Forum Diary - Updates, Rumours and General Comment
Wednesday 10th January 2000
Just had a quick note from the Save the Tub people, the meeting is at 7.00pm on 23rd January 2001, not at 6.00 as previously reported.
Tuesday 9th January 2001
Short update again today, busy busy busy! I must correct an error - the Tub meeting is on the 23rd at 6.00pm, not the 24th as previously noted. Please turn up if you care about this.
Friday 5th January 2001
Happy New Year to you all.
Hope everybody had a great holiday.
We're back raring to go and things are hotting up. First of all, we need volunteers to gather information. You should be over 18, live in Gorton, be prepared to conduct interviews in the community and be free to undertake a day's training on the 7th Feb. Expenses will be paid and there might well be further opportunities arising. The deadline for applications is 30th January, application forms can be obtained from the Forum.
The Campaign to save the tub is gathering momentum. They have a lot of support and are holding their next meeting on 24th January. Check out their website Here People are awakening to the fact that they can make a difference. Gorton Rising? you can bank on it!
Short update today, more soon, I promise
Tuesday 19th December 2000
Christmas is coming and the goose is getting cooked .....
well the goose that is the Gorton Tub anyway :)
I hear that there are now 900 signatures on the petition to save the Tub, and there is a well orchestrated campaign to back this. I have heard that there is a meeting at Gorton North Neighbourhood Office on Thursday 21st December for anybody who is interested. Don't know the time, but assume about 7.00pm. . This is probably a good time to attend such a meeting, as everybody who wants to see the Tub closed will almost certainly be seen hob-nobbing with the great and good at Gerald Kaufman's Christmas Party which is on the same night. I might just be cheeky and go to both :)
Actually, there are very good reasons why the Tub should not close, here are some of them:-
1. It is the only facility of its type in the area. It also houses the only walk in pool within a much greater radius. This is an invaluable resource for those who are unable to enter a conventional pool, and is seen as an asset by many health professionals, indeed people are sent there from many outlying districts, in some cases their entry fees are paid by their local health authority (Stockport I am told does this).
2. It is well patronised. It has taken some time, but numbers are up. There are more and more people using the Tub. The problem is that it was closed for six months following the fire, and I am told that the attendance figures for this period (zero) have been included in the overall analysis which states that the facility is under utilised.
3. Local people do not want it to close. There is nowhere else for them to go which doesn't involve them travelling a considerable distance, usually on unreliable, dirty and expensive public transport with a change of buses and/or a considerable walk. Many families in the area cannot justify the extra expense and as a consequence will miss out altogether rather than taking the alternative.
4. Nobody has been properly consulted. I have it on good authority that the decision has already been made to close the Tub and turn it into a dry facility.
(as posted last Wednesday). The consultation arrived last Wednesday. QED.
We are aware that there are plans afoot to update and extend the swimming facilities at Wright Robinson. Nobody is particularly excited by this prospect.
This would be just as difficult to get access to as any other alternative for most of the people in Gorton, especially those who depend on public transport. Of course, it wouldn't be a surprise to find out that the people responsible for all this nonsense have never actually been here. Sometimes I wonder whether they have actually visited planet Earth at all. Best Value?? Do me a favour.
Thursday 14th December 2000
This must be a record, two updates in two days :)
The Gore Brook Valley Conservation Area will benefit by up to £45,000. Up to
£25,000
will come from the Gorton Heritage Trail Action Group who, for the second year
running have secured CAS:H funding for improvements to the trail, boosted
this year by funding from the Gorton Renewal Team. This will be used on
path and environmental improvements in Brookfield Churchyard and on Far
Lane Green, with lighting improvements along the Old Salt Road in the Fox
Fold area.
The other £15-£20,000 has been earmarked by the Environment and Development
Department to herald the publication of the Conservation Area Strategy. For
further information,
contact the Forum
or check out the
official website
I Have been getting curious about the number of people who are reading this site, so I had a look through the logs today. It's a gratifying experience to know that there are people who actually come here and read this stuff, I thank you both :)
Wednesday 13th December 2000
Oh dear, missed last week's update, must be pressure of work. Well,
whatever, on with the news ...
It looks like there is movement on the district centre at last. I hear that the
CWS have at last sold on their interest, or are in the process of doing so.
We do not, however, know who they are dealing with. We have heard that
Morrisons were involved but that they have pulled out.
What we do know is that the guarantee given by Manchester Markets re the
Market will be upheld, that there will be a market in Gorton whatever
happens. It is almost certain that the market will not remain exactly where
it is, though, to allow for changes in the layout of the district centre,
and this is generally seen to be a good thing by many of us, as long as it
remains in the general area, is accessible to the public and visible to
users of Hyde Road.
Of course this does not take away the fact that the market is in a bit of a
crisis, or will be soon, with rumours abounding that many of the Traders
will be pulling out of Gorton after Christmas. It is well known here that
there has been a decline in the market for a long time, and that this has
accellerated over the last few months until there have, on some days been
no more than six stalls in evidence. This is clearly bad news, and there
are a lot of factors which have contributed to this, many of which are not
local issues, but apply to markets everywhere (for instance the impact of
supermarkets and out of town shopping, and of Sunday markets such as
Smithfield). Having said that, there are a number of local factors which
can be addressed and it is hoped that the company which has been brought in
to oversee the markets will be able to use their vast experience in the
field to bring about a resurgence. We need a market, we want a market, and
if the market is properly presented, accessible, clean, safe and secure for
shoppers and traders alike, then people will shop there.