ANGELA Rayner has further backed people living in one part of the town to seize what they have literally on their doorstep.
If national media reports are to be believed, the Ashton-under-Lyne MP – touted by many as a future Prime Minister – could be forgiven for having other things in her mind.
But on Friday, February 6, it was all eyes on Park Bridge as she saw first-hand what the area’s Residents’ Action Group and Fund is fighting for.
And as she was showed key sites, including the former ironworks that produced rivets that are still in Sydney Harbour Bridge, the focus was on, ‘How can I help?’
The visit also provided the opportunity for discussion focused on the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, which Ms Rayner is leading as the group looks to take on the now-mothballed Heritage Centre, which has been declared surplus by Tameside Council.
And volunteers were greeted with the saying: “Don’t sell yourself short.”
As she was stood in the snooker room at Park Bridge Institute, which has stood largely unchanged for 120 years, she told them: “Don’t you worry. I’ll be on to the council and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.”
Other issues in Park Bridge, including road safety problems, were also highlighted as Ms Rayner took a genuine interest.
And following the visit, she said: “It was great to meet with the Park Bridge Residents’ Action Group and Fund to discuss road safety issues and their ongoing mission to protect the heritage of this beautiful area of my constituency.
“Their dedication to ensuring their community continues to thrive is commendable.”
A spokesperson for the Park Bridge Residents’ Action Group and Fund told The Correspondent of the importance of Ms Rayner’s support and how the bill – currently going through the Parliamentary proves before becoming law – can help.
They said “We’re really thankful to the support of our local MP. Not just with this visit, but for our previous and ongoing campaigns.
“She’s supported us with stopping the private sale of the Heritage Centre, with the ongoing issue of road safety in Park Bridge.
“She’s been a really strong advocate of ours and it was good to show her the issues we have and hear what is hopefully going to be coming in terms of the bill and what that means for community groups like us and areas like Park Bridge that are in dire need of support.
“The fact that she’s supporting us with this really has helped us work a lot more efficiently and collaboratively with Tameside Council.
“Ultimately, we want to work collaboratively with the local authority. We’re not trying to be divisive. We’re not against the council.
“We completely understand the constraints that local authorities up and down the country are going through, which is why community groups like ourselves and local authorities will welcome the work that Angela has been doing with the Community Empowerment English Devolution Bill.
“We’re excited to see what that means going forward.”
Ms Rayner’s Bill, which may mean councils take more of an interest in sites like Park Bridge Heritage Centre, how they are managed and are not ‘just talking about bins’ is expected to make it easier to transfer assets like that to community groups.
However, the spokesperson for Park Bridge Residents’ Action Group and Fund insisted they must it use it as an excuse to just wash their hands of them.
They added: “One thing that we were keen to ensure is that whilst this bill is great for community empowerment, it must not diminish local authority responsibility of community assets and assets of community value.
“In Park Bridge, the Heritage Centre is now deemed surplus to requirement by the local council.
“That’s not the lived experience of residents here and visitors that come to Park Bridge that want to learn about the history.
“Local schools who no longer come on school trips to Park Bridge to learn about the heritage, the unique environment that is here, the rare wildlife that we have, etc.
“We haven’t kept it quiet that Park Bridge is an area of national heritage interest.
“You’ve just got to look at other similar sites in the UK that are UNESCO World Heritage sites. Park Bridge has all of that here.
“We’ve got this unique heritage here with the former ironworks site, the remains that are still here and the incredible nature that we have.
“So while it’s great, and we’re really excited for what this could bring, we’re also conscious and we want to ensure that this isn’t an excuse for councils to offload their statutory responsibilities.”