An appeal from the Leader of Oldham Council’s Liberal Democrat Group has finally led the Labour Administration to call time on spending over £10,000 on sending delegates to an annual international property conference in Southern France.

In mid-July, Liberal Democrat Group Leader, Councillor Howard Sykes, MBE, wrote to the new Council Leader and Chief Executive asking them to cease the needless spending which could be better spent on providing front-line services.

In 2018 and 2019, Oldham Council was represented at the three-day Marché International des Professionnels d’Immobilier (MIPIM) property conferences held in the French Riviera resort of Cannes at a time when Council services have been cut to the bone. 

In 2018 at least £9,892 was spent to pay for the attendance of the Head of Regeneration and Development and Director of Economy and Skills and in 2019 £10,296 for the attendance of the-then Leader of the Council and the Head of Regeneration and Development.

In 2020, because of COVID-19, the conference was called off, but £1,647 had already been spent on travel tickets and accommodation which had to be written off.

The next MIPIM conference is in September 2021.

Commenting Councillor Sykes stated: “The attendance by councillors and council officers at these conferences is just wrong.  It is an unnecessary expense on an unnecessary activity when the council has cut other services to the bone because of a lack of cash, and it is contrary to our stated commitment to become a carbon-neutral Council by 2025.  Going to Cannes is not going green and it is a waste of money.”

In the reply received from the Head of the Chief Executive’s Office it was confirmed that ‘Oldham Council will not be attending the MIPIM events later this year’.  In response, Councillor Sykes added: “I am glad that common-sense has prevailed and this money would be better spent on making our streets cleaner, fixing potholes on our crumbling roads or providing care for our vulnerable children or elderly citizens than on jet travel and expensive hotel bills for staff swanning off to the French Riviera.”

For real time information: https://oldham.roadworks.org/

With the easing of COVID-19 quarantine restrictions, more people will be taking advantage of their summer break to head off to enjoy our Borough’s beautiful countryside.  Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, Leader of the Oldham Liberal Democrat Group, knows that the vast majority of local day-trippers will be considerate, but fears that our moorland may once more be placed in grave danger by irresponsible visitors using portable barbeques.

“We have seen the devastation caused by moorland fires triggered by idiots and arsonists in the past,” said Councillor Sykes.  “I can only pray that over the summer, especially if we experience more heatwaves, this will not be repeated, because the Conservative Government has recently told me it has no plans to outlaw portable bbqs and stiffen sentences for those causing catastrophic damage to our countryside and wildlife.”

In May, Councillor Sykes wrote to the Secretary of State for the Environment, George Eustice MP, calling for a national ban on the sale of disposable barbecues, and for greater court punishments for those found guilty of negligently or wilfully setting fire to our moors.

Councillor Sykes was disappointed to hear that the government does not intend to get tough.  Minister of State for the Environment, Rebecca Pow MP, said in her response ‘The Government has no plans for additional legislative proposals on the use of disposable barbecues’, and instead called upon people to observe the Countryside Code.

“Unfortunately, the current financial and other penalties imposed upon offenders found guilty of burning our moorland are pitiful in relation to the damage caused, and clearly the government has no intention of addressing that,” concluded Councillor Sykes. 

“Appealing to these criminal elements to observe the Countryside Code is frankly laughable; they are intent on breaking the law and are not going to read or take heed of the recommendations contained in a government booklet”.

Ash die back disease has been detected in Crompton Cemetery which has led to the felling of twenty mature trees in the cemetery as a matter of urgency. Cllr Hazel Gloster, Liberal Democrat Councillor for the Shaw Ward said ‘ it is regrettable that these mature trees have had to be felled however the Ash tree is a very important tree in the ecological system and we need to ensure that action now prevents further damage in the cemetery as the disease spreads between July and October during leafage’ .

Crompton Liberal Democrat Councillor Dave Murphy added ‘We will be working with Oldham Council’s Environmental Services Department to look at how we can replace these trees, preferably doubling the numbers felled, as replacements. It would be nice if each tree replaced was sponsored by a family in memory of a loved one and I will be speaking with council officers to see how this can be achieved’

Recycle for Greater Manchester (R4GM) are making it easier for residents to dispose of plasterboard at Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRC’s).

Up until now, residents who want to dispose of plasterboard had to use a waste facility, accessing it via a weighbridge. This was put in place to help reduce the illegal disposal of plasterboard at recycling centres by traders.

Prior to the pandemic, site staff were able to loan the public Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) so that they could access the waste facility safely.  However due to Covid restrictions the public must now use their own PPE – causing issues for residents who turn up on site without knowing this beforehand.

From now on plasterboard containers were made available at HWRCs across GM, including the Arkwright Street site in Oldham. This means that residents in a vehicle under 2 metres high, wishing to dispose of plasterboard will no longer have to use a waste facility and wear PPE.

The R4GM website has been updated to reflect this service change.

For more information, please email recycle4gm@greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk or call 0161 778 7110.

For real time information: https://oldham.roadworks.org/

“Well we told you so,” was the response of Oldham Liberal Democrat Group Leader Councillor Howard Sykes MBE to news that Oldham’s Labour Cabinet has chosen to invest more in street cleaning and tackling fly-tipping.  “Oldham people want to see cleaner streets and for the Liberal Democrats this has always been a budget priority.”

Councillor Sykes said:  “I welcome the new Council Leader’s commitment to establish a ‘street cleaning force’ to tackle fly-tipping and rubbish in this borough’s dirty streets, but the Liberal Democrats made similar proposals in each of our ‘alternate budget’ amendments over the last five financial years, including reinstating three enforcement officer posts.  Labour has always turned us down saying they were rubbish.  Just think how much cleaner our borough would be with five years of our suggested investment.”

The Cabinet recently (26 July) approved a proposal to spend a further £1.27 million to employ more street cleaners, two new teams to respond to fly-tipping incidents, and ‘environmental marshals’ to prosecute offenders, as well as investing in two new vehicles.

Councillor Sykes added:  “As the opposition, the Liberal Democrats do not control the purse-strings and so there has been little money available to us to propose reallocating in our ‘alternate budget’ amendment each year.  Nonetheless we have always prioritised extra investment in cleaner streets and tackling fly-tipping, and in for the current financial year this amounted to almost £300,000.

“This decision shows that, as the party in power, Labour has always been able to find the extra resources to clean up our streets if it had the will to do so.  If this decision makes sense now why did common-sense not prevail when we made similar suggestions in the past?”

Councillor Sykes concluded:  “The one deficiency of this plan is that we shall not see the reinstatement of the free collection service from Bulky Bobs, as we proposed.  I remain convinced that this would help stop the dumping of large items, like furniture.”

Oldham Liberal Democrat Leader Councillor Howard Sykes MBE recently wrote to a Conservative member of parliament backing his plans to change the law on when councillors will be barred from public office. 

The name of the Conservative MP for Mole Valley, Sir Paul Beresford, was drawn in an annual ballot held recently in Parliament.  Selection entitles Sir Paul to propose a private member’s bill.  He has chosen to introduce a bill titled the Local Government (Disqualification) Bill. 

Councillor Sykes wrote to Sir Paul asking him to ensure the new law will ban anyone convicted of a sex offence and placed on the Sex Offender’s Register from seeking, accepting, or staying in public office.  The Oldham Liberal Democrats have already twice asked the Conservative Government to do this.

“At present, only councillors convicted of a sex offence who receive a custodial or suspended prison sentence of three months or more are barred from office.  The Oldham Liberal Democrats want the law to be changed so that all sex offenders are barred from office, whatever their punishment,” explained Councillor Sykes.

“In March 2017, I seconded a cross-party motion at the Council calling on the government to bar sex offenders from public office.  In response, in October 2018, Local Government Minister Rishi Sunak promised to change the law.  Two years later, in September 2020, nothing had changed so I asked my party colleague Liberal Democrat peer, Baroness Pinnock of Cleckheaton, to ask the government when the change would happen.  In his reply, Conservative Lord Greenhalgh said ‘as soon as Parliamentary time allows’.  We have now waited over four years and that time has long passed.”

Sir Paul Beresford responded positively to the letter within a day saying that drafting of his bill is in hand, and that he is already in discussion with a minister on ‘planned progress’.  Councillor Sykes concluded:  “This sends the message that the government is prepared to back the bill and Sir Paul believes that ‘closing this small loophole should not be a difficult matter’”.