Closure of Crompton Pool – Petitioners Panel Meeting 13th December 2012 – formal decsion

Commercial Services
Oldham Council
Level 4,
Civic Centre,
West Street,
Oldham,
OL1 1UG

Date: 19 December 2012
Our ref: PP002/12

Tel: 0161 770 5151

Councillor H Sykes
Civic Centre Level 3
Room 338
West Street
Oldham
OL1 1UL

Dear Councillor Sykes,

Re: Petitioners Panel Meeting 13th December 2012 – Closure of Crompton Pool.

I am writing with regard to the Petitioners’ Panel meeting held on 13th December 2012 which heard your petition regarding the closure of Crompton Pool and a replacement facility being built in Royton.

The Panel considered the matter and decided not to support the petition.

The full decision is as follows:

“The Panel accepted the recommendation as detailed in the report and rejected the petition;

The Panel supported the work already undertaken with regard to the negotiations with Shaw and Crompton Parish Council for the Community Asset Transfer and would like to see these negotiations continue, with officer support, as an urgent priority.”

I have also sent a copy of this letter to Councillor Williamson as joint lead petitioner.

Yours sincerely

Angela McIntyre
Constitutional Services Officer
Direct line: 0161 770 4728
Email: angela.mcintyre@oldham.gov.uk

Shaw and Crompton Memorial Gardens

Please accept our apologises for any inconvenience caused by the recent and future works associated with Shaw Memorial Gardens.

For your Information the works comprises of the Following:

• Resurfacing of paths to Shaw Memorial Gardens.
• Erecting Stone Plinth
• Refurbishment of Bronze Statue
• Erection of new information board

The park will be closed for access from Monday 18th February for the refurbishment.
The works are expected to be completed week commencing 18th March 2013.

On completion of the paths/ erection of the statue, works are programmed for bedding plants and refurbishment to the seating areas; however the park will operational as usual.

We may need to close the park gates for short periods of time outside of the period above where the ongoing work requires it.

For any queries, please contact
David Holme 0161 770 4353 david.holme@unitypartnership.com or Ian Monaghan 0161 770 5262 Ian.Monaghan@oldham.gov.uk

UNEARTH JUBILEE

Sunday 27th January (12-3pm)
Jubilee Nature Site, Milnrow Road, Shaw, Oldham

Come to Jubilee Colliery to discover the history of the site and the findings from an exciting heritage project. Take part in a free raffle for your chance to win a plane ride to see Oldham’s coal fields from the air.

This event is for all members of the community with activities for kids and adults.

Come and see our archaeological dig and learn about our local mining heritage.

For more details please contact Lili Briggs, Heritage Project Officer:
T: 0161 624 1444 / 0773 997 8792
E: lili.briggs@groundwork.org.uk

Temporary Traffic Signals – outside 463 Rochdale Road, Shaw

These are in order to allow BDS Yorkshire to carry out tarmacking and reinstatement works.

Start Date and Duration of work:
09:30 – 15:00 Thursday 17th January
09:30 – 15:00 Friday 18th January

Works Supervisor and contact number: Lauren Smallwood 01924 372957

Emergency Contact & Telephone Number in the Event of Traffic Signal Failure: Chris Speight 01924 372957 (24hrs)

Woodland Management and Hot Potatoes – Sunday 13th January 10.30am – 3.30pm, Crompton Moor

Joint event with Oldham Council and Groundwork.
Help manage the woodlands on Crompton Moor.
Help plant trees in Black Hey plantation.

Meet at Brushes Clough car park at 10.30am.

This event has been funded by an Awards for All Lottery grant from Shaw and Crompton Parish Council.
Please contact 0161 7470 4056 for more details.

TEMPORARY TRAFFIC ORDERS CROMPTON WAY / HIGH STREET, SHAW – weekend closures 19/20 and 26/27 January 2013

This length of work is part of a much larger scheme to lay a high voltage cable from the electricity sub station on Edge Lane Street, Royton, to the sub station on Linney Lane, Shaw.

Due to restrictions on working in certain highways the route will be Shaw Road, Royton / Blackshaw Lane / Heyside / Oldham Road, Shaw / Crompton Way / Linney Lane.

Work will proceed under temporary traffic signals and at major junctions along the route the work will be at weekends only, with lane closures in force along Crompton Way.

Signals will be manually operated throughout the working day in an effort to minimise undue queue lengths.

Unfortunately due to the nature of the work and the route it will take, some disruption is inevitable.

Help for residents to stay warm and well this winter

Keep Cosy – Referral form and guidance NEW

I thought I would post a reminder of what help is available to Oldham Borough residents over this winter period:

• Toasty Oldham – free loft & cavity insulation for ALL residents. This offer was due to end at the end of December, however the Utility company has not yet met their targets, so the offer has been extended (not sure when new ‘end date’ is, as when they meet their targets the scheme will be pulled). RING 0800 009 3363.

Last week we re-launched the successful ‘Keep Cosy’ scheme, to offer further assistance to our most vulnerable residents.

• Keep Cosy – home energy check, energy freebies installed, emergency heating repairs, hot meals delivery service, free smoke alarms, benefits checks and help out of fuel debt & off prepayment meters. Please see attached at the top of this post a referral form for use.

Jubilee and Wren’s Nest/Bridge Street Bridges, Milnrow Road, Shaw

MPT will be carrying out jet wash cleaning operations on two bridges situated on Milnrow Road, Shaw, next week.

On Monday / Tuesday work will be undertaken on the bridge located at Jubilee bends.

On Wednesday / Thursday work will be undertaken on the bridge located south of Bridge Street.

In each case, traffic signals will be in place between 9.30am – 3.30pm only, or until work is complete on that day.

The works supervisor is Danny Walker who can be contacted on 07963 039 067

Three Questions I asked the Leader of Oldham Council on Wednesday 12th December

Politics and Adopters / Foster Carers

I hope the Leader will agree with me that the most important single thing a child who is adopted or fostered needs is to be placed with caring and loving parents?

What assurance can the Leader provide that a situation would not arise in our Borough like that which occurred recently in Rotherham where foster parents who were members of the UK Independence Party, a legal political party, had the children in their care removed from them by overzealous council officials, who judged them to be unfit parents because of their political views?

Police Parade

Will the Leader join me in condemning the proposed change in local Police procedure that will require Police Community Support Officers (PCSO’s) to parade before duty at Oldham Police Station prior to deployment to their assigned beat?

This change will mean that officers will have less time on the beat to actually detect crime, apprehend criminals and help the public as they will have to travel between central Oldham and our outlying districts and communities, rather than simply reporting for duty on their beat at the start of a shift.

Does the Leader agree that this unnecessary reduction in service to the public will be particularly acute where officers are travelling (via bike or foot) to more distant locations of the borough, such as East Crompton, Lees and the villages of Saddleworth?

Free Parking and Metrolink

Can the Leader explain to the people of Oldham Borough how it benefits the town’s retail economy to offer three hours free parking on Saturdays on car parks located near to Mumps so shoppers can leap on a tram and use Metrolink to do their shopping in Manchester?

And isn’t this situation all the more farcical when a two-for-one Metrolink ticket offer enables twice the number of shoppers to take twice the money away from Oldham’s shopkeepers?

When will we see a two-for-one Metrolink ticket offer to bring Manchester shoppers to our borough to experience our warm Oldham welcome and everything else we have to offer visitors?

Trams to start running to Shaw and Crompton on Sunday 16th December – and not before time states Sykes

Local Lib Dem Shaw Councillor Howard Sykes has welcomed the news that at long last trams will run to Shaw from Sunday December 16th.

“We have waited a number of years for this day and this has to be a welcome Christmas present for local residents and potential users,” stated Cllr Sykes. “Along with my colleagues we have been pushing for the line to open before the New Year for some time now.”

“The scheme is best part of a year behind schedule and I had hoped some of the potential parking issues (park and ride sites) could be resolved in this time, however I and my colleagues will continue to work on these.”

“Former users of the rail line have been very patient and have had to put alternative travel arrangements in place for more than three years, he added. “Hopefully it will not be too long until we also get connected via the tram to Rochdale.”

“Hopefully some the decisions we made and lobbied for years ago about the Shaw stop will now come to fruition – like making sure the tram stop was on the opposite side of Beal Lane from where the old station platform was – as this should help with traffic issues on Beal Lane. People will recall when the rail line was in use this was a nightmare at peak times and log jammed the whole of Shaw up at times.”

“Some of us did wonder if this day would ever arrive! It is enough to restore your faith in Santa!” He claimed. “And we can all go and put our reindeer and sled away now!”