The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting and introduced himself and Officers.

Crime Statistics

Littleborough

Wardle

Updates
The crime patterns in Littleborough are reasonably consistent; there has been a good result recently involving anti-social behaviour.

·         The beggar that was causing a nuisance around the village centre and on Hare Hill Road was arrested in May and hasn’t been seen in the area since, it was confirmed the lady wasn’t homeless.

·         The vehicle owner on Union Road has been spoken to regarding his parking behaviour, no further issues were raised.

·         The car parked outside Amici wasn’t causing an obstruction when looked at by Officers.

·         Parking on the white line system near to the level crossing on Smithy Bridge Road is now being regularly patrolled by Officers.  Warning letters have been sent to some of the offenders.  If they continue to park at the location they will be prosecuted.

·         The outcome of the Woodheys Road speeding operation didn’t identify speeding as an issue.

Wardle has seen a 30% reduction in crime levels; this is really positive and has happened naturally and not as a result of any specific operation.

·         There have been no further reports of car crime on the car park at Watergrove, however, police patrols will continue.

·         Anti-social behaviour continues to be an issue on Shaw Lodge and at the Bowling Green.

·         The Wardle Road speed operation was cancelled; it will be rescheduled in the future.

Smithy Bridge Anti-social behaviour Incident
A resident reported an anti-social behaviour incident that occurred at Smithy Bridge Primary School and also The Beach public house.  The incident was reported to the Police by the School and the pub however the Police didn’t attend.  Sgt Martin explained that GMP are unable to respond to every incident; a decision is made when reports are received based on the current threats at that time.

Birch Avenue traffic issue
A traffic issue on Birch Avenue was discussed.  Councillor Dearnley advised that this has been passed to the Council’s Highways Department to deal with.

Drug dealing in Littleborough Centre
A resident reported that he had witnessed what appeared to be drug dealing in the centre of Littleborough.  Sgt Martin advised residents to report these instances with as much detail as possible including car registration number, etc.

Police 101 waiting times
A discussion took place regarding the average expected waiting time for calls to be answered on 101.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.

The minutes of the last meeting were agreed as a correct record.

Hollingworth Road Car Park Closure
Residents complained about the recent unplanned closure of the car park on Hollingworth Road.  Residents were advised that the closure was due to a technical issue with the ticket machine and they were reassured that in the event of this happening in the future the car park will remain open.

Weeds on Smithy Bridge Road
A resident reported weeds on Smithy Bridge Road.
Action 4: Add to Pennines Clean and Green Team list (Tracey Knight)

Copies of the Ward Councillors’ updates were made available for everyone.  Some of the updates included:

Grant awards: Hare Hill House – roller shutters; Littleborough Arts Festival – Woollen Woods; Wardle Bowling & Memorial Garden – signage.

Clean and Green schemes: Sawley Avenue to Kirkstall Avenue path clean-up; Smithy Bridge Station car park clean-up; Shop Wood litter pick and clean-up; Lodge Street litter pick clean-up; Hodder Avenue and Ribble Avenue grass verges tidied; Laburnum Way and Ash Grove footpath clean-up; Stubley Mill Road grass verges tidied.

Littleborough Food and Drink Festival
The organisers were thanked for another successful event.  The weather didn’t deter people from attending and enjoying all that the festival had to offer.

Bogus callers
Residents were given the following advice on how to deal with bogus callers:

·           Keep front/back doors locked.

·           Before answering check you have locked the back door and taken the key out.  Look through spy hole or window to see who it is.

·           If you decide to open the door put a chain on the door before answering.  Keep the chain on whilst speaking to the person on the doorstep.

·           Even if they have an appointment check the ID carefully.  Close the door whilst you do this.  If you are still unsure, look up the phone number in a phone book and ring to verify their identity.  Do not use the number on the ID as this may be false.

·           You should never agree to have work undertaken by anyone just passing by.

·           If you think a bogus caller has called on you report it to the Police.

·           If in doubt keep them out!

Attendance at meetings
A discussion took place about the number of people attending these meetings.  Some residents questioned the benefits of the meetings whilst other residents advised that they attend the meetings to represent the views of a number of people.  It was suggested that the dates and times of future meetings are displayed in the Church to advertise the meeting.
Action 5: Create poster for displaying in the Church (Tracey Knight)

12 September 2017
23 January 2018
17 April 2018


Rochdale East
Tel:      0161 856 8549
Email   rochdaleeast@gmp.police.uk
Facebook        GMPRochdaleEast
Twitter @gmprochdaleeast
Crimestoppers 0800 555 111 www.crimestoppers-uk.org
Police non-emergency calls 101
Emergency calls 999

Sgt Glyn Martin
Mobile: 07393 009233
Email: glyn.martin@gmp.police.uk