Information to help combat anti-social dog fouling

Neighbourhoods Directorate
Environmental Health
Chadderton Town Hall, Middleton Road
Chadderton, Oldham OL9 6PP
Tel: 0161 770 2244
Email: environmentalhealth@oldham.gov.uk

Dear Sir or Madam

RE: DOG CONTROL ORDER: CLEAN NEIGHBOURHOODS AND ENVIRONMENT ACT 2005

I receive numerous complaints annually concerning dog owners who allow their dogs to foul in public places; in order for the Neighbourhood Enforcement team to fully investigate a complaint please provide me with the following information

• The times when the owner takes their dog out
• The location where the fouling has occurred
• A description of the dog
• A description of the owner
• If the dog owner is using a car, the registration number

Dog owners who do not clean up after their dogs face an immediate £80 fixed penalty fine or face prosecution by the Local Authority which can result in a fine of up to £1000.

Should you have any queries or require any further advice, please contact the Enforcement Officer on the above telephone number

Samantha Jackson
Principle Environmental Health Officer
Neighbourhood Enforcement

Planning a basic guide

Councillor Chris Stephens Chair of Shaw and Crompton Parish Council Planning Committee wrote the following article. I have posted it on my web site as I think it will be of interest to you all.

Several residents have expressed concern regarding the general lack of information about planning processes within Oldham Borough.

It can be disconcerting to find that a neighbour, business, school, farm, or other organisation in your neighbourhood has applied for a planning application which may range from a simple house extension up to a major property development or significant business change/ implementation.

Concerns over privacy, loss of amenity, noise, additional traffic movements, parking and environmental issues often have a significant impact on resident’s lives.

The process of finding out about a planning application can appear to be disharmonised; the purpose of this article is to provide some basic information on the planning process.

Information about larger planning applications generally appears in the local press, particularly for those which may have a major impact on the local neighbourhood.

Applications which affect fewer residents, such as home or shop extensions, business change uses, are not necessarily widely publicised. Generally Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council (OMBC) will send out notification letters to properties adjacent to the proposed application.

The letter will contain details of the planning application together with information where the plans may be inspected (usually the Civic Centre) and dates by which objections may be forwarded to OMBC.

However, OMBC are not obliged to send out letters but they do have an obligation to post a notice about a residential planning application adjacent to the property; this is generally a pink coloured notice often placed upon a lamppost outside the property.

If you see such a notice within your vicinity please ensure you take the time to read it. If you are concerned, or need advice, about the application it is recommended you contact a Parish or OMBC councillor about the issue as soon as possible.

All planning applications within the Parish of Shaw and Crompton are notified to the Parish Council.

A list of such applications is on display in the window of the Parish Council Office at 1 Kershaw Street East, Shaw.

Applications are on display for only about 1 week prior to the Parish Council Planning Committee meeting.

Residents are able to make representation to the Parish Council; public participation is encouraged as views from people living and working in the area are important to the decision making process.

Dates and times of meetings are displayed in the Parish Council office. Members of the public wishing to speak on a planning issue should advise the clerk of the Parish Council prior to the meeting.

The Parish Planning Committee does not make a final decision on approval or rejection of an application but it makes a recommendation to OMBC on acceptance or refusal based on planning laws as well as taking into consideration any public representations.

OMBC may take into account the Parish recommendations when making their own decision on the application.

Members of the public are also permitted to make a presentation to OMBC Planning Committee on planning applications although only one person may speak against the application and only one may speak in support. Additionally a time limit is imposed on speakers at Borough planning meetings.

For further information on the planning process please contact Cllr Chris Stephens: 0775 296 8201 or the Parish Office 01706 847590.
Also further information on the planning process is available at:
http://www.oldham.gov.uk/info/200351/planning

Crompton Cemetery – new community toilet facility

Hopefully the above will be open for public use from Monday October 28th.

Toilets will be open Mon-Thurs 08:00am – 15:00pm and Friday 08:00am – 12:00pm

The signage is being made and should hopefully be ready, for the end of this week.

The cemetery staff has all been briefed and will clean and also open the toilets as per the notice which will be displayed in the portacabin building window.

“This is excellent news for users of the cemetery; the lack of any toilet provision has been a major problem for years, stated local Lib Dem Cllr Howard Sykes.

“I am very pleased the council have now progressed my request to open under the community toilet scheme those already on the site. It is shame we cannot get them open at the weekend but this is a major improvement,” he said.

Vanquis banished from Oldham bus station following Lib Dem Campaign

Vanquis Bank, a sub-prime lender targeting those with a poor credit rating and multiple debts, has finally vanished from the Oldham Bus Station after a campaign by Oldham Liberal Democrats led to a ban from Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM).

At the July 17th Council meeting, Leader of the Opposition and of the Liberal Democrat Group, Councillor Howard Sykes raised the issue of the inappropriateness of Vanquis Bank marketing its products to residents of the borough by having a stand in the Oldham Bus Station.

At this stand, company representatives were seen to be handing out promotional brochures, and harassing passers-by entering the bus station.

Vanquis Bank, a subsidiary of doorstep lender Provident Finance, operates in the sub-prime lending market offering a credit card requiring a typical interest payment of 39.9% to UK residents with a ‘limited or uneven credit history’.

It has been criticised on credit forums such as Money Saving Expert, established by financial journalist Martin Lewis, for the high interest charges on these cards and the high charges levied on defaulted payments.

At the July meeting, Cllr Sykes questioned why Transport for Greater Manchester, which had worked with bus operators to introduce reduced fares to make bus travel more affordable to those on low incomes, was permitting such an organisation for a fee to operate on its premises.

Cllr Sykes and Oldham representative on TfGM fellow Lib Dem Cllr John Dillon together began a campaign to have Vanquis banished.

Cllr Sykes said: “Vanquis actively targets customers with limited means and a poor credit history who cannot access cheaper credit elsewhere, putting them further into debt. These individuals often already have multiple debt issues and struggle to make repayments. Quite simply the Oldham Liberal Democrats did not want to see this company using a bus station to push their products on the poorest citizens in our society so we called upon TfGM to revoke their agreement with them immediately”.

On 3rd October, Councillors Sykes and Dillon were informed by senior manager Jon Lamonte of TfGM that following Lib Dem demands an internal review was conducted a corporate decision made not to let Vanquis back into the bus station.

Cllr Sykes: “This is a pleasing result, and the latest positive action to combat loan sharks and sub-prime, high-interest lending companies in our borough resulting from pressure brought to bear by the Liberal Democrat Group on Oldham Council.

We recently also led the way in calling first for the Council to ban links to the websites of loan companies –such as Wonga – from the computers of public libraries and Council offices, a policy that the Council chose to adopt days after we suggested it.

We now need to get TfGM to agree to our second demand – that the Oldham Credit Union be invited to have a free stand in the Oldham Bus Station”.

A healthier you

Is it time to make a change?

Your local NHS Health Improvement Service can help you achieve your lifestyle goals, whether you’d like to:

• Stop smoking
• Take control of your weight
• Eat well
• Be active
• Drink sensibly
• Improve your wellbeing
• Develop your skills, knowledge and confidence

Our One Stop Shop is ready to take your call on:
0161 621 712
or email: pcn-tr.oldhamonestopshop@nhs.net

The following support is offered to people in the Oldham area:

Stop smoking: visit one of our personal advisors, or get
support over the phone. You are four times more likely to
succeed if you get support.

Take control of your weight: come along to one of our ‘Why
Weight’ groups, or get personal support with a Health Trainer.
Eat well: try out new recipes, and learn new skills – whatever
your budget!

Be active: join us in our various activities, including walking,
cycling, or by attending one of our classes. All abilities welcome.

Improve your wellbeing: join one of our groups to increase
your confidence and self-esteem and learn to manage your
stress and anxiety.

Our One Stop Shop is ready to take your call on:
0161 621 712
or email: pcn-tr.oldhamonestopshop@nhs.net

Get involved: why not come on a training course about
community health and get involved in improving wellbeing in
Oldham? We provide training and support.

Shaw and Crompton Parish Council – Chairman’s Crompton Circuit Walk

Chairman’s Crompton Circuit Walk
(free guided walk of just over 11 miles)

Sunday 22 September 2013 – Starting at 10:00am and Finishing 4:30pm

Meet at Dunwood Park Café, Smallbrook Road, Shaw OL2 7UQ with a Pit-stop at the halfway mark, around 1:00pm – 2:00pm at St Joseph’s Church, Oldham Road,
Shaw OL2 8SZ

Or join at the half way mark if you wish.

For more information prior to or on the day of the walk please contact the Chairman, Cllr Dave Murphy on 01706 840056 or email cllr.dave.murphy@gmail.com

Please bring a packed lunch, waterproofs and suitable footwear.

Those with any health issues, please seek medical advice before participating in the walk.

Questions (allowed max of three) I asked at Oldham Council meeting Wed 11th September

Using the Airport Bumper Dividend to Support those affected by Welfare Reform:

I am sure that the Leader of the Council will join me in welcoming the recent news of bumper dividend payments being made to the ten Greater Manchester authorities by the Manchester Airport Group.

Will the Leader be willing to enter into a discussion as to how best Oldham can utilise this wind-fall, particularly in looking to identify further practical measures that can be funded to support the poorest citizens of our borough who are adjusting to reduced benefits following welfare reform?

One example that could be emulated, from a neighbouring authority, is establishing a discretionary hardship fund used in exceptional circumstances to support first time Council Tax payers in arrears.

Will he consider establishing such a fund and any other steps that might be of benefit to these hard pressed citizens?

Council Letters that are Threatening or Lack Clarity:

We have tonight heard a question from an understandably very angry lady, a pillar of her local community, who has demanded a public apology after being accused in threatening and condemnatory letters received from this authority about claiming the single person’s Council Tax discount under false pretences whilst supposedly providing shelter for her grandson.

I myself have recently resolved a case involving the authority dealing in a high-minded and dictatorial fashion with a young mother – a constituent of mine – who in trying to provide for her family through taking up employment got into a tiswas with her claim for Council Tax Benefit. The lady in question received correspondence that was so unclear that a polymath would struggle to understand it.

Later we have a Cabinet Question from my Liberal Democrat colleague, Councillor Philomena Dillon, about a case in which a Crompton constituent, was accused of accruing a Council Tax debt on a property that no longer existed at a time when she was no longer living in the borough.

I am all for the authority throwing the book at those who wilfully claim things to which they are not entitled or cheerfully seek to avoid paying the money that they owe, but these are just three instances where the authority has acted overzealously and in haste to follow up red herrings.

It is fortunate indeed that the recipients of these letters were sufficiently strong willed and had the presence of mind to ask for help.

My worry is that in the near future that one of my constituents, or those of colleagues, who may be vulnerable or isolated will receive a similar letter – and that for them it will take them over the edge.

So to help forestall that eventuality I would like to ask the Leader tonight to outline for Council what checks his administration is prepared to introduce to ensure that the letters this authority sends out accord with the known facts and that they are clear and respectful to our electorate, the people that we ultimately serve?

And will he also please refer this matter for urgent investigation by the Overview and Scrutiny Board with a report brought back to Council this municipal year?

It’s All Bullocks:

I am sure the Leader will agree with me that the significant financial settlement made upon the authority and the recent departure of the former Chief Executive of Housing 21 has drawn a line under the very unsatisfactory construction phase of the PFI2 housing regeneration project.

My colleague, Cllr John McCann, as former lead member for housing, spent many an hour trying to resolve the numerous problems and delays associated with the refurbishment of bungalows and construction of new group schemes for the older residents of this borough.

And I am sure Cllr Hibbert has done the same.

But for the record, will the Leader agree that overall the tenants renting the properties that are managed on behalf of the Council by Housing 21 receive a good service, and that in fact the blame for the earlier debacle should really be placed squarely at the foot of Housing 21’s so-called construction partners, Bullocks?

The important thing is that despite the Bullocks our elderly are safe, comfortable and as content as possible within these properties.

While there are always exceptions all my information says they are.

Will the Leader join with me in offering assurance, especially to the relatives of those in Housing 21 properties, that this is in fact the case?

‘Why Weight’ Oldham Community Health Services successful 8 week weight management course is running at

Crompton Health Centre from Thursday 26th September – 14th November 1-3pm

Royton Health and Wellbeing Centre Tuesay the 8th of October 10-12pm

The course is aimed at men and women who are above their ideal weight, or who just feel unhappy with the way they look. It will offer people advice to lose weight and keep it off. This includes guidance around healthy recipes, portion sizes and being more active. A weekly weigh-in will also support people to stay on track with their weight loss.

Natalie Hill, Community Health Development Worker, said: “We know that people often try various ways to lose weight and to keep it off. Our free weight management programmes aim to give people the very best chance of success, by offering them essential knowledge, guidance and support. We’ve already helped many people lose weight and the feedback we have received is very positive.

“The sessions are designed to be informal, yet informative. We often find that participants benefit from meeting others who are losing weight, because they can support each other outside of the sessions and into the future. “We look forward to welcoming people and helping them achieve their weight loss goals.”

Places are limited, so anyone who is interested is encouraged to act fast to avoid disappointment. They can book a place by phoning the One Stop Shop on 0161 621 7128.