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This Saturday the 16^th of September 2023 we would like to do some more tree popping in the Brushes Spoil Heap area, which is adjacent to the car park.

Last Saturday a team of seven volunteers removed about 60/70 birch trees of various size.    It was a very enjoyable day where we could step back and be proud of the difference it had made.  There are, however, a lot more trees  to take out, if we want to save the heather, bilberry and mosses etc..

Meet in Brushes Clough car park for a 10:30am start.   SATURDAY THE 16^TH OF SEPTEMBER 2023.

Not far to walk to this one.  Sturdy footwear advised. Bring lunch and a drink.  All equipment will be provided.

Number of ambulance staff leaving up by more than half as almost 7,000 walk away from NHS

• The number of staff leaving England’s ambulance services annually has increased by 51.2% since 2019
• In 2022/23, 6,968 ambulance service staff left compared to 4,609 in 2019/20
• Currently there are nearly 3,000 vacancies in England’s ambulance services

Ambulance services have experienced a mass exodus of staff in the last year, with a staggering 51.2% increase in the number of leavers compared to 2019 levels, a Liberal Democrat FOI has revealed.

Oldham Liberal Democrat Leader councillor Howard Sykes MBE said, “The NHS is in the worst state I have ever seen it in.  It is a frightening time to be a patient.  The government has driven our ambulance services into the ground and now waiting lists are growing with no end in sight.”

The research from the Liberal Democrats has shown that in 2019/20 the number of people who left ambulance services was 4,609.  That has sky-rocketed in the years since, with 2022/23 seeing 6,968 members of staff walking out of the door.  That is an increase of 51.2% in leavers.

Currently, there are 2,954 vacancies across all ambulance services in England. 

Councillor Sykes said, “The Liberal Democrats are calling for the Government to investigate the shocking rise in paramedics leaving the ambulance service as well as launch a drive to retain, recruit and train paramedics and other ambulance service staff to fill the gaps.”

The FOI data from the ambulance trusts which responded can be found here. 

Leaders Question: Driving improvements in Oldham’s schools

Thank you, Mr Deputy Mayor,

I want to begin by paying tribute to all the pupils across Oldham Borough who have received their A Levels, T Levels, B Tecs, GCSEs and other qualifications recently. 

Mr Deputy Mayor, as a Council, we have MUCH work to do when it comes to education in our Borough. 

The latest OFSTED inspections across some of our secondary schools paint a very mixed picture. 

For far too many people in Oldham, there just isn’t the option of sending your children to a high performing school.

Too many secondary schools are rated as inadequate or in need of improvement. 

The impact of the pandemic years is still keenly felt across the schooling system and too little is understood about the impact that these years of disruption have had on pupil attainment. 

School absences are spiralling out of control. 

Persistent absences have risen by more than 80% in the last four years.  The damage that this missed classroom time is doing to the future life chances of our next generation cannot be overstated. 

This is unacceptable.  And it should be the top priority of this Council to help put it right.

Last month I wrote to the Director of Children’s services following the mixed OFSTED findings, asking him to outline the Council’s strategic response. 

Since then, we have had results day and another set of OFSTED findings, this time dealing with SEND provision in the Borough. 

The outcome?  Widespread systemic failings which must be urgently addressed. 

So will the Leader outline her own administrations’ plan to tackle these important issues and play a leading role in delivering the first-rate Education offer that Oldham deserves. 

Or is the strategy just to wait for handouts from the great and the good at Eton College?

Crumbling concrete: Government must come clean on which schools in Oldham could be affected by future closures

Liberal Democrat councillors in Oldham have slammed the government after it emerged that more than 100 schools across the country face closure just days from the start of a new school year over building safety fears.  The Government has refused to reveal which schools are affected by failing concrete, which has been deemed unsafe and in need of urgent repair work.

Oldham Liberal Democrat Leader councillor Howard Sykes MBE said, “Teachers, parents and pupils are being left in the dark over whether school will be open when term starts.  The government has been too slow to provide details.”  

104 schools have been told to close buildings because they are at risk of collapse due to the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).  A partial list of schools affected has been made available to the press, but details have not been communicated to school staff or families.  Meanwhile, Schools Minister, Nick Gibb MP has also conceded that the Government still does not have a definitive list of all schools that might be affected as they “continue to do more surveying work”. 

Councillor Sykes said, “Which schools are affected?  How long will children be kept out of class?  What arrangements will be put in place during this time?  The government have known about these safety concerns for years and done nothing.  Why couldn’t this work have started during the summer break?”

“These questions deserve clear and detailed answers.  But instead, parents, teachers and pupils are being treated as an afterthought by the Conservative government who appear to have lost control.”

Councillor Sykes said, “The truth is that we should never have gotten to this point. The Government has known about this crumbling concrete for years, but time and again has denied our children the money needed to stop schools from collapsing completely.  I sincerely hope the government come forward with some money for repairs this time, instead of telling schools to pay for it themselves like they usually do.”
 

Desperate Government makes taxpayers foot the bill for developers’ pollution

Michael Gove’s announcement that taxpayers will foot the bill for developers dumping nitrates and phosphates into rivers is “a shocking abandonment of environmental promises and appalling use of taxpayers money”.

The Government’s own Office for Environmental Protection has called the move “a demonstrable regression in legal environmental protections”. The proposed legislation removes protections stopping developers from adding pollution to already polluted waterways. Around £300 million of taxpayers money will now be spent on mitigating the pollution that will be caused by this development.

Local Liberal Democrat Councillor Sam Al-Hamdani, said: “If the Government wants to spent £300 million on increasing development, why isn’t it putting the money into the cost of cleaning up brownfield sites instead? That way we get the houses we need, and clean up already contaminated areas.

“Instead we get a half-baked scheme where pollution is added to already polluted areas, and we the taxpayers foot the bill.”

The Government has only just cut the funding for the Canal and River Trust – coincidentally by £300 million – already putting waterways at threat.

Councillor Al-Hamdani is proposing a motion to Oldham Council’s meeting on Wednesday calling for the “polluter pays” principle to be enshrined across the industry – which would ensure that if developers cause pollution, they would pick up the bill, not the taxpayer.

Sam continued: “We clearly need more houses building; but developers are sitting on over 1.1 million homes that already have planning permission that aren’t built. Why are we spending a third of a billion pounds on just a fraction of those homes at the cost of polluting our rivers and streams?

“This really is a Government who has run out of ideas, run out of steam, and run out of competent ministers.”

Protecting our history and heritage

Crompton Liberal Democrat Councillor Louie Hamblett has recently written a letter to Oldham Council’s Executive Director Place and Economic Growth Ms Emma Barton. In it he has asked if the planned development of the civic precinct includes the demolition and removal of the bunker/s. This action would result in another loss, historically and educationally, for the people of Oldham.

He mentions that Stockport have kept their Air Raid Shelters which are used as both educational day trips for schoolchildren and as a living museum for visitors to learn and gain insight into peoples’ lives during wartime Britain.

Cllr Hamblett said

“We have a unique opportunity here to create something similar, to use peoples’ living knowledge of the 1960/70s Cold War past, amidst the backdrop of current threats of nuclear annihilation. It would be beneficial to people to know how buildings such as the Civic were built with threats from behind the Iron Curtain always in mind.”

He finished by saying “ I hope that we don’t lose yet another piece of our important history and we can keep hold of this to for all to learn from and experience what life was like for those who lived and are in some ways living it.

The Oldham Borough Council hereby gives Notice that no person shall cause any vehicle to proceed in that part Napier St, Shaw – from its junction with Hawksmoor Drive for a distance of 25 metres in a westerly direction.

The restrictions are required to facilitate manhole works and will be in force between 9.30am and 3pm on Thursday 7^th September 2023 or until the works are completed whichever is the lesser period  

Update on Fireworks from GM Police and Oldham Council

Neighbourhood officers in Oldham are continuing to work closely with the council and other community partners in response to complaints about nuisance fireworks.

The local policing team and the council has received reports about fireworks occurring at all hours of the night, which includes complaints about various locations having consistent noise issues.

Greater Manchester Police and Oldham Council have had meetings to discuss the issue of fireworks and are both committed to reducing the problems associated with them, including noise, littering, and anti-social behaviour.

In response, local officers and partners have been tackling the issue through multiple avenues:

• Enhanced licensing checks at shops, including extra visits. Anyone found to be breaching existing laws will be dealt with accordingly.
• Visiting venues known to use fireworks to remind them of the rules and ensuring that they are aware of their responsibilities.
• Mapping out known hotspots to ensure that they are regularly monitored by officers or the appropriate authorities.
• Establishing a single point of contact for fireworks complaints, in order to help build a clearer intelligence picture.
• Engaging with local schools, to remind young people of the risks that come with firework usage.

Fireworks are legal and noise is inevitable, especially at certain times of the year, including Bonfire Night. However, when the noise is persistent and at unsociable hours, Oldham Council and Greater Manchester Police are determined to investigate and act where possible.

If fireworks are being let off between 11pm and 7am and outside of specific occasions listed under the Fireworks Regulations Act 2004, please report this to GMP by calling 101, or calling Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111. You can also share information online at www.gmp.police.uk.

If someone is persistently letting off fireworks on their property during the permitted times of 7am and 11pm, and a resident feels it is causing a nuisance, they can report this to Oldham Council’s Environmental Health team by emailing ENVhealth@oldham.gov.uk.