Saddleworth North Liberal Democrat Councillor Garth Harkness is proposing a motion to the next full meeting of Oldham Council (Wednesday 20 March) asking for further measures to be adopted to tackle speeding across the borough, including in his own ward.

Councillor Harkness first asked for action in a letter sent last September to the Deputy Leader of the Council, Councillor Arooj Shah. Unfortunately six months on, nothing seems to have changed.

Councillor Harkness said: “Speeding is one of those issues that every ward councillor receives complaints about on a regular basis, yet action on this issue by this Labour Administration seems so slow. In contrast, the Liberal Democrats seek action on road safety issues.”

“We have previously proposed 30mph zones on residential streets but, after a long look by the Overview and Scrutiny Board, nothing happened, and more recently we proposed Lorry Watch schemes to tackle irresponsible truck drivers using the wrong Sat Navs and blocking our villages.”

“I now hope that Council will adopt this motion and look to introduce more community led anti-speeding schemes backed by roadside cameras to catch offenders.”

The motion reads:

Council notes that speeding continues to be a factor in road collisions and that a pedestrian is four times more likely to die if they are hit by a vehicle travelling at forty miles per hours than they are at 30mph.

It is therefore imperative that Council working with the Police and residents seek to reduce excessive vehicular speeds in this borough, especially outside schools, on minor residential roads and in rural areas.

Council believes that we should work with our residents’ groups to deter and catch offenders and that we should employ mobile technology in order to do so.

Council therefore resolves to ask the Overview and Scrutiny Board to:

• Identify, with the assistance of District Executives, local police and the Council’s highways officers, locations not currently equipped with a speed camera which might benefit from one for consideration by the Drive Safe Greater Manchester Casualty Reduction Partnership.
• Explore the availability of funding to purchase and deploy mobile speed cameras to catch offenders, change driver behaviour and improve road safety.
• Investigate how the Council and the police can work with community and residents’ groups to establish Community Speed Watch schemes and Community Concern speed enforcement sites in the Borough
• Explore the merits of establishing ‘bus gates’ at suitable sites outside schools and look at establishing a pilot project. (‘Bus gates’ limit vehicular through traffic outside schools to cycles and local buses at the start and end of the school day, with a fixed penalty for transgressors.)

Proposed by:                                                              Seconded by:

Councillor Garth Harkness                                          Councillor Hazel Gloster

The Liberal Democrat Group on Oldham Council is proposing a motion to the next Council (Wednesday 20 March) calling for more action on dog fouling and microchipping by adopting good practice from other local authorities, by making use of new technologies, and by working with the Dogs Trust charity.

The motion is being proposed by Shaw Liberal Democrat Councillor Chris Gloster, who recently showed his support for the Dogs Trust campaign ‘A Tail of True Love’ which calls on all dog owners to take responsibility and show ‘true love’ to their pets by cleaning up after them.

Councillor Gloster said: “Dog fouling remains one of my constituents’ biggest bugbears. As a ward councillor, I receive many complaints as do my Liberal Democrat colleagues in Shaw and Crompton. Not only is dog mess a disgusting eyesore, but it also represents a health hazard. Children can be blinded by contact with it. Fortunately, most dog owners are responsible and do clean up after their pets, but a small minority unfortunately do not.”

Councillor Gloster’s motion is seconded by Liberal Democrat Crompton Councillor Dave Murphy, who proposed a similar motion to Council in 2014. He said: “Following our last motion, the Council introduced a boroughwide Public Space Protection Order, which covers dog fouling, but unfortunately chose not to adopt any new technology to help detect and apprehend offenders. We hope now that the technology is proven that it will now be possible to take a fresh look at tackling this problem.”

The motion calls for awareness raising and education to be undertaken to change the behaviour of errant owners and to encourage them to micro-chip their pets so they can quickly be reunited if their pets become lost. However ultimately the Liberal Democrats also recognise that there is the need for a robust enforcement regime.

Councillor Gloster added: “Unfortunately there is sometimes the need for a stick when the carrot is insufficient. We would like to see technology introduced so members of the public can report offenders using their smart phones in real time and we want to see the Council imposing the highest on-the-spot fine of £100 on offenders that is permissible under a Public Space Protection Order.”

The motion appears below:

This Council notes that:

• Though most dog owners are law-abiding, a small number of irresponsible owners still fail to clean up after their dogs or control them in public places
• The law requires owners to clean up after their dogs in public places, to keep control of their pets, and to ensure their animal is micro-chipped and displays a dog collar with the name and address of the owner
• Under powers granted to the Council under the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, this Council introduced a borough-wide Public Space Protection Order to replace five existing Dog Control Orders

In October 2014, following the adoption of a motion by Council, the Overview and Scrutiny Board looked at additional measures to combat dog fouling and nuisance; however, none were adopted.

Council recognises that, with the passage of time, new innovative practices and the greater use of technology have in other local authorities had a proven impact in addressing these issues.

This Council wishing to more effectively prevent dog fouling and nuisance in this borough resolves to:

• Apply the maximum on-the-spot fixed penalty applicable under the law (currently £100) where offences occur within areas covered by the Public Space Protection Order

• Ask the Overview and Scrutiny Board to:

• Re-examine current examples of best practice, and the powers granted to it in recent legislation, to determine which can, and should, be adopted in this borough;

• Confer with The Dogs Trust to establish the ways in which the Council might work in partnership with them to address dog fouling, promote micro-chipping, or otherwise improve animal welfare;

And then bring a report back on this matter to Council at the earliest opportunity.

Proposed by:                                                                Seconded by:

Councillor Chris Gloster                                     Councillor Dave Murphy