Get your cowbells at the ready – the Tour de Manc cycle race is coming to Oldham on Sunday, May 1.

This annual event covers all 10 boroughs in Greater Manchester, and more information is online here.

There are several routes of various lengths, for different levels of ability. No road closures are needed in the borough.

Cyclists enter the borough from Middleton via the A669 Middleton Road, and the full route covers:

• B6195 Haigh Lane, Chadderton Hall Road, Mill Brow, Street Bridge Road, Middleton Road (Royton).
• High Street (Royton), Sandy Lane, Rochdale Lane, Dogford Road, Fir Lane, Narrowgate Brow
• Thornham Road (High Crompton)
• B6194 Rochdale Road (High Crompton)
• Beal Lane, Grains Road (Shaw), Hillside Avenue
• B6197 Buckstones Road
• A672 Oldham Road (Grains Bar) to Denshaw Crossroads
• A640 Rochdale Road Denshaw to Rochdale borough boundary
• A6052 Delph Road (Denshaw), Denshaw Road (Delph), High Street (Delph), King Street, Millgate, The Sound
• B6197 Grains Road Delph
• A62 Huddersfield Road (Delph) to Tetley Bye Road
• A670 Standedge Road, Wool Road, High Street (Uppermill), Oldham Road to Chapel Road
• A6051 Chapel Road
• B6175 Shaw Hall Bank Road, Well-i-hole Road, then Huddersfield Road, Mossley
• Tetley Bye Road
• Huddersfield Road (Diggle)
• Harrop Green Lane,
• Station Road
• Lee Side
• Ward Lane
• Running Hill Lane, Running Hill Gate,
• Gellfield Lane, Knowl Top Lane, Haw Clough Lane, Kinders Lane
• A669 Chew Valley Road to Shaw Hall Bank Road

Anyone can ask to vote by post.

If you don’t want to vote in person, or cannot due other commitments (work/ill/away etc.) at the elections on Thursday 5 May, 2022, for any reason, then you can apply for a postal vote by writing to:

Elections Office, Oldham Council, West Street, Oldham OL1 1UL. Or calling: 0161 770 1880 / 4153. Or emailing: elections@oldham.gov.uk

Completed applications need to be returned NO LATER than 5pm on Tuesday 19 April.

The household waste recycling centre at Arkwright Street has now returned to summer opening hours, of 8am to 8pm, Monday to Sunday. 

Reminder that bin collections are scheduled to go ahead as usual on Good Friday (15 April) and Easter Monday (18 April) – so everyone should put them out as normal.

The Royal Oldham Hospital will be running daily Covid-19 vaccination clinics for 5–11-year-olds at its vaccine hub. Appointments can be made through the national booking system or by calling 0161 627 8102.

Anyone who hasn’t yet had their Coronavirus vaccinations or boosters can also find out where to get their jabs on our website here.

Walk-in clinics and bookable appointments continue to be available across the borough. Meanwhile, the local Coronavirus rate currently stands at 431 per 100,000 population – up from 396 per 100,000 from last week.

Shaw and Crompton councillors were informed of the early closure (31 March) of the café in Dunwood Park for operational/staff reasons.

Pure Innovations who operated the café have been forced to close it now due to staff departures since they announced they would be closing in July.  They continue to pay rent until the end of their notice period in July.

“This does mean that Oldham Council has not yet had time to make alternative provision.  However, interest has been great, and people can, if they want to find out more and fancy running the café please click on this link: https://www.unitypartnership.com/property/ ,” stated Shaw councillor Howard Sykes on behalf of all his colleagues.

“This is a great loss to the local community, and we will be doing all we can to find another user, like we did when the last operator pulled out.  We are also working towards putting some measures in place so the toilets and facilities can be used for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations if an operator is not in place by then,” stated Shaw councillor Howard Sykes.

Shaw and Crompton Parish Council Spring Festival.

Located in the Kershaw Street car Park, off Westway, Shaw town Centre.

The Facebook link is www.facebook.com/shawandcromptonfestival

Shaw and Crompton communities have had a bomb shell delivered that the plug has just been pulled on their new Health Centre at the last minute.

Shaw and Crompton councillors have been informed that a new health centre for Shaw and Crompton is now not affordable, and so Oldham Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) have axed the scheme.

“Shaw and Crompton councillors have worked incredibly hard to reach the position where this was ready to go, with the site ready to go, capital funding allocated, a developer commissioned, and plans developed.  This is a massive kick in the teeth and a great disappointment to our local community and those who use and work in the current Health Centre,” stated Shaw councillor and Liberal Democrat Group Leader, Howard Sykes.

Shadow Cabinet Member for Heath & Social Liberal Democrat Crompton councillor Louie Hamblett has written to Oldham CCG’s Accountable Officer Mike Barker about the matter.

“Increased costs; as a result of covid, events in Eastern Europe and the cost-of-living crises, are excuses the CCG uses for it now not being affordable and they quote a figure of an increase of half a million pounds in costs,” stated councillor Hamblett.

“We are demanding an urgent meeting so this decision can be justified and fully explained – Shaw and Crompton demands nothing less.  We will not be fobbed off and we now need to negotiate a plan B to get the Heath Centre Shaw and Crompton so rightly deserves, he added. 

“All six councillors will continue, as we have for many years, to campaign for its replacement and to hold those responsible for our local health services to account and make sure they deliver what the Shaw and Crompton community needs and rightly expects.  That is local health faculties fit for purpose with a range of services people expect in the 21^st century.  This is just not possible in the current patched up building that is well past its sell by date,” pledged councillor Sykes.

“On top of this we have hundreds of new homes being built in the area.  Where are these families supposed to go for primary health care?  Our fight and campaign for facilities that enable increased capacity of quality health services continues until this is delivered,” he stated.

Letter from CCG that broke the news

https://www.theoakgablespartnership.co.uk/index.aspx

LETTER FROM CCG

Re Shaw/Crompton Development

I am writing to you inform you of some fundamental changes that have occurred in relation to the proposed capital development of health facilities in Shaw which impact Oak Gables and The Villages Practices.

As you are aware the CCG undertook an exercise to develop Outline Business Cases to secure capital in order to redevelop General Practice facilities. There were a number of General Practices vying for a limited capital allocation at this time.

Capital is a funding source generally used to support significant physical redevelopment programmes and it is allocated directly by the Department of Health and Social Care to CCGs and providers, such as hospitals.

Following a prioritisation exercise the CCG progressed to the development of an Outline Business Case for a proposal to redevelop land to enable the relocation of Oak Gables and The Villages onto a new site and into a new facility. This redevelopment encompassed the drawdown of an earmarked capital allocation that required significant progress to be made by 31 March 2022. On that basis the CCG progressed the Business Case, working as a partnership with the local Authority – Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council, who own the earmarked land, and engaged with the District Valuer and other advisors to support the case.

As you are aware this was completed at a point in time and the recommendation to proceed with the Shaw/Crompton proposal was made in good faith by the CCG. However, I am writing to you today following the decision the CCG has made regarding withdrawing its support for the Shaw/Crompton development yesterday.

As you will no doubt be aware from the daily reports in the national press, our national economy now faces a significant challenge and has major implications in terms of pressure on public finances and dramatic changes in terms of rising prices through inflation. These are now considerable factors impacting our ability to proceed. At the time of developing the Outline Business Case, the organisation was not in a position to foresee what have now become such significant increases, both on cost and inflation. These impacts have materialised over recent weeks as we emerge from the COVID period, and more recently, the impact of the tragic events in eastern Europe. Such was the materiality of the change that this needed to be reported to the CCG senior management team earlier this week. Although the capital allocation remained available and the land continues to be available, the increase in revenue costs, in excess of an additional £500,000, make the proposal unaffordable and hence the decision to halt this particular Outline Business Case.

We recognise that this is not a position which is of the making of any organisation but is unfortunately where we find ourselves. The CCG cannot knowingly or willingly enter into an agreement that would be so materially different from the original business case and accept the withdrawing of funding from other parts of Oldham’s health and care service lines. That would be wholly unfair to other communities and we fear risk leaving some vulnerable people without adequate service and care support.

We have spoken with colleagues in the Council and are satisfied that the Council remain committed to working with us to secure such a facility for Shaw. However, the format of this Business Case cannot and will not proceed within this cost envelope now on the table.  We now need to pause and reflect on next steps and understand what other options we may have available and over what timescale to continue to seek to secure a new facility for Shaw. 

We will be in touch when we are in a position to resume the conversation following consideration of the availability of wider system capital and revenue resources for both this proposal and others in Oldham.G

Your understanding in this matter is appreciated.