Why we are needed in Radcliffe

We need to speak up for Radcliffe, in the past it has lost its Secondary Schools, Civic Centre, Leisure Centre and came close to losing its Library. Its Town Hall was sold for a pound and the High Street has been allowed to stagnate and deteriorate due to a chronic lack of investment. The investment that has been made includes lamppost banners which blew away, now rusty planters and benches that are falling to pieces. Token investment made without any ongoing maintenance plans are symptomatic of the careless way both groups have looked at Radcliffe. The bandstand painted in a primer that is trumpeted as Radcliffe Red is another example of decisions being made without consultation.

What people saying on the doorstep

People appreciate that we take the time to speak to them. Most residents are politically aware and know local elections should be fought on local issues not the national issues the big parties fight them on. Roads, potholes, fly tipping and the regeneration of the Town and new School were all issues at the last election. The green belt and Places for Everyone were also key, many people used the area for exercise during lockdown and rekindled their love of the spaces. The idea of building all over it led to a sense of betrayal by the Labour led Council over the plans for mass urbanisation.

Radcliffe First’s key priorities

Consult,consult,consult. Let’s make sure people have their say in plans for regeneration. Let’s use the amazing community groups we have, Little Britain Anglers, Radcliffe Litter Pickers, Growing Together, Rotary. These groups have their ear to the ground and know what’s needed at a base level. Spend the money in the budget to repair the roads and potholes. A secondary school that provides outstanding education to our young people. We need a regeneration plan that works for the whole Town and protects what we have whilst encouraging outside investment in the future. A Town Council is an aim that we will push to the fore in the coming months.

Councillors work on behalf of residents, I think sometimes that basic fact is lost amongst centralised decision making.

Our position on Places for Everyone and protection of the greenbelt

We have always opposed building on the greenbelt round Elton Reservoir and alongside the canal. We understand the need for housing but we have brownfield land that should be exhausted first. Around one third of all new builds in Bury MBC have been in Radcliffe and yet no new infrastructure has been built to support that. Let’s take a Borough wide view of our housing needs and land allocations, the PfE plan will subject Radcliffe to twenty years as a building site while these 3500 homes are built, why do we think other areas of the borough are protected at the expense of Radcliffe? That’s because it’s true.

Our position on the regeneration of Radcliffe

We believe the consultation could have been better. We have some fantastic businesses that have stuck by the Town through the pandemic and decline we have faced. We need to make sure they remain part of the regeneration plans and the Council uses the property it owns to protect them through the build and encourage others to locate here. The market is a fantastic riverside asset and apart from the basement plans we are broadly supportive. The Carnegie library building was gifted to the people of Radcliffe and we want to make sure the building remains both accessible and publicly available to them. Let’s be honest, we have faced a thirty year decline and asset stripping program, over promised and under delivered by successive administrations. We support this program and will work to ensure its success.

Radcliffe First and other areas of Bury MBC

Radcliffe First has an ethos of fair funding allocation and decision making. We work in areas that affect the borough as a whole; I am talking about Metrolink operations, Six Town Housing, PfE, problems within Children’s services, bin collections and road repair schemes. We will see other groups forming in other Towns and I am sure many of our problems and approaches to solving them will be similar.