My Story So Far. Stalybridge.

By Lee Stafford. So where did my journey start ? Well, a visit to the then Waterside Chippy and a chat with Gordon the propietor. Gordon was working with Kevin Garside (acting Town manager) in a bid to bring the farmers market to Stalybridge. I agreed to help. The farmers market was to be introduced on a Sunday in Armentieres Square with a view to moving it to a Saturday and onto Melbourne Street. During this time Mary Portas announced her £1m town centre challenge. I jumped at the opportunity and our first meeting at 'The Village Cafe' with MP Jonathan Reynolds was fantastic. The Town Team quickly became a reality and with Mike Wood as chair (former Millpond owner) the ideas were flowing. Looking back our bid was probably put together with too much haste and sadly we were unsuccessful. Jonathan Reynolds was a real champion for the group and secured a £10k grant through the X partner fund. I introduced Carrie fron the 'Old Forge' to the group and her dedication and expertise saw the Farmers Market become a real 'must go' event. She really was brilliant. After her hard work it is very sad to see what it has become. With a group with such energy and funding you may ask why I left. The reason is that at the time TMBC were looking to close the public toilets. I wanted to look at alternative solutions but although TMBC were represented within the group they had other plans. My suggestions were ignored and the toilets were sold. I didnt stop there though. At the time Tesco trollies were a major issue in the canal. Some of you may remember the huge pile of trollies in Armentieres Square. That was me. At 6 am I pulled out almost 40 trollies from the canal. Once again, Jonathan Reynolds championed my cause and that is why we now have pound trollies. Success. I campaigned to see Armentires Square opened to traffic and the parking bays instated, Success. Described as 'Clockgate' I campaigned to see the Market Hall clock fixed. Some of you may even remember how we made the 6o'clock news. Success. Our group discovered the bronze plaque in Armentieres Square and campaigned to see it sited. Success. Christmas lights swith on with Princess Elsa, planters by the schools, repainting the benches at the war memorial, clean ups, a season of community cinema at Judges Bar, rescued and restored the Rifleman sign. I have really got stuck in to help others with anything to resolve the issues in our town. Our Town is our 'community' centre. Let's work together. When you vote in May I ask you, will you vote for someone with a track record ? Your Town, Our Town, Stalybridge Town. Lee Stafford.