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Despite the Council’s ‘Don’t Trash Oldham’ call to residents, Liberal Democrats are dismayed to learn that the Labour Administration still chooses not to use its full legal powers to aid the prosecution of the selfish fly-tippers who do.

Liberal Democrat Group Leader Councillor Howard Sykes MBE has written twice to the new Chief Executive Harry Catherall seeking reassurances that Council staff are using the special investigatory powers granted them under RIPA (the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000).  This gives Councils’ powers to conduct covert surveillance to aid in the detection of certain offences and the prosecution of offenders.

“Oldham’s Labour Council chooses not to use these powers against fly-tippers despite the law allowing them to do so,” said Councillor Sykes.  “This seems short-sighted at a time when a further £1.27 million of Council Taxpayers’ money has been committed to a boroughwide community clear up.” 

“Fly-tipping blights our neighbourhoods and is a massive bugbear impacting on the lives of many of our constituents.  We should be using every legal power in our arsenal to bring the irresponsible and selfish people who engage in it to book.  It is time for fly-tippers to face the RIPA.”

Covid update

Oldham has had 602 new cases of Covid identified in the past week, which is lower than last week’s total of 616. This translates to a 7-day rate of 253 per 100,000 population which remains the lowest rate across Greater Manchester and remains lower than the England rate of 344 per 100,000. You can see the full data on Coronavirus, including vaccination figures, on our website.

This week, cases have been highest in Crompton, where the case rate is 471 per 100,000 population. Rates have been lowest in Werneth, with 127 per 100,000. 

To date, 819 Oldham residents have sadly died from Covid, with four new deaths this week compared to two last week.

Booster programme

Anyone who is eligible for a booster can now get their third jab at one of our walk-in clinics across the borough. You can also book via the national booking system from five months although you will still need to wait until six months after your second jab to receive your third dose.

Those eligible include:

• Those living in residential care homes
• All adults aged 50 years or over
• Frontline health and social care workers
• All those aged 16 to 49 years with underlying health conditions that put them at higher risk of severe Covid, and adult carers
• Adult household contacts of immunosuppressed individuals

This third dose will be Pfizer or Moderna, even if people received AZ for their first two doses.

12 to 15-year-olds

Young people aged 12 to 15 can have a vaccination by appointment using the National Booking Line. 

Appointments are available at Royal Oldham Hospital and young people can also receive their vaccine at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, which has greater availability.

Any child who missed their original school appointment or any home-schooled children yet to have their jab can book via the National Booking Service website

Parents who are unsure about whether to consent to their child being vaccinated can find the most accurate information at: Why you should have your child vaccinated 

For Oldham Liberal Democrats, the Conservative Government’s Integrated Rail Review, announced 18 November, represents a “total sell out” of promises to Northern rail passengers as plans to improve the rail line between Manchester and Leeds and introduce a high-speed link from Leeds to Birmingham are scrapped.

So says Oldham Liberal Democrat Group Leader Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, who also serves on the Transport for Greater Manchester committee. 

“The Prime Minister’s promise to make some of our key Northern rail routes fit for the twenty first century has, as have many of his other promises, come to nothing,” said Councillor Sykes.  “How can we ever make rail attractive as a travel option when rail passengers continue to travel on a Victorian infrastructure that cannot accommodate high-speed trains, whilst paying sky-high rail fares?” 

The Review contained the announcement that investment in a new Manchester to Leeds rail line, dubbed ‘HS3’, will be reduced and the Eastern leg of ‘HS2’ from Leeds to Birmingham abandoned.

Councillor Sykes concluded:  “The so-called Northern Rail Powerhouse has been sent into the buffers by bungling Controller, Boris Johnson.  This announcement represents confirmation that, as usual, passengers in the North continue to be short-changed when it comes to rail travel compared to those in the capital and the south.”

I have been informed by the council that despite their best efforts they will not complete all the food and garden collections in Shaw and Crompton today.

They will have a number of small pockets outstanding on the country round (the smaller vehicles used for hard access areas and more rural).

Residents are advised that their missed bins will be collected first thing on Saturday morning so you should leave their bins out for collection. They apologise in advance for any inconvenience.

Do not fall victim to loan sharks this Christmas?

The England Illegal Money Lending Team (IMLT) have launched their annual Christmas campaign –  #AllIWantForChristmas – which aims to raise awareness of the dangers of using loan sharks and promote the support available to victims and their families.

The advice is:

• If you need to borrow money, check the lender is reputable and find out what interest and fees they charge. You can find out whether a money lender is authorised by checking the register on the FCA website at www.fca.org.uk
• Be wary of people you don’t know sending you messages through your social media accounts.
• Never send money or give credit card, online account details or copies of personal documents to anyone you don’t know or trust
• Be careful about how much personal information you share on social network sites. Loan sharks have been known to use online platforms to find, threaten and control people in debt.

Anyone with concerns about illegal money lending can contact the Stop Loan Sharks 24/7 Helpline in confidence on 0300 555 2222.

You can also find additional information and support online at www.stoploansharks.co.uk. 

For more details download the file below:

Good new for bus users.

Additional bus stops have now been up and running for a few months on Milnrow Road – the section Buckstones Road – Jubilee. This is in direct response to the campaign to get a better service on this route, which still continues.

Please note Ring and Ride service is available for passengers who find it a challenge to reach any bus stop. Ring and Ride provides accessible, low-cost transport for residents who are unable to access the mainstream transport network.

For those that qualify, an accessible minibus will take a passenger and an accompanying adult, door to door for journeys of up to 6 miles in Greater Manchester. More details can be found by visiting the link below or by calling 0161 244 6011. https://tfgm.com/public-transport/ring-and-ride-minibuses

To contact Transport for Greater Manchester by email at: customer.releations@tfgm.com or phone Customer Relations on: 0161 244 1000.

Oldham’s Liberal Democrats are concerned that Labour’s decision to go it alone on the redevelopment of Spindles may lead to cost overruns, delays in delivery and money written off – if the Administration’s past record is anything to go by.

Liberal Democrat Group Leader, councillor Howard Sykes MBE, has written to the Director of Economy, Emma Barton outlining his fears.

“The Spindles – Town Square redevelopment is a hugely costly project.  Not for nothing did we brand the project ‘Spendles’ for we discovered that the true cost of acquiring the shopping precinct was £10.6 million and Labour have allocated up to £65 million more to transform it,” said councillor Sykes.

“The fact that the project did not attract a private sector delivery partner is a worry.  My fears are that this project might be delivered at a vastly inflated cost like the Old Town Hall, be delivered years behind schedule like the supposed ‘gamechanger’ Princes Gate, or lead to large sums being written off as with Hotel Futures and abandoned past plans for a new Coliseum and museum.”

In his letter, councillor Sykes is seeking reassurance that everything will be put in place to ensure that the project is ‘robustly managed’.  He added: “We as Liberal Democrat Councillors want to be sure for our financially hard-pressed Council Taxpayers that this project will be delivered within or, better yet, below the allocated budget and delivered on time.”