Atherton is fortunate enough to have two railway stations – both of which are extremely well used. We are, compared with some other places in the area, very well linked to other towns and cities which makes Atherton one of the best places in the region to live and work. There are always improvements to be made, however, which is why I am pleased to be backing a new campaign to improve services at Hag Fold station.
Local campaigner Norman Bradbury has created a petition calling on the Greater Manchester Mayor, Andy Burnham, and Transport for Greater Manchester to review the services at Hag Fold and upgrade it to a park a ride station.
This would mean that all services on the Atherton line would halt at the station – doubling the service at peak periods. The campaign also wants to see land at the back of the north bound platform to be developed into a car park for commuters.
This would be fantastic for Hag Fold residents but it will also help Atherton residents living across the town, around Atherton station.
I have long said that there are big problems with the parking around Atherton Central station. Much of the towns in my constituency are cursed by this problem because we’re right on the edge of the Greater Manchester area and therefore have cheaper rail fares – making it an attractive place for people living under Lancashire County Council to drive over to use our rail services.
Commuters come from all over to use this station and, because the car park at Atherton isn’t big enough, they cause chaos by parking inconsiderately, and sometimes dangerously, on the residential roads around the station. I’ve been working on a solution to this by expanding that car park but progress has, unfortunately, been slow. If we can get Hag Fold’s car park expanded, we may be able to persuade some of the commuters to use that station instead.
If the plans go ahead, Hag Fold residents will be better connected to Manchester and other towns – it’s certainly something I’m happy to support.
You can sign the petition at The Bridge at Dorset Road Community Centre – right next to Hag Fold station - or, if you find yourself in the Westhoughton area, I also have a copy in my office at 15 Market Street as well.
The other weekend, I was sat working in my office in Westhoughton on a Sunday evening when a group of masked individuals initiated a ‘protest’ outside. They waited until it was starting to get dark on a quiet Sunday evening, then came over from Manchester with most of them wearing masks. There were about ten of them in total. One of them began to bang aggressively on the door, there was shouting and abuse and when I tried to leave, blocked me from closing down my office and so stopped me from leaving. As I tried to get past them, they set something on fire and pushed it towards my face.
I am a firm supporter of free speech and the right to protest. What I am not in favour of is intimidating and abusive behaviour of anyone, including MPs.
Whilst politicians might not be everyone’s cup of tea, I wanted to mention this because a lot of people don’t see the direction of travel politics is taking in this country. As we saw during the General Election, abusive and intimidating behaviour has become almost normalised.
There are ways to make your concerns and objections known – you can write to me, see me at one of my advice surgeries or public meetings, or you can simply vote for or against me at the next election. That is what a democracy should be about. Trying to silence your opposition with intimidating behaviour and bullying tactics should have no place in our society.