better future for the community and for nature.

The donation and planting of the trees was led by Yvonne Jez, Madeleine Edwards and Robina Shah, joined in the sunshine this morning by more College Road neighbours and BMHC supporters and by Afzal Khan MP and Whalley Range Councillors Aftab Razaq and Angeliki Stogia. Angeliki said “It was a real pleasure to join in the planting this morning – this is a wonderful initiative by local residents which will hopefully lead to much more in the future.” Yvonne explains “The communal planting and dedication of trees by members of the BMHC and residents of Whalley Range provides an opportunity for us to come together, enjoy nature, commemorate and reflect on an extraordinary time, and to say thank you to or celebrate the life of someone we love”.

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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Vaccine rollout gets underway in Whalley Range

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Two pharmacy-based community vaccination centres are opening shortly in Whalley Range ward and will soon start administering Covid-19 vaccines in partnership with the NHS rollout.

Kapoor Pharmacy Services have teamed up with Whalley Range Cricket and Lawn Tennis Club to create a bespoke temporary facility at the clubhouse at 135 Kingsbrook Road.

Councillors Aftab Razaq and Angeliki Stogia visited the centre this afternoon to check how the fitout work was progressing. Aftab says “It’s quite a transformation – the team here have managed to create a clean, safe medical environment inside the clubhouse in just a short period of time”. Angeliki adds “Whalley Range is lucky to have not one but two local centres opening in our ward – it will really help older residents who don’t have cars or have understandable concerns about using public transport, as there may well be a vaccination centre within a short walk of their home”.

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