Liberal Democrat concern at rise in Royton regeneration costs by 50 percent or £1 million

Liberal Democrats; following a recent Freedom of Information reply; are concerned that the costs to refurbish Royton Town Hall and Library have risen rapidly and could soon spiral out of control, without proper checks being put in place.

Commenting Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, Leader of the Opposition and of the Liberal Democrat Group on Oldham Council, said: “At the September meeting of the Cabinet, Labour Councillors agreed a near fifty percent increase in the budget for this project from £2 million to £2.976 million (in part 2 of the meeting – which is confidential and not in public).“

“I am worried that this will be just the first of many increases that the Cabinet will have to consider,” added Councillor Sykes.  “This is all too typical of Labour regeneration projects – they are often late, over budget or never happen, and sometimes we have a combination of all three.”

“Everyone will remember the £9 million plus being spent on the Princes Gate project, now years behind schedule and still no preferred development partner announced; the over £400,000 frittered away on the abandoned Hotel Futures project; and the Oldham Town Hall refurbishment, which whilst being welcome, was four times over budget.  Earlier this week we he have been told plans for a new Coliseum Theatre have been axed – we have yet to find out what this has cost council tax payers.”

Notes – text from email FOI reply 7 November:

Dear Councillor Sykes,

Thank you for your FOI request below. I can confirm that prior to the Cabinet meeting on 17th September, £2m had been earmarked from the capital programme for this project. Following the decision at the meeting of the Cabinet on 17 September, £2.976m is now earmarked for this project.

My two allowed questions at tonight’s Oldham Council meeting – 7 November 2018 – Tommyfield Market and challenge to build some council houses

Q1 Leaders Question – Giving Certainty to Tommyfield Traders

Mr Mayor my first question tonight concerns people living with great uncertainty; they are nervous about their future; or indeed if they have a future; and a Leader who is promising a plan that will deliver a ‘New Jerusalem’…

But in this case I am not talking about the people of the United Kingdom, Theresa May and Brexit, but rather the traders of Tommyfield Market, our new Council Leader, and the revised (yet again) Oldham Town Centre Masterplan.

We all know that the Leader tore up the old £350 million masterplan – not good enough said he; it ‘falls far short of what is required to give a compelling vision for Oldham.’

I am sure the traders at Tommyfield were at that time grateful that he described the market as ‘much-loved’ and ‘a significant feature of Oldham town centre…in need of investment.’

It must have filled them with hope for the future.

But since that time the same traders have been living with more uncertainty, made worse by the fact that the new revised, better-than-the-old-one masterplan is now not scheduled to be unveiled until at least March 2020.

Yes not March 2019, but March 2020 – in at least 18 months-time. 

Most citizens of this Borough will wonder why it will take so long and why urgency is not put into the process!

With our recent experience of town centre regeneration projects falling behind schedule or just failing to happen; think Hotel Futures and Princes Gate.

Traders are right to ask questions and they deserve some answers.

At present traders report that when their leases are up for renewal they are being offered new agreements in which they could be given as little as three months’ notice to quit.

Many of these traders have been in the market for decades, with a loyal customer base to match, and one – Levers – has its own blue plaque celebrating Oldham as being the historic home of fish and chips!

So how can it be right that they can be out on their ear in only 12 weeks?  I ask you is this any way to treat traders who were recently described as ‘much loved’!

Giving them so little notice means they have no incentive to invest in their business or premises.  Some say that in any case a three month notice period makes their business now practically worthless.

It causes difficulties with recruiting and keeping staff and impacts on the well-being of the owners and their families let alone their pockets!

So I would like to ask the Leader tonight if he will rethink the Council’s offer to the traders.

Will he do the right thing and agree to requests that they be at least granted five-year automatically renewable leases as a way to guarantee them some future for their businesses and staff?

Will he promise traders that they will be consulted regularly as stakeholders as plans for the new market hall (or not) develop and be offered spaces in or around the new market hall which meet their needs and on terms that are affordable to them?

Q2 Leaders Questions – Can We Build It?  Yes We Can!

Mr Mayor, for my second question to the Leader tonight I would like to look at another important issue – the shortage of social and rented housing in our Borough.

In Oldham, we have a huge housing waiting list.  We have a particular shortage of larger houses, as these are the homes most frequently lost due to sales under the misguided policy of Right to Buy.

We are also desperately short of homes that are built to meet the needs of disabled people or future proofed for an ageing population.

I know that the Leader will join me in welcoming the announcement by the Prime Minister that, for once, represents good news for this Borough – the lifting of the borrowing cap which has prevented Councils from investing in much needed social and affordable housing.

Following pressure from many voices speaking common sense, including those of myself and my fellow group leaders in the cross-party Local Government Association, the cap on the Housing Revenue Account is finally being abolished.

In their hey-day, councils were building four in every 10 of the nation’s homes – we will now need to see a Council house building revival to build affordable and social housing if we are to meet the shortfall in new homes that we will need in the future.

Decent homes improve health and well-being, educational performance and many, many other factors other than just a decent roof over people’s head.

We need to get on with it now – with more haste than it took this Administration to recently adopt the idea of establishing an arms-length housing development company that the Liberal Democrat Group first suggested three years ago.

The children’s TV character, Bob the Builder, famously said: ‘Can we build it?  Yes we can!’

Mr Mayor, I would like to ask the Leader tonight if he is going to adopt Bob’s mantra by ensuring the Council works with our social housing partners and supportive housing developers to quickly rise to this challenge and build the affordable homes that we so desperately need as soon as possible.

In short, have we got a plan in place, have we got sites ready to build on and will we see diggers on the ground very soon?

Chancellor promises end of austerity, but no end to Oldham Council funding cuts

The Leader of the Opposition and of the Liberal Democrat Group, Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, has welcomed the promise by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in today’s Budget that ‘austerity is coming to an end’ and his recognition that local authorities have ‘significantly contributed’ towards the UK Government in addressing austerity, albeit through being forced to accept swingeing general cuts to their funding.

Councillor Sykes has also welcomed the promised extra funding to tackle potholes across the country and for new services to help those in mental health crisis, contemplating suicide, or living with infirmity or disabilities; however the Chancellor was short on detail when it came to rolling back the massive funding cuts that local authorities have faced since 2010.

“Some of this so called funding will not happen for a couple of years so is very much a promise of jam tomorrow,” stated Councillor Sykes.  “Also all bets are off budget wise if Brexit negotiations do not go well.”

He added:  “It is easy to promise an end to austerity, but the ‘hard working British public’ that Mr Hammond spoke so warmly of rely on the council services that have been cut to the bone, and in some cases just stopped providing them under this Conservative Government.”

“Our green spaces, cemeteries, parks and alike will continue to look even more unloved.  Streets will be dirtier, basic maintenance stopped in places our libraries and community centres some time ago.”

“The Chancellor failed to pull out a ‘promised rabbit’ for local government and other public services like police and fire.  He talked a lot about councils gaining ‘greater control’ over finances by allowing them to retain business rates and by lifting the housing cap, but the rate support grant that councils rely upon is being phased out by 2020.  For us, austerity does not seem to be coming to an end anytime soon in fact it just took a turn for the worse in our Borough.”

Liberal Democrats propose radical measures to tackle air pollution

Air pollution is estimated to cause 40,000 premature deaths a year in the UK, making it the biggest environmental killer.  It also results in health costs of between £8.5bn and £18.6bn a year, according to Public Health England (PHE) and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice).

The Oldham Liberal Democrats are particularly concerned at the impact of air pollution in the Borough, especially amongst the young, the elderly and those residents who have heart conditions or respiratory illnesses.  In a Borough like Oldham air pollution is a major contributory factor in the premature deaths of some residents and in the recurrence of poor respiratory health in many others.

Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group and Leader of the Opposition, has raised this issue before in the Oldham Council Chamber and has demanded the Council take action to tackle this problem.  He said: “In November 2017, the Council finally agreed to establish an Air Quality Sub-Group from the Health and Well-being Board to look at measures to reduce air pollution.  No one from the Liberal Democrat Group has been invited to join despite our obvious interest in this issue and nothing has so far come of it, so eleven months on I have made my own proposals for action.”

Councillor Sykes has written to the Chair of the Health and Well-being Board, Councillor Jenny Harrison, proposing:

  • Taking action on vehicles idling, particularly outside schools, at bus stops and at taxi ranks
  • Piloting road closures outside schools during school drop off and pick up times
  • Promoting Walking to School schemes
  • More air pollution monitoring, with at least one fixed monitor in every electoral ward across the borough and mobile monitors for use in monitoring air pollution at schools
  • A campaign to raise public awareness of the dangers of exposure to air pollution
  • More electric vehicle charging points across the borough
  • More tree planting, and
  • The installation of anti-pollution bus stops like in central London

Councillor Sykes said: “All these measures are yet more examples of the common-sense proposals that the Oldham Liberal Democrat Group provides in response to the problems our Borough, and its citizen’s face.  Air pollution represents a real danger to public health, and it is only getting worse.  Why it has taken eleven months so far without a plan of action being produced by this sub-group is beyond me.  The Council asked them to ‘move as quickly as possible to produce an Air Quality Improvement Plan’, this is movement at a snail’s pace.  I only hope that Councillor Harrison and this Labour Administration will take these proposals on board, as the time to act is now.”

Notes to Editors:

From: Howard Sykes
Sent: 11 October 2018 17:37
To: Cllr J Harrison <CllrJ.Harrison@oldham.gov.uk>
Cc: howard.sykes@oldham.gov.uk
Subject: The Development of an Oldham Air Quality Improvement Plan

To Councillor Jenny Harrison

Chair of the Health and Well-being Board

Dear Jenny,

The Development of an Oldham Air Quality Improvement Plan

 In November 2017, Council passed a resolution which included a proposal:

‘To ask the Health and Well-being Board Air Quality Sub-Group to move as quickly as possible to produce an Air Quality Improvement Plan which should include what we as individuals can do, as well as by Oldham Council and Greater Manchester bodies.’

Air pollution is estimated to cause 40,000 premature deaths a year in the UK, making it the biggest environmental killer.  It also results in health costs of between £8.5bn and £18.6bn a year, according to Public Health England (PHE) and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice).

In a Borough like Oldham air pollution is a major contributory factor in the premature deaths of some of our residents and in the recurrence of poor respiratory health in many others.  Accordingly, the Liberal Democrat Group was pleased to support the motion, in the hope that we could work on a cross-party basis to agree some early action.

Despite enquiries lodged with several officers, including the Chief Executive, I have been unable to establish who constituted the Sub-Group, when it actually met, and what its findings have been.  I have also been disappointed that, given the cross-party support for the motion, that the Liberal Democrat Group was never invited to contribute to its deliberations.

After eleven months, no proposals appear to have come forward for consideration by the Board; a rate of progress that, I would suggest, is hardly ‘moving’ as quickly as possible.’

There are plenty of positive ideas for tackling air pollution from other local authorities, and here are some that I would like the Board to consider:

Action on Idling:

 New guidance issued from PHE and Nice recommends that no idling” zones should be used outside schools, care homes and hospitals.

We could look to copy ideas proposed by my Liberal Democrat colleagues in Bury to:

  • Introduce, over the next two years an enforceable ‘no-idling’ zone outside every school in the Borough, with at least four pilot zones in the next year.
  • Where practical, to extend the number of ‘no-idling’ zones to cover areas outside children’s play areas where parked traffic is an issue.
  • To work with our NHS partners, to look at extending ‘no-idling’ zones outside Medical Centres, and in hospital ‘pick up’ areas

We could also:

  • Discourage, through our licensing powers, idling by taxis and private hire vehicles, using enforcement powers when necessary.
  • Require drivers of Council operated vehicles not to idle, and ask the same of our public sector partners and our public transport providers with respect to their own vehicles.
  • Conduct an information campaign to influence driver behaviour by urging motorists to turn off their engines if they think they are not going to move for around two minutes and asking them not to manually override ‘stop-start’ systems.  These are fitted to some vehicles to automatically switch off the engine when the vehicle is stationary and restart it as soon as the accelerator is pressed.

Shutting Off Streets Outside Schools:

 Like Hackney, with its School Streets pilot, we could initiate some trial projects to shut off streets outside schools to traffic at morning drop-off and afternoon pick-up times, with the imposition of a fine of up to £80 for those caught on camera flouting the ban.  In this scheme, local residents and businesses will be able to apply for an exemption, free of charge.

  • Other local authorities are introducing ‘bus gates’ outside schools to reduce vehicular through traffic to cycles and local buses with a fixed penalty for transgressors.

Walking to School Schemes: 

  • We should be encouraging every school whenever practical to establish Walk to School initiatives in conjunction with Living Streets to discourage school drop offs / pick-ups and to promote walking for personal health.

More Air Pollution Monitoring: 

  • Can I suggest this Council looks to investigate the introduction of air pollution monitors in each and every ward throughout our borough, and particularly as a priority introduce mobile monitors for testing each and every school, especially nursery and primary schools?

Raising Public Awareness of Air Pollution: 

  • We can look to get children involved in air quality monitoring as part of Science curriculum.
  • Healthcare professionals should be encourage to routinely advise vulnerable patients to reduce strenuous activity when air pollution is high and to use less polluted routes in our borough.

More Electric Vehicle Charging Points: 

Let’s set some challenging targets for installing charging points in our Borough as the reality is that electric or hybrid electric vehicles are the future.

Practical ideas proposed by my Liberal Democrat colleagues in Bury that we might adopt are:

  • Establishing an initiative to identify suitable locations for additional charging points within the borough.
  • Ensuring we have at least one electric vehicle charging point in every electoral ward by the end of calendar year 2018, and that this target be ambitiously reviewed every year.
  • Seeking further funding from GM Mayor Andy Burnham to seek extra money to meet this ambition under TfGM’s GMEV scheme.

 More Tree Planting: 

The Oldham Liberal Democrats have over several years made various proposals relating to the preservation and promotion of tree cover as it is undoubtedly the case that trees absorb pollution and improve air quality.  We will therefore commend any efforts that the Administration will make to reduce tree loss and to plant more trees and it would be helpful if we had a specific Tree Strategy as we have suggested with ambitious targets for tree planting, especially in our urban streets.  This is something that any planning gain that results from the Community Infrastructure Levy could be used to support.

Introduce Anti-Pollution Bus Stops: 

Lastly, I wonder if Oldham might become the location for some anti-pollution bus stops similar to those that have been trialled in London on New Oxford Street, Tottenham Court Road and High Holborn –

http://www.jcdecaux.co.uk/news/body-shop-introduces-anti-pollution-bus-stops-london

https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/london-life/these-antipollution-bus-stops-in-london-let-you-breathe-in-clean-air-a3554676.html

I do hope that the Health and Well-being Board will be able to look at and adopt many of these proposals to reduce the impact of air pollution on the residents of this Borough, and I will look forward to the Board’s deliberations.

Best wishes.

Howard

DATE CHANGE TO 24 OCTOBER – Appeal of Planning  – Asda Supermarket, Greenfield Lane, Shaw, OL2 8QP (Application Number PA/339852/17) – Petrol filling station

Re: Appeal of Planning  – Asda Supermarket, Greenfield Lane, Shaw, OL2 8QP (Application Number PA/339852/17) – Petrol filling station 

  1. Change of use of land from car park to create a petrol filling station
  2. Erection of payment kiosk
  3. Associated works including CCTV

I wrote to local residents on the 18 April 2018 to advise you that an appeal has been logged by Asda following the refusal of the planning application described above.  I have now received confirmation the appeal will be considered at an informal hearing by an independent Planning Inspector and the date for this has now been set:

Appeal time: 10:00am
Appeal date: 24th October 2018
Venue: Lees Room A Tuesday, 23 October at 10.00am, Crompton Room A, Oldham Civic Centre

How to get to the venue

You can access the room from the Rochdale Road Entrance of the Civic Centre – follow the signs from the car park. (Please note, do not use the ‘One Stop Shop’ entrance on Cheapside). The room is fully wheelchair accessible.

Car parking, including disabled spaces, are available on the Civic Centre car park.  Alternatively the entrance is a short walk from Oldham Bus Station.  A map is available from the Council’s  website at www.oldham.gov.uk

What YOU can do on the day

You have a right to attend the Informal Hearing in person or appoint a representative to attend on your behalf.  If you wish to speak you must be in attendance at the opening of the appeal and this will also be at the discretion of the Inspector.

I would urge those that can to attend if only for part of the day – it can make a real difference.

Inspecting the appeal documents

A copy of the appellant’s (the person making the appeal) grounds of appeal along with their supporting documentation; and the Council’s questionnaire, plus supporting documentation, can be inspected at Civic Centre’s One Stop Shop on West Street, Oldham, by appointment.

Finding out about the appeal decision

If you wish to be notified of the outcome of the appeal, you must request a copy from the Planning Inspectorate from the following address:

The Planning Inspectorate, Room 304a, Temple Quay House, 2 The Square, Temple Quay, Bristol, BS1 6PN.  Tel: 0303444 5301  Email: Teamp15@pins.gsi.gov.uk  Twitter: @PINSgov  http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/planninginspectorate

Alternatively, when decisions are approved they are available on the Oldham Council website.

Want to know more?

Further information on the appeal process is available from at www.oldham.gov.uk (see ‘Quick Links’ – Planning).  You can also find out about the appeal proceedings by following this link http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/uploads/pins/taking-part_planning-hearing.pdf

In view of the detrimental effect this development will have on local residents and the surrounding area I strongly advise you to challenge the appeal and raise your concerns to ensure the decision to refuse the planning application is not overturned.

Your three local councillors will be doing what we can but it really does help the case if local residents, like with the planning application itself, attend and make sure their voices are heard.

I do hope this information is of use to you and if I, or my Shaw Ward colleagues Councillor Chris Gloster or Councillor Hazel Gloster, can be of any assistance with this or any other matter in the future, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

My two allowed questions at tonight’s Oldham Council meeting -12 September – Green Belt (GMSF) and Trams

Q1 Leader Question – Greater Manchester Spatial Framework – decision for Oldham Borough should be taken by all Councillors

 Mr Mayor, my first question tonight relates to a future decision which will be one of the most momentous in its impact on many of our Borough’s residents over the next two plus decades.

Namely the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework (GMSF) – the adoption of a 20-year housing and industrial land use development plan for Greater Manchester.

The revised proposals have been some time coming, but I understand that they will now be available for so called public consultation in October.

I also understand that a decision has recently been made by the ten Labour Council leaders and the Mayor of Greater Manchester who have decided that the ultimate decision to adopt, or not to adopt the final plans, will rest solely with them.

There will be NO requirement to bring the plan to a full meeting of each of the ten Councils for debate and a full vote on formal adoption by all councillors.

This is a complete reversal of democracy.

Members will recall that many of our residents were outraged when the initial plans to build thousands of new homes on Green Belt land in Shaw, Crompton, Saddleworth, Royton and Chadderton were first unveiled.

Liberal Democrat colleagues, I and members from the seats opposite, joined them in opposing the proposals when responding to the consultation or attending demonstrations in Tandle Hill Country Park and in Albert Square.

Mr Mayor, public sentiment is still the same across Greater Manchester – NO to building new homes on our Green Belt and YES to local Councillors as the people’s representatives ultimately making the decision where new homes are built.

Ward members are elected to lead, but also to represent the constituents and the communities we serve.  How can we do this if we are denied the final vote on the plan?

If we get this wrong, it will represent a disaster for our communities and for our Green Belt.  Yet the ten Labour Council Leaders and GM Mayor are saying ‘leave it to us, we know what is best for you’.

It is simply not right that such an important decision can be taken by so few people.

It is certainly not what I and many others envisaged but perhaps it is a sign of things to come with so called devolution to Greater Manchester.

Mr Mayor, I would like to ask the Leader tonight, whether despite this backroom deal, he will still be doing the honourable thing by bringing the final plan back to a meeting of the full Council for debate and adoption.

Q2 Leader Question – Call for Conductors on Metrolink Trams

 Mr Mayor, my second question raises another issue that concerns a great many residents in our Borough, their safety when they use Metrolink.

Regrettably we have seen many disturbing instances of crime and anti-social behaviour on the Rochdale – Oldham line, several very violent over recent months and unfortunately the line has the highest number of incidents across the Network.

I welcome the recent actions of Metrolink staff, Police and our Council’s Youth Engagement Officers in tackling this blight, and the news that thirteen offenders have been arrested during the first two weeks of this operation is good news.

The operation may be called Infinity, but the resources are not and it will at some point come to an end.

Some time ago Oldham Liberal Democrats revealed shocking figures that one in eight Metrolink passengers are fare-dodgers, or to put it another way 12% of all journeys are not paid for.

There are 40 million tram journeys a year so fare-dodging is estimated to cost Metrolink about £9 million in lost revenue.

Oldham Liberal Democrats have also flatly opposed Labour plans (supported by the Conservatives) to put up fares for honest Metrolink passengers by an inflation-busting 19% by 2020 when one in eight passengers travel free.

Rather than hammering the honest passenger, transport bosses need to focus on tackling fare evasion.  12% non-payment is a disgrace.

Conductors on trams would help tackle this issue and should pay for its self, whilst making the honest traveling public feel safe.  It would also drive the fair dodgers and those causing anti-social behaviour off the trams.

Other tram services in the UK have on-board staff on every service, such as the Sheffield Super Tram and on the Wolverhampton – Birmingham line.

Not only does a conductor provide passengers with reassurance that there is always someone at hand should they need assistance in an emergency, but that person can also give passengers advice about services, stops and fares and help them to board and alight.

So for my second question tonight, Mr Mayor, I would like to ask the Leader if he would be willing to join me in calling upon Metrolink operators to introduce conductors on a trial basis on the Rochdale – Oldham line?

We can improve safety, tackle fare evasion and increase revenue for Metrolink – a triple win – and I do not know why we are not doing it already.