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SALFORD COUNCIL WINS ‘WE MIGHT BE BULLDOZING SWINTON BUT WE’RE NOT TELLING YOU’ AWARD
 

Star date: 4th January 2020

SALFORD CITY COUNCIL TRIUMPHS AGAIN!

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the 13th annual Salford Star Mary Burns Awards, which are given out to honour the most deserving individuals and organisations in the city for their stupid statements, dodgy dealings and iffy activities over the past twelve months.

This year, another new category has been created, the 'We Might Be Bulldozing Swinton But We're Not Telling You' Award, which does everything it says on the tin. So ladies and gentlemen, rip up your Lancastrians and tear down the Civic Centre for our winner...

Full details here...

Salford Star Mary Burns Award
click image to enlarge

'We Might Be Bulldozing Swinton But We're Not Telling You' Award

Goes to...

Salford City Council

Just a few years ago, it was all about Eccles town centre...'How can we make it better? Let's get Mary Portas down there!'...Now it's 'Fuck Eccles, let's sort Swinton!'

Indeed it's just been announced that Swinton was successfully nominated as a pilot area to benefit from up to £25million from the Future High Streets Fund which, according to the Government, "will lead the way in rejuvenating town centres with expert and tailored support"...

Meanwhile, Salford City Council has been throwing money at a secretive Swinton Transformation Masterplan – handing Urban Vision £200,000 two years ago to come up with a plan which would be "informed by technical surveys and a business case to demonstrate delivery"...

...Then in June 2019, the Council's Procurement Board met to discuss a 'Swinton Transformation Plan – Local Partnerships' agreement...except that all details were kept secret (or in Part 2 of the meeting) because "The publication of this report at this stage may cause financial concern and uncertainty in the locality" and that "This report provides details in regards to potentially commercially sensitive information which form part of a larger long-term project."

The Council published the details after the decision was made - £92,000 was handed to Local Partnerships LLP a joint venture between the Government and the Local Government Association for five months work 'To enable the completion of a Business Case for Swinton Town Centre'...while Cheetham and Mortimer property consultants got £50,000.

So, in this 'open and transparent' city there are no clues as to what the Swinton Transformation might entail. Well, there was one little, possibly red herring, snippet on the Council's website two years ago when proposals were aired to bulldoze Swinton and Pendlebury Leisure Centre and relocate it to a new £11.9million facility by 2022/23. The report stated that the new facility would be part of a "remodelled Civic Campus", ie the land on which the Civic Centre stands.

Who knows if that's the current plan. What we do know is that we don't know what the hell is going on, except that Eccles has been fucked off...

So, ladies and gentlemen, swing out your sister and drive your swine downtown for the winner of the 'We Might Be Bulldozing Swinton But We're Not Telling You' Award...

Salford City Coooouuuncil!!!

If someone from the Council would like to make an acceptance speech please use the comments box below...

 
See other winners of the 2019 Salford Star Mary Burns Awards...

The Rome Wasn't Built In Two Decades Award – Salford City Council – click here

Uncle Joe Stalin Award for Open and Democratic Government - Salford City Council - click here

Wizard of Oz Scarecrow Award – Hazel Blears – click here

Uncle Joe Stalin Award for Open and Democratic Government Part 2 – Salford City Council – click here

Feed The Rich Award – English Cities Fund – click here

U-turn of the Year Award – Salford City Council – click here

Local Government Scandal of the Decade Award – Salford City Council – click here

Fat Cats of the Year Award – Salford City Council and GMCA – click here

Arnold Rimmer wrote
at 16:07:09 on 07 January 2020
@DJB I was told the reason the Lancastrian Hall is still there is because Puccini's refuses to move. The council have wanted to get rid of it for ages but have been unable to as Puccini's is pretty much underneath it. Years ago the council offered to build them a new restaurant across the road in the church car park and they refused the offer.
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DARREN BORN AT HOPE HOSPITAL, RAISED IN SALFORD wrote
at 07:19:17 on 06 January 2020
When there finally bulldoze the great lovely beautiful building that is the *Swinton lancastrian hall*, Salford council should put a lovely commemorate plaque with a lovely picture of the lovely building where it once stood. It shall read "lancastrian hall was here, it was a lovely beautiful building built in 1970, it stood here for 50 years, when people passed it like bus drivers, car drivers and the emergency services, everyone stopped in there vehicles on Chorley rd to admire it's beauty and glamour. it was used by many Salford people everyday who really loved this great lovely building, Also, coaches full of people would come from far away to look at this great lovely building and spend hours looking at it's beauty. Sadly it's gone forever. Bulldozed in 2020 by the people of Salford" .. A big challenger tank demolished it.
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DJB wrote
at 07:16:03 on 06 January 2020
I once got told that the issue with knocking the Lancastrian Hall down is that the foundations are directly linked/connected to those of the Precinct itself making demolition problematic. Also know someone who enquired about opening a shop on the Precinct and it turns out the rental rates are as high as any shopping area in Greater Manchester. Swinton is rapidly following in the footsteps of Eccles with endless pizza/kebab shops and Turkish barbers opening, the fact that a few boutique pubs are opening offers a glimmer of hope.
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ROSSI wrote
at 07:15:28 on 06 January 2020
Good boy, Darren. There's a good boy.
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BORN AND BRED DARREN wrote
at 12:23:28 on 05 January 2020
Swinton precinct needs to be completely bulldozed for a start, it's a concrete dire outdated shopping nightmare and half the shops have gone.BM BARGAINS moved to old BQ, the jewellery shop went years ago, the market went about 6years ago, Martin's bakers moved to facing ALDI,£shop shut down,few banks have gone, the chopsticks Swinton buffet has closed (the old Yates place) and lots more shops have left the sinking ship.. Swinton people go to the ASDA and MORRISONS now. I say it's about 50 per cent full.. There is Big plans for the Swinton areas involving more house's,(don't know if any will be affordable, prob NOT). There are building about 500houses on the land behind saint Augustines's church, on Bolton rd.. Also about 450houses on nice scenic lovely fields called hazelHurst farm on the Worsley/Swinton border, and a primary school. The location is across the rd from wardley BOC.. Also nobody knows what the FUTURE holds for the MASSIVE land at Swinton golf club, £££ talks, you could get about 1500 houses on there.. Also there are going to knock down parts of Swinton industrial estate, on bridge at/Swinton hall rd for about 500houses.. There have already built 250 lovely houses last year on the old Swinton waterworks off Campbell rd with a price tag off from ONLY £260.000 to £333.000 for a 3bed house (so it's not affordable for normal Salford people). ALL THESE NEW HOUSES.. Darren has spoken, quite a lot. Only 354days to next Xmas day people.
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Kauna B wrote
at 10:22:48 on 05 January 2020
That is what you get when you continue to vote the same party in despite them do ZILCH! A vote for Labour in Salford means...…. Inadequate policing Urban degeneration Increasing anti social behaviour Damaged roads Little to no street cleaning Fly tipping To name just a few. But hey ho..... parking enforcement is working well! If you want change, then you have a democratic right to aid change. Use it wisely.
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Bob the regular wrote
at 05:58:44 on 05 January 2020
I agree Darren, Lancastrian hall is crap and ugly and should be pulled down, each time I go past I think the same, only I would prefer to do it with a challenger tank. However I do think that this monstrosity should be grade 1 listed as a lasting monument to the knobs that built it ,and thought it was great at the time. The knobs across the road.
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BORN AND BRED DARREN wrote
at 18:00:09 on 04 January 2020
I drive pass the lancastrian hall while I'm working and I would love to be in a bulldozer to demolish it. There should bulldoze this horrible ugly concrete building that is the Lancastrian hall facing Swinton town hall. It's 50 years old and i think it was last used about 4/5 years ago as the library, which is now in the new Swinton gateway. This concrete dire building should get a prize as the "worst building in Salford award".. Also, there is plans to bulldoze pendlebury industrial estate on Swinton hall rd/bridge st area for 500houses. Also, where will the new pendlebury recreation centre location be if it's bulldozed, maybe on the old lancastrian hall site. What Will the pendlebury recreation centre land be used for??? Talking of recreation centres, ordsall rec is shutting, (land has been sold for more flats,no sorry Apartments) and is merging with Clarendon rec and that is moving to a NEW BlG modern recreation centre on the old Brydon close/Edgehill close areas. we will all have to wait and see.
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wrote
at 17:59:40 on 04 January 2020
And fools still vote Labour, fools all off Labourites, rent council tax hikes coming soon
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Mark Bland wrote
at 17:59:36 on 04 January 2020
This council is no longer fit for purpose it's absolute joke all my life it's been labour i have seen constant decline over the last 5 decades every where is losing its identity 😡👎
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