The Oldham Liberal Democrat Council Group has made its opposition to Conservative Government proposals to change the planning system known today in its written response to a public consultation.

The proposals are contained in a White Paper Planning for the Future, and parties with an interest were asked to respond by today’s closing deadline.  Liberal Democrat Group Leader, Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, has responded on behalf of his party colleagues with a six-page blistering attack in reply to the consultation.

Liberal Democrat Councillors believe the proposals represent nothing short of a ‘power grab’ with elected representatives and the public cut out of the planning process in the future. 

Councillor Sykes explained:  “Planning democracy as we know it will be killed off.  There will no longer be any planning committees.  All land will be placed into one of three categorised zones for development, and national planning guidelines will be applied to any developments in future.  Councillors or members of the public will not be able to object to planning applications as all judgements on them will be made by unelected and unaccountable planning officials.”

Councillor Sykes is also fearful for the future of the Green Belt:  “I am far from satisfied that our Green Belt will have the protection that it currently does in law, and other categories of public open space will have none if it falls outside the ‘protected zone’.  In Greater Manchester, our Green Belt and green spaces are already under attack from the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework; Planning for the Future will make it much easier to develop on these green spaces in future.”

Councillor Sykes is firmly convinced that the government is in any case aiming at the wrong targets in its White Paper:  “Government ministers are proposing to fix a planning system that isn’t broken.  Planners and Councillors are not responsible for the refusal of developers to build new homes.  Nine out of ten planning applications are granted.  Existing sites with planning permission which could accommodate one million homes have not been built out.  The Council for the Protection of Rural England has just published a study showing that Brownfield land is available in England on which 1,300,000 new homes could be built!”

“If the Government wants to do something constructive in planning it needs to get developers building instead of land banking and it needs to provide more money to local authorities for cleaning up contamination on Brownfield sites so we can put them back into use for housing”.

Anything not collected today, leave your bins out and it will be collected on Saturday.

Oldham Council’s Liberal Democrats want to see street harassment of women and girls made a crime, as it is in Portugal, Belgium and France.

Saddleworth and Lees Councillor Sam Al-Hamdani is taking a motion on this issue to the next meeting of the full Council (Wednesday November 4).

Councillor Al-Hamdani said:  “Everyone should feel safe on our streets and in our communities, yet in national surveys two-thirds of women and girls report that they have been subjected to street harassment.  We all the right to self-respect, and to freedom of movement and freedom of expression, yet women and girls are intimidated by this unwanted personal sexual attention.  It is frightening and as a result some choose not to go out or do not feel able to be themselves.

“I want the Council to back the campaign of the group, Our Streets Now, which wants to end street harassment by criminalising this unacceptable behaviour and prosecuting offenders.  These would represent powerful steps towards tackling gender inequality and keeping women and girls safe.”

As well as outlawing harassment at a national level, Liberal Democrat Councillors also want to see some local action.  Shaw Councillor Hazel Gloster, who is backing the proposal, explained:  “Only 14 % of pupils have been taught about harassment at school and less than half of all pupils would report an incident of sexual harassment to a teacher.  We need all pupils to know more about what constitutes harassment and we need to ensure that all female pupils would feel confident, comfortable, and believed when they report it. 

“We want to see all of our borough’s schools introduce this subject within the curriculum and to take on board the advice and recommendations of Our Streets Now.  I am sure that this will also be an issue and concern for Oldham’s inspirational Youth Councillors”.

The next full meeting of Oldham Council can be seen online from 6pm on Wednesday November 4.

The wording of the motion follows.

Council November 4, 2020 – Notice of Opposition Business – Let’s make street harassment a crime

This Council is committed to making our Borough a safer place for everyone.

Council notes:

• Public sexual harassment is the most common form of violence against women and girls, restricting their freedom of movement and expression;
• That in surveys two-thirds of women and girls report they have faced street harassment in the UK;
• That street harassment in the UK is not covered by any specific offence, unlike in Portugal, Belgium and France;
• That stopping street harassment would be a powerful step in tackling inequality and keeping women safe;
• The incredible work of Our Streets Now, and their petition which has attracted over 200,000 signatures to make street harassment a specific crime;
• That according to a report by Our Streets Now, only 14 per cent of pupils have been taught about public sexual harassment at school, and that 47 per cent of them would not report an incident of public sexual harassment to their school because they were afraid or feared they would not be taken seriously by staff.

Council recognises

• That we must create an environment where street harassment is seen and policed as a crime, and where girls feel safer on our streets;
• That we need to work together with our schools to ensure that anyone who is harassed will feel confident that their report will be treated with the respect, care and seriousness that is required;
• That changing the law, and education for our young people, are key planks in combating street harassment, establishing safer streets, and delivering equality.

Council resolves to:

• Promote the Our Streets Now campaign to make street harassment a crime, and encourage all elected members, and residents to sign the petition;
• Ask the Chief Executive to write to the Home Secretary to ask her to make street harassment a specific crime;
• Ask the Chief Executive to write to the three MPs who cover the Borough, and the Mayor of Greater Manchester / Police and Crime Commissioner, to ask them to show their support for this campaign by signing the petition and by lobbying ministers to make street harassment a specific crime;
• Ask schools, academies and colleges in the Borough to each develop a clear policy on tackling harassment, separate to their bullying policy;
• Ask local schools to include education around public sexual harassment as part of their PSHE education;
• Ensure that the recommendations of the Our Schools Now report are communicated to schools with a view to integrating their recommendations into their PSHE teaching

Proposed by Councillor Sam Al-Hamdani

Seconded by Councillor Hazel Gloster

See links below:

https://www.oldham.gov.uk/RemembranceSunday

https://www.britishlegion.org.uk/get-involved/remembrance

For real time information: https://oldham.roadworks.org/

Liberal Democrat Councillors are playing on the same team as campaigning footballer Marcus Rashford when it comes to tackling child food poverty.

The 22-year old Manchester United star has just been awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for his work ensuring that no child goes hungry.

This is an issue close to the heart of Saddleworth North Liberal Democrat Councillor Garth Harkness, who is proposing a motion at the next full meeting of Oldham Council (November 4) seeking cross-party support for Mr Rashford’s pioneering work.  He has frequently raised child hunger with the Council.  Being employed at a Manchester school, Councillor Harkness is well-aware of the adverse impact that hunger can have on a child’s educational performance.

Commenting Councillor Harkness said:  “When many people think of top-flight footballers, they think of individuals who are over-paid and self-absorbed.  Marcus Rashford has proven that footballers can also care about others, and whilst there may have been a hiatus of play on the pitch during the Covid-19 pandemic, he has been playing away in a different arena, quietly but forcefully, to ensure that every child who is hungry gets fed.  It is largely down to him that the Conservative Government was embarrassed into a U-turn to provide school meals for pupils, and his MBE is richly-deserved for those efforts.”

Mr Rashford has recently called on the Government to immediately fund three recommendations from the National Food Strategy during and after the pandemic.

Crompton Councillor Louie Hamblett is backing his Liberal Democrat colleague: “Whatever football team you support, it still feels the same when you are hungry.  We would like Councillors from all parties, whatever colour rosette they may wear at election time, to back our motion which calls on the Tory Government to find this funding and to find it now.  Quite simply, the Oldham Liberal Democrats believe that it is truly shameful that in one of the world’s most advanced economies, two decades into the twenty-first century, children still go hungry in the UK.”

The next meeting of Oldham Council will be online from 6pm on Wednesday November 4.

The wording of the motion follows.

Council November 4, 2020 – Notice of Opposition Business – Time to tackle child food poverty

This Council:

* Believes that, in one of the world’s most advanced economies, it is shameful that two decades into the twenty-first century, children still go hungry in the UK.

* Is committed to ensuring that reducing child food poverty in our Borough remains one of our top priorities and commends organisations in this Borough which are working to do so.

* Also commends the initiative of Manchester United footballer Marcus Rashford who has successfully campaigned on school holiday hunger and has recently formed a taskforce with some of the UK’s leading food retailers and charities to help reduce child food poverty.

* Notes that this taskforce has called upon the government to fund three policy recommendations from the National Food Strategy, an independent review of UK food policy, as soon as possible:

The expansion of free school meals to every child from a household on Universal Credit or equivalent, reaching an additional 1.5m children aged seven to 16

The expansion of holiday food and activities to support all children on free school meals, reaching an additional 1.1m children

Increasing the value of the Healthy Start vouchers from £3.10 to £4.25 per week and expanding it to all those on Universal Credit or equivalent, reaching an additional 290,000 children under the age of four and pregnant women

Notes that the taskforce has said that implementing these three recommendations would mark a ‘unifying step to identifying a long-term solution to child poverty in the UK’.

Council concurs with the conclusion of the taskforce in calling upon the government to immediately fund these recommendations.

Council feels that if the Prime Minister wishes to be believed when he talks of ‘building (Britain) back better’ then he must address child food poverty as a top priority; for how can Britain be better when our nation’s children continue to go hungry?

Council resolves to ask the Chief Executive to write to:

* Mr Marcus Rashford commending him for his initiative and offering this Council’s support for his work and that of the taskforce.

* Mr Henry Dimbleby, who led the National Food Strategy, commending the work of the review panel and offering this Council’s support for their recommendations.

* The Chancellor of the Exchequer calling upon him to fund these three top recommendations as a matter of great urgency.

* Our three local MPs asking them to also make urgent representations to the Chancellor on this issue.

Proposed by Councillor Garth Harkness

Seconded by Councillor Louie Hamblett

Liberal Democrat Councillors are proposing a motion at the next full meeting of Oldham Council (November 4^th) calling for a default 20mph speed limit to be introduced on the Borough’s minor residential roads.

Twenty million British citizens already live in local authorities where a 20mph default speed limit exists.  The Liberal Democrats want Oldham Council to do the same.  This is the second time they have introduced such a proposal at the Council; the first was in February 2014.

The Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group, Shaw Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, is proposing the motion.  Commenting he said:  “The Covid-19 pandemic has made crystal clear just how precious life is.  Whilst we as a local authority work with our partners in the National Health Service to bring this terrible disease under control, one practical measure we can introduce straight away to save lives in another way is to reduce the speed of vehicles being driven along our minor roads.

“More than half of all road accident casualties occur on roads with 30mph limits, and a pedestrian is seven times more likely to die if they are hit by a vehicle travelling at 30 miles per hour than they are at 20 mph and ten times more likely if they are aged 60 or older.”

Crompton Councillor Diane Williamson is seconding the motion: “Not only will a 20mph speed limit reduce road deaths, it will also reduce injuries and as vehicle speeds are slowed there are environmental benefits as atmospheric pollution from exhaust fumes is reduced and cycle use increases as cyclists feel more confident to go out again onto our roads.”

Although Liberal Democrat Councillors welcome a recent announcement that a 20mph speed limit will be introduced in some of the Saddleworth villages they want the same applied boroughwide, as recommended by the British campaigning group 20’s Plenty for Us and by the General Assembly of the United Nations, which voted in August 2020 to recommend to all governments a 20mph (or 30 km/h) speed limit.

Councillor Sykes concluded:  “If we want to ‘build back better’ after the pandemic then one way we can do this is to improve the safety of our Borough’s residents on our roads, whether a driver, passenger, cyclist or a pedestrian.  If the United Nations has endorsed a 20mph speed limit as a way forward, then that’s good enough for us. We don’t have to spend a fortune on engineering solutions, we just need to get on with it.  We can save lives if we kill vehicle speeds. 20’s plenty for us in 2020.”

The next full meeting of Oldham Council will be held online from 6pm on Wednesday November 4.

The wording of the motion to Oldham Council follows.

Council November 4, 2020 – Notice of Opposition Business – 20’s Plenty in 2020

This Council notes that:

• speed limits on Britain’s residential roads are 60% higher than in Europe.

• more than half of all road accident casualties occur on roads with 30mph limits.

• that a pedestrian is 7 times more likely to die if they are hit by a vehicle travelling at 30 miles per hour than they are at 20 mph and 10 times more likely if aged 60 or older.

• reducing speed limits on residential roads has been found to reduce the incidence of accidents, the numbers of fatalities and serious injuries that result, and air pollution.

• over 20 million citizens live in local authorities in the UK, including five authorities in Greater Manchester, which have adopted or are adopting a default speed limit of 20mph on residential roads.

• the default speed limit of 20mph has been adopted by other local authorities without the implementation of physical calming measures.

• in February 2020, road safety experts from 130 countries adopted the ‘Stockholm Declaration’ recommending 20mph / 30kph as the preferred default speed limit on residential roads and, in August 2020, the UN General Assembly endorsed this recommendation.

This Council recognises that:

• If we are to ‘build back better’ after Covid-19, one of our key concerns must be to address all aspects of public health.

• This should include lowering the default speed of motor vehicles driven on our residential roads to reduce the danger to residents.

• Such a measure should be boroughwide and comprehensive.

This Council therefore resolves to:

• Seek in principle to implement a borough-wide 20 mph speed limit on residential roads.

• Ask the Overview and Scrutiny Board to look again at the practicalities and timescale of introducing such a scheme, in consultation with the 20’s Plenty Campaign, for consideration by full Council at the earliest possible opportunity.

Proposed by Councillor Howard Sykes MBE        

Seconded by Councillor Diane Williamson

A recent study published by the countryside charity, the Council for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE) has found that the government’s target of 300,000 new homes could be built every year for the next four years, and then some, on Brownfield sites, leaving the Green Belt untouched. 

Responding the findings, Liberal Democrat Group Leader Councillor Howard Sykes MBE posed the question:  “Why then do we need the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework with the proposal by the Greater Manchester Mayor and his Labour colleagues to destroy vast swathes of our irreplaceable Green Belt with unnecessary housing?”

The CPRE found that there are enough sites in England that have been previously developed, and that are available for housing, to build 1.33 million homes, and that the number of sites with planning permission that are as yet still undeveloped has risen by a fifth in just one year.

Councillor Sykes added:  “The CPRE have helpfully identified that the problem does not lie in Councils giving planning permission for housing developments on suitable sites; the problem lies with house builders not building out and instead sitting on sites in the hope that they will make more money when land values increase.” 

“As I have said before, GMSF this is the wrong plan at the wrong time,” stated Councillor Sykes.

The CPRE report can be found at https://www.cpre.org.uk/news/theres-already-enough-suitable-land-to-meet-targets-for-new-homes-we-find/

A report updating Councillors and the public on the progress made by the investigation team into historic allegations of child sexual exploitation in the Borough will be included in the agenda papers for the next full meeting of Oldham Council (4 November 2020).

Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, Leader of the Opposition, wrote to the Leader of the Council three weeks ago (30 Sept) requesting such a report.  He has just received confirmation that this will now happen.  Commenting he said:  “I welcome the commitment to bring a report to the next Council meeting.  There is a great deal of public and Councillor interest in this investigation and the Council has already committed to implementing its findings in full.  It is now almost a year since the investigation into these serious allegations began and I am sure that everyone will now feel it timely to receive a report about the progress made by the investigating officers.”

“I will certainly be very interested to read this interim report.  I asked for the report to be tabled as a specific item on the agenda to ensure that there is time given over, within an otherwise packed agenda and busy evening, for Councillors of all parties, and none, to comment upon, and ask questions about, the investigation, if they wish.”