Sunday 21 July – Metrolink.
Oldham – Rochdale line: 21 July: Due to essential track maintenance work no trams will operate between Freehold and Rochdale Town Centre on 21 July.
A Metrolink replacement bus service is planned to be in place.
More Overnight closures on Oldham Way – 14 nights from 15 July (8pm – 5am).
I have been informed Oldham Way will be closed overnight in both directions for 14 nights from Monday 15 July.
The closures – between Manchester St roundabout and Prince St – are from 8pm—5am.
Contractors will be carrying out surveys on the structure and checking drainage below the carriageway is working and fit for purpose. Essential street lighting maintenance will also take place, preventing further disruption in the future.
Oldham Pride – 20th July 24.
Liberal Democrats await answers to questions after Labour cut council meeting short to watch the football
Oldham Liberal Democrat Leader councillor Howard Sykes is waiting for a response to his two leader’s questions submitted for last night’s Full Council meeting (10/07).
The time allocated to leader’s questions and questions to Cabinet Members was axed by the ruling Labour Group so that the meeting could end in time for councillors to watch England take on the Netherlands in the Euros.
Councillor Sykes said, “I asked two important questions. The first was about cuts made by the administration to the Environmental Services team who look after our parks and green spaces. In recent months the number of complaints about weeds, missing bins and the general state of neglect in our parks has rocketed.”
“My second question was about Greater Manchester Police’s failed IT system, which continues to frustrate officers and slow investigations. I have asked the Leader if she would push Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham not to pass the cost onto the public by hiking his council tax precepts yet again.”
After the decision to cut the meeting short was voted through by Labour and their Shaw and Failsworth Independent coalition partners, it was agreed that questions could be submitted in writing and a written response would be published within a week.
Councillor Sykes said, “It remains to be seen how long we’ll be waiting for a response and the quality of that response. The point of these questions is to question and challenge the administration to provide answers and to put them under the spotlight and hold them to account.”
“I am not surprised that the Labour leadership have tried to hide behind the football. But I do think a lot of people in Oldham will be furious that some Independent councillors have backed them to do it. Is that really why people voted Independent? To make life easier for Labour councillors?”
Councillor Sykes’s Leaders Questions in full:
Q1 Leaders Question: Environmental Services 10/07/24
Thank you, Mr Mayor,
At this year’s budget meeting in February, the Labour Group slashed funding for our Environmental Services.
They told us all that their cuts wouldn’t have any impact on the services our residents receive.
Now that we’re in July it’s a very different story.
Over the last few weeks, we’ve had disappearing bins in Dunwood Park.
Weeds growing out of control while the Council still can’t find a contractor.
To deal with that, they’ve moved over staff from our parks and street sweeping making both look unloved and shabby and that work is now not done.
We’re well into summer now and long past the longest day, yet our barrier planters haven’t been replanted for summer, and I suspect they will not be. And as usual no one has the curtesy to even let us know.
This Council has an appalling record when it comes to environmental crime.
It is well documented that under Labour, this Council has failed to enforce littering, fly-tipping and dog fouling offences.
Just look at all the figures they speak for themselves please quote for all three offences for the last 2-3 years and prove me wrong?
And that was before these recent cuts and job losses that Labour delivered in their budget and which some of the so-called Independents now clearly support.
So, does the Leader still stand by what she said?
Does she think Labour’s cuts have no impact on people?
Or does she accept that her administration is failing on the very basics, leaving Oldham Borough looking shabby and neglected?
Q2 Leaders Question: Greater Manchester Police iOps 10/07/24
Thank you, Mr Mayor,
Police officers and victims of crime across Oldham Borough and Greater Manchester continue to be let down because of GMP’s defective iOps IT system.
iOps has been backed by the GM Mayor Andy Burnham with a whopping £29 million pounds of public money and counting.
But police officers have complained to me about repeated failures since iOps was introduced in 2019.
It takes ages to load, it crashes repeatedly, and it has even hidden data out of sight.
Due to its failings, offenders have escaped prosecution and the victims of crime have been failed.
Not for nothing has it been called i-Oops and i-Flops.
IT failings were recognised to have played a role in the chaos that pushed Greater Manchester Police into special measures in 2021.
Yet despite promises to scrap failing systems, GMP have stuck with iOps and officers and victims may have to put up with it for at least another year.
What conversations is the Leader having with Greater Manchester Police and Mayor Burnham over these failings?
When will iOps finally be replaced and the public of Greater Manchester get the policing service they are long overdue?
What is being done to ensure that data relating to the most serious crimes is being recorded and treated in a way that the public can have confidence in?
And crucially, who is going to pay the price for these failures?
Will she agree tonight to push Mayor Burnham not to put the cost onto the shoulders of the public by hiking his council tax precepts for policing yet again?
Government’s Green Belt Housing Plans.
Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, Liberal Democrat and Opposition Leader on Oldham Council said, “The new government can use any language they like. But it doesn’t change the realities on the ground in Oldham Borough.”
“We need new affordable housing in the areas people want to live. That means making use of brownfield land and ex-industrial sites.”
“A Green Belt land grab does nothing to get young people onto the housing ladder. It only creates unaffordable housing to maximise developer profit. Green Belt is Green belt and there for a very good reason it exists – calling it Grey Belt is smoke screen and disingenuous.”
Oldham Council leadership blasted for cutting first meeting of the year by two hours so that they can watch the football.
Oldham Liberal Democrat Leader councillor Howard Sykes has blasted Labour and so-called Independent councillors for cutting the Council Meeting (10/07/24) short by two hours to watch the football.
Councillor Sykes said, “I think the public will be absolutely furious that Labour suggested this.”
“Why is it that members of the Labour Group and the so-called Independents (FiPs and S&C) think they are so much better than ordinary people?”
Tonight’s full council meeting (10/07) was the first of only six voting meetings of the full council that take place each year. It coincided with England’s Euro semi-final showdown against the Netherlands. Labour councillors have proposed axing the time allowed for Opposition questions to the Leader and her Cabinet to allow for an early finish. They say they will do it all in writing after the meeting.
Councillor Sykes said, “Don’t get me wrong, I would love to go home and watch England. But the fact is we only have six Full Council meetings a year.”
“That’s six opportunities to hold those in power to account. I’m sorry, but people expect us to do our job. Most people in Oldham Borough don’t have the luxury of clocking off early just because they want to. I see no reason for councillors to behave any differently.”
“It’s certainly not ok for the ruling party to use the England match as an excuse to cut the time that opposition councillors use to hold them to account.”
More top down planning means green belt still under threat
The announcement that the Labour Government plans to continue with top-down planning targets means that future building in Oldham borough will continue to be developer-led and on green belt, and fail to address the borough’s needs, said local councillor Sam Al-Hamdani.
Experts have said that Labour’s plans mean building on additional green belt one-and-a-half times the size of Birmingham at best, and three-and-a-half times at worst.
Lib Dem councillor Sam Al-Hamdani said: “We are hearing the same tired ideas trotted out by the incoming Labour Government that we were hearing from the outgoing Conservative one.
“Housebuilding is not being held up by local authorities. It is being held up by a failure to invest. It’s the same mentality that led to the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework (GMSF), which will lead to unnecessary building on the green belt. That’s why we remain opposed to GMSF and are aiming to remove Oldham from it at tonight’s full Council.”
The announcements by the Government included nothing to address the critical shortage of construction workers, and no extra financial support for brownfield development.
Sam continued: “Experts agree that housebuilding targets have never been hit without significant investment by the Government. By targeting local authority targets instead of driving housebuilding, this new Labour Government is simply continuing to use a failed model.
“These are hard choices, but any planning which fails to prioritise the right kind of houses in the right places will leave places like Oldham facing exactly the same problems – a lack of infrastructure, green spaces under threat, and not enough social housing.”
Oldham Council now fails to do summer planting while weeds continue to grow
Labour run Oldham Council has been slammed after failing to undertake summer planting while the weeds continue to grow around the Borough “like Day of the Triffids.”
Leader of Oldham Liberal Democrats councillor Howard Sykes MBE said, “The barrier planters in Shaw and Crompton were emptied out months ago but there has been no sign of any summer planting. The Council has missed the boat now and the place just looks a mess. Meanwhile, weeds continue to grow out of control. It’s like Day of the Triffids. People notice and they tell me that they feel Oldham Council is letting the Borough look run down and unloved.”
The Liberal Democrat Leader hit out at Oldham Council bosses back in February when the ruling Labour Group, now supported by a number of so-called Independents, axed jobs and resources from the Environmental Services team, responsible for the maintenance of Oldham Borough’s parks and green spaces.
Councillor Sykes said, “We warned the Council that these cuts to environmental Services would result in a much poorer service for residents, but we were assured by Labour councillors that this wouldn’t be the case. However, the facts speak for themselves, and everybody can see the difference. Just the latest case of not getting the basics right.”
Picture is Howard Sykes with the winter planting which was removed months ago and the boxes are now empty.
More from Councillor Sykes on parks staff being redeployed after budget cuts (June 2024)
Oldham’s weeding woes: parks staff redeployed to tackle weeds despite promises cuts would not impact green spaces – Howard Sykes (mycouncillor.org.uk)
More from Councillor Sykes on Oldham’s weeds contract (July 2023)
It is like Day of the Triffids – Howard Sykes (mycouncillor.org.uk)
Oldham Coliseum Saved: Liberal Democrats welcome Oldham Council U-turn as new future for Fairbottom Street in sight
Oldham Liberal Democrat Leader councillor Howard Sykes MBE has welcomed news that new funding is to be made available for the Oldham Coliseum Theatre. The news that the Coliseum will reopen at it’s historic Fairbottom Street home comes after hard campaigning including a successful motion to Oldham Council submitted by the Liberal Democrats.
Councillor Sykes said, “This is excellent news and not a moment too soon for the Coliseum. It’s a victory for the campaigners who have made this happen. The Liberal Democrats put constant pressure on the Labour Council to step in. Most recently we won a vote which pushed the Council to look again at funding for the Fairbottom street venue by re-purposing town centre regeneration funding.”
The Coliseum closed its doors in March 2023 after Arts Council England withdrew its funding, sparking huge outcry from the public and a host of famous actors from across the UK.
Councillor Sykes said, “It should never have happened. Over recent years the Oldham Council has had many opportunities to intervene and hasn’t done so. The only reason we have been able to pressure the Council to act is because Labour no longer has a majority.”
“But this is great news for the future of the Coliseum and on this occasion, Liberal Democrat councillors are all too happy for the Labour Administration to steal our ideas. This is about preserving a true cultural icon and the jewel in Oldham Borough’s crown.”
Big step forward for Oldham Coliseum as Liberal Democrats win council vote (March 2024)
“Big step forward” for Oldham Coliseum as Liberal Democrats win council vote to put Fairbottom Street renovations back on the table – Howard Sykes (mycouncillor.org.uk)
Liberal Democrats call for regeneration cash to be used to save Coliseum (March 2024)
Liberal Democrats call for regeneration cash to be used to save Oldham Coliseum – Howard Sykes (mycouncillor.org.uk)
Coliseum “failed, failed and failed again” say Liberal Democrats (February 2023)
Oldham Coliseum has been “failed, failed and failed again” say Liberal Democrats – Howard Sykes (mycouncillor.org.uk)
Holiday Activities and Food Programme.