Row over air freshener trip

Two councillors are to spend four days in a picturesque Spanish village investigating `olive air fresheners' for open fireplaces. Labour councillors Sean Parker-Perry and Jonathan Reynolds, who represent the Longdendale ward, will consider the idea during their trip to the tiny village of Moclin.The pair said they are paying the £55 air fare themselves and not a penny of taxpayers' money is being spent on the trip.But Coun John Bell, leader of the Conservative group, criticised usefulness of the trip. He said: "I for one am under whelmed with enquiries from concerned residents, asking when we are going to do something about air fresheners for open fires. It is obviously such a niche market, that nobody thought of it years ago. "No doubt residents will be happy to see Labour councillors making the most of their time as elected representatives, dealing head-on with the issues that matter most to residents. "I am sure many residents will be relieved that imports of olive oil air fresheners is top of Labour's agenda; ahead of such matters as community safety, education, and the environment."Moclin is a hillside village with a population of 500 in the north west of the Granada Province and is surrounded by millions of olive trees. The stones that come from the fruit can be used on wood burning fires and can act as an air freshener as they give off a sweet aroma.Tameside council has developed links with the village as a number of former residents of the rural community Broadbottom, Tameside, have set up home there. The mayor of Moclin has also visited Tameside.Coun Parker-Perry, who founded the co-operative Active Longdendale with Coun Reynolds, said the mayor invited them over and they will use the trip to see how their Spanish counterparts operate.He said: "They have a co-operative and we are going to go over there to see if we can do ours any better."We are going to have a look at it [how they use the olive stones]. We've thought about it because we have a trading co-operative, but we've got to look at the carbon footprint of importing it by flying it over."We are going as Active Longdendale and if we think that we can bring this back, it's sustainable and it works then of course we will look at that."Coun Reynolds at first seemed a little unsure about the purpose of the visit. When asked if they would be looking at the idea of importing the `air freshener' he said `that's not what I have been told'. He later said: "It's just something they are going to tell us about when we are out there. They will be telling us about it as part of the general information they will be talking to us about." Manchester Evening News