Blog

Friday 18 December 2011

Fire service update
Mel Bowling, Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service

This week we have been out and about in the Walkden South area for SNAP. With winter starting to set in and Christmas approaching fast we are very conscious of making sure that various members of the community are keeping themselves warm and safe whilst celebrating.

On Tuesday, we attended the Winter Warmer event at the Guild Hall. I spoke to a number of residents and partner agencies about some of the seasonal topics of fire safety and handed out booklets full of information. We are keen to get across our messages at this time of year as some people's risk of fire can increase due to various factors such as alcohol intake, food preparation, use of candles, Christmas decorations and use of heaters. Our Safe4winter website has lots of winter safety information on it and is well worth a look.

We are really looking forward to Saturday's 'Christmas family fun day' at Fit City Worsley, because Blue Watch (who have been very good this year I might add!) are going to not only meet the public who attend but also Father Christmas! They are so excited.

If you have any concerns around fire safety in your home and would like a FREE home safety check, please give us a ring on 0800 555 815.

All that's left for us to say is that that we wish you all a very happy (and safe) Christmas and New Year from all at the Salford fire team. Remember to follow the Salford Fire Team on Twitter.

Thursday 17 December 2011

Environmental update
Malcolm Cooper, Environmental Services, Salford City Council

The council's environment team has been working hard this week as part of the Walkden South SNAP. This week, we've removed 29 pieces of graffiti, collected nine tonnes of bulky waste and removed 12 tonnes of street litter, including the many leaves that cover the pavements.

Wednesday 16 December 2011

Police update
Sgt Rob Randall, Salford West neighbourhood policing team

Today has been another busy day for the police including two arrests for possession of Class B drugs.

Using our automatic number plate recognition technology, we have spent time on Manchester Road scanning 1,600 vehicles which passed by. This resulted in more than 40 vehicles being stopped which kept us busy.

We also continued to work with First Bus and Transport for Greater Manchester to carry out bus checks. We boarded 67 buses in total, checking 571 passengers.

Tuesday 13 December 2011

Winter warmer
Tracy Jacobs, Little Hulton and Walkden neighbourhood management team

The Little Hulton and Walkden neighbourhood management team worked in partnership with 17 other services and organisations, to run a fun packed day of activities at Guild Hall community centre. The event was aimed at residents over 50 years old, who live in the Walkden South area. The day started off with an information event, which saw many services and organisations working together to help residents access services and support them with issues they were having.

Residents who attended this expressed their relief and thanks that they had an opportunity to talk to someone about their problem. They also said how pleased they were that organisations recognised that they had needs, which were specific to their age or the area they lived in.

This was then followed by a free hotpot lunch, which gave residents and services the opportunity, to share stories and talk in general about the area, activities and living and working in Walkden South. Everyone enjoyed the lunch and commented that they would like to see more events in the area, similar to today's event.

In order to stimulate those grey cells, we then had a few games of bingo with various prizes. One resident was very happy to win a cuddly snowman and said it was nice to have someone to go home with!

Having stimulated the brain, we then stimulated the dance floor with a tea dance. This was enjoyed by all who attended and many residents asked if this day's event could be held a few times a year. Many residents commented, that they felt listen to, cared for and befriended.

Monday 12 December 2011

Youth activities at Parr Fold Park
Natalie Craig, neighbourhood sport and leisure officer, Salford City Council

As part of SNAP week, the council's youth service, Salford Community Leisure and Brook teamed up to deliver fun activities for young people. The youth bus was on hand so they could relax.

Young people had the opportunity to engage in fun activities such as Camp Craft - building a small fire and making a hot drink with a camping kettle! They also had access to Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360 and music on the youth bus. Christmas decoration making was also on offer at the pavilion.

The team engaged three young men that were using the park as a short cut but there were no other young people to engage for the activities. The weather did not help as it was cold and started snowing.

We will continue to deliver activities through the week with the next planned activity being on Parr Fold Park on Thursday 15 December between 5.30pm to 8.00pm.

Police update
PCSO Hayley Danson, Salford West neighbourhood policing team, Greater Manchester Police

The Christmas period is an especially busy time for the police, as you can imagine.

It is a time when we deal with the most diverse of tasks, as you will see from our activities so far this week in the Walkden area.

Yesterday, we ran an operation where we visited pubs in the area with a team of officers and a drugs dog. The dog is specially trained to identify anyone that might be in possession of drugs or who may have recently been in contact with an illegal substance. A number of people were searched resulting in three being found in possession of drugs.

Today, police officers teamed up with Manchester City Magistrates' Court to target people with unpaid fines. We visited numerous addresses across the area resulting in fines either being paid directly to the court officers or as in one case, when someone was unable to pay; they were immediately detained and taken directly to court.

Police Community Support Officers also held a police surgery at Walkden College. This was a great opportunity to speak directly to students and staff about a range of issues important to them, including crime prevention information, crime stoppers reporting and career advice. We now intend to make this a regular thing.

The highlight of the day was the arrest of a wanted female. She was arrested after she was found committing an offence in Walkden. However it then became apparent that she was wanted by Devon and Cornwall Police! It just shows that you never know what is around the next corner.

This page was last updated on 19 December 2011