The Oldham Liberal Democrats have welcomed the vote in Parliament earlier this week as a sign that there is cross-party support for the £20 weekly uplift in Universal Credit, introduced at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, to be made permanent.

At the end of an Opposition Day debate in the House of Commons, 278 Members of Parliament voted for the rise, putting pressure on the Conservative Government to extend it beyond the 31 March cut-off date.  Amongst those MPs supporting the extension were all eleven Liberal Democrat Members of Parliament.  There were no votes against, but, unfortunately, the vote is only advisory and not legally binding.

Oldham Liberal Democrat Council Group Leader, Councillor Howard Sykes MBE wrote to the Chancellor Rishi Sunak MP last October asking him to ‘make a clear and principled policy decision’ and make the temporary rise permanent.  He is hoping that the Chancellor will do just that in his forthcoming Spring Budget. 

Commenting on the latest vote, Councillor Sykes said:  “This vote puts further pressure on this government to do the right thing.  I am glad that MPs of all parties, including all eleven Liberal Democrat MPs, voted in favour of continuing the payment.”

“This temporary uplift of £20 per week, or £1,040 a year, if made permanent would be a Godsend to our poorest residents and their families.  For many it will represent the difference between being able to put food before the family at mealtimes or keeping the lights on or keeping their home warm; or being unable to do so.”

“Although I would prefer the increase to be made permanent in the Spring Budget, even if the Chancellor will only agree to pay a lump sum or continue the increase for the duration of lockdown these are moves in the right direction, and we will have to keep up the pressure to achieve permanency.”

Links to previous action on this issue from Councillor Sykes can be found below:

Liberal Democrats hopeful that temporary £20 per week Universal Credit increase will be extended

A Godsend to our poorest residents: Liberal Democrat Leader calls on Chancellor to make £20-a-week Universal Credit rise permanent

Tests conducted by the company JCB with partners, Stoke-on-Trent City Council, have shown that potholes can be fixed four times quicker and at half the cost with a new and revolutionary machine – the Pothole Pro.  Liberal Democrat Leader, Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, has just written to the Chief Operating Officer of Unity, the organisation responsible for fixing the borough’s roads, requesting Pothole Pro be brought to Oldham.

Councillor Sykes said:  “Potholes represent a real bugbear for drivers and for cyclists; not only do they make journeys uncomfortable; they also endanger lives and damage vehicles.  In a survey conducted last week for National Pothole Day, some of our residents reported road surfaces across Oldham that were badly in need of repair.” 

“Fixing potholes is a high priority for many of our Council Taxpayers, and they want to see them fixed effectively and quickly, but at a reasonable cost.  I believe that early results from Stoke show that Pothole Pro could be the fresh solution we are looking for – quicker and cheaper than current solutions – and I have asked that it be brought to Oldham.  And if it is as good as JCB claim it is then maybe in next year’s survey we will only have happy residents and no reports of potholed streets.”

The Oldham Liberal Democrats have condemned the Conservative Government for once more derailing plans for significant investment in Northern rail services.

The government has decided that Transport for the North will lose 40% of its core funding, down to £6 million from £10 million, and a fifth of its total annual support, in the next financial year.  The Department of Transport has also cancelled plans to introduce contactless ticketing, like London’s Oyster card system, across the North of England.

For Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, Leader of Oldham Council’s Liberal Democrat Group, who also serves as one of Oldham’s representatives on the board of Transport for Greater Manchester, the latest news is a significant blow. 

Commenting Councillor Sykes said:  “Whilst the London Crossrail project receives ever more government funding, Northern rail services are being starved of cash.  This government once talked about creating a Northern Powerhouse, but there is little chance of that when we have an antiquated and inadequate railway system that cannot meet the needs of our business community and commuters.” 

“It took decades to divest ourselves of the appalling Pacer ‘trains’ which where only removed from service a couple of months ago.  It looks like it might take decades more before passengers travelling between our Northern towns and cities may experience a twenty first century rail service.  If the Conservatives are to have any credibility when they talk of levelling up the North, then they need to give us more cash not less.”

Residents have contacted Shaw Liberal Democrat Councillors after receiving notification that Asda in Shaw has submitted plans for 24-hour goods deliveries to be made to the site, via Dawn Street, which is located at the opposite side of the site to the public entrance.

This is not the first time that Asda have attempted to obtain planning permission to make deliveries 24 hours a day, but previous applications have been refused because of the noise and disturbance that would be caused to Dawn Street, Duke Street, Eastway residents who live immediately adjacent to the access point.

Shaw Councillor Howard Sykes MBE said:  “Everyone will be aware that ASDA Shaw is very busy and we all recognise that deliveries have to be made to replenish the store, but these should take place at civilised times when local residents will not be unduly inconvenienced.  ASDA have tried this before and been refused permission, and I regret that once again they have forgotten what being a good neighbour is all about.  It is simply not right that Shaw residents should suffer sleepless nights because deliveries in the middle of the night are more convenient to ASDA.”

Councillors have asked for the application to be referred to a full meeting of the Oldham Council Planning Committee so Councillors can give the plan their full consideration and so that residents have an opportunity to raise any objections.

Councillor Sykes added:  “I am strongly opposed to this application and I would urge any local residents who also wish to object to register those objections online on Oldham Council’s Planning Portal as soon as possible.”

The Planning Portal can be found at:

https://planningpa.oldham.gov.uk/online-applications/

The details of the planning application are:

Application Reference Number: MMA/345924/20 – Address: Asda Supermarket, Greenfield Lane, Shaw, Oldham OL2 8QP – Details: Removal of conditions 1, 9 and 10 of application PA/336191/14 to allow 24 hours per day deliveries.

Download the above for a very simple and helpful information on the vaccination.

TEMPORARY PROHIBITION OF DRIVING  NOTICE 2021

Carriageway Parching Works for 5 days from Monday 18th January 2021

The Oldham Borough Council hereby gives Notice that no person shall cause any vehicle to proceed in that part of Buckstones Road, Shaw from Grains Road to Shore Edge Methodist Church 

The restrictions are required to facilitate carriageway patching works and will be in force for 5 daysfrom Monday 18th January 2021 between 9am and 5pm or until the works are completed whichever is the lesser period 

The alternative route for those affected by the restriction is Milnrow Road, Crompton Way, Oldham Road, Higginshaw Road, Shaw Road, A62 Huddersfield Road, A672 Ripponden Road, Buckstones Road in both directions

The Conservative Government has just overturned a promise they made not to allow farmers to use bee-harming pesticides on their fields. 

Use of the neonicotinoid thiamethoxam has just been permitted for emergency use on sugar beet seeds this year, despite an explicit pledge the Government made to maintain a ban.  Neonicotinoids are known to be extremely harmful to bees, and Britain’s bee population is already in serious decline.

Oldham’s Liberal Democrat Leader, Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, thinks the government should buzz off with their threat to one of Britain’s best-loved insects.

Commenting he said: “Conservationists are clear that the use of this pesticide will threaten not only bees, but also wildflowers and the human population itself as water courses could be contaminated.”

“It is notable that the ban on neonicotinoids which applies across Europe has been lifted here in Britain as one of the very first acts of this Conservative Government upon leaving the European Union.  ‘Taking back control’ clearly means in this case contaminating your own country, destroying the eco-system and further damaging the already fragile bee population of Britain.”

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

This is the latest news on the Coronavirus rapid testing plans for asymptomatic people particularly our resident facing key workers and staff that find it difficult to socially distance in their workplace.

The good news is that from Monday 18^th January they will begin testing at four sites at Oldham (times and details on the link below). These are:

• Shaw Life Long Learning – 6 High St, Shaw, Oldham, OL2 8RQ
• Failsworth Town Hall – Oldham Road, Failsworth, M35 0FJ
• Oldham Community Leisure Centre – Middleton Road, Oldham, OL9 6AF
• Uppermill Civic Hall – Lee Street, Uppermill, Saddleworth, OL3 6AE

https://www.oldham.gov.uk/info/201170/coronavirus/2557/coronavirus_book_a_free_test/4

This asymptomatic testing will play an important part in Oldham’s continuing attempts to contain, manage and ultimately defeat Coronavirus.

Who is this test available to:

•           Anyone working with the public

•           Anyone working in a shared workplace

•           Anyone performing a key worker task who can’t ‘work at home’

No appointment is necessary, however invited people will need to bring identification which confirms place of work or status as a key worker, for example work identification badge or key work letter. 

Over the course of this week you will begin to see these sites being set up. This will include involvement by military who have been seconded onto the project by the Government.

Plans for a major industrial incinerator on the edge of Shaw, at the Mossdown Industrial Estate beside Metrolink, are to be submitted shortly.  Waste is likely to be brought in through Royton via Broadway and Shaw via Milnrow Road, a likely 18,000 extra HGV journeys a year.

While the site is in Royton, emissions and traffic from this plant will impact on Shaw and Crompton. “We are supporting local groups and will be actively opposing this development,” stated Councillor Howard Sykes.