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

The minutes of the previous meeting held on 10 December 2019 were approved as a correct record.

MATTERS ARISING AND UPDATES

Shawfield Lane Speed Signage
Residents previously requested action concerning speeding on Shawfield Lane stating that 20mph speed restriction signage needs improving.
Update - Townships raised the matter with Highways who assessed the area and noted the present provision of 20mph to be sufficient, stating also that the entrance off Edenfield Road should have only one sign in situ and that there are numerous and clear 20mph signage outside the school and more up Alpine Drive.

CCTV
CCTV is now active in the village with a temporary affixture of a mobile CCTV camera installed in the short-term before a permanent measure replacing it will be put in once the contract for monitoring has been agreed accordingly.

Rochdale in Bloom
The Rochdale in Bloom team are working towards the nationals and they have a few projects coming up.  Work has also commenced at the Greenmount site – an update will be provided at the next forum.

Parliamentary Election 2019
Congratulations to MP Chris Clarkson who was appointed in the parliamentary elections last December.  His surgeries in Norden will be held at The Old Library, Norden and residents are specifically asked to ring the parliamentary office to book an appointment beforehand on 01706 538262 or email chris.clarkson.mp@parliament.uk

Upcoming surgery dates are
28 March 2020 – 10.30am – 11am
25 April 2020 – 10.30am – 11am
23 May 2020 – 10.30am – 11am

Former Turner Brothers Asbestos Site
M. Coats attended and advised the forum that there are still concerns regarding the River Spodden’s bank/wall sections that are breaking away, potentially leaving vast areas of asbestos open to enter the water course.  This situation has been the case for a number of weeks and there is no apparent progress on the issue.  The matter is one of concern for Norden ward because a number of asbestos victims live in the ward and air quality is monitored within the ward.  A prosecution was made in January 2020 of a security guard present on site when illegal waste was dumped and the rubbish is still present on site.

Bamford Hall – Planning application
S. Cresswell attended again to give an update on the planning application by a developer to gain planning permission to build a property on green belt land in the grounds of Bamford Hall (Norden ward).  The application keeps getting deferred and is still yet to be heard at committee.  Twelve forum attendees expressed their continuing opposition to any proposal for this site (by a show of hands) - there were no members in support of proposals.

TRO Proposals at Bury and Rochdale Old Road
Further to the Council’s proposals to introduce a Traffic Regulation Order at Bury and Rochdale Old Road, a report will be considered at Rochdale North Township Delegated Sub Committee on Tuesday 10 March 2020 at 6.00pm and also Heywood Township Committee on the same day at 6.15pm.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.

Crime statistics
GMP advised on the following crime statistics since the last forum (10 December 2019).

Residential burglaries
9 reported.  Occurred primarily through the night using different methods of entry.

Commercial burglaries
2 reported involving the church and a nursery.

Theft from motor vehicle
5 reported.  These occurred over night and around the Fisherfield/Martinfield/Edenfield Road areas.  Residents reminded to leave vehicles empty and locked.

Theft of motor vehicle
5 reported.

Criminal damage
2 reported cases.

UPDATES

Pub Watch
A meeting was held in January 2020 with the licensees of Norden and Bamford, licensing officers from Rochdale Borough Council and also GMP.  Meetings are held quarterly throughout the year in alternate public houses to share local information.  The next meeting is on 24 April 2020.

Speeding
PC Giblin advised the forum that he and PC Jones (Spotland ward) intend to attempt to secure funding by GMP in order to purchase an endorsable speed gun (and associated training for officers) to be used for speed operations around the area.  This speed gun would differ to the community speed watch gun used regularly as a deterrent by GMP officers and residents which is non-endorsable.  Forum members agreed to support this proposal with funding, if it is feasible.

Operation Dragster
The Chair advised he had written to the newly appointed MP Chris Clarkson to ask for a co-ordinated assistance/response with this operation with the neighbouring local authority in Rossendale, as the area of off-road biking covers land outside of our jurisdiction.  A response from the MP indicated he is contacting MP Jake Berry (Rossendale) with a view to assisting co-ordinated action and Lancashire Police have been in contact with local officers in order to work together in an operation to tackle this issue.

GMP Surgeries
The surgeries are held at The Old Library, Norden and upcoming dates are
25 March 2020 at 12pm - 1pm
22 April 2020 at 11.30am – 12.30pm

The Chair advised the forum of the full list of expenditure for the Norden ward in 2019/2020 using Township funds (including that of Ward and Member Funds) as follows:

The Chair expressed his thanks to members of the Township Team and the Ward Fund Sub Group for their hard work in bringing forward so many projects for funding which will benefit our local community.

Councillor Gartside
Councillor Gartside advised the forum he and the other Ward Councillors are very happy with the CCTV installed in the village.  He also advised that the MP Chris Clarkson will attend the Norden Carnival in June this year.  Councillor Gartside also informed the forum that he and the other Ward Councillors had been dealing with a huge amount of correspondence regarding the issues at the newly built Greenbooth Village development.  He stated that Assistant Director, M. Robinson from Rochdale Borough Council, had been assisting with recent discussions with United Utilities and the developers, Russell Homes, regarding the drainage issues and also matters concerning the public open space.  The Chair of the forum gave thanks to the Ward Councillors for their assistance in the matter.

Councillors’ ward surgeries will be held on the following dates:
Thursday 12 March 2020 at 7pm in St Vincent’s
Saturday 14 March 2020 at 10am in St Paul’s Parish Hall, Norden and then at 11am at Jericho Church, Birtle.

Councillor Winkler
No update.

Councillor Holly
No update.

Greenbooth Village developer/drainage issues
Residents attended again to discuss their drainage issues with the forum, Ward Councillors and the Council regarding their recently purchased homes in the Greenbooth Village Estate, situated on the former Rainshore Mill site off Overtown Lane, off Edenfield Road.  A meeting was held on site on 10 January 2020 between residents, Councillors and M. Robinson, Assistant Director at Rochdale Borough Council, where it was agreed to approach United Utilities regarding the plans for surface drainage on site.  This situation was due to the fact that after further inspection of drainage plans it was noted by a resident that a significant number of ACO drains outside properties were missing from the roads.  These link to the mains drain system to carry surface water run off away; which may be a contributory factor in why the flooding was occurring and apparent in gardens, garages and properties.  An estimate has stated it would cost around £1,000 per house to carry out works to install additional drains to the sides of properties to alleviate drainage issues.  The Council has also put in place an investigative officer - a drainage and flooding engineer - who has compiled a report to submit to the developer Russell Homes.  As it stands residents’ gardens are still unusable as is the public open space on the estate.  Over Town Lane – the access road to the site off Edenfield Road - is also dangerous to use according to residents and isn’t adopted by the Council.  Residents at the forum expressed their concern and anger at the whole situation and stated that they felt the Council should assist residents in their efforts to get the developers to put right their failings.  The Chair expressed thanks to Mark Robinson for his assistance in these issues and his efforts to reach a resolution.

Woodhouse Lane road surface
Residents commented that the patching work carried out on the lane needs attention and stated that resurfacing of the lane would be a better approach.
Action 1: Townships to raise the matter with the Highways Department.

Disabled Blue Badge Use – Concerns
An enquiry was raised regarding whether disabled badge holders were permitted to park on all double yellow lines and whether it was legal to park on the corner of roads.
Action 2: Townships to raise the matter with the Highways Department.

Rochdale Harriers - Norden 3 Day Event 2020
A printed hand out was provided to residents regarding the arrangements for these upcoming races and the Chair expressed his thanks to the team behind this event for the timely provision of information which sets a good example for groups across our ward.

Norden 6 Mile Road Race
7.30pm on Friday 12 June 2020 at The Bridge Inn, Edenfield Road.
Naden Valley Multi-Terrain Race
11am on Saturday 13 June 2020 at The Bridge Inn, Edenfield Road.
Knowl Hill Fell Race
11am on Sunday 14 June 2020 at The Bridge Inn, Edenfield Road.

Tuesday 26 May 2020 at 7.00pm
Norden Methodist Church, Edenfield Road, Norden