Please read these before thinking about visiting Arkwright Street Tip.

Traffic management:

Number plate system and site rules

Some recycling centres will open on Saturday 2^nd May at 8am

Some recycling centres will provide a limited service for general waste/bags of rubbish only, no recycling or garden waste containers will be available initially.

This is not business as usual but a phased opening.

Not all sites will open due to shortages of staff and all sites have reduced opening hours.

Please check before you visit.

https://recycleforgreatermanchester.com/

The sites are open with social distancing measures in place so visitors should only go if it’s an essential visit and should expect queues.

We are still urging the public to Stay Home, Stay Safe and Protect the NHS.

Visitors may be turned away if the queues are too long and asked to return at another time.

Recycling Centre Rules

• Open for bagged general waste only, no recycling or garden waste accepted
• Only 1 person per vehicle
• Cars and small vans only – No transit type vans and vehicles with trailers
• No pedestrian access
• SUEZ staff will not be able to help unload your vehicle
• Please take proof of address with you such as your council tax bill, gas or electric bill to show you live in one of the 9 councils in Greater Manchester. You can show your bill on your mobile phone.
• ANPR and CCTV are in operation, trade waste is not allowed.
• Please expect to queue for longer than usual due to social distancing restrictions in place. Please make sure you don’t block access for other road users

Residents are being asked to check their number plate and only attend on a specific day if their number is odd/even. This is to reduce the potential number of visitors expected. Check before you travel.

Check the recycleforgreatermanchester.com website for more details.

How will it work?

SUEZ have reorganised the layout of the recycling centres and introduced social distancing measures. Only a limited number of cars (up to 5) will be allowed on site at any one time with a one in, one out policy. For each parking bay, there will be a container to place bags of general waste in. There will be no other recycling containers available. Residents should leave the site as quickly as possible to allow the next car in. 

Highways officers and traffic marshals will patrol the roads surrounding the recycling centres to guide the public. Traffic management such as cones, traffic signs, diversions and one way systems will be implemented to help the flow of traffic. Please check your local council website for updates on diversions.

If the queue becomes too long, residents may be turned away and asked to return at a later time.

When and why did the sites close?

All GMCA Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) closed on 24^th March in order to comply with Government guidance on essential reasons to leave the house during the initial 3 week lock down period. GMCA was not unique in taking this approach to HWRCs, the position nationally was that most recycling centres were closed pending review of the lockdown restrictions.

Why are centres only reopening now? What’s changed?

Defra guidance around opening up the recycling centres has changed and we recognise that many of us are producing more waste whilst spending time at home, so to ease pressure on the council bin collections, it was agreed by the GMCA and the 9 councils to open some of the recycling centres for general waste only.

How many sites will open?

16 out of 20 sites will open but this is not business as usual so please check opening hours before you travel (not all sites are open 7 days a week) and ask yourself if this journey is essential. https://recycleforgreatermanchester.com/

What can I take to the recycling centre?

Only general waste/rubbish in bin bags that you can’t fit in your household bin such as nappies, plastic packaging, polystyrene and other household waste (small bulky waste) that can’t be recycled.

What about other recycling and garden waste?

Please store recycling and garden waste at home until we can offer this service. By only offering containers for general waste, we can get people through the sites quicker and there is no need for anyone to walk about the site coming into contact with other visitors.

Some of the recycling re-processors that we send the recycling to (wood, electricals etc) are not open.

Looking Forward

We will review the situation along with Government guidance and in time may be able to provide other containers for recycling.

We need the cooperation of the public to make this work – please don’t go unless you really need to.

Councillor Howards Sykes MBE, Liberal Democrat and Opposition Leader on Oldham Council, tells of how large utility companies take council highway restrictions for granted.  

This revelation is detailed in a freedom of information request (FOI) to Oldham Council.   Large companies like Cadent, United Utilities and Virgin Media have all repeatedly broken regulations on local roadworks in Oldham Borough.  They have blocked up roads for longer than they said they would and so have been given a fine.  The road closures affect the ability of residents and businesses to go about daily life.  The FOI shows that current council fines, the levels of which are set by national government do not act as a deterrent to delays.

Because these large companies can absorb the fines, they are able to keep breaching the regulations.  In the year 2017/18 the roadworks overran 123 times and in 2018/19 it was a total of 62 times.

Councillor Sykes says unless councils are allowed to increase the fines or create new penalties, the problem will continue. 

“People often ask why roads works are not co-ordinated – well they are – but these utility companies clearly often over run or in some cases do not even inform the council of repairs they are undertaking,” stated Councillor Sykes.

“The situation will not improve unless the fines have real bite.  This is a problem across the country.  “If the rules are being broken and ignored, then we must change the system,” he added.

See the on-line offer – download and read the attached.

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

From this Saturday (May 2) Greater Manchester Combined Authority is reopening Arkwright Street household waste and recycling centre.

The site will be open Monday to Sunday 8am to 6pm.  

Restrictions and new measures will be in place to protect the health and wellbeing of residents and staff.

The decision was taken in accordance with Government guidelines and is based on staffing, accessibility, and the agreement of a traffic management plan that has been put in place.

Temporarily Arkwright Street will be closed from its junction with Featherstall Road South and a diversion is in place via Featherstall Road South, Middleton Road and Lansdowne Road.

Reopening is being carefully planned and managed, with the involvement of Greater Manchester Police (GMP).

Among the criteria being taken into account are staffing arrangements at waste disposal facilities operated by SUEZ, with more staff deployed to handle the increased volume of waste and recycling picked up during household bin collections.

In order to control the number of vehicles accessing the centres at any one time, GMCA is introducing a traffic control system based on odd and even number plates.

It will work on a four week rota to limit the amount of traffic visiting the centres and limit the potential for staff and the public to be exposed to the virus.

Number plates ending with odd numbers – one, three, five, seven and nine – will be allowed on the days shown below, while number plates ending with even numbers – zero, two, four, six and eight – will be allowed on the others:

Sat	Sun	Mon	Tues	Wed	Thurs	Fri
02/05/20	03/05/20	04/05/20	05/05/20	06/05/20	07/05/20	08/05/20
Even	Odd	Even	Odd	Even	Odd	Even
Week 2
Sat	Sun	Mon	Tues	Wed	Thurs	Fri
09/05/20	10/05/20	11/05/20	12/05/20	13/05/20	14/05/20	15/05/20
Even	Odd	Even	Odd	Odd	Odd	Even
Week 3
Sat	Sun	Mon	Tues	Wed	Thurs	Fri
16/05/20	17/05/20	18/05/20	19/05/20	20/05/20	21/05/20	22/05/20
Even	Odd	Even	Odd	Even	Odd	Even
Week 4
Sat	Sun	Mon	Tues	Wed	Thurs	Fri
23/05/20	24/05/20	25/05/20	26/05/20	27/05/20	28/05/20	29/05/20
Even	Odd	Even	Odd	Odd	Odd	Even

The centre will be accepting bagged general waste only, and will be open to Greater Manchester residents who show proof of address, such as a council tax, gas, or electricity bill.

Social distancing measures will be in place, and the number of cars allowed on to the sites will be limited, with one person allowed out of their vehicle to dispose of their waste. Staff will be unable to assist with unloading and no pedestrian access will be permitted.

Residents are advised to visit recycling centres only if absolutely necessary.

Information about how to manage and dispose of waste, and the latest updates on household waste recycling centres, can be found at www.recycleforgreatermanchester.com

Councillor Howards Sykes MBE, Liberal Democrat and Opposition Leader on Oldham Council, reveals a new plan for frontline works in the National Health Service (NHS).  This is a Liberal Democrat idea that will give frontline staff an extra £29 a day.  Better PPE equipment and increased support for their families would also be provided.  The NHS is a vital part of British life, and our NHS is needed now more than ever before.  NHS frontline workers should have the same privileges as those serving on the frontline in war.  This is their war in the fight against Covid-19.

It is a sad truth that some NHS staff and care staff are being put at unnecessary risk because the personal protective equipment (PPE) they need is not readily available.  This Liberal Democrat plan includes comprehensive measures to cut red tape.  These plans would double production of vital PPE but also provide financial support directly to staff on the frontline.

Councillor Sykes applauds the hard work conducted by our brave frontline workers at every level:  “The armed forces receive a deployment allowance of an extra £29 per day on active duty.  The same should apply to NHS and care staff putting themselves in danger during the coronavirus epidemic.”

“Just as people remember Florence Nightingale, future generations will remember the bravery and diligence of our health and care workers during the Coronavirus outbreak.   We must meet that honour with the right support in the here and now, not later.”

Notes:

https://www.libdems.org.uk/nhs-care-package-launch?utm_campaign=nhs_support_followup&utm_medium=email&utm_source=libdems

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

Councillor Howard Sykes MBE says we need more youth services in our communities.  This is in both youth workers and youth centres.  The Leader of the Liberal Democrats on Oldham Borough Council highlights work done by parliament on knife crime.  Studies by a group of MPs showed that schools and youth centres play a central role in keeping children and young people safe.  These services should be granted necessary funding.  Local Liberal Democrat Councillors in Shaw and Crompton have repeatedly invested their limited local funds in youth services to offset government cuts.

Currently, UK schools are underfunded.  Youth services have declined by 69% over the last decade.  On average councils have reduced spending on services such as social clubs and youth workers by 40%.  Some Authorities have seen funding plummet by 91% over the last few years.

Councillor Sykes says that once the main threat of the Coronavirus is out of the way, we must start investing in our youth communities once again:  “The evidence is plain, though this is not just about a spike in knife crime.  This is about investing in future generations by building new youth centres and spending plans centred around young people.”

“With every youth centre that closes, a new one does not miraculously open to replace it.  Once Covid-19 has been eradicated, we need to turn the tide and start reinvesting in our youth communities and hire more workers for young people.”

Notes:

http://www.preventknifecrime.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/APPG-on-Knife-Crime-Back-to-School-exclusions-report-FINAL.pdf