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Robin Parker

Robin Parker

Ward: West Middleton
Party: Labour

Address:
92 Windermere Road
Langley
Middleton
M24 5WR

Tel: 0161 653 1846

Email: robin.parker@rochdale.gov.uk

Holocaust Memorial Day

(As I was about to post this I saw that Ann Metcalfe had come in before me, so there is an element of duplication. But the fact that we have both decided to post says something.)
A Holocaust Memorial Stone stands in each township. Each year a Holocaust Memorial Service takes place in rotation....

Date posted: 27/01/2008

Arts, Emails and Trouble at t’Mil…kstone

I read with interest the debate regarding an Arts Centre for Rochdale. As a former portfolio holder for Leisure I would, of course, welcome any such development but I seriously wonder where the money would come from. In Middleton we struck lucky. We had the need for a serious retail supermarket...

Date posted: 12/01/2008

Most improved school in England; Rochdale Council couldn’t care less.

It is of course great news that Furrow community school on Langley has received such great SAT results and is in fact the most improved primary school in England. In the Rochdale statistics the only other school that pips it is St Michael’s, Bamford, in ‘silver spoon’ country.
Furrow is shortly to...

Date posted: 08/12/2007

Lib Dem froth, Labour substance

Well, we held it. In spite of the electorate being battered by news of alleged donations corruption from Downing Street on one side and half a rain forest of Focuses on the other, North Middleton remains in Labour hands. Ibby Khan has lost his mantle as the youngest councillor to Jonathan Burns who...

Date posted: 30/11/2007

Links, theatre and prayers

Links We were briefed on the results of the consultation on the proposed Langley Link corridor and I was initially surprised at the positive results they had received. That is, until I took another look at the questions. As an example people were asked if they wanted ‘new retail facilities’, ‘new...

Date posted: 26/11/2007

Prayers at Council meetings

I’ve noted in the community columns that it has been mentioned that Alan Taylor and Irene Davidson, Leader and Deputy, have not attended civic prayers before Council Meetings. Until this year, when I sit in the Deputy Mayor’s chair and therefore am obliged to attend, the same comments could have...

Date posted: 18/11/2007

I do not believe it!

A colleague showed me a copy of a Liberal Democrat Focus delivered in North Middleton. It had the usual graph showing the previous results with a heading ‘only 71 votes needed’. I thought that couldn’t be right and looked at the small print at the bottom: ‘2004 result’.
What a dreadful piece of...

Date posted: 11/10/2007

The pain of losing your home

In my last entry I talked about the proposal to demolish 190 improved properties on Langley by Housing Market Renewal. Last night I came face to face with the reality, real people who had nurtured their homes for up to 50 years and were now faced with eviction.
Langley Tenants and Residents called...

Date posted: 26/09/2007

Looney Tunes

Developer A comes along with a shed load of money to refurbish social housing to decent standard. Just as this is done and dusted Developer B comes along with another shed load of money, decides that more green space is needed so will bulldoze lots of this improved social housing to make way for...

Date posted: 16/09/2007

It’s child’s play!

How many times have we heard or used that phrase, meaning something dead simple? It’s not often, though, that we celebrate it and this we did in style in front of the Town Hall for National Play Day. I’m not going to re-invent the wheel, as Online has done an excellent news item on the day...

Date posted: 03/08/2007

It’s official! Rochdale Council has money to burn!

I realise I’m running a few days late, as I travelled down south for a wedding over the weekend, but this relates to my going into the Town Hall on Friday.
Now I’m happy to admit that we’ve not had the summer we’ve dreamed about and temperatures have not been what we would have liked, but it is...

Date posted: 30/07/2007

Abdul Hamid Chowdry

I was devastated this morning when I received an email telling me that Abdul had been killed in a car crash in Pakistan, on his way back to the airport.
Abdul and I went back a very long way, in fact as far as my first ever visit to Rochdale. I was then introduced to him as the new young Labour...

Date posted: 25/07/2007

Harry Potter – lessons to be learned

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is well worth seeing. I don’t think any of the Potter films have ever made the Academy Awards, which is a pity as Rickman has certainly been worth a ‘best supporting’ nomination. In this one, though, that mantle should fall to Imelda Staunton for her...

Date posted: 21/07/2007

Bernard Manning statue – a memorial too far

The death of Bernard Manning has resulted in eulogies and tributes from many people, famous and otherwise. I believe that most of us anti racists have taken the attitude, ‘Ok. that’s the end of an era, let bygones be bygones’ and left it at that. Now, unfortunately, we are going to have to stand up...

Date posted: 15/07/2007

Recycled teenagers?

I was watching Breakfast TV this morning featuring a Council somewhere which, in additional to disabled parking bays, was introducing parking bays for old people. The bays showed the symbol of a couple bent over and the front one holding a walking stick. This is the symbol generally used on a...

Date posted: 11/07/2007

Citizenship and Sedition

I went with a certain amount of trepidation to my first Citizenship ceremony as Deputy Mayor. I had been given a script, of course, but I didn’t have any real feel of what it would be like. The registrar gave the introductory speech and then I was asked to make mine. I had to say how proud I was to...

Date posted: 22/06/2007

To tea or not to tea, that is the question.

Options have been put forward by those responsible for catering to reduce costs on teas for Councillors. It is estimated that it costs just under £20k per year for teas for Councillors before meetings.
The four options are below.
Option 1 No charge.
This is where we are at the moment.
Option...

Date posted: 20/06/2007

First tasters

This week saw the first time we were going out together as Deputy Mayor and Mayoress substituting for Peter and Helen. Both our heads were into it to such an extent that I omitted to open an envelope through the door only to discover too late that it was papers for a meeting Friday morning!
We...

Date posted: 10/06/2007

So now we’re going to be sued!

It was bad enough being verbally abused and spat at on the streets. It was bad enough having disinformation in the Focuses (though we are used to that by now). And it was bad enough having our constituents intimidated. Now we are going to be sued (allegedly, according to the Middleton Guardian) for...

Date posted: 01/06/2007

Lots of things to talk about

1) I suppose the first thing, given the diaries and community debate, is to say that Middleton Township has followed Heywood’s lead and rejected the fortnightly non-recyclable bin collection. Equally, we are unanimous in wanting to make recycling work. The problem is the officers are starting from...

Date posted: 26/05/2007