LIFE IN SALFORD MONTHLY MAG TO END?

Salford Council's Life In Salford magazine which currently appears every month could soon be scaled back, after Parliament passed new guidelines limiting council produced publications to just four copies a year.

Salford Star has been one of Life's foremost critics, after disclosing that the freesheet swallows around £28,000 of public money per issue. Now, while the new Code of Practice is not legally binding, breaches will be referred to the District Auditor.

BROUGHTON TURNS OUT TO SUPPORT ITS REC CENTRE

`Keep Salford A Fit City - Save Broughton Rec' ironic magenta t-shirt slogan

Over fifty people turned out tonight to show their support for Broughton Recreation Centre on Camp Street, which is in danger of closing as part of Salford Council's spending cuts.

Regular users of the Rec were joined by trade unionists, local families, passing kids and supporters of Salford Against The Cuts, with the most poignant banner reading `Save Our Rec – Tax The Rich'

SAVE BROUGHTON REC CENTRE
Thursday 31st March 5:30-6:30pm
Outside Broughton Rec
Camp Street, M7 1ZT

Broughton Against The Cuts has called a demo tomorrow to draw attention to the possible closure of Broughton Fit City by Salford Council as part of its £40 spending cuts.

Broughton Rec is right in the middle of the `New Broughton' regeneration area which has had almost £38million of public money spent on the Countryside Properties led development. 

SALFORD PATHFINDER FAILURE
Part 6 Conclusion – Our Friends In The North

The Salford Pathfinder folds this week, having stuck up a final two fingers at the city's community by backing the demolition of more terrace houses in the Top Streets of Higher Broughton.

Over the past 5 articles on Pathfinder, we've attempted to show just why the programme needs a Public Inquiry. Now read our conclusion – is the mess of the 1970s repeating itself?

A Salford Star Exclusive 

OBSCENE £650 A DAY PAYMENT TO MEDIA CITY `DEPRIVED AREAS' CONSULTANT

A consultant brought in to help some of Salford's most `deprived' people get jobs at MediaCityUK is being paid £650 per day – and a total of £46,800 for just 12 days work a month on a six month contract.

Salford City Council, which is currently cutting funding to community groups, is making the obscene payment to former Salford URC Director of Community Regeneration, Chris Marsh, via a contract which has not gone out to tender.

SALFORD TAKES TO THE STREETS OF LONDON

"I believe in standing up for what you believe in" Fran

Coaches from all over Salford landed in London yesterday to join over 400,000 people marching against the ConDem Government cuts.

Salford Star took the Salford Against The Cuts coach, and followed our own trade unionists and activists throughout the day.

THE PATHFINDER IN HIGHER BROUGHTON
Part 5

Developers in Higher Broughton Partnership walked away with over £200,000 profit on 19 houses, while residents who moved into `affordable' properties were left with debts of up to £50,000.

Meanwhile, houses and flats built for sale were converted to social housing to help pay off a Higher Broughton Partnership bank loan of over £10million and protect Salford Council from a direct liability of £1.079million.

Now the Higher Broughton Partnership has been `restructured' "to safeguard against potential future claims"

MARCH FOR THE ALTERNATIVE
Saturday 26th March London

This Saturday will see a massive demonstration in London against the cuts imposed by the ConDem Coalition Government. Over 250,000 people are expected to take part and the demo is backed by virtually every trade union and activist organisation.

Salford Against The Cuts has a coach going from Salford Precinct at 6am with very few places left. It's first come first served.

SALFORD STAR PATHFINDER PUBLIC INQUIRY CALL
Part 4

What Do You Think Of It So Far? `Rubbish!'

"All they did was exchange our homes for substandard poor quality boxes" Val Broadbent, New Broughton Residents Asociation.

In the fourth of our features on the Audit Commission's report into the Manchester and Salford Pathfinder, we focus on the Commission's case study of community involvement in the regeneration of Lower Broughton. Is the community happy?

Wakefield 1 Salford City 2

JACK AND THE WAKEFIELD BEANSTALKS

New recruit Jack Redshaw scored his third goal in three starts for Salford City, as the Ammies got back to winning ways with victory over the unjolly blue giants of Wakefield.

SALFORD STAR PATHFINDER REPORT
Part 3

THE PATHFINDER IN LOWER BROUGHTON

£100MILLION INVESTED FOR A RETURN OF…
685 New Houses, Two Shops, a School That's Too Small, an Unused Field, and Increased Unemployment!

The Audit Commission report into the Manchester and Salford Pathfinder uses Lower Broughton, or the re-packaged New Broughton, as a case study. It concludes that "There are significant concerns for the future phases of the development"…

SALFORD STAR PATHFINDER REPORT
Part 2

KEEPING DEVELOPERS IN PROFITS

Over half a billion pounds worth of public money has been sunk into Pathfinder housing programmes in Manchester and Salford. For every £1 private developers put into new housing schemes, the public sector puts in £6. Yet the developers keep virtually all the profits.

Meanwhile, Salfordians whose homes have been taken off them to make way for the Pathfinder bulldozers have financially lost out.  The Salford Star is now calling for a Public Inquiry.

GIVE US A PUBLIC INQUIRY!

"Lower Broughton might look good on paper but after three years of living here it just isn't like that. To this day I can't understand why they took my house off me and gave me this rubbish" New Broughton resident.

Half finished and half cocked, the Housing Market Renewal programme, or Pathfinder, finally wraps up at the end of March, having spent over £354million on housing in Manchester and Salford since 2003. 

Last week, the Audit Commission positively reviewed the Pathfinder in a report which we believe is full of half truths and misconceptions.

Today, the Salford Star calls for a public inquiry into the Pathfinder project that many people believe has ripped the heart out of Central Salford.

A Salford Star Exclusive

IN HIGHER BROUGHTON RESIDENTS THOUGHT THEY WERE GETTING THEIR HOUSES REFURBISHED AS PROMISED BY THE COUNCIL – INSTEAD THEY GET MASS MURDERERS FRED AND ROSE WEST!

Today, residents of the Top Streets in Higher Broughton are meeting with Salford Council in yet another attempt by the Council to avert a High Court case against it. The Council had promised refurbishment of the residents' homes. Now it wants to demolish them.

The residents thought Salford Council had given in last week when builders arrived in Cardiff Street and began to refurbish some of the tinned up houses. But to their horror they found that mass murderers Fred and Rose West were moving in!

INSIDE SALFORD'S ADULT SOCIAL CARE

In Part 1 of Nigel Pivaro's investigation into home support for elderly Salford people, he revealed that there had been 180 `alerts' over breaches of care for our most vulnerable citizens.

In Part 2, Pivaro reports on the culture of one company which might have led to the shocking care statistics…

Durham City 6 Salford City 2

SALFORD SICKS

One of Salford City's worst results of the season followed one their best performances of the season at Chester the other night. Was it the loss of top scorer Steve Foster to Chorley, was it the plastic pitch or was the team too busy laughing at Durham's cart-horse?

NO SMOKING DAY EAGLE ON SALFORD PRECINCT

Salford people helped to create an eagle sculpture on No Smoking Day this week by donating empty cig packets to the artistic cause.

The Legends Eagle Sculpture symbolised freedom, hope and a lengthy life and will go on display at Pendleton Gateway.

LANGWORTHY HOTEL TO BE DEMOLISHED

Following the demolition of Langworthy Road Primary School, Salford Council announced the death knell for the landmark Langworthy Hotel this week.

The reason the Council gives for the demolition of the Hotel it bought for £385,000 is "to remove blight and health and safety risks".

£150,000 LOWRY OPERA SPEND TO GO AHEAD 

Salford Council's £150,000 spend on an opera at The Lowry is to go ahead despite spending cuts to public services.

Salford Council Leader, John Merry, approved funding this week for the controversial opera which will be staged as part of the Manchester International Festival…

Chester 3 Salford City 1

SALFORD CITY HAMMER CHESTER AND GET BEAT!

`5-3 …We should be winning 5-3! We should be winning 5-3!'

How did Salford City manage to lose this game against runaway league leaders, Chester?

How did Chester manage to build a ground that's half in Wales and half in England? Why were Pat Nevin and Perry Groves named as subs? And how can 2000 fans be so quiet?

SALFORD COUNCIL HANDS PEEL MEDIA OVER £500,000
…GIVES HUGE GRANT TO CORPORATION WITH MULTI £BILLION TURNOVER… AND WON'T TELL HOW IT'S SPENT OVER £1MILLION!

Salford Council has finally revealed its expenditure over £500 for January 2011 – well maybe not, as it's not saying who it's paid over £1million to, including one company that's pocketing over £200,000.

A Salford Star Exclusive

OVER 100 CARE ALERTS FOR ELDERLY SALFORDIANS!

Salford Council has admitted that well over 100 `care alerts' have been issued for just one company which is looking after some of the city's most vulnerable people. And 10% of those elderly people are still being closely monitored, as chaos envelops Salford's new adult social care regime.

According to Salford Star sources, elderly people have been left for hours unable to move, medication has been missed and the time spent with carers has been cut by a quarter. Nigel Pivaro investigates…

SALFORD STAR WINS MEDIA CITY FREEDOM OF INFO COMPLAINT AGAINST SALFORD UNIVERSITY!

INFO COMMISSIONER RULES 5 BREACHES OF INFO ACT BY SALFORD UNIVERSITY!

The Information Commissioner has ruled that the University of Salford  breached the Freedom of Information Act five times in its dealings with the Salford Star.

For almost 18 months the Salford Star has been battling the University to try and find out the rent that it's paying to Peel Holdings for its new MediaCityUK palace. Now the University of Salford has 30 days left to finally provide the information.

FOUR SALIX EXECS SHARE £368,000 WHILE OVER 50% OF SALIX HOMES NON DECENT!

Four Salix Homes Executives shared £368,000 in the year ending 2010, while almost five thousand homes - or 52% of total Salford Council owned stock – were classed as not decent to live in.

While the four execs get an average of £92,000 each in salaries and `emoluments', Salix Homes – Salford Council's arms length housing management company – has set aside £35,000 for community group projects in the city from "efficiency savings".

SALFORD DOCTORS PRESCRIBE AWAY DEPRESSION

Shocking data collected by The Guardian newspaper shows that Salford is in the top three places in England being prescribed antidepressants by doctors. Happy pills are being doled out at a rate of between 120,000 to almost 134,000 prescriptions a year per 100,000 population.

This backs up figures printed by Salford Star last year which showed that almost 10% of the city's population are officially depressed – and that was before the ConDem Government came to power!

`FAILINGS AND WEAKNESS IN CARE SYSTEM' AS MORE KIDS CALL CHILDLINE

A new ChildLine report states that over the last five years, the number of looked after children contacting ChildLine has increased by over 30 per cent.

In Greater Manchester, including Salford, one in 26 children - supposedly in `care' - contact ChildLine about `failings and weaknesses' in the care system. And, according to the report, "Many were suffering physical and sexual abuse and neglect, and felt lost and helpless in the care system".

HERE'S YOUR HERITAGE SON!

In just one week, Salford Council has managed to reduce the iconic Salford Central Mission, latterly known as the Salford URC Church, to rubble.

The huge building on the corner of Trafford Road and Broadway in the shadow of MediaCityUK, was locally listed as important. And back in 2007, Planning Chief, Councillor Derek Antrobus, underlined his commitment that the building would not be demolished. So what happened? And why the speed to get rid of it? Nothing to do with the visit of the Archbishops this week, we hope…

30th Anniversary of Salford Unemployed Centre

Anniversary Fundraising Event
Britannia Hotel
Friday 11th March 7:30pm £20

Salford Unemployed and Community Resource Centre is thirty years old, and to celebrate, it's holding a major fundraising event, with a three course meal, wine, entertainment and speakers including former Eccles MP Ian Stewart at £20 per ticket.

SALFORD AGAINST THE CUTS JOINS MANC DEMO

Over a thousand people attended a rally against the cuts outside Manchester Town Hall yesterday which was addressed by Salford Against The Cuts giving fraternal greetings.

Salford City 2 Lancaster City 2

SALFORD GIVE IT UP LATE AGAIN

For the second time in a week, Salford City conceded a goal with barely a minute left on the clock, as Lancaster City sneaked a draw and escaped Moor Lane with a point in their mugger's bag.

Robbing Lancastrians aside, however, Saturday also marked a special day as horse racing returned to Kersal Moor for the first time since 1846!

WALKDEN NORTH BY-ELECTION SEES LIB DEMS IN LAST PLACE

Nick Clegg's coalition cuts message obviously hasn't reached Salford, as the Lib Dems were hammered into bottom place with just 62 votes in the Walkden North by-election this week.

SALFORD CHILD SAFEGUARDING STILL NOT RIGHT 

After last year's criticism by OFSTED of Salford Council's `inadequate' child safeguarding, an unannounced inspection published this week has found that while the service is improving, there are still many `areas for development'…

OFSTED found that the electronic system of recording child protection enquiries "inhibits accurate recording of analysis of risk", that information sharing was not consistent and more.

INSULTS FLY AS SALFORD CUTS GET VOTED THROUGH

`The Mayor the ringmaster and the chamber floor occupied by clowns…'

Today, Salford Council at its full council meeting voted to enforce £40million of spending cuts.

The Salford Star sent Gareth Lyons to report on the vote. He'd never been to a Council meeting before. Horrified would be an understatement…

COUNCIL CUTS £40MILLION WHILE SALFORD PROTESTS OUTSIDE

Around 200 people protested outside Salford Civic Centre today as Salford City Council officially ratified cuts of £40million.

Speakers lined up to address the crowd and criticise the £40million cuts as councillors looked down from a glass window high above the town hall entrance. 

£20MILLION BBC PHILHARMONIC SPONSORSHIP STAYS DESPITE £40MILLION CUTS

Tomorrow, Salford Council will ratify £40million of cuts to the city, including up to 600 job losses, library closures and reductions in public services. But we can reveal that the £20million Council sponsorship to the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra will remain intact.

In a nod to the cuts, Salford City Council has merely agreed to have a "break" in payments for 2011/12, rather than reducing the full amount.

FURY AT PLANS FOR CADISHEAD AND IRLAM LIBRARIES

Over seventy people turned out yesterday to Salford Council's `consultation' at Cadishead Library where plans for the future of Irlam and Cadishead libraries were unveiled to a heated reception.

GMPTE CHIEF EXEC GETS OVER £500,000 WHILE SALFORD PAYS FOR MEDIACITYUK BUS

Salford Council, currently making £40million of cuts, recently had to fork out £220,000 towards a bus for MediaCityUK, while it was revealed yesterday that David Leather, the Chief Exec of GMPTE is being paid over £500,000 a year.