Good Friday afternoon and welcome to the last edition of the Denton and Reddish Weekly News before Christmas! 

I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and New Year, however you choose to spend it. 

Before then, however, there's lots to update you on, including some brilliant new about Russell Scott Primary School in Denton (scroll down to find out more).

Andrew Gwynne, MP for Denton and Reddish, is celebrating the news that Russell Scott Primary School will receive funding as part of the Government’s School Rebuilding Programme. 

Russell Scott Primary in Denton was the subject of a botched refurbishment by the collapsed construction giant Carillion. As a result of the poor-quality building work, the school was left with a number of structural defects, and a series of problems including sporadic flooding, raw sewage leaks, faulty fire doors and more. 

Gwynne has been campaigning for the school to receive emergency funding for a rebuild for several years. He has repeatedly met Ministers, asked questions in the House of Commons, and even secured a debate in Parliamentary time to discuss the schools plight. 

The announcement that Russell Scott has been granted funding for rebuilding was made on Friday morning. 

Commenting, Andrew Gwynne said: 

“This has been a long, arduous and at times frustrating process. However, I’m utterly delighted that the Government has finally listened to the concerns of myself and the staff at Russell Scott and granted this funding. 

I’ll continue to work to ensure that the children at Russell Scott benefit from a safe and secure learning environment. 

I’d also like to pay tribute to the dedication of Russell Scott’s head teacher, Steve Marsland. Steve has tirelessly fought for the children of Russell Scott, and this victory is testament to his hard work.”

In a statement Steve Marsland, Head of Russell Scott Primary School, said:

“This is the best Christmas present we could have dreamed of! It’s been a long 8 years coming but it’s the most fantastic news the community of Russell Scott Primary School could have wished for.

“I must thank the new Secretary of State for Education Gillian Keegan for eventually recognising the overwhelming difficulties that the School community has endured over all these years and prioritising the rebuilding of Russell Scott.

“The problems started on day one of the £2.4m remodelling in 2015 by Carillion that now requires a rebuild. Carillion and those who supported their position, and failed the school before they went into liquidation in 2017, should be ashamed of themselves that a school’s cry for help under severe and extreme difficulties should go unheard and unheeded.

“Our Denton town moto is ‘Persevere’ and in that regard Andrew Gwynne our MP has been both resolute and demanding in his support of the school and the children. His voice has been loud and his strength of purpose appreciated in what had been unprecedented times for our school and its community.

“A big shout out to Kate MacNeil from MAC Architects for her support, skill and attention to detail from beginning to end in compiling the reports needed for such a positive outcome.

“A bright future awaits Russell Scott with opportunities for our children that we could only have dreamt about before this announcement and we aim to fulfil those dreams.

Andrew Gwynne, MP for Denton and Reddish, spent his weekend getting out and about meeting the winners and runners-up of this year’s Local Business Awards.

The Local Business Awards are a yearly competition, organised by Gwynne, which aim to showcase the best businesses around. This year, more than 3,000 people cast their vote.

Each year, an overall winner is chosen, as well as a winner and runner-up from each local ward. The results are announced on Small Business Saturday.

Gwynne has described these year’s awards as ‘very special’ and paid tribute to all of the local businesses who have gone above and beyond in tough times.

Commenting, Andrew Gwynne said:

“It was a pleasure to meet winners and runners-up over the weekend and say congratulations in-person.

It is a huge honour just to be nominated, so I really hope that every business that received recognition feels like a winner. These awards have been very special this year. We’re going through tough times, and local businesses are the backbone of our community.

So a huge well done to everyone involved, and to the public for making this year’s competition the most competitive yet. Here’s to next year!"

Full ward results were as follows:
AUDENSHAW
Winner: bedsysbikes
Runner-up: Stamford House
DENTON NORTH EAST
Winner: Harvey Taylor Hair
Runner-up: Red Lion Denton
DENTON SOUTH
Winner: BeeRogi
Runner-up: L.E.N Heating & Plumbing Services
DENTON WEST
Winner: Dane Bank Kids Club
Runner-up: Sport First Coaching
DUKINFIELD 
Winner: Body Contour Beauty
Runner-up: Platform PT Gym
REDDISH NORTH
Winner: Knit2Tog
Runner-up: Jian Taiji
REDDISH SOUTH: 
Winner: Jennifer Paige Hair & Beauty
Runner-up: Grounded in the North

Click here to see photographs of the certificate presentations.

Celebrating the good news with Russell Scott Primary School

It was so great to pop into Russell Scott Primary School today to celebrate the brilliant news that the School will benefit from rebuild funding.

What a campaign. What a result! Here’s to the new, new Russell Scott Primary School!

 WATCH: Great to meet Brett from Inology I.T. today at St. Mary's Church & Community Food Bank, Denton,.

Inology I.T are a local Tameside business, and they went over to St Mary's to deliver some donations to the food bank. 

It's fantastic to see local businesses getting involved, supporting the community, and helping out our brilliant food bank volunteers. A big thanks to Brett and to Inology IT for their generosity!

 WATCH: Earlier this week, I spoke to Sky News, GB News and Times Radio about the NHS Strikes.

The Government refused to talk to nurses, and in the process not only failed staff, but also patients too. 

We can't afford more NHS mismanagement from the Tories. We need a proper workforce strategy, and a government serious about negotiating with staff. 

Click the images above to watch the full interviews.

 READ: Thanks to the Correspondent and Tameside Reporter for covering the great news about Russell Scott Primary School. 

I'm so relieved that the Government has finally listened to the concerns of myself and headteacher Steve Marsland. Here's to a brilliant school for pupils and staff at Russell Scott!

- Read the Reporter article here.

- Read the Correspondent article here.