Councillors Rod Blyth, Mark Alcock and Howard Sykes.
Also Parish Councillors Aspinall, Eckersley, Farrell, Hall, Stephens, Dodd, Robinson, Murphy and Wood will also attend.
7.30pm – 8.30pm, Lifelong Learning Centre, High Street, Shaw, OL2 8TB.
Thursday: March 7th, 14th and 21st.
NO APPOINTMENT REQUIRED
Salts Street at its Junction with Crompton Way – Saturday 2nd March and Sunday 3rd March
As part of the continuing operation to lay a high voltage electric cable along Crompton Way, it will be necessary to close Slats Street at the junction with Crompton Way, such that traffic will not be able to gain access to Crompton Way. At the same time, the temporary traffic signals will be in operation.
The closure is for the weekend of 2/3 March 2013.
During work in the vicinity of the zebra crossing on Crompton Way, near to the Salts Street / Linney Lane junction, the crossing facility will remain open for use at all times.
I am sure that the Leader will agree that public art in Oldham borough has had a chequered past?
Indeed I am proud that as Leader I got rid of the awful water feature in our town centre that had never worked and was a blight on our high street and an embarrassment to the Council and shoppers alike.
We will all welcome the sight of Metrolink trams running along Union Street, and we all want a good built environment, but at a time of austerity and cuts in services, isn’t it madness to spend up to half a million pounds on public art and statues?
Oldham’s Council Tax Payers, already hit in the pocket with a 3.5% rise from April, have different priorities for their hard-earned money and will simply see this as a wasteful indulgence and extravagance on the part of this Labour Administration that we can ill afford.
Howard Sykes
6th Feb 2013
The Leader has made much of his recent trip to London at which prospective investors were assured that Oldham is ‘open for business’.
I was therefore very disturbed to hear that the licensees in the Acorn Business Centre in Derker have been given only a month’s notice by the Council to vacate their premises and relocate.
One businessman has told me that he feels badly let down by this Council – he describes what he considers to be (and I quote) “dirty goings on” and feels the situation is “a disgrace”.
In a heartfelt plea, his partner stated:
“We have no other property to locate to and run our company on such a tight shoe string that we would not be able to afford to relocate”.
In a press article yesterday, Cllr Hibbert said that the Acorn Business Centre is let by the Council from the owner, that it has been running at a ‘significant cost’ to the authority and requires investment.
Given this situation the Council must have decided many months ago that the lease would not be renewed, so why were the licensees not informed as soon as the decision was made and offered a package of assistance and support to successfully relocate?
By taking this course of action, this Administration has needlessly jeopardised small businesses and jobs – the very lifeblood of our local economy – and shown that it is in fact far from ‘open for business, which is a great shame.
Howard Sykes
6th Feb 2013
We all wish to see a thriving town centre retail economy, but will the Leader:
– inform Council how much revenue will be lost to the authority at a time of cuts to Council services as a result of the free car parking initiative?
– Also will he outline the evidence that supports this Administration’s view that this represents a value-for-money measure that will bring more shoppers into our town?
– And is the most cost effective way of supporting the Oldham Town Centre?
Howard Sykes
6th Feb 2013
Earlier this month Oldham Council was also successful in receiving £190,000 to pay for a Heating Upgrade Scheme, this will pay for 50-75 upgrades before March (dependant on what is needed) to help people access affordable warmth in their homes.
To qualify for a new system:
• Households with old/inefficient boilers (D rated or less & working) need to be on means tested benefits to qualify for an upgraded A-rated system
• Households with NO working central heating would either have to be on benefits OR have a cold related illness to qualify for a new system
Applications will be dealt with on a first come, first served basis.
The application form is available on the Council’s website here:
http://www.oldham.gov.uk/info/200389/affordable_warmth/235/grants_and_funding
Pay your Council Tax in 12 instalments thanks to Lib Dems in Government
Council Tax payments are currently made in 10 monthly instalments but you can now choose to pay in 12 payments to spread the cost from April 2013, thanks to national changes made by the Lib Dems in Government.
If you wish to switch to a 12 month payment schedule you must submit a request before Friday, February 22 says Oldham Council.
For further info:
• www.oldham.gov.uk
• Call 0161 770 6622
• Visit Access Oldham at the Civic Centre to request the change in person
• Send an email requesting the change to council.tax@oldham.gov.uk
• Write to PO Box 4, Civic Centre, West Street, Oldham, OL1 1UH
Councillors Rod Blyth, Mark Alcock and Howard Sykes.
Also Parish Councillors Aspinall, Eckersley, Farrell, Hall, Stephens, Dodd, Robinson, Murphy and Wood will also attend.
7.30pm – 8.30pm, Lifelong Learning Centre, High Street, Shaw, OL2 8TB.
Thursday: February 7th and 14th;
NO APPOINTMENT REQUIRED
Due to the adverse weather conditions last weekend the proposed work at this junction was not able to be completed.
As a result, the junction of High Street were it meets Crompton Way will be closed for one day on Sunday 3 February.
The left turn from High Street to Crompton Way will be closed – all other turning manoeuvres at this junction will remain unaffected.
COUNCIL MOTION SUPPORTS ACTION IN TAKING BITE OUT OF LOAN SHARKS
At next Wednesday’s full Council meeting (6th February), Leader of the Opposition and the Lib Dem Group, Councillor Howard Sykes, will propose a motion expressing appreciation for the recent work carried out by the Council’s Trading Standards Team, the England Illegal Money Lending Team (IMLT) and Police to combat loan sharks in our borough and support for the Labour Administration’s stand against them.
Cllr. Sykes said:
“Loan sharks are illegal money lenders who operate without a licence from the Department of Fair Trading. Through the application of extortionate interest rates, intimidation and violence, loan sharks leech many thousands of pounds from those residents in our borough who are often amongst those who are poorest and least able to pay.
“Liberal Democrats endorse the tough stand of this Administration on this issue and the action now being taken by Council officers and partner organisations to rid our communities of these parasites.
“It is my hope that Councillors of all parties will feel able to support the motion that sets out a number of practical measures to help raise the profile of the ‘Stop Loan Sharks’ campaign in our borough, alongside promoting the availability of affordable credit for Oldham residents through membership of credit unions.”
A copy of the motion is below.
This Council notes the excellent work that is being carried out in Oldham by the Council’s Trading Standards Team, the England Illegal Money Lending Team (IMLT) and Police to combat loan sharks in our borough.
We congratulate the Administration on taking a lead on this issue and the agencies concerned on the recent arrest of individuals engaged in this activity in Oldham, Manchester and Tameside.
This Council resolves that the Chief Executive write to all District Partnerships; social landlords; the Oldham Voluntary, Community, and Faith Partnership; and the Oldham Business Leadership Group urging them to get behind the Stop Loan Sharks campaign to rid our communities of loan sharks by:
– promoting the Stop Loan Sharks Campaign to partners and to the public;
– inviting the England Illegal Money Lending Campaign / Trading Standards Team to meetings and public events:
– including information on this campaign in newsletters, flyers and on-line
– promoting membership of credit unions as an alternate source of affordable credit
District partnerships are also urged to make best use of the £500 made available to them by the IMLT (which was seized from apprehended loan sharks) to help support this work.
Proposed: Cllr Howard Sykes
Seconded: Cllr Lynne Thompson