Lib Dems call for Community Bank to support Local Businesses

savings-and-loans-associationsThe Leader of the Opposition and of the Liberal Democrat Group on Oldham Council, Shaw Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, has written to the Cabinet Member for Employment and Enterprise Cllr Shoab Akhtar asking him to explore establishing a community bank for Oldham and may be for Greater Manchester.

Cllr Sykes said: “In Hampshire, a community bank is about to commence operations later this year. The bank is a partnership between Liberal Democrat run Eastleigh Borough Council and other social partners. It is based on a successful local banking system from Germany. The bank will support small and medium sized businesses to secure money for investment more quickly and at lower interest rates.

“Such a bank would be a stimulant for local jobs and local businesses. As the emphasis is on lending locally to green projects and recycling profits as a community windfall there will also be improvements to our environment and benefits for local communities.

“This looks like a real winner to me, and would be another practical example of co-operative Oldham in action. Following on from our suggestion to establish a Community Shop in our borough, this is the latest in a long line of initiatives the Liberal Democrat Group has proposed to help Get Oldham Working”.

Text of letter below:
26 Feb 2015

Cllr Shoab Akhtar
Cabinet Member for Employment and Enterprise

Dear Cllr Akhtar,

You may be aware of the newly-established Hampshire Community Bank, a partnership between Liberal Democrat Eastleigh Borough Council, Local First CIC and Future Solent. It is anticipated the bank will commence operations in the summer of 2015.

The community bank model is based on a successful local banking system from Germany. However unlike the credit union, borrowers will primarily be small and medium sized local businesses seeking finance to help them invest in new projects, technologies, and services, and so create new jobs.

Companies from all sectors can apply, including local authorities, but ‘green projects, helping to meet public sector carbon reduction targets’ will be prioritised. Applicants can benefit from low interest loans from as little as 2.5% with decisions on loan applications made locally and more quickly.

Local authorities across Hampshire have backed the business model with £7.5 million, matched equally by the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills, with investors being guaranteed a reasonable rate of return of up to 6%.

The bank itself will be wholly owned by a charity, with profits invested in Hampshire communities.

The bank expects to generate more than 150 new jobs in Hampshire in the first three years of operation and loan up to £200 million by the end of the second year.

Like the Community Shop model, the Community Bank model looks to me like a winner – low cost finance available for local businesses seeking to expand or become more efficient, more jobs for borough residents and a ‘greener’ borough as a result, a repository for local authority capital that guarantees a higher rate of return than the commercial money markets, and a windfall for the community.

I know from contact with lead partner, Future Solent that establishing a community bank is neither straightforward nor quick, but it is seemingly a worthwhile endeavour.

I would like therefore to ask you to explore with other GM authority colleagues the level of interest in establishing such a bank for Greater Manchester or perhaps to be sufficiently emboldened to set one up for the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham alone.
I look forward to hearing your response to my request and am of course happy to meet to discuss the proposal.

Yours sincerely

Cllr Howard Sykes

Shaw Business Improvement Grants

Shaw Business Improvement Grants

We’re investing £100,000 to increase the vibrancy of Shaw town centre and offering up to £3,000 of grant support to independent businesses.

What can the grants be used for?

Support is available to help new and existing independent business owners to set up or grow their business. We’re keen to hear from independent businesses located or wishing to locate to the area outlined on the map on the back of the leaflet.

CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW FOR MORE INFORMATION

A5 Shaw leaflet

The grants can be used to improve the exterior of your premises or for internal fit out.

Milnrow Road / Siddall Street Temporary traffic signals 26 Feb – 2 March

traffic-lights-signTemporary traffic signals are to be put in place near the junction of Milnrow Road / Siddall Street in Shaw to allow service connections to be put in place at the new housing development.

The signals will be in place from Thursday 26 February up to and including Monday 2 March.

The contractor / signal company has been instructed not to set up until 9.30am on the first day, to avoid the morning peak, and to be prepared to manually operate the signals throughout the working day as and when required to manage queue lengths.

Also, given the level of off street parking in this general area, they have been instructed to place parking cones if required and to letter drop the properties to inform the local residents / businesses of the impending work.

Emergency Contact & Telephone Number in the Event of Traffic Signal Failure: 0845 5000 123 EXT 733

Liberal Democrat Budget Options – Spend to Save on Two Key Services and Cut Waste

thCAGDS5F2The Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group, Cllr Howard Sykes MBE, will be presenting the Group’s budget options to today’s Council meeting.

Cllr Sykes said that he: “recognises that this is a very challenging time to present a budget and that hard choices are having to be made within the administration’s budget proposals.

“As in previous years, we are seeking to challenge when appropriate, offer constructive suggestions and options to cut unnecessary spending and seek to put resources into the basic services affecting the majority of our residents.

The amounts involved are comparatively small but will have a positive impact on two key services in this borough.”

The Liberal Democrats are proposing investments in gully cleaning and youth services.

Cllr Sykes continued: “For just £165,000 we could reinstate the level of gully clearing carried out under the previous Liberal Democrat administration with a further three teams being employed to jet out gullies that have been filled with soil and other debris.

“Such an investment can be termed spend to save as jetting means clogged gullies do not have to be dug out at huge expense. It also ensures that there is less risk of homes flooding, less water and ice on the roads, which endangers drivers and pedestrians, and, in the long term, a reduction in damage to the roads caused by frozen water breaking the road surfaces.”

In its other spend to save measure, the Liberal Democrat Group wants to make available a further £272,000 in 2016/17 for investment in youth services by the District Partnerships/Executives.

Commenting, Cllr Sykes said: “The Liberal Democrats firmly believe that local ward councillors and local peopl know best where money can be best spent on services in their locality. Local knowledge and requirements should determine the allocation of this money in each of the districts.

The Youth Service is an excellent service and investment in it saves money in the long run as young people are productively engaged rather than – in some instances – engaging in crime and anti-social behaviour.

Our proposal will I hope be accepted by the administration in the same way they accepted our suggestion that this years cuts to District staffing be decreased.”

Deputy Leader Cllr McCann, who will be seconding the amendment, stated that the extra money for the proposed investment will be found “reducing management, council publications, subscriptions and conferences and increasing income from optional council services”.

The Liberal Democrat Group is also proposing that in 2016/17 (ie during the next financial year) a review of the number of councillors takes place, with a reduction in numbers being considered.

Cllr McCann added: “A reduction in Councillors to two per ward instead of three would generate a minimum saving of £212,000 per year. We believe that such a reduction is possible now we have a Council run by a Cabinet rather than committees. We know this proposal will be popular because this was one of the suggestions that came forward from the public in the consultation over the budget”.

Cllr McCann was also pleased to see that the Labour Administration has adopted one of his suggestions in last year’s Budget debate that budgets on the Council’s capital programme could be reduced because of delays and efficiencies that he had identified.

He stated: “Last year, some Labour Councillors were adamant that I wanted to put the redevelopment of Oldham and Royton town centres ‘on hold’. In fact my common sense suggestion was that the figures in Labour’s budget simply did not stack up. Put simply they were allocating more money than they could spend in the financial year given delays in the capital programme.

It is interesting that this year Labour have quietly slipped in this very same proposal to the tune of some £5 million, hardly small beer. I am delighted that by building on our suggestion some of the harsh cuts to services have been mitigated and actual efficiencies found “.

EMERGENCY GAS REPAIR BEAL LANE / JUBILEE STREET JUNCTION, SHAW

traffic-lights-signI have just been informed of a gas leak at the above location that will require an emergency repair to be carried out today Thursday 19 February.

In order to accommodate the repair work, it will require four way temporary signals to be erected at the mini roundabout to control the flow of traffic in/out of the distribution centres as well as along Beal Lane.

The traffic signals will be manually operated between 7am-6pm in order to manage queue lengths, especially back towards the Metrolink crossing, and they are expecting the work to last one day.

It will also be necessary to remove parked vehicles along Beal Lane between Jubilee Street and Cheetham Street. To achieve this the contractor has been told to place no waiting cones and arrange a letter drop to the properties.

Given the volume of traffic going to/from the distribution centres and beyond to the residential areas it is hoped the above measures will keep disruption to a minimum, especially as it is half term, but some disruption is unavoidable.

Temporary traffic signals 18 Feb, Shaw Road, Royton

traffic-lights-signThese will be placed at two locations.

The signals are required in order to carry out trial hole investigations for gas main replacement at some later date yet to be determined.

They will be in place for one day only on February 18 and will operate off peak (9.30am-3.30pm) and at one location at a time.

In case of signal failure ring: 0161 790 3000 / 0800 121 4444