Dear Constituent,

 

Andrew Gwynne, MP for Denton and Reddish, has formally submitted a proposal to the Restoring Your Railway Fund for a passenger service from Stockport to Ashton-under-Lyne, stopping at Reddish South and Denton.

The Restoring Your Railway Fund will distribute £500 million of funds to reinstate axed local services and restore stations. MPs, local councils and community groups from across England and Wales can submit proposals to the Department for Transport.

With the support of Transport for Greater Manchester and Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council, Gwynne has submitted a proposal to expand and upgrade the line between Heaton Norris Junction in Stockport and Guide Bridge/Ashton Moss Junction. Trains would stop at Reddish South and Denton stations, which would both be upgraded.

The route would form part of an orbital rail route between Stockport and Tameside, something that Greater Manchester is currently lacking.

Andrew Gwynne said:

“In Denton and Reddish, we have been under-served by a rail system for far too long. That’s why I was delighted to submit a formal bid for funds for an Ashton-Stockport line, stopping in both Denton and Reddish.

 

“This line would open up all sorts of new opportunities for people in our area, as well as finally providing a proper rail link between Tameside and Stockport – which is long overdue.

 

“Thanks to the Mayor of Greater Manchester and Transport for Greater Manchester for their technical help in putting the big together.”

Our flagship Tameside Wellness Centre opened its doors ahead of schedule on Monday.

Situated in the heart of Denton, this new £15 million state-of-the-art centre offers health, leisure and wellbeing facilities and activities to people of all ages and abilities.

So far, more than 800 Active Tameside members have signed up to the Tameside Wellness Centre, but there is also a ‘pay as you go’ option I would encourage any and all residents of Denton, Tameside and beyond to take full advantage of.

I attended the formal opening ceremony of the centre at the weekend and it is safe to say that it is an amazing facility.

The Tameside Wellness Centre will provide friends and families with opportunities to get together and not only get active, but also relax, socialise and eat – and of course make use of the free Wi-Fi!

The facility has a 60 plus station gym and a fitness studio which will host group exercise classes. There is a 25-metre swimming pool made up of eight lanes with the space for 150 spectators and a learner pool in which swimming lessons will be held. Children will love the Soft Play Zone and the Bowling Zone, which includes Hyperbowling, is fun for all the family.

The centre also contains a spa fit with a sauna and a steam room.

Additionally, there are meetings rooms, a social interaction zone and the Fuel Café which will all bring people together. One of my favourite parts of the facility is the Community Room, affectionately named after Cllr Fred Worthington – the original Mr. Denton – who campaigned tirelessly for a swimming pool in the area.

In the summer, there are plans for the roof space to be transformed into a sensory garden, but the space could just as easily be used to host a pop-up cinema, small theatre or open-air exercise.

It is also worth noting that the facility is accessible to all. There is disabled access to the swimming pool and a dementia-friendly design is used throughout the centre, making it inclusive to those with additional needs.

I am so proud that Tameside is now home to one of the best facilities in Greater Manchester for families who are looking for fun and varied ways to get active and stay active.

I cannot recommend enough going down to the centre and taking a look for yourself. It truly is as good as it sounds!

 

 

It seems a shame for my first article for the fantastic new Heatons Post to focus on something negative, but I’m sure many of you will already have read about the decision to close the Lloyds branch in Reddish, leaving the town without a bank.

 

This is obviously really disappointing news and I’m doing what I can to try to make Lloyds reverse this damaging decision, but unfortunately it’s a symptom of a much wider problem. Across the country, banks are closing branches and often they’re closing them in the areas that need them most, for example areas with high deprivation or isolated rural areas. As an MP, I spend a lot of time in London and I can tell you that they’re not closing them down there.

 

My constituency of Denton and Reddish will be down to just 2 bank branches once Lloyds is closed. Cities of London and Westminster – the constituency including parliament – has 116.

 

It is often those who are older or poorer who rely more on in-branch services. They may not have access to the internet or may not trust internet banking – both of these are completely understandable and I wish that our banking sector would take account of this. Instead we all too often find banks putting profits before people.

 

It’s not just ordinary customers who are let down by short-sighted branch closures – our thriving small businesses also often rely on being able to go into a branch to use banking services. These businesses are such an important part of our communities and I’d like to see more recognition of this from banks.

 

Luckily, there is still a NatWest in Heaton Chapel, but this alone is not enough for our communities – Reddish needs a bank!