Jamie Hirst, Offerton Lib Dems

09/09/2026

It was great to see so many people at Area Committee last night.

I used the opportunity to ask our Neighbourhood Inspector to recap the advice on reporting illegal biking:

If you see people riding bikes—of any type—illegally and it is happening at that moment, call 999.

Otherwise, report it through 101, the police website or anonymously through Crimestoppers.

Pic courtesy of Stockport Police - GMP

Cllr Will Dawson - Offerton Lib Dems Cllr Dan Oliver - Offerton Lib Dems

09/09/2026

DIALSTONE LANE FIELDS APPLICATION

Tonight at the Town Hall we considered Stockport Grammar's planning application for 106 new homes on the field opposite Dialstone Lane Methodist Church.

As local councillors we felt unable to recommend approval or rejection of the homes and I wanted to explain why. It's also important to note that we never had the power to make a final decision tonight, as that instead sits with Planning Committee that will consider the application in a few weeks. As another councillor suggested tonight too, in short the Government's massive changes to planning rules mean that even if the application is rejected locally, there is a good chance that the Government will approve it anyway on appeal. We have seen this with other planning applications across Stockport.

There are absolutely some positives within the application, including nearly a million pound of contributions to provide a sports pitch in our community, all proposed homes being eco-friendly with solar panels, half a million pound contribution to local education services and 50% of proposed homes being for shared ownership and social rent.

These are important and particularly in light of our housing crisis. Here in Offerton we have around 500 applications from families needing housing, and around 300 of those are families in overcrowded housing.

However there were significant objections to the proposed housing from local residents, and some key questions from residents and councillors could not be fully answered tonight. These included around impacts on local parking and traffic, why there is no contribution to local health services, and why no traffic assessment was done for the nearby junction of Dialstone Lane and Mile End Lane, given how bad it can get already.

As the independent advice of planning officers was to recommend approval of the proposed housing given it complies with guidance set by national Government, but as there are such strong objections and a lack of answers on key questions at this stage, we were not able to recommend approval or rejection tonight. We did however recommend that the Planning Committee should visit the site, and that the issues raised by residents tonight should be considered when making a decision.

This will now go to Planning Committee for that decision in a few weeks. As I say though, the reality is that changes to national planning rules by the Government have made it easier for developers to build homes, and the advice of planning officers is that the proposed homes complies with that national guidance.

26/08/2026

We regualrly are out in the community speaking to residents, and over the last 18 months, Cllr Will Dawson and I have spoken to many of you about bin collections. A recurring theme was around blue bins.

We always said we'd do what we could to push for improvements where possible.

I'm therefore really pleased that blue bins for paper and cardboard will return to fortnightly collections before Christmas. New collection calendars will be delivered in the autumn ahead of the change.

31/07/2026

Bin collection update

Stockport Council has arranged additional collections for residents whose blue or black bins were not collected over the last two weeks due to a stricter enforcement of the existing collection rules.

If your bin was missed between 21–24 July, please put it out by 6am on Saturday 1 August. If it isn't collected on Saturday, a return collection will take place on Sunday 2 August.

If your bin was missed on 27–29 July, please put it out by 6am on Saturday 8 August. If it isn't collected on Saturday, a return collection will take place on Sunday 9 August.

Please make sure your bin lid is fully closed. If your bin doesn't have a lid, please ensure the contents are below the level of the rim.

The Council has also apologised that the stricter enforcement of the existing policy was not communicated to residents and councillors in advance.

I appreciate this has been a real frustration for those affected. The number of bins affected was less than 1,000, which is a very small proportion of the hundreds of thousands of bin collections made across Stockport over the same period.

30/07/2026

UPDATE ON BIN COLLECTIONS - JULY 30

We've listened to the concerns raised over the last few days about bin collections across Stockport.

We're sorry that a reminder issued to crews about applying an existing bin collection policy, and keeping them safe at work, wasn't communicated to residents in advance.

We have a record of those affected between July 21 and July 24 and if you were one of those, please present your missed blue or black bin for collection by 6am on Saturday 1 August. If it hasn’t been collected, we’ll come back Sunday 2 August. You’ll need to make sure bins are fully closed as they will not be collected if not.

If your blue or black bins were not collected on Monday 27, Tuesday 28 or Wednesday 29 July, present your bins from 6am on Saturday 8 August. If they haven’t been collected on Saturday 8 August, we’ll come back on Sunday 9 August, provided the lid is fully closed.

All other collections will continue as normal.

Please remember:

- If your bin lid is closed, it will be collected

- If the lid is missing and waste is level with the lip of the bin, it will be collected

We know how important bin collections are and the frustration this has caused.

Thank you for your patience while we put this right.

17/07/2026

Good meeting with Stepping Hill Hospital today to discuss the the pay and display system.

A number of practical improvements are now being explored, including clearer machine instructions, more consistent pricing information, better visibility of contactless payment, and improvements to how weekly parking is accessed through the app. It's also good to hear that additional Blue Badge validation points are being installed.

Small changes, but ones that should make things simpler for patients and visitors.

15/07/2026

This morning I had the privilege of visiting We Are Survivors., a Greater Manchester charity that provides specialist support for men affected by sexual abuse, r**e and sexual exploitation.

It was great to learn more about the work they do and the difference they make to so many people, including here in Stockport.

If you, or someone you know, could benefit from their support, I'd encourage you to take a look at what they offer. No one should have to face these experiences alone.

https://www.wearesurvivors.org.uk/support-services/

Thank you to the team for taking the time to meet with me today.

This is something we wholeheartedly agree with. Along the way, like any long journey, we can misread the map and end up taking a wrong turn but by taking a pit-stop, we can re-assess the route and make amends to our planner. We may also need some assistance along the way and in this section that is....

10/07/2026

10/07/2026

08/05/2026

Thank you to everyone who voted for me and those who helped get me elected.

It’s not easy to put yourself out there and stand up for what you believe in; it takes a lot of courage and determination.

So genuinely, thank you to the other candidates and their supporters too. Democracy works because people are willing to stand up for what they believe in: I’d rather earn support than assume it.

Cllr Dan Oliver Cllr Will Dawson Lisa Smart