The Oldham Liberal Democrats are asking for evidence of action from Oldham Council on their fireworks policy, after nights of post-midnight explosions have kept local residents awake.
A 2022 motion was passed by the Council introducing a Challenge 25 policy, advertising of any events in advance to local residents, and a requirement for community notification for private events.
None of these are listed as policies or requirements on the Council’s website, and so Councillor Sam Al-Hamdani has written to the chief executive asking for details of how the community notification scheme is being run and how many shops are participating in the Challenge 25 scheme.
He said: “This has been an ongoing problem for several years; we come into the summer months and these fireworks displays start. That’s why we proposed a motion calling for action in 2021, and why despite voting against it then, Labour voted through the policy a year later.
“The Council should be able to demonstrate the action that it has taken on this issue – I hope it can, as residents deserve to know that they are being listened to, and that the steps we proposed off the back of their concerns have been taken.”
As well as the list of actions that were proposed in the September 2022 motion, the Council wrote to the Home Secretary to request changes to the law around fireworks, but the Home Office has still not responded, nearly a year later.
Sam continued: “It’s sad that the current Conservative Government just seems to be incapable of the basics – never mind introducing new laws, they haven’t even managed to reply to a letter.”
“Show Shaw and Crompton at its best”: Sykes challenges council leaders to clear weeds from Tour of Britain cycle route
Oldham Liberal Democrat Leader and Shaw representative councillor Howard Sykes MBE has challenged council bosses to treat weeds along the Tour of Britain cycle route ahead of Sunday’s race this Sunday (03/09). The Council had been without a weed’s contractor since before May, but weed spraying is set to resume in early September.
Councillor Sykes said, “The Tour of Britain will pass through Shaw and parts of Saddleworth on Sunday. As a community we want to show Shaw and our borough at its best. But currently large parts of it have been taken over by weeds. It is like Day of the Triffids since the Council lost its contractor.”
The Liberal Democrats hit out at the council leadership earlier in August when it emerged the Council had no plans to put temporary arrangements in place, despite rising numbers of complaints from residents.
Councillor Sykes said, “Oldham Council continually struggles to get the basics right. People are proud to live and work in Shaw, but when the council falls short it makes the place look rundown and unloved.”
“With people visiting in large numbers and watched on TV by many more, I’ve written to council bosses urging them to prioritise the Tour of Britain route now that a contractor is finally in place. Let’s put our best foot forward on Sunday.”
“Culture of Failure”: Liberal Democrats respond to “worrying” Oldham Special Educational Needs report
Oldham Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Education, Councillor Helen Bishop has responded to “worrying” findings of a report into Oldham’s Special Educational Needs (SEN) services.
SEN services, which are the joint responsibility of Oldham council and NHS Manchester Integrated Care Board, received a mixed report from OFSTED following their recent inspection published this week. Amongst the findings, Oldham Council was deemed to be failing to provide adequate services in several areas, leading to “unacceptably long wait times for care assessments and appointments.”
Councillor Bishop, who represents Saddleworth South on Oldham Council, believes that wholesale changes are needed within Oldham’s approach in order to achieve any sort of progress, and that the focus should be on early intervention.
Councillor Bishop said, “Whilst it is positive to see that some areas of good practice are highlighted, overall, the borough is failing to provide adequate support and learning outcomes for children and young people with Special Educational Needs, many of whom face significant challenges to receiving an education that is fit for purpose.”
“The aim should be for pupils with additional needs to be equipped by the local authority to fulfil their academic potential, not just to keep them occupied, or offer them an education that is little more than a tick box exercise. I have spoken to many parents who are at their wit’s end and feel as though they face a relentless battle to get the support they know their child needs. They feel constantly fobbed off, and some slip through the net altogether, having become totally frustrated with the system.”
“A new Director of Education has been appointed recently. I hope that this represents the beginning of a robust approach to addressing the failings that have been identified. The council needs to produce a swift response to the report, with a clear commitment to working meaningfully with children, their parents and carers, and education professionals to improve the situation, accompanied by a timeline against which progress can be clearly monitored. We cannot allow a culture of failure to take root.” Copy of SEND report attached.
“The polluter must pay”: Liberal Democrats hit out at water companies dumping sewage in local rivers
Oldham Liberal Democrats have tabled a motion hitting out water companies like United Utilities, who were responsible for hundreds of thousands of sewage dumps in local rivers and waterways over recent years.
Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader councillor Sam Al-Hamdani, who will move the motion on Wednesday 6th September said, “It is absolutely disgusting that the government has allowed these polluting companies to continue dumping sewage into our waterways, despite multiple opportunities to tighten the law. The sewage dumps are taking place in rivers, brooks and streams where people go swimming, boating and fishing.”
United Utilities recorded the second highest number of sewage dumps in 2022, at more than 69,000. According to data analysed by the Liberal Democrats, those discharges lasted for more than 425,00 hours.
In Oldham alone, raw sewage has been discharged into our waterways more than 2,500times since 2021, lasting for more than 14,000 hours.
United Utilities also reported one of the highest overall spends on bonuses for its senior staff. The company awarded a whopping £4.2 million in bonuses last year alone.
Councillor Diane Williamson, Crompton Ward, who will second the motion said, “We cannot allow this destruction of our waterways in pursuit of profit to continue. There should be no rewards for failure. These companies must pay to put right the mess they have made through a proper Sewage Tax.” Data on sewage dumping in Oldham can be found here.
Liberal Democrat Group Motion: Raw sewage discharges
Proposed by: councillor Sam Al-Hamdani
Seconded by: councillor Diane Williamson
This council notes that:
In 2011, the Environment Agency reported that our rivers were cleaner than at any time since the Industrial Revolution.
In March this year the same agency noted that there were more than 300,000 raw sewage discharges into rivers and coastal areas in 2022, lasting for more than 1.75 million hours.
In the same period our local water company, ‘United Utilities’, was responsible for 69,245 of those sewage discharges lasting for 425,491 hours.
In Oldham alone, raw sewage has been discharged into our waterways more than 2,500times since 2021, lasting for more than 14,000 hours.
These hours of raw sewage went into the waterways alongside which Oldham residents walk, cycle and ride; and in which families go boating, fishing and paddling.
Raw sewage in open waters has been shown to increase the risk of diseases such as hepatitis and Weil’s disease.
The deterioration in the quality of our water is so apparent that it is evidenced not only by Environment Agency data but by the observations of Oldham residents who have noted the rise in unpleasant odours and visible pollution in the water.
The sewage discharge data, provided by the water companies themselves, demonstrates that not a single discharge in 2022 resulted from exceptional circumstances – rainfall or storms – but due to a lack of treatment and investment by the same water companies.
Yet since 1989, they have paid out £72 billion in dividends to shareholders and bonuses of millions of pounds to executives while accruing industry wide debts of £60 billion and inflicting a 40% real terms price increase on ordinary people. So much value has been extracted from the sector that one of the largest companies is currently failing under its huge level of debt and there are forecasts of future huge price rises across the country, including Trafford, to make up for decades of lack of investment.
This situation is unfair and unsustainable – ordinary people are paying ever higher prices for the privilege of having raw human sewage dumped in their communities while the industry is allowed to be run for the enrichment of shareholders and executives.
This council resolves to:
Call upon Central Government to firmly establish the ‘Polluter Pays Principle’ across the industry. Water companies must operate in the interests of the Public, not shareholders. They must make meaningful provision for the monitoring of water quality, publish a strategy with targets for the reduction of sewage discharges, including meaningful economic impact assessments, and provide for financial penalties in relation to sewage discharges and breaches of monitoring requirements.
Oldham Liberal Democrat Education spokesperson Councillor Helen Bishop said, “This is clearly something that is going to benefit students who are already high achievers, but what about the impact on our excellent, existing Sixth Form College?”
“If they were sincere about wanting to help, Eton could simply provide funding to support and extend the existing provision. Overall, this scheme does nothing to address the inadequate performance of many secondary schools in Oldham, nor does it do anything to bring about the wholescale reforms needed in secondary education to tackle systemic failings and improve the life chances of all our young people.”
“School absences are spiralling, and young people are voting with their feet. Standards are inconsistent across the borough. In many areas of Oldham, there just isn’t a well-performing school to send your children to. Are we saying we want to roll up our sleeves, change the culture and drive improvements in our schools or are we just happy to sit back and clap at this distraction?”
“It is disappointing, during GCSE results week to see Labour peddling the line that having an Eton school in Oldham means that the town might now produce a future Prime Minister. We should be fighting to ensure any school in Oldham will give them the platform to do so. Given the damage done to the nation by Eton’s last two Prime Ministers – Cameron and Johnson – they could do a damn sight better”
“We should be striving to build an education offer where the best school is your local school, one which caters for all learning types, not indulging in the idea that what Oldhamers need are the crumbs from the table. This has all the hallmarks of an archaic education system failing to learn its lessons. Our state schools suffer as a result. All that glitters is not gold, and thinly veiled, flashy, and yet shallow gestures such as this should not detract from the serious and all-inclusive reforms necessary.”
Liberal Democrat councillors have written to Oldham District Commander Phil Hutchison to demand a targeted strategy from GMP to deal with off-road bikes being used illegally, as part of drug-dealing, antisocial behaviour, vandalization and threatening behaviour towards local residents.
While councillors have continued to ask residents to report incidents using 101 and online at gmp.police.uk, ongoing illegal behaviour has not been stopped, and the Liberal Democrats are insisting that more is done to deal with the issue.
Councillor Al-Hamdani said: “We are getting almost daily reports of this behaviour, and all too often people have given up reporting it to the police as they are not getting a response.
“Just one example is the linear park which runs through Grotton and Springhead has had barriers removed to make it accessible for people in wheelchairs, but this means it has been targeted by illegal bikers. Local residents are kept up at night by roaring engines, and don’t get to take advantage of their beautiful environment because they are threatened and intimidated by bikers.”
The letter asks GMP to meet with the councillors to discuss the approach that they will be taking and how they will deal with the issue.
Councillor Al-Hamdani continued: “When people don’t feel like their reports are being taken seriously, it undermines confidence in the police as a whole. People have to know that something is being done.
“Having spoken to councillors across the whole of Oldham, and in neighbouring boroughs, this is an issue for everyone. If it isn’t dealt with, then criminals are emboldened to get away with worse, law-abiding bikers get a bad name, and residents feel like no-one cares.
“We do care, and that’s why we want GMP to have an organised approach to get something done about this.
Co-created by SBC and their Youth Theatre of Sanctuary
Join rabbits, elves, unicorns, and The Beetles for an exciting roam through the park this August Bank Holiday.
Secret Summer is a free bilingual story walk for all the family to enjoy on your phone via a free downloadable app.
Plug in your headphones, get your face painted, join a host of fun characters and uncover the secrets of the park in this exciting live and interactive experience.
Secret Summer is taking place in Alexandra Park and Dunwood Park, Shaw during August Bank Holiday Weekend.
Performances at 12pm, 12.30pm, 1pm, 1.30pm, 2pm and 2.30pm
Story Walks last 45 minutes. We have different start times so audiences get the best experience.
Secret Summer is completely free. No tickets are needed – just turn up!
Plus there’s a downloadable activity pack at the end of the adventure. Design the characters as you see them in your head and create your own secret world of wildlife. We can’t wait to see your ideas!
The Tour of Britain cycling event, is set to return to Oldham on the afternoon of Sunday 3 September.
Elite riders from across the globe will be battling it out from Altrincham to Manchester, with the Oldham section of the race coming through Uppermill, Dobcross, Delph, Grains Bar and Shaw, before then crossing over into Rochdale.
A full map of the route – which is the same as the previous route when the Tour came through Oldham in 2019 – is on the Tour of Britain website here.
Find out more about the event, including road closure information, here.
