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Roadworks Bulletin – W/C 4 May 20
Arkwright Street Household Waste and Recycling Centre, Oldham – restricted reopening from May 2
From this Saturday (May 2) Greater Manchester Combined Authority is reopening Arkwright Street household waste and recycling centre.
The site will be open Monday to Sunday 8am to 6pm.
Restrictions and new measures will be in place to protect the health and wellbeing of residents and staff.
The decision was taken in accordance with Government guidelines and is based on staffing, accessibility, and the agreement of a traffic management plan that has been put in place.
Temporarily Arkwright Street will be closed from its junction with Featherstall Road South and a diversion is in place via Featherstall Road South, Middleton Road and Lansdowne Road.
Reopening is being carefully planned and managed, with the involvement of Greater Manchester Police (GMP).
Among the criteria being taken into account are staffing arrangements at waste disposal facilities operated by SUEZ, with more staff deployed to handle the increased volume of waste and recycling picked up during household bin collections.
In order to control the number of vehicles accessing the centres at any one time, GMCA is introducing a traffic control system based on odd and even number plates.
It will work on a four week rota to limit the amount of traffic visiting the centres and limit the potential for staff and the public to be exposed to the virus.
Number plates ending with odd numbers – one, three, five, seven and nine – will be allowed on the days shown below, while number plates ending with even numbers – zero, two, four, six and eight – will be allowed on the others:
| Sat | Sun | Mon | Tues | Wed | Thurs | Fri |
| 02/05/20 | 03/05/20 | 04/05/20 | 05/05/20 | 06/05/20 | 07/05/20 | 08/05/20 |
| Even | Odd | Even | Odd | Even | Odd | Even |
| Week 2 | ||||||
| Sat | Sun | Mon | Tues | Wed | Thurs | Fri |
| 09/05/20 | 10/05/20 | 11/05/20 | 12/05/20 | 13/05/20 | 14/05/20 | 15/05/20 |
| Even | Odd | Even | Odd | Odd | Odd | Even |
| Week 3 | ||||||
| Sat | Sun | Mon | Tues | Wed | Thurs | Fri |
| 16/05/20 | 17/05/20 | 18/05/20 | 19/05/20 | 20/05/20 | 21/05/20 | 22/05/20 |
| Even | Odd | Even | Odd | Even | Odd | Even |
| Week 4 | ||||||
| Sat | Sun | Mon | Tues | Wed | Thurs | Fri |
| 23/05/20 | 24/05/20 | 25/05/20 | 26/05/20 | 27/05/20 | 28/05/20 | 29/05/20 |
| Even | Odd | Even | Odd | Odd | Odd | Even |
The centre will be accepting bagged general waste only, and will be open to Greater Manchester residents who show proof of address, such as a council tax, gas, or electricity bill.
Social distancing measures will be in place, and the number of cars allowed on to the sites will be limited, with one person allowed out of their vehicle to dispose of their waste. Staff will be unable to assist with unloading and no pedestrian access will be permitted.
Residents are advised to visit recycling centres only if absolutely necessary.
Information about how to manage and dispose of waste, and the latest updates on household waste recycling centres, can be found at www.recycleforgreatermanchester.com
Crompton Moor, Brushes Clough and similar moorland locations
The Liberal Democrat plan to give frontline staff an extra £29 a day, better access to PPE equipment and increased support for their families
Councillor Howards Sykes MBE, Liberal Democrat and Opposition Leader on Oldham Council, reveals a new plan for frontline works in the National Health Service (NHS). This is a Liberal Democrat idea that will give frontline staff an extra £29 a day. Better PPE equipment and increased support for their families would also be provided. The NHS is a vital part of British life, and our NHS is needed now more than ever before. NHS frontline workers should have the same privileges as those serving on the frontline in war. This is their war in the fight against Covid-19.
It is a sad truth that some NHS staff and care staff are being put at unnecessary risk because the personal protective equipment (PPE) they need is not readily available. This Liberal Democrat plan includes comprehensive measures to cut red tape. These plans would double production of vital PPE but also provide financial support directly to staff on the frontline.
Councillor Sykes applauds the hard work conducted by our brave frontline workers at every level: “The armed forces receive a deployment allowance of an extra £29 per day on active duty. The same should apply to NHS and care staff putting themselves in danger during the coronavirus epidemic.”
“Just as people remember Florence Nightingale, future generations will remember the bravery and diligence of our health and care workers during the Coronavirus outbreak. We must meet that honour with the right support in the here and now, not later.”
Notes:
Roadworks Bulletin – W/C 27 April 2020
Rise in knife crime and youth services in decline, we must build a future for our youth in a post-virus world
Councillor Howard Sykes MBE says we need more youth services in our communities. This is in both youth workers and youth centres. The Leader of the Liberal Democrats on Oldham Borough Council highlights work done by parliament on knife crime. Studies by a group of MPs showed that schools and youth centres play a central role in keeping children and young people safe. These services should be granted necessary funding. Local Liberal Democrat Councillors in Shaw and Crompton have repeatedly invested their limited local funds in youth services to offset government cuts.
Currently, UK schools are underfunded. Youth services have declined by 69% over the last decade. On average councils have reduced spending on services such as social clubs and youth workers by 40%. Some Authorities have seen funding plummet by 91% over the last few years.
Councillor Sykes says that once the main threat of the Coronavirus is out of the way, we must start investing in our youth communities once again: “The evidence is plain, though this is not just about a spike in knife crime. This is about investing in future generations by building new youth centres and spending plans centred around young people.”
“With every youth centre that closes, a new one does not miraculously open to replace it. Once Covid-19 has been eradicated, we need to turn the tide and start reinvesting in our youth communities and hire more workers for young people.”
Notes:
Ramadan starts evening of 23 April – expected to end 23 May
HAPPY ST GEORGE’S DAY – Thursday 23 April
Reintroduction of Recycling Collections from W/C 27 April
THIS WEEKS COLLECTIONS (w/c 20 April) WILL CONTINUE TO BE BLACK/GREY BIN ONLY
On Monday 30th March temporary general waste weekly collections were introduced by the Council’s Waste Management with a recognition that as resilience allowed there would be a need to return to separated collections for environmental and financial reasons.
This step was taken following the outbreak of the coronavirus, as a measure to ensure that weekly waste collections would continue and provide resilience over the ensuing period.
However, Waste Management is now able to resume recycling collections.
The plan is that this will be staged over time and subject to regular review.
The first phase will be returning to a three-weekly collection of blue/brown/grey bins with a limited collection of food and garden waste which will be every three weeks instead of weekly.
It is envisaged that the initial phase can be implemented week beginning 27th April 2020.
It is seen as essential that recycling collections are reintroduced as soon as is feasible for several reasons.
These include:
- Residents will return to the normal waste collection system for which they already have collection calendars in place and since its introduction in 2015, has proved successful.
- There are significant environmental benefits from improved recycling as a method of waste disposal.
- Reintroducing recycling services will provide significant cost saving as materials diverted from the general rubbish waste stream reduces levy disposal costs as allocated though the GMCA Inter Authority Agreement.
- Reintroducing recycling collections means full compliance with Section 45A of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 in which the Council must make the arrangements for the collection of at least two types of recyclable waste together, or individually, separated from the rest of the household waste.
It is intended that waste collections will pick up where they left off in terms of calendar weeks and therefore, residents will present whichever bin is stated on their calendar for the next collection.
However, in order to communicate this effectively with residents, a leaflet to all households will be issued detailing the return to regular recycling collections.
Residents will also be able to gain calendar information online via the Council website.
The only difference residents will notice during the implementation of the first stage is that we will be collecting food/garden waste every three weeks, rather than weekly.
Operating in this way will allow residents the ability to recycle all their waste materials and provide a regular food and garden collection throughout the summer months, where some neighbouring authorities have been forced to cancel all green waste collections or make one-off arrangements.
Residents will be advised to place their green bins or food caddies out with their brown bins for the foreseeable future.
On the weeks when the green waste is not due to be collected, residents will be advised to place food waste in the grey bin with the general refuse.
A three-weekly collection of food and garden waste will also provide the Waste Management Service protection and resilience in its ability to maintain the operation over a longer term whilst under the current restraints. This way of working which supports the proposed arrangement will also allow Waste Management to maintain safe working procedures observing social distancing guidance as the crews will continue to work to two, rather than three in a vehicle cabin.