Denton and Audenshaw District Assembly Town Plan 2008-2011 and I Am Proud to Be Appointed and Represent the Assembly As the Chair
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Denton & Audenshaw District Assembly Town Plan 2008 - 2011 A Sustainable Vision For Denton & Audenshaw Contents 1. Introduction From The Chair Of 1 The District Assembly 2. Our Vision 2 3. Objectives Of The Town Plan 3 4. The Denton And Audenshaw 4 District Assembly 5. Where We Are 8 6. Our Town 9 7. Action Plan 12-30 8. The Bigger Picture 31-35 Hatting Statue, Jubilee Square, Denton. 1. Introduction from the Chair of the Assembly I am delighted to introduce the Denton and Audenshaw District Assembly Town Plan 2008-2011 and I am proud to be appointed and represent the Assembly as the Chair. In recent years the area has seen many changes and no more so than the improvements to Denton Town Centre itself with the benefits that the developments at Crown Point North and Morrisons have brought to shopping in Denton and the creation of a new Civic Square in the heart of the town. Further improvements are planned with the development of the former Oldham Battery site. I am particularly proud of our parks and Cemetry Road, Denton green spaces, which have seen significant improvements over the last few years. the Blooming of our town the Assembly Victoria Park, Ryecroft, Denton Cemetery and will work to improve the standard and Haughton Green Playing Fields have obtained attractiveness of our street environment. the prestigious Green Flag Award, the national standard for parks and open spaces. Victoria The Town Plan sets out an ambitious Park has also been recognised by the Civic programme of work over the next three Trust by being awarded the Green Heritage years that will continue the progress that Award for it's outstanding contribution to the has already been made. The Assembly will area. In addition Haughton Green Playing review the plan on a regular basis and will Fields has been recognised with a Green strive to achieve our vision of making Denton Pennant Award for community participation and Audenshaw an even better place to live, and I am confident that through the excellent work and visit. work of the Friends of Granada Park, Dane Bank will achieve a similar standard park in Cllr Margaret Downs the near future. Chair of the Denton & Audenshaw District Assembly Maintaining a clean and safe environment is one of our priorities and the Assembly members and staff will continue to work in partnership with the Police, Fire and Rescue Service and other organisations and agencies to ensure that our streets are safe, clean and well maintained. I want also our neighbourhoods to be attractive and pleasant places for residents, businesses and visitors alike, and through Cllr Margaret Downs Cllr Dawson Lane - - Chair Deputy Chair 1 2. Our Vision Denton and Audenshaw is an attractive and welcoming place to live, work and visit and your District Assembly aims to make it even better. The District Assembly working with local residents, businesses and partners will continue to improve the opportunities for people of all ages and backgrounds to get involved in the life of their neighbourhoods and community. We aim to support a culture where people feel safe and healthy and, with pride, take active responsibility for the neighbourhood in which they live or work. Ryecroft Hall, Audenshaw 2 3. The Town Plan 2008 - 2011 The Town Plan pulls together a number of themes and policies contained within several Council and partner organisation documents and surveys: • The Tameside Community Strategy • Tameside Council Corporate Plan • The District Assembly’s Business Plan • Environment Strategy • The Market Research and Opinion Poll Data Thematic Partnership Strategies including: • Children and Young People's Plan • Cultural Strategy • Tameside Crime and Disorder Partnership Plan • Health Inequalities Strategy • Community Cohesion Strategy In attempting to respond to public consultation, the Town Plan seeks to address issues relating to the following items of public concern: • Street scene issues – cleaner streets, no dog fouling • Improving parks and green spaces Victoria Park • Crime prevention and reduction initiatives • Better quality carriageway and footway repairs • Improving road safety in residential areas • Improving facilities for young people • Regeneration of Denton Town Centre • Protection of the local environment • Road safety initiatives, especially close to schools and on routes to schools • Reducing health inequalities. 3 4. The Denton and Audenshaw District Assembly The Council has appointed 8 District Assemblies, as part of its commitment to local democracy, improved service delivery in the context of cost effective and more efficient, transparent and accountable decision making. They are one way the public can make their voice heard in Tameside and provide an opportunity for them to find out what's going on in their area and to have their say. The Assembly covers the four electoral wards of Audenshaw, Denton North East, Denton South and Denton West. As at May 2008 the following Councillors are members of the District Assembly: Audenshaw Cllr Jean Brazil Cllr Wendy Brelsford Cllr Colin White Denton North East Cllr Allison Gwynne Cllr Vincent Ricci Cllr Martin Wareing Denton South Cllr Andrew Doubleday Haughton Green Playing Fields Cllr Margaret Downs Cllr Walter Downs Denton West Cllr Dawson Lane Cllr Mike Smith Cllr Brenda Warrington 4 In addition, the Assembly includes an Advisory Group comprising a small number of individuals representing local community groups/businesses in the District Assembly area. Pupil representatives from the High Schools in the area are also appointed to serve on the Advisory Group. As at May 2008 the Advisory Group membership is as follows: Sandra Marston JP Denton District Scouts Jean Marlor Denton Local History Society Julie Fisher Audenshaw Local History Society Molly Hughes St. Thomas Moore R.C. High School Nathan Hanna St. Thomas Moore R.C. High School There are four key briefs to be dealt with, each one by an individual Frontline Councillor who are required to report regularly to Assembly meetings and expected to involve relevant Advisory Group members in carrying out this responsibility. The briefs are: Denton War Memorial, Victoria Park 1. Community Safety: Cllr Mike Smith 2. Environment: Cllr Andrew Doubleday 3. Young People's Issues: Cllr Jean Brazil 4. Local Liaison: Cllr Vincent Ricci The District Assembly looks after many 5 Council services and gives the public a voice in their town. Area working in Tameside differs from that of most other authorities who have established area committees. The District Assemblies have real budgets and delegated decision making powers with responsibility for services that have a real impact on people's quality of life, from keeping our streets clean and litter free to making sure our parks are desirable places to visit. Their budgets include discretionary funding to drive their own minor works programme, improvements to local grot spots and are responsive to individual problems in their neighbourhoods and communities. These actions are making a significant contribution towards delivering the key community strategy theme relating to “Improving the appearance of the Borough”. The service is also supporting most of the other key themes of the strategy at a neighbourhood level which are monitored via the business planning process. In addition to these vital services we also hold public meetings where local people can ask questions about any council service or can listen to what is going on in their area. They meet approximately every 8 weeks. Every day, teams of Assembly staff are out and Crown Point North Retail Park, Denton about making the streets cleaner and safer and our environment greener whilst engaging with others to make Denton and Audenshaw an attractive and welcoming place to live, work and visit. The District Assemblies Question Time has 6 helped to focus member and officer attention to raising standards of performance and delivering high levels of public satisfaction with such services. The District Assembly has been able to address cross cutting themes in partnership with a significant number of local community groups/resident groups/registered social landlords and Police and is well placed to lead on the delivery of the Government’s neighbourhood agenda. Examples of neighbourhood working initiatives include: • PACT meetings • Joint working with registered social landlords supporting tenants and residents alike • Individual consultations on improvements to local neighbourhoods including parks and open spaces • Supporting the establishment of Friends Groups in our local parks • Acting as an active partner in neighborhood regeneration initiatives • Joint working with Patrollers to tackle anti social behaviour, dog fouling and litter • The local lead member for community safety for the District Assembly serves on the Crime Reduction Partnership • Ward level working on community Partnership Working with Greater Manchester Police safety initiatives in association with local Neighbourhood Watch Schemes and supporting borough wide initiatives such as Business Watch • Working with the Joint Health Improvement Team and the Primary Care Trust to support residents to lead healthier lives. 7 5. 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