Residents given the chance to make a difference in Whitefield & Unsworth

Reporter: Ask Bury
Date online: 09 July 2007

The Whitefield and Unsworth Local Area Partnership will hold its inaugural meeting on Monday 16th July, 7pm at Castlebrook High School, Parr Lane Unsworth.  It is currently looking for community representatives from the area to become members and share their views and opinions.

The key purpose of the Whitefield amp; Unsworth LAP is to allow locals to become involved in issues which affect their communities. The main objective is to improve the quality of life in Whitefield amp; Unsworth  by ensuring that services are appropriate to meet the specific needs of local people.

Members of the community who wish to take part in the new Whitefield amp; Unsworth  LAP should contact Rose De on 0161 253 7344  and ask for a nomination form.

Applicants must represent a Whitefield amp; Unsworth based constituted group or a group that can work towards being constituted. Once a member, they will be expected to prepare for and attend all meetings, help the partnership make the right choices for local people and share responsibility for decisions made by the partnership.

There are six LAPS in Bury covering the same areas as the former Area Boards. The Whitefield amp; Unsworth LAP will meet six times a year, normally in the evening. It will be a three way partnership between the council, the local community and local service providers.

Once chosen, residents and community representatives will meet up with their elected member and officer counterparts and discuss non party political issues which affect their way of life. All members of the LAP will have an equal role in reaching decisions.

Local Area Partnership Chair Councillor Bernie Vincent  said; ldquo;The introduction of Local Area Partnerships is all about more partnership working with the community and service providers to improve the quality of life. This will mean changes and different ways of working. It is certainly going to be a challenging time. Community involvement will be key to the success of the partnership and we are fortunate in Whitefield in having a diverse range of community organisations committed to help improve the area.”

The inaugural meeting will start with a presentation by Morrisons providing the latest information on the supermarket development.

This will be followed by Open Forum, Community updates and community funding applications including Elms Allotments, Hillock Gardening Club, Boz Park wild life project, IT community learning project and sports equipment for young people.