Not many of the general public attend local Area Committee meetings which are held every month in each of the seven areas into which Stockport is divided. It usually takes a contentious planning application or some hotly disputed issue to bring in the crowds. Last year, my own Area Committee, the Heatons, was amalgamated with that of the Reddish Area Committee. We now cover four wards, Heatons North and South and Reddish North and South.

The business of Area Committee meetings covers a wide range of topics. The local neighbourhood policing team gives a monthly report and answers questions from councillors and the public. Residents are able to question councillors on any issues covered by the Area Committee. Each month we receive reports from our area conditions officers on environmental issues. Highways officers report on and receive questions about the area’s roads and footpaths. Occasionally presentations are made. At our last meeting in January, we had two presentations, one from a new organisation called FLAG (which delivers information and advice to Stockport residents on adult health and social care) and another from a representative of Canoe England about a proposed River Tame Canoe Trail through Reddish Vale. Important or contentious planning applications often take up much of the time but during the recession there have been considerably fewer of these on the agenda.

In January, the Executive Councillor for Transportation and one of his senior officers reported on how the Council re-acted to the severe winter weather at the end of December and beginning of January. Councillors asked searching questions and made constructive comments on how things could be improved. In short, any important local issues usually pass through the Area Committee and it is there that key recommendations and decisions are made before being passed on to the Executive.

Cllr Anthony O'Neill
Heatons North