Hale Independent Issue 177

APRIL 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 2025. 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 MANCHESTER Airport recorded more than two million passengers in Feb- ruary for the first time in its history thanks to a bumper half-term week. More than 800,000 of the month’s passengers travelled during the school holiday, a surge driven by people taking advantage of the first break of the year to seek sunshine in places like Tenerife, Alicante and Dubai. The 2,012,134 passengers recorded in January is 5.9 per cent up on last year – the pre- vious best February on record. The successful month sets the scene for what is set be another record-breaking year for the airport – which will be further boosted by the announcement of a new route to India launching with the country’s biggest airline IndiGo in the summer. It will make Manchester the only airport in the North with a direct route to India – the world’s fastest growing major economy. With more than 500,000 people with Indian heritage living within two hours’ drive of the airport, bosses say the route is likely to be a catalyst for trade, tourism and investment. Airport managing director Chris Woodroofe said: “It’s set to be an exciting year. We’re looking forward to the com- pletion of our £1.3bn transfor- mation programme and the full opening of our brand-new, world-class Terminal 2, which will become the airport’s main terminal and serve around 70 per cent of our passengers. “On top of that we’re con- tinuing to add the new routes that people in the region want. Our new partnership with IndiGo means we’re the only Northern airport with a direct connection to India. “We already serve more than 200 different destina- tions with 50 airlines, but India is a fantastic addition. “Not only is it an incredible place to visit and the world’s fastest growing economy, but it’s a great connection for the half a million people of Indian heritage who live within two hours of the airport.” GREATER Manchester mayor Andy Burnhamhas demanded a ‘new deal’ for the North. Speaking at a press confer- ence at the Convention of the North he highlighted trans- port and housing as two of the major areas that had to be addressed. He told journalists: “The big message I think that needs to come out of this conven- tion is we need a new deal for the North of England, for this parliament and for the next decade. “We have had the false promises of Northern Pow- erhouse and Levelling Up, the North can’t repeatedly be given false promises. We need mayors and ministers working together to get that new deal.” And he added: “If there is to be airport expansion in the south east and a new corridor between Oxford and Cam- bridge that is only justifiable if there is that new deal for the North to balance it. “We can’t carry on the model of economic growth that is only based around London and the south east.” Looking ahead to the gov- ernment’s looming spending review, Labour mayor Mr Burnham said investment in major transport infrastruc- ture projects in the North was vital if there was to be economic growth. Speaking at the press con- ference, alongside fellowmay- ors from across the North, Mr Burnham said without that that the region would remain at a disadvantage. Earlier in the day, talk- ing on the main stage of the conference, being held at the University of Central Lanca- shire, he highlighted a public accounts committee report on GREATER Manchester lead- ers have approved new Combined Authority budgets for the coming year, which will see the city-region look to continue to drive improve- ments across public services. The leaders of the 10 bor- oughs, including Trafford, and mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham have passed thebudgets for thenext finan- cial year This included an increase in the mayoral and fire precepts equivalent to 24p a week for a Band B property, and 31p increase per week for a Band D property. The majority of homes in the city-region fall within Bands A and B. In a statement the GMCA said: “These precept increases will help Greater Manchester maintain and deliver further improvements across pub- lic services.” Those improvements include increasing the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service fleet with a 52nd engine and the num- ber of firefighters to crew it, as well as funding the final delivery of a ‘bus reform programme’, including the potential for more buses and new routes. transforming our town centres. We are investing more money tomake Trafford a place where all our residents, businesses and communities thrive.” However, the council will still have a future budget gap of £35.3m over the next two years, including having to find an extra £27.89m in 2026/27. Cllr Ross said: “We are the lowest funded metropolitan council in England. We are also dealing with a struc- tural deficit in our budget and we will continue our dialogue with the govern- ment to make sure we put Trafford Council on a firmer and more sustainable finan- cial footing.” running – and currently invit- ing funding applications. Joe, 30, met 14 to 19-year- olds at Gorse Hill Studios in Stretford, to tell them about the huge boost that his grant gave to his ambitions. He told them: “£3,000 doesn’t go that far but to us it was like winning £10m. It was a real pot of gold. We begged, borrowed and stole the rest, and made money on show tickets. “Later we got a top-up grant from the Prince’s Trust. Joe and I ran the company together for a couple of years then I carried on solo for 10 years after that. It launched my whole career.” l Continued from page one Local law firm Myerson Solicitors was announced as the headline sponsor of ‘the festival. Speaking at the launch of the festival Mandy White, Altrincham BID director, said: “We are thrilled to pres- ent ‘A Taste of Altrincham,’ which not only celebrates our town’s exceptional food and drink scene but provides a vibrant new event for the town and supports local businesses. “We hope this event becomes an annual tradition to cele- brate Altrincham’s incredible food and drink scene.” City region budget gets green light TRAFFORD Council con- firmed a 7.49 per cent council tax increase as it set its revenue budget for 2025/26. The local authority had been given dispensation by the government to raise its council tax above the 4.99 per cent threshold without a local referendum. Council leader Tom Ross said achieving a balanced budget was the toughest chal- lenge of his political career, following cuts of more than £300million in recent years. Trafford received ‘Excep- tional Financial Support’ from the government to be able to balance the budget. As well as the green light for the council tax hike it includes a capitalisation loan of £9.6m to help repair a structural defi- cit and pay for the increasing needs for services. There will also be a charge for garden waste to be collected. Cllr Ross said: “This is a budget that invests in our people and our places. We are investing more money to help our vulnerable children and adults. “We are investing more money to continue Council tax hike is confirmed Airport numbers continue to soar Burnham calls for ‘new deal’ Transport call: Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham Ambitious: Joe Meighan recounts his success story to teenagers (Photo credit: Trafford Council) Joe’s funding story A SUCCESSFUL Altrin- cham theatre direc- tor dropped in at the re-launch of a funding scheme that handed him £3,000 to start his own business at the age of 14. Joe Meighan, artistic director at the Garrick Playhouse, won the grant with his friend Joe Hodgins back in 2008 to set up MYT Youth Theatre. Using an initial sum of £20,000 from the Govern- ment’s Violence Reduction Unit, administered by Traf- ford Council, the Gorse Hill Youth Bank is back up and the HS2 rail project. The northern leg of that high-speed rail link was scrapped by the previous Con- servative government amid spiralling costs. Mr Burnham said the report had confirmed that the West Coast mainline would reach its capacity in the second half of the 2030s, alongside a M6 motorway that would also be “full”. He repeated his call for a new rail line to connect the North West to the West Mid- lands and said if that did not happen HS2 would be a “mon- ument to inequality.” Turning towards housing, he called for a building pro- gramme across the North to deliver low carbon coun- cil houses and social hous- ing, describing it as a “huge opportunity” to create jobs and skills. The North will be the first part of England to be fully covered by devolution fol- lowing recent government announcements, and the Northern mayors and lead- ers came together to highlight how they will work together with their devolved powers to drive economic growth and improve the lives of people across the region. Liverpool city region mayor Steve Rotheram told the press conference: “Though we speak with different accents we all speak with one voice.”