Category Archives: Borough elections 2011

Canvassing à trois

Today has been a busy one. Glossopdale Labour Team is now increasing the number of  door knocking sessions we are carrying out to several daily sessions , these are covering a great deal of the Glossopdale area and in ever increasing party numbers.

I took part in three of these today. Firstly there was a morning session in Tintwistle, followed by an afternoon session in Padfield and ended with an evening session in Howard Town with a spot of phone canvassing in between.

Good news in all three wards, and once again there is sign of other parties and/or individuals canvassing residents there.

It is the same again tomorrow in addition to  dealing with all the window poster and  garden stake requests, the latter of which will be going up this week.

Future of Duke of Norfolk’s Old Glossop site?

Garry and I have sent an open letter to the Director of the Diocesan Board of Education on the future of the Church Street site annexe of the Duke of Norfolk CE (C) Primary School. It has been sent to the Glossop Chronicle, Glossop Advertiser and High Peak radio due to the concern in Old Glossop and of parents over the future use of the site and it buildings. The letter can be read below:

OPEN LETTER TO:
Mr Phil Moncur
Director of Education
Diocese of Derby’s Board of Education
Derby Church House
Full Street, Derby
DE1 3DR

Dear Mr Moncur

Plans for sale and disposal of Duke of Norfolk CE Primary School‘s Church Street annexe site.

We hold some fundamental questions about the proposed sale and disposal of the Church Street site, which we feel have not been addressed by the Board or the Local Authority. We write seeking better clarification about the future plans for this wonderful building dating from 1852.

We are writing this letter on behalf of many concerned residents of Old Glossop, a ward we are both seeking to represent on High Peak Borough Council, and one of us – Garry Parvin – as a parent who has a child who attends the Church Street site.

With reference to the Cabinet Meeting minutes of Derbyshire County Council held on the 7th March, we note the estimated value placed on the site is £200,000 and that the total proceeds of the sale is set to be given to the County Council as the Education Authority towards the £600,000 cost of the consolidation project.

 Our chief questions therefore are

  • Is there a covenant on the Church Street annexe?
  • Is it the intention of the Board of Education to sell the land and buildings merely to the highest bidder?
  • Will the benefit to the local community be taken into consideration with a view to it remaining a community resource where possible?

We must stress that we welcome this rationalisation and move to a single site as being in the long-term interest of the children of our communities as are the parents and residents of Old Glossop, but must voice our concern that plans are being made without full explanation or consultation.

We hope to hear from your soon and that your reply will go some way to addressing these concerns.

Yours faithfully

Garry Parvin and Damien Greenhalgh
The Labour Party candidates for Old Glossop ward

Sun, Leaflets and Ducks

Leaflets? check.
Sunglasses? check.
Ducks? what now?!?!

Garry and I have been delivering our Election Address leaflets this morning and again this afternoon in a very sunny Old Glossop.

#Ducks4Labour
On our travels around Shirebrook Park we found the ubiquitous British duck – the Mallard – seemed to have a penchant for shady lawns there. Here’s a few snaps:

Doorstep Update – Shirebrook Park (Hillwood Drive/Appleton Drive area)

As everyone was beginning their extended Easter Bank Holiday weekend yesterday, many choosing to make the most of the springtime sun outside the local pub or in their gardens, Garry and I with our ever increasing canvassing team made our way to the door steps of Shirebrook Park.

Streets we called in on were Hurstbrook Close, Dovedale Court, Hillwood Drive, Furness Close, Millersdale Court, Partington Court, Peveril Court, Appleton Drive, Larch Way and Ashbourne Court.

We had a good response on the doors, especially considering many were in their gardens soaking up the last of the evening sun.

There will be a short hiatus from canvassing this weekend  for people to celebrate Easter. and St George’s Day. You may however see me, Garry and/or other out leafleting our Election Address this weekend.

Election Address

Our “Election Address” – posh talk for our final election leaflet – is finding its way to you in the day few days, once a again thanks to our network of leaflet volunteers.
Some may have already come home to find one popped through your letterbox, however, for those of you that cannot wait until then you can find a digital copy of it by clicking the link here > Election Address.

Phonebank | ‘ello ‘ello ‘ello

With Postal Votes dropping on the doormats of High Peak residents this morning – including mine – Glossopdale’s Labour Team got stuck in once more reminding people of the necessity for voting for a change in the Borough after almost a decade of Tory-controlled or Tory-led administrations (and no real voice for Old Glossop too!!).

The tea was brewed and the biscuits at the ready as the Team and I made our way round to Garry and Dawn’s Church Street house this evening for the first of what we hope to be many ‘phonebank‘ sessions.

This ‘Get Out The Postal Vote‘ exercise whereby we telephone all the people who have promised their support to Labour and have a postal vote and well they didn’t disappoint. In addition to many eager beavers already casting their vote for us, we have a flurry of poster requests.

Doorstep Update – Croft Manor/Shirebrook Drive/Silk St/Thomas St/York St

A big session this afternoon with six of us out on pounding the streets of Old Glossop today, gaining a healthy amount of Labour promises for 5th May as a result.

The team in Old Glossop

We covered a lot of ground including Silk St, York St, Thomas St, Birch Green, Croft Manor, Shirebrook Drive, Slant Close, Cross Rise, Carr Bank, Holly Bank, Bramble Bank and Rushmere.

We found there to be a  lot of disgruntled residents in these streets, some stating that they had never met their  local councillors for the last eight years, Chris Webster or Ivan Bell.

With one resident who felt severely let down by her local councillors Cllrs Chris Webster and Ivan Bell; but also by the local resident and Conservative Executive Member on the Borough Council  for Social and Community Development Cllr Jean Wharmby.

A particular gripe of this resident and her husband was how they dealt or rather didn’t deal with a bad case of fly-tipping – the dumping of a three piece suite and a mattress on Council owned land – that she had reported to them six months ago.

Voter Registration Deadline: This Thursday

Remember folks that the deadline for registering to vote at these elections is in 2 days on:

Thursday, 14th April 2011

You can obtain a voter registration form from the elections team at High Peak Borough Council (see below) or download a form by visiting the “About my vote” website here.

Get in touch with the team for a form:

Doorstep Update – Manor Park Rd/Hope St/Wesley St/Old Cross/Water St

Well what a difference a day makes. It was a wet and windy session tonight unlike the weekend session, but we didn’t let the weather dampen our spirits.

And what a session! Our best yet for Labour promises in fact and a bumper evening for our posters too. With many choosing to put these up as the team, Garry and I were at their doors.

Also we came across a good handful of Liberal Democrat voters – or former Lib Dem voters now rather – that have switch their support to  Labour, the real progressive party in British politics, in disgust at them being in bed with the ideologically cut driven Conservatives.

PS – The Conservative, Liberal Democrat  candidate(s) and the incumbent Mr Webster are noticeable by their absence in the ward. Not a sausage.

Doorstep Update – Queens Drive/Pyegrove Rd

A very sun soaked door-knocking session around Pyegrove Rd and Queens Drive in the ward this afternoon with Garry and the some of the team.

We found lots of support for us there with a couple of posters going up in windows today and more to follow nearer to election day too.

We also found that there was a surprising amount of anti-Chris Webster feeling around Queens Drive, especially if you think that residents there are his neighbours!!

But I suppose being in office for eight years and having deliver very little if anything?! …again shows the need for residents to bring about change to regain Old Glossop’s voice in the Council to fight the ward’s corner, rather than the lone ignored voice it has been of late.