Hale Independent Issue 174

JANUARY 2025 2 No part of this publicationmay be used or reproduced without the express permission of the publisher. Every effort is made to ensure that the articles and advertisements that are carried are authentic, however the publisher accepts no responsibility for claims made. © Investors in Publishing Ltd 2024. This newspaper is publishedmonthly by Investors in Publishing, Publishing House, 3 Bridgebank Industrial Estate,Taylor Street, Horwich, Bolton BL6 7PD. 01204 478812 EDITOR Ged Henderson ged@hendersonnewsandmedia.com CONTACT JayneMeadowcroft 01204 478812 07703 045189 jayne@independentnewspapers.co.uk ADVERTISING Robin Atkins 07767 840274 robin@cheshireindependent.co.uk CONTACT US GREATER Man- chester has set its sights on rail – with ambitious plans for a London-style public transport system. In a letter to the transport secretary mayor Andy Burnham is making the case for the city-region to over- see eight vital rail lines in order to improve ser- vices and support con- tinuing growth of the city-region’s economy. He says that Greater Manchester is ready to apply the same focus, momentum and pace to bringing rail into the Bee Network as it has done with buses, And is calling for a firm timeline to be published in January setting out the nec- essary steps to make it happen. Routes being con- sidered for integration into the Bee Network by 2028 include lines through Stockport to Buxton and Alder- ley Edge, currently run by train opera- tor Northern. ‘Tidal wave’ of flu hits hospitals GREATER Manchester Police (GMP) launched its annual drink and drug drive operation, as part of an ongoing drive to keep- ing the region’s roads safe during one of the busiest periods of the year. The comprehensive enforce- ment campaign, which will run into the New Year, aims to tackle the persistent issue of impaired driving during the festive season, when social gath- erings and celebrations tradi- tionally lead to an increase in drink and drug driving offences. The month-long campaign runs until Wednesday January 1 and has seen an intensified police presence across all 10 Greater Manchester boroughs, including Trafford, with officers conducting roadside breath and drug testing operations at stra- tegic locations. A GMP spokesperson said: “Our Roads Policing Units (RPU) will be working with Neighbourhood Teams and partner agencies, to ensure maximum coverage during peak periods, particularly dur- ing weekends and the morning after nights out. “During this operation last year – we arrested 507 motor- ists for drink or drug driving offences – 19 arrests were made on Christmas Eve, 13 on Christmas Day and 43 on New Year’s Eve. “Arrests in 2023 across the whole of our RPU saw a 16.25 per cent increase compared to 2022, for a range of offences, not just drink and drug driving. “This increase is a result of Making a Bee-line for rail Plans: Greater Manchester is looking to bring Northern trains into its Bee Network to apply the same focus, momentum and pace to rail reform as we have with buses. “I’m writing to the transport secretary to set out how we plan to approach bringing rail into the Bee Network, to create a true Lon- don-style public trans- port system. “We’re committed to working with govern- ment and the rail indus- try to agree and publish a clear timeline in Jan- uary of how we’ll make this critical next step a reality.” Transport commis- sioner for Greater Man- chester Vernon Everitt added: “The Bee Net- work is delivering pos- itive change for the people and businesses of Greater Manchester. “We are already seeing the results, with better buses, more reliable ser- vices, growing numbers of passengers, new night buses and record levels of customer satisfaction. “Our focus now is on delivering these improvements in south Manchester starting on January 5.” He added: “This is only the first chapter of the Bee Network story as we push on with creating a public transport and active travel network that matches the scale of the region’s growing economy and the need to better connect people to new jobs, homes, edu- cation and opportunity.” Festive drive to keep roads safe Testing times: GMP has launched its annual drink and drug drive operation (Photo credit: GMP) more Roads Policing officers being recruited, an increase in road-side drug wipe train- ing for district officers, as well as an increase in breathalyser kits which rolled out in Decem- ber 2023.” Chief Inspector Michael Parker, from GMP’s Safer Transport Team, said: “We’re committed to making Greater Manchester’s roads safer for everyone, and we will be relent- less in pursuing those who put lives at risk by driving under the influence. “Our officers witness first- hand the devastating aftermath of drink and drug driving col- lisions; they are entirely pre- ventable. We know people will be celebrating with friends, families, and colleagues dur- ing the festive period, and we’re not here to stop people having a good time. “We’re asking people to plan ahead – book a taxi, arrange a designated driver, or stay over- night. Remember, you could still be over the limit the morning after drinking – it’s not worth the risk. “The consequences of drink or drug driving can be devastat- ing and life-changing, not only do offenders risk losing their licence and potentially their job, but they also risk taking inno- cent lives. No Christmas party or night out is worth that.” FLU hit hospitals in the North West hard in the run up to Christmas with a ‘tidal wave’ of infections leading to a 28 per cent increase in admissions across just seven days. The NHS was encouraging people eligi- blepeople toget vaccinatedwithout delay if they haven’t done so already to avoid “festive flu”with 1,153 patients with flu in hospital in the firstweekof December –up from825 in the previous week. Winter vaccinations were being offered at community centres, supermarkets and Christmas events as the NHS in Cheshire and Merseyside braced itself for a rise in winter viruses as Christmas approach. Data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) showed flu cases highest among 5 to 14-year-olds, but adult cases were expected to rise significantly once schools and nurseries close for Christmas, as theNHS contends with a‘quad-demic’. The effort to vaccinate as many eligible people as possible came amidnewfears of a‘quad-demic’, with flu, RSV, Covid-19 and norovirus all reaching record levels for this time in the year, as the NHS braces for a longwinter ahead. Flu season usually peaks in December and January and the vaccineprovides vital protection to prevent people from devel- oping serious illnesses and ending up in hospital during the busywintermonths. Professor Rowan Pritchard Jones, medical director at NHS Cheshire and Merseyside, said:“The increase in flu cases and other seasonal viruses creates addi- tional demand during an already very challengingwinter period.” The call to bring rail routes under local control in Greater Manchester came less than one month before the completion of bus franchising. More than 250 routes across Trafford, Stock- port, Tameside, and parts of Manchester and Sal- ford are set to join the Bee Network on January 5. Work to see the city-re- gion take back control of its bus services after being privatised in the 1980s is set to complete on time and on budget. Services already in the network have also seen a five per cent increase in use, and fares taken have exceeded forecasts for 2024 by nine per cent. Andy Burnham said: “Next year will be one of real change for Greater Manchester, as we encourage evenmore peo- ple onto public transport to build a low-cost, high patronage network. “But we’re not stop- ping at buses – we want to do more. Our unreli- able rail services are a brake on growth and we deserve better. “By bringing them into the Bee Network we can deliver real change for our residents, increasing reliability and ultimately getting more people out of their cars onto pub- lic transport. “We’ve shown we can deliver – now we’re ready