Councillor Howard Sykes and Chris Gloster are pleased to report they have secured funding to improve the well-used Milne Street car park, off Eastway – rear of Market Street.
Work is now nearly complete and like on the market ground we have gone for wider spaces than standard.
Healthy school meal
The Leader of the Opposition and of the Oldham Liberal Democrat Group, Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, has contrasted the recent attempt by the Conservative Government to curtail the entitlement to free school meals from children from the country’s poorest families to his own party’s policy.
Councillor Sykes said: “The Conservatives seem to be on their own in wanting to change the rules to prevent children from households receiving Universal Credit from getting a free hot meal at school every day. This would hit Oldham especially hard as Oldham Borough has the single greatest number of Universal Credit recipients in the UK. Many of these will be parents with children and, as I highlighted in a question to the Council leader at our last full Council meeting (28 March), Oldham features at the top of national figures for child poverty and food poverty.”
He added: “The Conservatives mean spiritedness is in marked contrast to the generosity of the Liberal Democrats. It is our policy to provide free school meals to every child in every state primary school, whatever their age or their family’s financial circumstances. This will remove the stigma that is sometimes wrongly attached to claiming a free school meal and it will mean that no child will attend classes hungry, so they will be able to focus on their studies and not on their stomach. This will help to tackle Oldham massive under performance in education.”
Request for passenger shelters on Eastway, Shaw
Further to your request for passenger shelters at the existing bus stops on Eastway, Shaw, stop reference ED1791 & ED1453.
Firstly, may I apologise for the lengthy delay in responding, as this was an oversight on my behalf.
When considering whether a site is suitable for a shelter we need to ensure that the footway width is wide enough to accommodate a shelter and also maintain enough room for pedestrians, the minimum recommended footway width is 2.2m. The footway width at ED1453 which is located outside Asda is 1.77m wide, therefore, the footway is not wide enough to accommodate a shelter.
With regards to the stop sited at the gable end of property number 2/2a Eastway opposite Asda, ED1791, this stop was installed due to Market Street being closed one day a week, Thursday, to accommodate Shaw Market.
Since the installation of the stop TfGM have received a number of requests from the resident of 2a Eastway for the stop to be relocated due to lack of privacy, noise and vibration and passengers blocking access to the shop whilst waiting for the bus.
I have visited the site with representatives from Unity Partnership and GM Police and we are unable to find an alternative location for the stop. With regards to the shelter request, due to the presence of a vehicular access/garage adjacent the stop this would result in the passenger shelter having to be positioned at the kerb edge in front of the shop window/doorway. It was concluded that the shelter and waiting passengers would obstruct sight lines for motorists egressing from the adjacent service road and that the proposed shelter would undoubtedly receive objections from the resident, therefore, the site was deemed unsuitable for a shelter.
I trust the above information is sufficient, but please let me know if you require any further information.
Clair Leeming, Route Development Officer, Transport for Greater Manchester
Anybody can use the following links to report pot holes, fly-tipping, litter, graffiti
Here it is again, and our planned task if you can spare your valuable time for this Sunday, 29 April 2018, is to carry on with arboriculture task in Great Meadow; we have three bowsaws, one wood saw and three loppers, so pending the numbers that take part it may prove to be handy on a just in case basis to bring what tools you have available.
The current weather forecast doesn’t look too bad at the moment but cool, being ‘light cloud and breezy’, likely high / low of 10º/5º and breezy at 11mph so please ensure you wrap up well, have your favourite hot liquids, the appropriate clothing, footwear and a packed lunch if you are up for the day; however, being in the Great Meadow forest should help.
Meantime, if you have any issues that you may wish to discuss prior to Sunday, please do not hesitate to email (on either address) or text / phone me on 07961107860. Please could you let me know if you intend to join us on the day.
I look forward to seeing you in the Crompton Moor Car Park ~ 10.30 on Sunday. Thank you.
Kindest Regards
Edward John Fulton (aka Ed / Eddie), Countryside Volunteer Ranger, (Mob) 07961 107860 [Calls may be recorded], (Text) 07961 107860, (Fax) 01706 661813, (E) edward@edwardjohnfulton.uk , (E) edward.fulton@btinternet.uk
Council finance has been hammered by Conservative Government cuts. Some local services are now in real danger of collapse. The eight Liberal Democrat Councillors have spoken out against the cuts; the Conservatives and UKIP stayed silent.
We are the only opposition to Labour’s 44 councillors (out of 60), challenging decisions that hurt our Borough’s residents, and proposing practical solutions instead. UKIP and the Conservatives say nothing, do nothing and often vote with Labour.
We want Oldham Council to get the basics right – clean streets; potholes filled; and an end to fly-tipping and crime.
We declared ‘war’ on Civic Centre waste to free up over £650,000 for highways improvements, youth services, tackling fly tipping, and public safety measures to help make our streets cleaner and safer. Labour voted against our proposals, UKIP and the Conservatives did not even bother to turn up to the meeting!
The Liberal Democrats put people and communities first. Voting Liberal Democrat means opposing Labour’s land grab of our irreplaceable green belt, supporting sound finance and reliable public services, and electing councillors who will deliver the services you expect whilst squeezing much better value from your Council Tax.
It also means you will elect a local councillor who will always be on your side!
Polls are open 7:00am – 10:00pm on Thursday 3 May – you DO NOT need your poll card in order to vote.
Your Liberal Democrat team have reported a number of sites that have been subjected to this anti-social environmental crime recently.
Just some of the places include: throughout the town centre, Beal Lane up Grains Road, Hillside Avenue, Scarr Lane, Crompton Way, Wrens Nest and up Rochdale Road.
Hopefully these will be cleaned this week.
The police are also making enquiries and if anybody has any information that would be of help with their enquires please do share the information then we can catch these people who blight our town and community.
The Leader of the Opposition and of the Liberal Democrat Group, Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, has expressed his disappointment and frustration over figures revealed through a recent Freedom of Information Act request which show that Oldham Council have massively reduced action on irresponsible dog owners who fail to clean up after their pets. The figures show that in 2017 only one dog owner was prosecuted and the offender received only a £40 fine.
Councillor Sykes said: “This inaction sends out completely the wrong signal to irresponsible and inconsiderate dog owners. The vast majority of dog owners accept that as part of the responsibility of pet ownership they must clean up after their dog in the interests of public health and to help keep our streets and public parks clean, but regrettably a few do not. The fine of £40 is also derisory when the consequences, particularly for children, of coming into contact with dog faeces, such as blindness, can be so grave.”
Councillor Sykes added: “According to these figures the number of public complaints received went down from 425 in 2013 to 40 in 2017. This doesn’t add up – councillors constantly receive complaints about dog fouling; it is one of our biggest causes of complaint. This leads me to believe that people are not reporting this, because they can see that no action is taken and offenders are simply not prosecuted. We need to see more action from Council on this now that is what the public wants to see!”
The Freedom of Information Act request follows is below:
13 April 2018
Freedom of Information request regarding Dog Fouling-11820
In response to your Freedom of Information Request regarding dog fouling, Oldham Council is happy to provide the following information;
| Year | Complaints received | FPNs served | Prosecutions |
| 2013 | 425 | 13 | 5 |
| 2014 | 147 | 21 | 2 |
| 2015 | 84 | 17 | 0 |
| 2016 | 77 | 5 | 0 |
| 2017 | 40 | 3 | 1 |
2013
£100 fine £200 costs
12 month conditional discharge £60 costs
£200 fine £400 costs
12 month conditional discharge £100 costs
£65 fine £100 costs
2014
£80 fine £100 costs
£80 fine £250 costs
2017
£40 fine £50 costs
Councillor Howard Sykes and Chris Gloster are pleased to report they have secured funding to improve the well-used Milne Street car park, off Eastway – rear of Market Street.
Work to resurface and improve Milne Street car park will commence on 23rd April, hopefully finishing on the 27th April 2018 (weather permitting).
Apologies for any disruption this may cause you, but I hope like me you look forward to a much improved and usable car park.