COMMUNITIES
Our primary aim has always been to put pride back into Radcliffe. This will include starting the process to put in place a Town Council. Radcliffe First will submit a petition to Bury Council requesting a ‘Community Governance Review’. We will focus on community engagement to ensure that Radcliffe and Ainsworth get a fair share of funding from Bury Council by putting spending decisions back to local residents.
- We will campaign for open and transparent decision making:
(i) in awarding of contracts, spending and support for the local economy as well as decisions that will significantly impact on the lives of residents e.g. choice of sites in plans such as Places for Everyone, and
(ii) we will insist that residents be listened to and for the Council to act on feedback received especially with the ongoing ‘Radcliffe Regeneration’. Its the community who should be driving such projects and not solely outsiders and consultants
- The neglect of roads has become a huge challenge. We will pursue Bury Council to ensure that the funds pledged in the budget are effectively allocated to properly repair, restore, and improve our road surfaces.
CRIME & ANTI-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR
We want residents of Radcliffe and Ainsworth to feel safe and have the confidence to report incidents to the police. By working closely with the police and other community groups, we want to ensure all residents feel safe on the streets including after dark. We will work with these groups to find ways to reduce criminal behaviour.
- We will work with appropriate bodies to address concerns over knife crime and problems caused by drugs and alcohol on Radcliffe’s streets.
- We will continue to work with Transport for Greater Manchester and GMP to address concerns about safety of travel on the Metrolink
EDUCATION
We will continue to fight for our local schools; pursuing the Council, the Government and Star Academies to fulfil their commitment to building the new high school and the delivery of excellent standards and learning in education. We will maintain pressure on the Council ensuring fair access for all Radcliffe residents, catering for the needs of the town by increasing the intake capacities to meet these needs and request that pupils are not allocated schools miles from their homes.
ENVIRONMENT
We will continue to fight against building on any of our Green Belt. We want to protect our green spaces for the future of our children and protect the Elton Reservoir, the historic sites around it and the canal. We will continue to pressure the Council to look at ways to reduce traffic congestion and exhaust emissions by improving traffic flow and insisting on proper infrastructure before commencement of any proposed developments.
- We will continue to oppose a ‘clean air charging zone’ or any plan which harms residents and local businesses.
- Many of our residents do an amazing job working with local litter picking groups. We will campaign for Bury Council to do more to support their work by enforcing the anti-social behaviour policy and prosecutions of those who fly-tip. We will campaign for the installation of more CCTV to monitor fly-tipping hotspots and ensure the equipment is maintained and fit for purpose.
HOUSING
We want to work with agencies and developers to prioritise building on brownfield sites, especially starter homes and affordable family homes. We will work to develop a good working relationship with local housing associations and landlords to ensure equitable housing standards and to address current problems which are leading to a shortage of affordable rental properties. We will campaign for a more diverse range of new social housing in Radcliffe.