The Fate of the Mersey Valley

Dear Friends,

I kept hearing rumours about council spending cuts and the fate of the Mersey Valley and became increasingly concerned. So I e-mailed my three local (i.e. Chorlton) councillors and asked them what was going on. The text of my e-mail is below:

Dear Councillors,

I keep hearing rumours to the effect that the Mersey Valley Countryside Warden Service is to be disbanded. Are these rumours true, or not? If the rumours are true, are Friends groups, like the Friends of Chorlton Meadows, who have devoted hundreds of hours of their free time to the Mersey Valley, going to be properly informed and consulted - or are we just going to have to rely on rumours?

Yours sincerely,
David Bishop, Chair of FoCM

So far I have had the following reply from Cllr Victor Chamberlain:

The Mersey Valley Committee is meeting today [24.01.2013] and I still haven't heard back what the outcome is.

I understand that the City Council's budget proposals mean that the service will close down in April. A cut of £150,000 from MCC along with Trafford's lack of a payment commitment mean that the service is unlikely to survive.

It's really poor that you haven't received any information about this so I will ask the Council how they plan to engage Friends Groups in the proposals and the future.

He subsequently wrote:

I understand that the meeting was very sombre and that members accepted the budget cut. Some Councillors argued that Trafford Council's decision to cut funding last December encouraged Manchester to do the same. Apparently there is going to be a consultation which opens from today however the service is likely to be run down between now and the end of March.

So, the Mersey Valley project appears to be dead and the fate of a well-loved piece of local green space hangs in the balance. As a long-term user of this green space myself I am saddened and angry. I might also ask: What is the point of a consultation when the decision already appears to have been made?

As you are a Mersey Valley user, I’m sure that you will share my concerns, so please, please, please take some time to express those concerns by e-mailing:    

Councillor Rosa Battle, Executive Member for Culture & Leisure (cllr.r.battle@manchester.gov.uk)

Questions that you might like to ask Cllr Battle could include:

-       What are the implications of the disbanding of the Mersey Valley Countryside Warden Service for the future of the Mersey Valley?

-       How does the Council intend to maintain sites like Chorlton Ees/Ivy Green and Chorlton Water Park in the future?

-       How does the Council plan to protect these sites from vandalism and other forms of damage?

-       How does the Council plan to protect Mersey Valley wildlife?

-       Have the Council have any plans for selling off any Mersey Valley sites?

It would probably be a good idea to copy your ward councillors in on this correspondence; you can find your ward councillors here:

http://www.manchester.gov.uk/councillors/ward

It is absolutely essential to keep your message polite!

Please feel free to circulate this blog post to as many people as possible. Let’s show the Council that we love the Mersey Valley and that we don’t intend to lose it!!

Best Regards,

Dave Bishop (FoCM Chair)