Dear Constituent,

 

Andrew Gwynne, MP for Denton and Reddish, has expressed his anger and disbelief at proposals to significantly cut bus services in Denton and Reddish.

Stagecoach intend to withdraw the 204, 206 and 207 bus services and replace them with a single 202 service. Meanwhile, the current 205 service from Manchester via Gorton will no longer run to Denton and will terminate at Dane Bank instead.

Services in Reddish will also be affected by the proposals, in which Stagecoach will scrap the 329 route and reroute the number 7 service. This rerouted service will take in some of the 329 route, with a new 7A service taking in other parts of the 329 route.

All of these changes are proposed for implementation from 30 August.

Gwynne has written to Stagecoach urging them to rethink the proposed changes and, on Friday 31 July, he joined with Denton West Councillors George Jones, Brenda Warrington and Mike Smith to protest the move outside Dane Bank shops bus stop on Windmill Lane.

Andrew Gwynne said:

“I am very angry and disappointed that Stagecoach once again seem to have put profit before communities. These proposed changes mean worse services for people in Dane Bank, Reddish, Haughton Green and Denton.

 

“What makes this even worse is that there was no consultation whatsoever on these significant changes. Had they asked, residents would have given a clear message that these are vital services that should not be removed or downgraded.

 

“I’m joining with local councillors to call on Stagecoach to urgently rethink these changes – particularly the decision to sever the bus link between Dane Bank and Denton town centre, which is absolutely unacceptable.”

Speaking on behalf of the Denton West Councillors, Councillor George Jones said:

“The planned changes to Stagecoach services are totally unfair and target our most in need communities – mainly our elderly residents.

 

“For many, a Dane Bank to Denton link is vital for them to access important services, shops and leisure facilities. Many will be just emerging from a significant period of shielding and, as such, good transport links to Denton Town Centre are vital for both their physical and mental health.”

 

Andrew Gwynne, MP for Denton and Reddish, has paid a visit to Tibard Uniforms, to hear about the work they’ve been doing throughout lockdown.

Tibard, based in Dukinfield, is a leading manufacturer of workwear and uniforms, supplying organisations across the country.

During the Coronavirus outbreak, Tibard has diversified from making uniforms for the catering and hospitality sector to making scrubs, medical gowns and clothing for the NHS.

Tibard (and the Oliver Harvey chefwear brand) employs over 100 people in Dukinfield.

Gwynne was shown around the factory on Monday 27 July by Tibard’s Managing Director, Ian Mitchell.

Andrew Gwynne said:

“It was fantastic to visit Tibard and hear about the work that they have done during the crisis.

 

“It’s great to see how this British firm has managed to successfully diversify to keep operating at the height of the pandemic and provide our NHS with important PPE at a really difficult time.

 

“I’d like to thank all the staff at Tibard for their amazing work and for making me feel so welcome on my visit.”

Ian Mitchell, Managing Director of Tibard, said:

“March was the most challenging months we have ever faced as a business. Seemingly overnight we watched our customers close and any chance of orders coming through seemed impossible.

 

“But at Tibard we have always ensured we have a strong manufacturing presence in Manchester and the country needed specialist clothing to come through Covid.

 

“This is how and why we were able to switch from chefswear to scrubs for the health service, supplying NHS Trusts and Care Homes. Since then, we are now manufacturing an innovative, PPE surgical gown which is being rolled out to Trusts nationwide.”

 

Andrew Gwynne, MP for Denton and Reddish, has presented a Citizen’s Award to Enya Krool, a six-year-old who has raised almost £700 for St Mary’s Foodbank during the lockdown.

Enya was nominated for raising money for the foodbank in Haughton Green during the Coronavirus crisis. This included raising £670 by getting people to sponsor her for going 24 hours without any screen-time.

She has also supported the foodbank before in the past, including buying donations with her pocket money.

Gwynne has launched the Citizen’s Awards to recognise people in the Denton and Reddish constituency who have gone above and beyond for others in their community. You can nominate your own community heroes on Gwynne’s website.

Gwynne presented the award outside St Mary’s Foodbank in Haughton Green on Saturday morning.

Andrew Gwynne said:

“It was an absolute pleasure to present this Citizen’s Award to Enya.

 

“It’s an incredible achievement to raise so much money for such a great cause and she should be really proud.

 

“Foodbanks have really struggled during the lockdown so I know St Mary’s are really grateful for Enya’s fundraising.”