WE feel compelled to write in response to the naïve, inflammatory and quite frankly confusing comments made by opposition councillors.

It is rare that we respond to such comments in this manner, but in this instance, we cannot allow them to be made without reply.

It is important that we take this opportunity to reassure all residents and businesses that, as a nationally recognised value for money, effective, efficient council, we have the interests of our population at the forefront of every decision we make.

Times for local government continue to be extremely challenging, especially the amount of money we have to spend, but we are resolute that, despite these constraints, we will defined by the successes we achieve together.

All parts of Trafford are great places, with lots of assets and strengths that we should build on in order to thrive and prosper.

The One Trafford partnership between Amey and Trafford Council was officially launched following more than 18 months of a robust procurement process.

This enabled us to ensure that the partnership would be the right one for the Borough and that it would deliver the type of service we and our residents expect and deserve.

This remains a true partnership approach to service delivery and one that we are pleased to have instigated.

Through it, we are able to meet our objectives of achieving the required financial savings and ensure delivery of environmental services which are fit for purpose and cost-effective.

Clearly with any partnership of such magnitude, there has to be robust measures in place to ensure the necessary standards are met and, where possible, exceeded.

One significant positive has been the fact that the workforce transferred from the council over to Amey under the One Trafford Partnership.

This has meant that the same people are doing the same types of jobs, with the same commitment to the local communities within which they work.

We want to reassure you that every element of service delivery and performance is monitored and maintained via strict quality indicators.

Whenever there are any indications that standards have or may slip below expected levels, these are challenged and together improvements agreed and implemented.

The Labour party is not excluded from this — indeed it has a place on the committee that oversees this process, yet has not raised concerns to date.

It is all well and good providing uncorroborated, unidentifiable images and raising issues regarding various areas of service delivery without providing clear evidence of said issues. It is far harder to accept that, while we aren’t suggesting everything is perfect, the council has challenging standards, and is committed to ensure service delivery continues to improve.

It would be remiss of us not to use this opportunity to also highlight the role every one of us plays in helping raise standards and response times.

With the best will in the world, with such a large area to cover each day, it has to be accepted that not every problem will be identified as part of the normal day-to-day operations.

This is where we need the public and businesses to help by reporting any issues or problems they are aware of.

This is easy to do via my.trafford.gov.uk or by contacting the partnership on 03330 035865.

It is sad when Labour members feel the need to keep talking down our borough, one of the most successful in the country, but then this is what we have come to expect from an opposition that has nothing else to say.

Our commitment to you is that a Conservative administration will always work towards playing an active role in ensuring Trafford remains a vibrant, thriving, clean and attractive borough for all.

Cllr Sean Anstee, council leader

Cllr John Reilly, executive member for economic growth, environment and

infrastructure