Bins and recycling calendars covering the next 12 months until Nov 19 – Shaw and Crompton

I have had a number of people contact me who have not received the above calendars and the old ones ran out at the end of November 18.

Personally I have not had one and have had reports from other people who have not received them on Milnrow Road and Salts Street.

In order to see if these are just blips or part of a wider problem please let me know if you have NOT had a new bins calendar.

If you have not had a new calendar please email me details (howard.sykes@oldham.gov.uk) of your street and will chase up.

Please email me directly do not comment on this post – thanks.

Liberal Democrat Plan to make Oldham Town and all District Centres Safer at Night

Liberal Democrat Councillors Hazel Gloster and Howard Sykes MBE will be proposing a motion at the next full meeting of Oldham Council (Wednesday 12 December) calling for the establishment of Safe Zones and for the ‘Ask Angela’ scheme to be adopted to help make Oldham town and district centres in the borough safer for night-time revellers.

Commenting Councillor Gloster said: “When the Liberal Democrats were in power, we tackled the anti-social issues that resulted from problem drinking in Oldham town centre, issues that attracted lots of unwanted media attention with Yorkshire Street being dubbed ‘the  Wild West’ and I am pleased to say that things are now a lot quieter.  However, people do sometimes have too much to drink or they can feel threatened late at night, and we should take action to ensure that young people and vulnerable people who get into difficulty are able to find help when they need it.”

The Liberal Democrats are calling for a Student Safe Spot / Zone scheme and an ‘Ask Angela’ scheme to be established in Oldham and in other district centres across the borough, as they are in other places with student populations such as Bradford and Manchester.

Councillor Gloster added: “Although ours is not a big university town, we do have the Oldham Sixth Form College, the Oldham College and University Campus Oldham in our town centre.  Safe Spots are designated venues where staff offer support to students who feel unwell or unsafe late at night by phoning for a taxi, a friend or the emergency services. These venues display a prominent sticker in their window and new students receive information about the scheme as part of their induction. In Bradford, there is also an arrangement with a local taxi firm to transport students home who find themselves without money, with the bill later being settled via the university authorities.”

“The Ask Angela scheme is operated nationwide in many pubs and clubs. Like Student Safe Spots, staff will swing into action to help when someone who feels vulnerable or threatened ‘asks for Angela’ at the bar. This scheme is primarily, though not exclusively, aimed at lone women, who may for instance meet someone new for a date and find they feel increasingly uncomfortable or unsafe and want to leave discreetly. Premises promoting the scheme display posters, which are usually placed in the toilets of those establishments to be discreet.”

Councillor Gloster concluded: “These ideas are common-sense suggestions that will help people feel safer when they go out for a drink or a meal in the evening. They complement other excellent initiatives, such as the Street Angels scheme. The Liberal Democrats would like to see the Council work with the licensed trade, the Police and our social partners to introduce these measures in our town centre and in our district centres, for example in Shaw, and I do hope that Council will support them.”

Improving Public Safety in Oldham’s Night time Economy

Council notes that:

  • In Bradford and Manchester local businesses and community groups have joined with local colleges and universities to establish Student Safe Spots / Zones; these are premises self-identifying as havens for students who are being followed, or are feeling vulnerable or unwell.

Staff at these venues offer assistance in booking taxis home; in contacting the emergency services if their assistance is required; or offer a temporary safe haven until a problem has passed. Venues signed up to the scheme receive a sticker to place prominently to advertise their involvement and a list and map of venues is published on line for students to access.

  • In Bradford, there also exists an agreement with local taxi businesses that students without money but presenting with a valid student ID badge will be offered carriage and the bill is then sent to the student for payment, via the relevant college and university authorities.
  • The ‘Ask for Angela’ scheme is operated nationwide in many pubs and clubs.

If a member of the public who feels vulnerable or threatened ‘Asks for Angela’ of the on-premises staff they know to take that person to a safer location and offer them assistance, such as calling a taxi, contacting friends or in certain circumstances ringing the police. Premises promoting the scheme display posters, which are usually placed in the toilets of those establishments to be discreet.

Council believes that establishing such schemes in our borough would help safeguard vulnerable people in our Borough, especially students and women enjoying our night time economy, and would complement the excellent work being done by the Oldham Street Angels.

Council therefore resolves to ask the Overview and Scrutiny Board to examine in conjunction with relevant partners, including the Oldham College, Oldham Sixth Form College, University Campus Oldham, schools with post-16 provision, licensed premises and public and private hire taxi businesses, the practicality of establishing such schemes as soon as possible in our town and district centres.

Proposed Councillor Hazel Gloster, Seconded Councillor Howard Sykes

Liberal Democrats Opposed to Fast-Track Fracking

The Oldham Liberal Democrats are submitting a motion to the next full meeting of Oldham Council opposing Government changes to planning procedures on fracking matters.

Liberal Democrat Councillor Dave Murphy is proposing the motion and Councillor Derek Heffernan is seconding it.

Councillor Murphy explained: “The Conservative Government is quite simply trying to circumvent established local planning procedures because they know that fracking is simply not popular with either Councils or the public.  Recent fracking activities on the Fylde Coast have demonstrated that there are public health issues with fracking activities, such operations involve many vehicle movements, ground disturbances that have led to earth tremors, and the real danger that fracking could lead to the pollution of local water supplies. It is only right that where such operations are contemplated that local people and their elected Councillors are able to properly consider them under established planning procedures.”

He added: “And this is not simply about fracking.  There is a danger that the government could decide that other contentious planning issues, such as building new nuclear power plants or housing on the green belt, could be considered at national level, denying local people and local Councillors any say in what goes on in their area.  At the end of the day they are the people who have to live with the consequences.  This goes completely against the grain of localism, which is about divesting power to local communities, and it is fundamentally undemocratic, and this is why as Liberal Democrats we are opposed to these changes.”

Changes to the Planning System to Fast-track Fracking

 Council notes:

  • With concern that the government is proposing two major changes to the planning system as it applies to shale gas extraction (or fracking) by:
  • Granting automatic planning permission for exploratory drilling prior to fracking, using ‘permitted development’ rules. This would remove the need for companies to submit a planning application and so also reduce local democratic scrutiny.
  • Including shale gas production projects in the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects regime. This would take decision-making powers on shale gas production away from local councils and hand it to central government.
  • That wherever fracking has been proposed, it has been opposed by the public and local authorities because of real fears about noise, traffic, air pollution, the impact on the countryside, and the effects on climate change.
  • That the Cardiff Business School has produced a report that reveals that to replace 50% of the UK’s projected future gas imports for 2021-2035 would in the most likely scenario require around 6100 fracking wells to be built on well pads that could cover the area of 4900 football pitches. This would require the equivalent of drilling and fracking one well every day for fifteen years.

Council believes that:

  • The Government’s proposals completely contradict the principles of localism and set a dangerous precedent for planning authorities in denying them the right to determine certain types of planning applications locally and in denying members of the public and communities their say during the planning process.
  • ‘Permitted Development’ – the category of planning that the government wants to move shale gas exploration drilling into – which was designed for developments with a low environmental impact and is an inappropriate category for drilling which has such wide-reaching implications for local communities and climate change.
  • Bringing fracking applications under the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects regime will be harmful to local communities.
  • Local authorities and local people are best placed to continue to make decisions throughout the planning process on matters that affect their locality, including fracking.

Council therefore resolves to ask the Chief Executive to:

  • Write to the relevant government ministers outlining this Council’s objections to the proposed changes and requesting that fracking applications, or indeed on any other planning matter relating to our locality and its people, be determined locally.
  • Copy in our three local Members of Parliament and the Mayor of Greater Manchester and ask for their support on this issue.

Proposed Councillor Dave Murphy, Seconded Councillor Derek Heffernan.

Dunwood Park Cafe

McGrother Building, Dunwood Park, Shaw

Following a tender process, Pure Innovations have been selected to operate the café within the McGrother Building, Dunwood Park.

They will provide a community focused café.  Heads of terms have been agreed with the proposed operator and the Council’s Legal Dept has been instructed complete the new lease.

Currently the building only has temporary planning permission to operate a café and this had expired.  Pure Innovations have submitted a planning application for a permanent change of use to a café and the decision should be confirmed by the Planning Dept towards the end of the year.

Also as required an application has been made to the Heritage Lottery Fund for their consent to this new letting and café operator.

It is hoped that the new café will be open early in the New Year and Pure Innovations are looking forward to working with all the local groups and communities to promote the use of Dunwood Park and encourage further visitors to the park.

Liberal Democrat Leader says a good start but more needs to be done to promote free Bulky Bobs Collections for the infirm and others

Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group and Leader of the Opposition on Oldham Council, has welcomed the news that there have been more free Bulky Bobs collections in the first ten months of 2018 than in the same period in 2017.

This improvement has been the result from Councillor Sykes raising his concerns with the former Council Leader Councillor that the fact that Bulky Bobs still offers one annual free collection to certain residents was not being promoted by the Council.

Bulky Bobs was reappointed contractor for the service at the start of this year and it was promised there would be more promotion of the free service as part of this.

Councillor Sykes said: “This important free service was not being publicised by Oldham Council to those that were eligible for it; it was one of the best free deals that no one could see.  I only came across it by chance.  Eligible residents include those who qualify for an assisted bin collection, or who have a physical disability, are infirm because of their age, or are pregnant.”

Numbers obtained by Councillor Sykes show that there were 84 free collections between January and October 2017, but 148 between January and October 2018, nearly doubling.

However the request for a free collection can only be booked by telephone, Councillor Sykes is disappointed that there seems to be no on-line service.

Councillor Sykes added: “I am glad that the promotion is starting to work.  We need to continue to get the message out to those who are eligible to take up the free service.  However, I cannot understand why in this day and age when increasingly people access all kinds of services on-line, including more and more council services, that there is no dedicated email address/web form to which a request a collection from Bulky Bobs.”

“This is hardly a major channel shift,” stated Councillor Sykes.  “I would urge Bulky Bobs and Oldham Council to get with the 21st Century and advertise at least a dedicated email address for booking, and for now I can only urge anyone who is eligible for a free collection of bulk items to please ring 0161 770 6644.”