environment – Saddleworth Liberal Democrats

04Apr 2023 by Sam Al-Hamdani

“Failure to grasp the basics”: Oldham Council bosses slammed as fly-tipping rates soar but number of fines drop

Oldham’s Liberal Democrat Opposition Leader councillor Howard Sykes MBE has slammed Labour council bosses over their “abysmal” record on environmental crime. Latest figures show that, while fly-tipping rates across the North West are down, in Oldham there has been an astounding 275% increase in offences. Councillor Sykes said, “We hear a lot of talk about the success of campaigns like “Don’t Trash Oldham” but the reality is Labour haven’t got a grip on environmental crime. These numbers are shocking. And the fact is, Labour have refused to listen to common sense solutions.” Liberal Democrat councillors used the budget meeting in March to set out an alternative action plan on environmental crime. Councillor Sykes said, “Liberal Democrats have proposed practical action and found the cash to crack down on people who…

25Feb 2023 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Oldham Council slammed as number of littering and fly-tipping fines fall

Borough news, environment

New figures revealed by Oldham Liberal Democrats show a drastic fall in the number of Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) that Oldham Council is issuing for littering and fly-tipping offences. Leader of the Opposition and Liberal Democrat representative for Shaw councillor Howard Sykes MBE has slammed Oldham Council for “completely failing on the basics.” A Freedom of Information answer provided to the Liberal Democrats confirms that the council issued only 64 littering fines in 2022, down from 194 in 2020, when covid restrictions were still in place. The Council also confirmed that fewer fly-tipping fines were meted out – 33 in 2022, down from 50 in 2020. Councillor Sykes said, “Here we have another stark example of the Labour administration completely failing on the basics. The Council has issued fewer fines…

07Feb 2023 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Budget proposals set out for fair futures in a safe, clean, and green Oldham Borough

Borough news, environment, fairer council, health and social care, road safety

New funding for ’20 is Plenty’ streets New parks and recreational spaces fund More cash to tackle roads, footways, and public footpath More action on enviro crimes (litter, fly-tipping, dog fouling) New children’s social care residential home Oldham’s Liberal Democrat Opposition Group have set out their alternative budget proposals ahead of a crucial Council vote on 1 March, where councillors will agree to spending plans. Prior to that Council meeting the proposals go to scrutiny on Tuesday 7 February. Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader and Shadow Executive Member for Finance and Low Carbon, councillor Chris Gloster said: “The Liberal Democrats’ priority is to make Oldham Borough a safer, cleaner and greener place to be for all of us, but especially for the next generation. “In the future, Oldham must be able…

29Dec 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani

River blocked, action promised

Borough news, environment

Thornley Brook – the main river flowing through Grotton, Springhead and Lees – has been blocked in recent days by huge amounts of soil near Rhodes Hill, Lees. Action has already been taken, with local Liberal Democrat councillor Mark Kenyon meeting with the Environment Agency on site, who have already contacted the owners with concerns over the works. Mark said: “Thanks to the eagle eyes of a community already concerned about the Knowls Lane development further up the valley, this was reported to me on Boxing Day. I called the Environment Agency straight away and met them on site this morning. “The Environment Agency can see that someone has caused a real problem; there’s the blocked river and then there’s tonnes and tonnes of loose and unstable material ready to…

20Dec 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Knowls Lane loss highlighted by woodlands research

Borough news, environment

Work has now started on the link road between Knowls Lane and Oldham Road, including the destruction of an ancient woodland site which was fiercely contested by residents and local councillors at the planning stage. New research has shown that it is likely that that was the only ancient woodland site in the area. Local archaeologist Jane Barker researched maps of all the local wooded areas of note, but none of them fulfilled the likely criteria for being ancient woodland. Jane said: “This just shows the importance of the ancient woodland at Knowls Lane, and how unjustified this decision was.” “Ancient woodland is so important to our country because it provides a local ecology that has been undisturbed for hundreds of years. It is rare, and often has not been…

12Oct 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Oldham Council slammed after no dog fouling penalties were issued for three years

Borough news, environment

Oldham Council has been accused of “failing to get even the most basic things right” after it emerged that the authority failed to issue a single fixed penalty notice (FPN) for dog-fouling for three years. This shocking fact was supplied as a result of a freedom of information request. Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group, councillor Howard Sykes MBE said, “This is a shocking fact. We’re talking about the basics here. We hear all this talk from the Labour administration about how they’re getting tough on littering, fly-tipping, and dog-fouling yet the facts say something else. “The vast majority of dog owners are responsible, the few that are not spoil it for all. This is one of the number one issues in my mailbox, and I know it is for…

03Oct 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Cemetery should not be final resting place for bins

Borough news, environment

As Oldham’s programme of replacing litter bins across the ward goes ahead, the old bins are currently being housed in a storage area at the Lees Cemetery, much to the concern of many local residents. Local Councilllor Sam Al-Hamdani challenged the parks team over the location after residents raised their concerns that they were visible from graveside in one section of the cemetery. The team have agreed to clear the site as soon as possible. Sam said: “The bins are clearly visible through a gap in the hedges, and that is not what someone wants to see when they are visiting the graves of relatives or friends. “The team have agreed that they will assess the bins as soon as possible, and get any that are not usable scrapped as…

21Sep 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Prosecutions needed after fly-tippers smash up cameras

Borough news, environment

Prosecutions must happen, says Lees Councillor Sam Al-Hamdani, after new CCTV cameras were destroyed just days after being installed at a fly-tipping hotspot in the village. Holts Lane – running across the Leesbrook – has been blighted for years by fly-tippers dumping waste, where the brook runs across the road. Cameras were finally installed just two weeks ago, after a long-running campaign by the local councillors to address the problems, but have been immediately smashed down by the people doing the tipping, and more waste immediately dumped. “It is a stain on a beautiful area. One moment you are walking through a wood, alongside the brook, and the next you come out on to a tatty road covered with rubbish,” said Councillor Al-Hamdani. “People are out to make money by…

04Aug 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Oldham Council urged to act against fly-tipping

Borough news, environment

Oldham’s Liberal Democrat Leader and Shaw representative, councillor Howard Sykes MBE has urged Oldham Council to think outside the box when it comes to tackling fly-tipping. In a letter to council bosses, Sykes has called for the council to apply for grant funding from the government; and highlighted three strategies that have shown good results elsewhere in the country. Councillor Sykes said: “Fly-tipping is a crime which harms our natural world, blights communities and costs council taxpayers thousands to clean up and councils time and staff resources. If there is extra funding available from the government Oldham must be sure to apply for that funding. The councils that deal with Fly-tipping best are the ones who have multiple schemes in place to prevent and prosecute offenders.” The Liberal Democrat Leader’s…

13Jul 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Clean Air Zone: More than £3 million spent on signs, Liberal Democrats reveal

Borough news, environment

Information obtained by Oldham’s Liberal Democrats has revealed that Transport for Greater Manchester have spent more than £3 million on signage for Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham’s Clean Air Zone. Oldham’s Liberal Democrat Leader, councillor Howard Sykes issued Burnham’s Mayoral office with a Freedom of Information request which asked how much money had been spent on CAZ signs to date. The £3.04 million sum was paid to the public works contractor McCann Ltd for the CAZ signs that are spread across Greater Manchester. A further £120,000 was paid to McCann for the ‘under review stickers’ that were used after the original Clean Air Zone was paused. Councillor Sykes said, “It is ridiculous that such a large sum of money has already been spent on signage when we still don’t know…