To receive any apologies for absence.

An apology for absence was received from Councillor Faisal Rana.

Members are required to declare any disclosable pecuniary, personal or personal and prejudicial interests they may have and the nature of those interests relating to items on this agenda and/or indicate if S106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 applies to them.

There were no declarations of interest.

To determine whether there are any additional items of business which, by reason of special circumstances, the Chair decides should be considered at the meeting as a matter of urgency.

There were no urgent items of business received.

To determine any items on the agenda, if any, where the public are to be excluded from the meeting.

There were no items for exclusion of press and public.

Members are requested to approve the Minutes of the Rochdale North Township Committee meeting held on Wednesday 6 September 2023.

Resolved:
That the Minutes of the meeting of Rochdale North Township Committee held on 6 September 2023 be approved as a correct record.

Half an hour has been set aside for members of the public to raise any issues relevant to the business of the Committee and the Township.

No members of the public were in attendance and therefore no items were raised in the open forum. In the absence of members of the public, the Chair allocated time for questions to be submitted to representatives of Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH) that were present.

The Director of Corporate Services and the Director of Property Services, RBH, informed the Township Committee that the attendance of RBH representatives would be more prevalent at future township meetings. It would be a priority to build better relationships between RBH, Members and Council Officers.

Members highlighted the need for houses to be developed in the borough due to increased demand, and discussed whether the banding system for social housing could be reviewed to help residents gain access to more local properties. It was noted by RBH representatives that officers were proactive in visiting residents to evaluate the condition of properties, but that any rights of access, similar to landlord’s right to access, that the government could provide in the future would be beneficial.

Resolved:
That contact details of the relevant RBH representatives be circulated to Members of the Rochdale North Township Committee.

To consider a report of the Operations Manager Highways Maintenance (report to follow).

Consideration was given to a report of the Director of Neighbourhoods which sought approval of the proposed Highways work programmes for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 financial years. This included a two year local transport plan (LTP) funded carriageway and footway capital programme, and a two year bridges and structures LTP funded capital maintenance programme.

The programmes had been developed with the aim to achieve the highest level of improvement available within the allocated budget for the township. The local LTP allocation for Highways from the Department for Transport was £2million per year. Rochdale North Township would be allocated 19% of the budget in accordance with population size.

It was noted by Members that a number of the roads as detailed in the LTP programme had been named in the incorrect township and therefore required amendments by Highways officers. It was also highlighted that listing the LTP programme in wards, as well as in township, would be advantageous.

Alternatives considered:
There were no alternatives to consider. The programmes had been developed in accordance with the Department for Transport guidance and in line with other Greater Manchester Authorities.

Resolved:

1. That the local transport plan funded carriageway and footway capital programme be noted and approved for 2024/25 and 2025/26, subject to the Wards/Township being reviewed and corrected as necessary by the Operations Manager Highway Maintenance;
2. That the bridges and structures local transport plan funded capital maintenance programme be noted and approved for 2024/25 and 2025/26, subject to the Wards/Township being reviewed and corrected as necessary by the Operations Manager Highway Maintenance.

Reasons for the decision:
The schemes had been produced based on the principles of asset management which use network condition data, engineer inspections, life cycle planning and cost efficiency to produce the most efficient highway improvements over the course of the programmes.