Rainsough shops discussion
This morning I met with Cllr Peter connor, the Executive member for Housing at Salford City Council, to talk about the derelict shops on Chapel Road in Rainsough. The estate is in the odd position of receiving services from Bury Council (and representation from Bury Councillors), but the tenants are Salford tenants because the estate is on the border of the two authorities. I hope this isn’t why sometimes things fall through the gap in terms of service provision…
The area is crying out for some decent community facilities, and Cllr Connor seemed very keen to work with us to renovate the site. It will cost at least £60,000 to refurbish the shops, which is one of a number of potential options. Whether a commerical operation is viable is doubtful, given that we have tried and failed there before. But the scout hut currently used for community groups is woefully unfit for the job, and the estate has no doctor’s surgery, clinic, job centre, or other outreach service. Given that money is available for a Children’s Centre in the ward, I am going to try and really press for the appropriate funding to give the people of Rainsough (which, let’s not forget, is the most deprived part of Prestwich) the facilities they deserve and need.
I will update the Tenants and Residents Association at their meeting on Thursday night, and I will be inviting Cllr Connor to the next meeting of the Local Area Partnership Communities sub-group to take this further and see what we can do. The good will is definitely there. It’s now just a case of bringing the people to the money and seeing if we can make it happen for Rainsough.
Rick
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