The Chair introduced himself and officers present, and welcomed all to the meeting.  He referred to the code of conduct and asked all to abide by the code for the duration of the meeting.

The minutes of the previous meeting held on Tuesday 11 December 2018 were approved as a correct record.

MATTERS ARISING

Paperless
Members of the forum were informed again that, in line with the Council’s move towards paperless meetings, paper copies of agendas and minutes would no longer be provided at area forums from April 2019.  All were encouraged to print copies when they receive them via email.

Pippin Hill
Councillor Winkler assumes the responsibility for the grass cutting sits with Peel Holdings, although this situation has not been confirmed.

Woodhouse Lane
Lineage has been added to this year’s Highways programme as a priority to alleviate concerns.

PC Giblin, alongside PCSOs Haider and Tynan, advised the forum on the following crime statistics during the past three months.

Residential burglaries
19 in total.  Most burglaries were patio door breaks in the daytime in areas around Clay Lane, Greenvale and Newhouse Crescent.

Business burglaries
6 in total including licensed premises, a farm and the Co-op.

Theft from motor vehicle
16 in total including 12 in December – most of which involved those parked on St Vincent’s Church Car Park.

Taking of motor vehicle
6 in total.

Interfering with vehicle
6 in total.

Robbery
1 in total.

UPDATES

A juvenile arrested in January for burglaries is now serving a 9 month sentence.  The recent burglary occurring in the Newhouse Crescent area involved car insecurity and keys taken.  An arrest has been made in this instance.  Burglaries are a key priority and a ‘Volume Crime Team’ has been reintroduced in Rochdale with high visibility patrols.  GMP is encouraging small village communities to form WhatsApp groups and information can then be fed by GMP to the group’s administrators to circulate.  Police again stressed to residents to ensure vehicles and properties are adequately secured and to make subtle changes from time to time to their routine comings and goings for crime prevention.

There is a new Neighbourhood Inspector; Andrew Fern, who has moved over from the response team.  A number plate initiative took place on 23 February 2019 at Norden Primary School, and it will be organised again in the future.  GMP took part in the National Police Chiefs National Speed Campaign that involved putting extra resources in the area, but there are insufficient resources to do a full scale traffic operation in Norden at the moment due to demand in other areas.  Norden is on the list.  Concerns regarding speeding and parked vehicles in the Birtle end of Bury and Rochdale Old Road will be noted by GMP for the next speed enforcement van pattern.

Neighbourhood Speed Watch
PC Giblin advised that he now has the equipment needed for the Neighbourhood Speed Watch initiative which has been carried out in Bamford already and, subject to volunteers, will be scheduled in the Norden ward.  The initiative isn’t enforceable, but does act as a deterrent to speeding motorists.

Pubwatch
GMP has introduced Pubwatch and a recent meeting was arranged for interested parties from local pubs, bars and restaurants to attend.  A WhatsApp group has also been formed so that information can be quickly shared between members.

Op Dragster
GMP updated the forum about their recent operation when 4 vans were used to carry bikes that had been confiscated.  Although GMP can sometimes be criticised for the operation, there is also mass appreciation for the efforts of the Bike Team in getting untaxed vehicles seized and taken off the roads.  There are also plans in the future to use drones for the facial recognition of prohibited bikers.

Councillor Winkler gave the following updates on behalf of all three Norden Ward Councillors:

·           Councillors expressed thanks to Martin Giblin and GMP for all their efforts in the village.

·           A letter has been sent to Peel Holdings to request a contribution of monies towards Op Dragster.

·           Councillors plan to fund an additional CCTV camera in Norden Village (with possible monetary assistance from the Co-op) and plans were discussed with the forum regarding which type of camera should be purchased; Option 1: another unit, similar to the one on the opposite side of the road, unmonitored and only viewing a partial view of the area costing approx. £1500 or Option 2: 360 degree view unit, which would be monitored and features pan and tilt costing approx. £4-4,500.  Forum attendees voted as follows; 0 in favour of the unmonitored camera and 10 in favour of the 360 degree, monitored camera.

·           Neighbourhood Speed Watch – any relevant data on completion of this initiative will be fed back into the village traffic plan in accordance with Highways’ procedure in order for them to schedule their ‘beat survey’ in the future.  It is intended that officers and Councillors will also endeavour to cover the entire village to assess the purpose and frequency of cars parked in streets to look at the need for future lineage/TROs, including around the bus terminus.

·           Bridge Inn area – the final phase of the yellow lineage will be painted soon.

·           Birtle/Elbut Lane area – Councillors have met with residents to discuss the traffic and parking in the interest of extending the lines on Bury & Rochdale Road and Weythorne Drive to deter staff from the local hospital parking in this area.

·           Elmsfield Avenue/Edenfield Road junction – commissioning document in now for lineage.

·           Bamford Greenbelt – A packed meeting was held recently regarding the plans for future development on Greenbelt land.  Consultation is open until 18 March 2019 and residents can have their say on the document.  Also a Facebook page has been created where residents can sign a petition.

·           Greenbooth Road development – No update regarding any planning applications being submitted, and the recent felling of trees involved no TROs, so no breach.

·           Scout Moor Turbines – Councillor Winkler advised he has written to the Council’s Planning Department to gain clarification on the decommissioning of the turbines as no bonds were taken for their removal costs at the time they were built.  Concerns are growing due to an application to ‘recover’ similar turbines in the Lake District area.

·           Residents queried the planning application determination process, as applications can sit in the system if missing documents before being validated.

Action 1: Councillor Winkler to enquire with the Council’s Planning Department for clarification.

Traffic Regulation Order – Edenfield Road/Blackpits/Terminus
A member of the public raised concerns that he and other residents feel the TRO is excessive, especially concerning the double yellow lines on the Edenfield Road bend.  He informed the forum that they intend to take a petition to the Council’s Highways Department to state that the plan used by the Highways Department is incorrect and to request a 25m removal of the yellow lines around the bend of the road.  The Chair requested Councillors highlight the matter with the Highways Department and he asked for a show of support from the forum attendees to request a review of the TRO, of which 9 residents showed their support.

Edenfield Road surface
The Chair praised the Council’s Highways Department for contacting the neighbouring Lancashire Council with concerns he raised regarding the surface of Edenfield Road past the boundary which needed attention.

Rooley Moor Neighbourhood Forum
The Chair of Rooley Moor Neighbourhood Forum gave an update on this neighbouring area, stating that their HLF project had now finished and members were in support of doing further projects.  Two viewfinders, used for heritage trails on the tops of Rooley Moor Road, have now been replaced.  The Co-op Trust is in talks about doing an 8 mile walking route and Pennine Prospects are in talks about organising a ‘Walk & Ride’ event.  The forum were also updated on the fact that the Rooley Moor Road Neighbourhood Plan is still in its consultation process with Rochdale Borough Council until 22 March 2019 and if fit, will be adopted and assigned to the Core Strategy Plan; the documents are on display in Spotland Library, Rochdale Central Library and also on the Rooley Moor Neighbourhood Forum’s website.

Norden Ward Fund
A resident raised a query regarding the Norden Ward Fund and requested regular updates on projects and expenditure.  The resident also queried the attendance at the funding group meetings and whether it was open to anyone.  The forum was informed that the matter can be freely discussed at any time and indeed at every forum as an agenda item, with suggestions on projects and spending open for discussion and agreement.  The group is also open to residents to make recommendations.

Great British Spring Clean
The event will take place on 23 March 2019.

Tuesday 21 May 2019 at 7.00pm
Norden Methodist Church, Edenfield Road, Norden