Hello, and thank you for looking at my blog. I am local Councillor elected to represent more than 8,000 people in Tottington ward on Bury council. It is comprised of parts of Walshaw and Walshaw Park in the south and covers Affetside to the border with Bolton in the west and Tottington in North up to Greenmount Golf club.
I was first elected in 2004 and was re-elected in 2006 and 2010. I am seeking re-election in May 2014. I have always fought hard to get the best deal for Tottington at Bury Council and I have opposed many planning applications that threaten the green belt.
The sole purpose of this Blog is let people know exactly what I have been doing on their behalf to protect/improve the environment and local amenities.
I welcome your comments and suggestions.
iaingartside 
I enjoy reading your comments as emailed to me and would just like to say that it has been a long time since I felt the enthusiasm which you exude from any other politician in a long time. I have to say that I am still a little sceptical with regard to politics particularly when MPs are such a long way a way in London. I sometimes wonder if they have our local interests at heart and also some perhaps forget that as an MP he/she is there to represent their constituency and not just follow the Conservative Party line. I also feel that David Cameron has behaved with complete integrity with regard to the outcome on Syria whether it is right or wrong he has followed what appears to be the wishes of the voters (that is if the MPs have all voted as per the wishes of their constituents). I feel we in the United Kingdom should not always be expected to be policing the World but I also abhor brutality and dictatorship greed and how long do you stand aside making decisions when people are being brutalised.
What ever is decided I wish I had the answers.
Regards
Hello Susan,
Thank you for taking the time to post a comment. I hope that you continue to find the information I am sharing useful and informative. Please let me know if there are any other local issues that you think I should be addressing.
Elected representatives should always be aware of the views of their constituents whether at a local or national level and I think that this week’s vote is an example of how a democracy should work. I agree that there is no easy answer to the situation, especially when such atrocities are being committed, but David Cameron did the right thing by recalling parliament so that our MPs had the opportunity to vote.
Kind Regards, Iain
I couldn’t agree with Susan’s comments more. Iain has given his heart and soul to helping Tottington. It is now a much better place than it was in 2004. Thank you for your support.
Thanks for your kind words Alan. I’ll continue to do all I can to help everyone in Tottington, Walshaw and Affetside.
And isn’t it refreshing to be kept “in the loop” with what’s going on. I have never before been aware of what my MP has been up to.
Can I ask you to address a particular safety hazard that I am concerned with please – I am resident on Claybank Drive, Tottington and am always annoyed with the speed that motorists drive up and down Turton Road. It is a 30 mph zone but I regularly see vehicles doing well in excess of that, but NEVER in 10 years have I seen a speed trap. I am not usually a big fan of speed traps, but there are many children (my own included) on the estate who walk and cross Turton Road, and with cars parked all the way along one side they are almost invisible to motorists, particularly at high speed.
Could I ask you to pursue the police to monitor this stretch of road both into and out of Tottington on a regular basis, or maybe even (heaven forbid) to install some speed cameras to make this stretch of road safer (all too often they appear to be there to generate income).
Hello Jonathan and thank you very much for your comments. I am aware of the speeding situation and have sent a request through to the police to send their mobile speed gun up to Turton Road. I will continue to monitor the situation and see what feedback I get back from the Police.