Message from Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham and Greater Manchester Lead for Planning and Housing, Salford City Mayor Paul Dennett:
Last year the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, along with your local Council carried out a consultation on the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework (GMSF) – the plan to provide land for jobs and new homes, which we believe will help make Greater Manchester be one of the best places in the world.

You, along with 27,000 other people across Greater Manchester responded to that consultation – and we thank you for taking the time to respond. We have now published those responses on our website.

These can now be viewed at www.greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk/gmsf

Leaders from across Greater Manchester want to do justice to these responses and have subsequently agreed to a new timetable for the next draft of the framework. Through an open and transparent process, the second draft will take into account concerns raised previously. Work will continue on this in the coming months, and the new plan will be published in June 2018. This will be followed by a 12-week public consultation period.

The redrafted spatial framework will aim to make the most of Greater Manchester’s brownfield sites and reduce the impact on greenbelt – as that was the major concern raised through the consultation from local residents.

The amended plan will ensure we have the right mix of homes across the city region, including truly affordable housing to allow young people to find a home in communities where they want to live. This is really important as the framework is a huge part of securing the future success of Greater Manchester.

We will continue to listen to and engage with the public as the new draft of the plan is developed, as well as keeping people updated on progress. We want to communicate with you in a clear and consistent way – so to do this, we will primarily be using online methods to send regular updates to people about the development of the plan.

If you haven’t signed up yet, you can do so by visiting www.greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk/gmsf

We want people to feel engaged, involved and able to participate in the process, we hope that you will continue on this journey with us.
The spatial framework is a strategic plan for all of Greater Manchester, and is a key part of making the Greater Manchester strategy work, as well as helping our economy grow. Districts are also producing individual local plans alongside the spatial framework. To ensure that you are informed and engaged we will share your contact details with the local planning authority who will add you to their consultation database. If you don’t want your details to be shared please let us know at: gmsfconsultation@greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk
Thank you again for your involvement so far, and we hope you continue to remain engaged with this process.

Andy Burnham and Paul Dennett

The Marple Area Committee
The Marple Area Committee meets every six weeks in the Senior Citizens Hall in the Memorial Park. The six Marple councillors attend and all local residents are welcome.
The Committee is very keen to encourage greater community involvement and is changing the format of the meetings to allow for more interaction. A new stand-alone website has been developed at http://www.stockportgov.uk/mac . The meetings will also be broadcast live on webcam and can be accessed through the same site.

Anyone wishing to get updates on local issues can register with stephen.fox@stockport.gov.uk

This is a very encouraging campaign by our Councillors to make sure that local democracy supports our community.

Keeping Our Villages Tidy
SMBC have engaged Keep Britain Tidy to work with them on a general litter and recycling campaign. SMBC Public Realm Officer has visited our area and been made aware of various issues (including dog fouling) and Knowle Road and Longhurst Lane will be one of the first targets for the campaign.

A Local Neighbourhood Plan
In recent issues of our newsletter we have made residents aware of the Neighbourhood Plan process for giving residents a say in the development of their village(s) and surrounding area over the next twenty years.
A public meeting was held at the time of our AGM and reported on in our Summer Newsletter. There is currently a group of interested residents, fifty in number, some of whom have formed a steering committee. This comprises Mellor Society members, residents and representatives from Marple Bridge and Compstall Associations and local Councillors to kick-start the Neighbourhood Plan Process.
The name of the Neighbourhood Plan is to be Mellor, Mill Brow, Marple Bridge and Compstall Neighbourhood Plan and a map is currently being drafted to cover the area including Mill Brow, Ludworth and part of Strines. The Mellor Society is currently publicising the activities of the group through our newsletter while Marple Bridge and Comstall Associations will be contacting their residents directly until a dedicated website/social media platform can be established.
As a starting point the steering group has been considering what is important to us in the above area using guidelines in established documents. The list currently includes, in no particular order, the following Policy Themes:
Employment, Town Centres and Retail, Housing, Urban Design, Historic Environments, Transport, Natural Environment, Health, Sustainability, Social Care, Cultural, Development, Education.

Not all these themes may be relevant to every Neighbourhood Plan and there may be other relevant issues not included above.
These could include:
Leisure and Recreation and Civil Society ( NGO`s, Faith Groups, Clubs and Societies etc.)

The Marple Neighbourhood Forum operate with the following Working Groups:
Town Centre and Retail, Pride in Marple, Getting Around, Community Space, Housing and Development, Heritage and Tourism, Employment and Education.

Please let us know what is important to you regarding the above, and/or if you wish to help on the steering committee, via the Contact the Committee facility on the Committee page of the Mellor Society website www.melsoc.org.uk or via any Mellor Society Committee Member.

We will pass any comments onto the Neighbourhood Plan Steering Committee.

Breakfasts for Bellringers
They gave you a Bit of Old Rope and Ring Me Sunshine, now the entrepreneurial campanologists of Mellor Church are publishing a book of breakfast recipes. After ringing the bell ‘Old Paddy’ on a Sunday morning they enjoy a hearty breakfast and the book, due to be released at the end of November, includes their favourite nosh.
Available from the Parish centre or online after December 7th from www.sycamoremp.co.uk

Friends of Mill Brow
In September the Friends of Mill Brow organised a work party to tidy up the verges in the village. People of all ages turned up and worked hard to cut back overgrown verges, clear balsam, nettles and brambles and make the place more in keeping with the lovely country village it is. Later in the Autumn the team will be planting bulbs, donated by the Council, in the verges which will give a colourful show next Spring.

War Memorial Park
Do you have any spare London Pride saxifrage plant or spare used compost from tomato growbags or compost from hanging baskets that can be put in the middle of the sedum bed? Last week volunteers put down some textile to wage war on the mares tails and now have partially covered it with compost and London Pride. But they need more.
If you are able to help, you can scatter the compost thinly on the textile or leave it nearby. The London Pride could be left on the textile too.
Glad to say SMBC men have done a great job keeping lawns mown, paths swept and volunteer gardener’s rubbish taken away. Last week they scraped moss off the paths and pruned the lavender.
The roses still look good. Probably because over the summer every week on a Tuesday at 4.30 one or two or maybe even six people have come and dead headed and weeded.
SMBC have given us 100 red tulip bulbs to put around the War Memorial . Also 100 crocus, 100 snowdrop and 100 tete a tete daffodil bulbs which are going to be scattered and plant in the stumpery bed.
The red wings have just arrived from Scandinavia in the last week of October and can be seen in the yew trees. They are like a thrush with eye liner and go zeep zeep and of course red underwing.
The monthly work party and cake eating is as usual on the second Saturday of the month between 10am and midday. Anyone is welcome to help as a volunteer and it is not essential to have a knowledge of gardening.