The Liberal Democrats have accused the Chair of Greater Manchester Transport Committee (GMTC) of deliberately blocking scrutiny and avoiding input from across the region. The Chair of GMTC, Councillor Mark Aldred, has ignored multiple requests from Liberal Democrat members of the committee to constructively scrutinise how the region’s transport will begin to recover from the Coronavirus crisis once lockdown beings to ease. Lib Dem representatives on GMTC, John Leech and Howard Sykes, accused Councillor Aldred of deliberately avoiding scrutiny and input from across the region and political divide. The Liberal Democrats set out five points that GMTC must urgently answer in order to address concerns about how the region’s transport will begin to recover from the Coronavirus crisis: 1) How will social distancing be maintained at the same time as getting people back on public transport? 2) Address the budget implications of far fewer passengers and how this will allow us to maintain subsidised bus services. 3) The impact on infrastructure and cost of the Government and Council prioritising walking and cycling. Concerns raised by bus companies about Andy Burnham not delivering all the money promised to operators. How this crisis may affect decisions about franchising bus services Leader of the Liberal Democrats in Manchester John Leech said: “Everyone is under a lot of strain at the moment but the lack of transparency and communication from the Chair of GMTC with other Transport Committee members and public transport operators has been unacceptable. “Transport has been one of the most affected areas as a result of the lockdown and the reintroduction needs to be a cross-party, collaborative plan with input from across the region. “But Councillor Aldred is not learning lessons from last month’s mess and is deliberately keeping other Transport committee members in the dark to avoid scrutiny.” Leader of the Liberal Democrats in Oldham Howard Sykes added: “GMTC must get a grip of the crisis by allowing and inviting transparency and constructive scrutiny. “Members from all political parties on the Greater Manchester Transport Committee must be involved in tackling this crisis to ensure the very best plans are put forward for our region.” Notes: John Leech and Howard Sykes are the two Liberal Democrat representatives on the Greater Manchester Transport Committee.

As we go into the VE Day Bank Holiday weekend, let’s not forget those who sacrificed so much.

Please remember them at home, as I am, and stay safe.

Hope you have a good bank holiday weekend.

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

“Stay safe and stay strong”- the message from Oldham Liberal Democrat Leader on the 75th anniversary of VE Day

Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, Leader of the Liberal Democrat group on Oldham Council, pays tribute to VE Day and frontline staff in the NHS and other key workers.  The 8th May marks the end of World War Two in Europe as Victory in Europe Day (VE Day).  It is an important day for many people across the UK, Europe and Commonwealth Nations.  People use this time to contemplate and pay respect to the personal sacrifice of others.

There will be an address from the Queen on the BBC.  Other plans include a public doorstep singing of Dame Vera Lynn’s We’ll Meet Again.

Councillor Sykes says: “This VE Day is especially important.  Many will feel frustrated they cannot see loved ones and pay their respects as usually done.  But you will meet again, stay safe and stay strong for each other.”

“The battle against Covid-19 goes on, let us think of those on the frontline in the and the sacrifice they are making every day.”

VE commemoration schedule:

• 11am — Two-minute national silence to remember the declaration of victory and the end of the Second World War in Europe.

• 2.45pm – 3.45pm — The first of two special BBC One  programmes to mark VE75, including extract from Sir Winston Churchill’s victory speech delivered at 3pm on VE Day.

• Afternoon — Britons encouraged to hold 1940s-style afternoon tea parties at home rather than street parties, including homemade bunting and recipes from the era.

• 9pm — Address by the Queen followed by national doorstep rendition of Dame Vera Lynn’s We’ll Meet Again.

Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, Liberal Democrat and Opposition Leader Oldham Council recently wrote to Council bosses to reopen local waste sites in Oldham Borough.  This is now being done in a safe and sensible manner in line with social distancing.  Council leaders have now started to reopen these sites but following strict safety guidelines.  There had recently been a spate of fly tipping locally.  New measures being introduced will hopefully solve some of the issues surrounding waste during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“I’m very glad we have started to drift back towards normality.  I think this will solve some public health issues associated with the lockdown.  Less fly tipping and piles of waste on our streets means a healthier Oldham Borough.”  says Councillor Sykes.

These calls to reopen waste sites came after a month of lockdown measures by local authorities.

“As long as people are respectful, wait their turn and don’t contribute to any drama I believe this is a victory for common sense.  There will certainly be delays, so caution is advised and please make sure you read the guidance before even considering a visit.  #StaySafe”

Traffic Management plan:

Site rules including which car registrations can visit on which days

Please read these before thinking about visiting Arkwright Street Tip.

Traffic management:

Number plate system and site rules

Some recycling centres will open on Saturday 2^nd May at 8am

Some recycling centres will provide a limited service for general waste/bags of rubbish only, no recycling or garden waste containers will be available initially.

This is not business as usual but a phased opening.

Not all sites will open due to shortages of staff and all sites have reduced opening hours.

Please check before you visit.

https://recycleforgreatermanchester.com/

The sites are open with social distancing measures in place so visitors should only go if it’s an essential visit and should expect queues.

We are still urging the public to Stay Home, Stay Safe and Protect the NHS.

Visitors may be turned away if the queues are too long and asked to return at another time.

Recycling Centre Rules

• Open for bagged general waste only, no recycling or garden waste accepted
• Only 1 person per vehicle
• Cars and small vans only – No transit type vans and vehicles with trailers
• No pedestrian access
• SUEZ staff will not be able to help unload your vehicle
• Please take proof of address with you such as your council tax bill, gas or electric bill to show you live in one of the 9 councils in Greater Manchester. You can show your bill on your mobile phone.
• ANPR and CCTV are in operation, trade waste is not allowed.
• Please expect to queue for longer than usual due to social distancing restrictions in place. Please make sure you don’t block access for other road users

Residents are being asked to check their number plate and only attend on a specific day if their number is odd/even. This is to reduce the potential number of visitors expected. Check before you travel.

Check the recycleforgreatermanchester.com website for more details.

How will it work?

SUEZ have reorganised the layout of the recycling centres and introduced social distancing measures. Only a limited number of cars (up to 5) will be allowed on site at any one time with a one in, one out policy. For each parking bay, there will be a container to place bags of general waste in. There will be no other recycling containers available. Residents should leave the site as quickly as possible to allow the next car in. 

Highways officers and traffic marshals will patrol the roads surrounding the recycling centres to guide the public. Traffic management such as cones, traffic signs, diversions and one way systems will be implemented to help the flow of traffic. Please check your local council website for updates on diversions.

If the queue becomes too long, residents may be turned away and asked to return at a later time.

When and why did the sites close?

All GMCA Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) closed on 24^th March in order to comply with Government guidance on essential reasons to leave the house during the initial 3 week lock down period. GMCA was not unique in taking this approach to HWRCs, the position nationally was that most recycling centres were closed pending review of the lockdown restrictions.

Why are centres only reopening now? What’s changed?

Defra guidance around opening up the recycling centres has changed and we recognise that many of us are producing more waste whilst spending time at home, so to ease pressure on the council bin collections, it was agreed by the GMCA and the 9 councils to open some of the recycling centres for general waste only.

How many sites will open?

16 out of 20 sites will open but this is not business as usual so please check opening hours before you travel (not all sites are open 7 days a week) and ask yourself if this journey is essential. https://recycleforgreatermanchester.com/

What can I take to the recycling centre?

Only general waste/rubbish in bin bags that you can’t fit in your household bin such as nappies, plastic packaging, polystyrene and other household waste (small bulky waste) that can’t be recycled.

What about other recycling and garden waste?

Please store recycling and garden waste at home until we can offer this service. By only offering containers for general waste, we can get people through the sites quicker and there is no need for anyone to walk about the site coming into contact with other visitors.

Some of the recycling re-processors that we send the recycling to (wood, electricals etc) are not open.

Looking Forward

We will review the situation along with Government guidance and in time may be able to provide other containers for recycling.

We need the cooperation of the public to make this work – please don’t go unless you really need to.

Councillor Howards Sykes MBE, Liberal Democrat and Opposition Leader on Oldham Council, tells of how large utility companies take council highway restrictions for granted.  

This revelation is detailed in a freedom of information request (FOI) to Oldham Council.   Large companies like Cadent, United Utilities and Virgin Media have all repeatedly broken regulations on local roadworks in Oldham Borough.  They have blocked up roads for longer than they said they would and so have been given a fine.  The road closures affect the ability of residents and businesses to go about daily life.  The FOI shows that current council fines, the levels of which are set by national government do not act as a deterrent to delays.

Because these large companies can absorb the fines, they are able to keep breaching the regulations.  In the year 2017/18 the roadworks overran 123 times and in 2018/19 it was a total of 62 times.

Councillor Sykes says unless councils are allowed to increase the fines or create new penalties, the problem will continue. 

“People often ask why roads works are not co-ordinated – well they are – but these utility companies clearly often over run or in some cases do not even inform the council of repairs they are undertaking,” stated Councillor Sykes.

“The situation will not improve unless the fines have real bite.  This is a problem across the country.  “If the rules are being broken and ignored, then we must change the system,” he added.