All were welcomed to the meeting and indroductions made. Members were reminded to adhere to the code of conduct for the duration of the meeting.

Two residents had sent their apologies

Cecile Biant was elected Chair of the Forum

Mohammed Rashid was elected Vice Chair of the Forum

Jim Sherlock and Carl Faulkner were added to forum’s sub-group.

Sub-Group members for 2023/24 are:

Cecile Biant

Mohammed Rashid

Councillor Iram Faisal

Councillor Faisal Rana

Councillor Amber Nisa

Mick Coats

Carl Faulkner

Steve Ashworth

Roger Heap

Peter Knowles

Jim Sherlock

The revised Constitution of the Area Forum was agreed subject to the following amendment.

Remove – A quorum of five residents (not including Ward Councillors) is required for the meeting to go ahead.

Add – A minimum of five residents (not including Ward Councillors) is required for the meeting to go ahead. However the Chair will have the discretion to allow the meeting to go ahead should the minimum number not be in attendance. In circumstances where fewer than five are in attendance and the meeting goes ahead voting on any issue will not take place.

The revised Code of Conduct was agreed.

PC Giblin attended the meeting for this item.

The forum was informed of the following crime incidents over the last three months:

Vehicle crime: 22 crimes recorded; 8 of which were recorded in Meanwood, 6 in Spotland

Burglaries: 10 crimes recorded; 5 being in Spotland, 2 in Cutgate

Criminal damage / arson offences: 41 crimes recorded; 12 being in Meanwood, 11in Spotland

Shoplifting: 4 crimes recorded. Two offenders have been identified with enquiries on going.

Anti-Social Behaviour hot spot areas: 19 crimes recorded, Greave having 6, Brotherod area 4.

Falinge Park has also recorded a number of incidents although many of these incidents were not ASB related. Since March there have been 15 recorded incidents two of which were off road bike related. The other incidents range from assaults, school related, criminal damage and a male found with cannabis.

Other incidents referred to include;

A drugs warrant was executed in the Lower Falinge Area which resulted in three males being arrested for breach of court order, burglary and abstraction of electricity. This exercise was carried out as part of Operation Avro.

Following on from the above a closure order was successfully applied for and the tenant evicted. Historically the tenant had been responsible for anti-social behaviour, drug activity and criminal behaviour which had significantly impacted upon neighbours in the vicinity.

Officers have now received ‘drugs wipe’ training which enables officers to test for roadside drug driving.

A drugs warrant was executed on Rooley Moor Road which resulted in 475 cannabis plants being seized. An Albanian male has been arrested, charged and remanded for the production of cannabis and the possession of criminal proceeds.

A male has been arrested for the possession of over 200 packets of cannabis ‘edible sweats’. Enquiries are ongoing.

One off road electric bike was seized on Howard Street having been seen in the Spotland area beforehand.

GMP and Rochdale Boroughwide Housing carried out a joint tenancy visit to a property in the Spotland Tops area following reports of a quad and off road bike being ridden in the area. A Section 59 warning was issued.

Operation Dragster was carried out in March which resulted in one Section 59 notice being given out. Further operations are scheduled for June, July and August in conjunction with Lancashire Police and United Utilities.

The forum was also informed that the Council, Community Safety and GMP are working together to prepare a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) aimed at dealing with a particular problem or nuisance in an area that negatively impacts upon the community. The PSPO will be applied Boroughwide.

The Community Safety Officer responding to questions informed the forum that it was unlikely that dog fouling would be part of the PSPO, a PSPO already operates within Lancashire and the order would generally apply to public spaces. However private land owners tend to comply with the sentiments of the PSPO. It was also acknowledged that the effectiveness of the Order is only  ...  view the full minutes text for item 211.

The minutes of the Area Forum meeting held on Thursday 2 June 2023 were approved as a correct record.

Updates linked to actions from the meeting in June had been circulated prior to the meeting. However it was repeated that no response had been received from the owners of the TBA site.

A lengthy debate took place in connection with minute 207 – ‘Consultation on the residents parking scheme adjacent to the football stadium will commence soon’.

Comments made included:

A resident reminded the forum that a similar application for a parking scheme was sought in 2015 and subsequently rejected. Therefore what has changed to warrant this application to be submitted?

A representative from the football club stated that they had not been informed formally of the plans and had not received a copy of the consultation document. Although it was acknowledged the club had been made aware of the plans informally.at a Safety Advisory Group meeting.

It was argued that the consultation document was not explicit enough in describing what the proposal meant for residents.

It was commented that the footprint of the houses within the scheme was not large enough. Why are some houses in whilst others are not?

If the scheme goes ahead the problem is further exacerbated because of other waiting restrictions in the area.

Is the scheme just for match days or all the time?

How would permits improve the situation?

There is no reference to the football club in the document.

This consultation should not be a tick box exercise

In response the Ward Councillors explained that the application is driven by residents’ concerns about congestion and inconsiderate parking in the area. This is further compounded because many households have more than one car.

It was also explained that this consultation exercise is attempting to understand what residents think of the idea. No decisions have been made. If the response to the questionnaire is negative the scheme will not go ahead.

A discussion took place concerning the document titled ‘Places for Everyone’ and the assertion that this document referenced the TBA site as being identified for development.

In response it was commented that this issue was discussed at the previous meeting where it was requested that a copy of the document be forwarded to the Township Officer. However this document had never been received.

The Township Officer agreed to investigate this further with Planning to better understand the context of the document.

A resident asked why a number of trees in the vicinity of St Edmunds Church had recently been cut down and if the correct procedures had been followed to facilitate this action.

In response it was commented that the trees had been under observation since 2021 and that the removal must have been deemed necessary.

It was further added that there is no need to remove all the tree unless essential to do so as trees are an important part of the eco-system. It was also asked what happens to the trees when they are removed.

The Township Officer agreed to investigate this further.

A resident commented that the Council had recently sprayed land at the side of his property which had subsequently killed his plants.

It was explained that Ward Funds for 2023/24 will be £18,000. Members Funds remain at £2000.

Councillor Rana informed the forum of the following:

Ward Funds for 2023/24 are £18k

Members Funds for 2023/24 are £2k

Rochdale North Township Capital Allocation for 2023/24 is £80k

Residents were encouraged to apply for funding for projects.

Councillor Surgeries will be held on Tuesdays, commencing 11am at Spotland and Falinge Community Centre.

A great deal of information is collected during Councillor walkabout sessions. A lot of this is linked to Rochdale Boroughwide Housing.

The new Chief Executive of RBH is implementing change

Littering and fly tipping is a problem in the Ward.

Traffic calming measures are being introduced in the vicinity of Edmund Street School to combat speeding in the area.

Currently involved in school admission rejections being experienced by residents and working with the Homelessness Team in connection with housing evictions.

It was asked if the findings of the results of the survey undertaken in connection with the proposed installation of a pedestrian crossing on Rooley Moor Road could be made public. This would be investigated.

Councillor Faisal informed the forum that she would circulate her update following the meeting.

Wednesday 13 September 2023, commencing 6.30pm.

Venue to be confirmed.