19Nov 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani

New bins are rubbish for disabled users

Borough news, fairer council, health and social care
The Council has left the town centre filled with new bins which cannot be used by wheelchair-bound residents, after it failed to carry out any Equality Impact Assessment for their purchase. After Crompton Councillor Louie Hamblett met with the head of the council’s environmental services team to demonstrate the issues, two of the old bins have been reinstated, but Councillor Hamblett has written to Council Leader Amanda Chadderton to ask why no assessment was carried out, and to ask what the Council plans to do about the rest of the bins. Lewis and Shona Farnworth with Councillor Lewis Hamblett at one of the bins At the site meeting, Councillor Hamblett asked local resident Shona Farnworth – who has multiple disabilities – to demonstrate the impossibility of using the bin from…
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31Oct 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Frustration as Conservatives block disabled access for Greenfield Station

Frustration as Conservatives block disabled access for Greenfield Station

Borough news, health and social care
An amendment to the forthcoming Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill which would have delivered disabled access for Greenfield Station, and others like it, has been voted down in the House of Commons, with not a single Conservative MP supporting it. The only train station in the whole of Oldham Borough, the station has no step-free access to the Huddersfield-bound platform, making it inaccessible for anyone in a wheelchair, with a pram or with mobility issues. Local Councillor Sam Al-Hamdani said: “It’s all very well making the right noises, but when it comes to putting their money where their mouth is, the Conservatives don’t deliver. “The Government keep passing the buck – whether it’s saying it will be part of the line upgrade, or Access for All, or whatever policy this…
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12May 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Making democracy more accessible

Making democracy more accessible

Borough news, fairer council
Oldham Council chief executive Harry Catherall has agreed to a review of the arrangements for the counting of the election vote next year to ensure that all is being done to ensure it is accessible for people with varying disabilities. After local Liberal Democrat Councillor Sam Al-Hamdani wrote to him following this year’s count, highlighting some of the positive aspects, but also some of the weaknesses, he agreed to discuss what could be done next year to make it better. Sam said: “We want as many people as possible to be involved in politics, whether that is increasing the numbers of people voting, or making it easier for people to stand to be elected. “Making the process more accessible is just one of those steps.” Unlike many other counts, results…
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08Sep 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani

We demand to be treated with decency!

Borough news
Mrs Shona Farnworth asks Pennine Acute Hospital Trust to treat her with the respect and decency she deserves. What should be a usual visit to the gynaecology department for a cervical screening test has proved to be a lengthy and degrading ordeal for Mrs Farnworth. As a wheelchair user with a complex disability, Mrs Farnworth requires use of a hoist for the procedure at Oldham Royal Hospital. However, at multiple appointments, she was met with a hostile environment. Mrs Farnworth said: “My disability gives me plenty of challenges, which I manage to overcome in my own way. However, I am quite shocked by my experience with hospital appointments these past few months. I did not expect to get turned away from a smear appointment because of the lack of disability…
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05Jul 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
New disabled parking spots for residents

New disabled parking spots for residents

Borough news
The wait is finally over for 30 fortunate families who will be getting disabled parking spots in the next twelve months, some of whom have been waiting for years. Officers confirmed the decision this week, after years wrangling over funding, and lengthy delays while new qualifying criteria were eventually produced. Mark Kenyon, Liberal Democrat Councillor for Grotton, Springhead & Lees, took up the cause after being contacted by a frustrated resident over a year ago and has led a campaign to provide disabled parking bays. Councillor Kenyon said: “Despite welcoming the decision by this council to provide these 30 spaces, I’m also incensed that there’s at least another 30 families who have missed out. A disabled parking spot is not a perk to be won in a council lottery, it’s…
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01Jul 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Liberal Democrats seek action on nuisance pavement parking

Liberal Democrats seek action on nuisance pavement parking

Borough news
The Oldham Liberal Democrats are proposing the Council gets ready to tackle nuisance pavement parking by preparing now for future legislation. A motion has been tabled by Lib Dem councillors Dave Murphy and Chris Gloster for consideration at the next full meeting of Oldham Council (14 July 2021). The Department of Transport carried out a consultation about pavement parking that ended in November last year. It is expected that the government will soon give local councils new powers to tackle problem parking, and the Liberal Democrats want to be ready. Councillor Dave Murphy explained: “The government consulted about a range of ‘options for change’ in the way that pavement parking is regulated. We made clear in our response that we opposed a blanket ban on all pavement parking as this…
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19Mar 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Lib Dem councillors push for step free access to Greenfield Station

Lib Dem councillors push for step free access to Greenfield Station

Borough news
Saddleworth’s Liberal Democrat Councillors are pushing again for step free access at Greenfield Station, signing the Step Free Access campaign’s petition to support accessible stations across the entire rail network. Local Liberal Democrat councillor Kevin Dawson said: “Greenfield Station is the only railway station in the whole of Oldham borough. It is a disgrace that it has remained inaccessible for all this time.” Councillor Garth Harkness who has been working for several years to reopen Diggle Station to provide Saddleworth with a second station, added: “With no other alternatives, it is an absolutely necessity that Greenfield Station gets step free access. This has been in limbo for too long – we have asked for a station elsewhere, but been rebuffed; we have been promised step-free access when the line is…
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08Sep 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Not every disability is visible

Borough news
The Oldham Liberal Democrats are backing a national campaign to raise public awareness that not everyone who uses an accessible public toilet has a visible disability.  The campaign by the charity Crohn’s and Colitis UK encourages venues with such toilets to install special signage with the logo ‘Not every disability is visible’. Crompton Councillor Louie Hamblett, who is the Shadow Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care, is raising this issue in a motion to the next meeting of the full Council (September 9). He said:  “This motion is timely.  The requirement to wear face coverings in shops and on public transport has started to raise public awareness that people can be exempted from their use because of a hidden disability.  Accessible toilets, often opened using a RADAR key, are…
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10Jun 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Liberal Democrat Councillors in fresh plea for Accessible Shopping Districts

Parliamentary news
Liberal Democrat Councillors Diane Williamson and Hazel Gloster want to make our community centres more accessible.  They are aiming to set aside funding and offer improved access for those with mobility issues.  Councillor Williamson and Councillor Gloster are bringing forward a proposal to do just this to the 17 June Oldham Council meeting. The motion requests Oldham Council to partner with: Age UK, Alzheimer’s Society, Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), Action on Hearing Loss and other charities to carry out assessment of buildings and shopping areas.  Then, with the funding set aside the improvements will be made. Councillor Williamson (right) says: “Covid-19 has pushed elderly and ‘at-risk’ people from our high streets.  This motion aids those made vulnerable by Covid-19 to make an easier return to accessing what our…
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