The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting and introductions were made.  Attendees were asked to abide by the code of conduct for the duration of the meeting.

Crime Figures

Milnrow and Newhey

Issues reported

·         Concern was raised regarding a recent incident that happened near St James Church.  The Police advised that they are unable to provide any updates as investigations are in progress.

·         Reports of youths throwing eggs at passing vehicles near to Smith Hill.  PCSO Taylor will include the area in his patrols.

·         A discussion took place regarding vehicles parking indiscriminately at peak times around Hollingworth Academy, near to Cornfield Street and Pennine Drive.  Registration numbers can be emailed to PCSO Taylor who will speak to PC O’Conner to consider speaking to reported offenders and include this in patrols.

·         A resident reported that vehicles from P N Daly are parking all along one side of Water Lane causing an obstruction for motorists and pedestrians.  PCSO Taylor will visit and speak to the business.

·         It was reported that drug dealing has been witnessed by residents on West Street.  Groups of young people are congregating in cars and on foot and using intimidating behaviour.  PC Mehmood will include this location on his patrols.  Residents were urged to report incidents to the Police.  Street Watch volunteers will include West Street on their monitoring sessions.

·         PC Adnan Mehmood introduced himself, he is the new Neighbourhood Beat Officer covering Firgrove, The Cray and Kingsway Retail Park.

·         The Police thanked Dave and Gill and the Street Watch volunteers for the fantastic job that they do, and this appreciation was echoed by the forum.

Dave and Gill gave the following Street Watch updates:

·         The group has been given free travel on Metrolink between stops in the areas that they cover.  The Metrolink MD joined volunteers on a patrol recently to see first-hand what they do.  He is a great advocate of the scheme.

·         Since patrolling the Metrolink stops, very little ASB has been witnessed.  This situation could be due to recent weather conditions.  It is a welcome and positive reduction.

·         Following the recent incident near St James Church, two Street Watch patrols were out in the area to be a visible presence and to reassure the community and help them feel safe.

·         5,000 leaflets have now been distributed across the area.

·         Local shops and businesses have agreed to display Street Watch posters.

·         There are four new members in the process of joining Street Watch.

·         Dave and Gill are assisting and advising new Street Watch groups.

The minutes of the last meeting were accepted as a true record.

Ladyhouse Lane road surface
Councillor Bamford advised that the road will be included for resurfacing.  Highways are currently planning work within available budgets.

Milnrow Youth Centre
Cabinet made the decision to save the centre from the savings proposal.  This is a great result for young people and the community and the forum were thanked for their support.

New Doctors’ Surgery
A discussion took place regarding the proposals for the site near Newhey Road near to the railway bridge.  Whilst it is recognised that it would be a great facility, given that there will be spare capacity for other services, there are concerns regarding traffic access and egress from the site and the use of the land to the rear of the site.

Action 1: Cornfield Street footpath
Response from the Rights of Way Officer – “I have inspected the footpath and I found that it is the section leading from Cornfield Street that is uneven, it seems to be caused by tree roots, it is also holding water and muddy.  I will get this section cleared off to establish the condition of the surface underneath.  I don’t think that we would be able to level the ground nevertheless we could try to lay more tarmacadam it may help with the pot holes.  The work will probably have to be carried out in the new financial year unless we have some funds unallocated towards the end of the year”.

Action 2: M62 Junction 21 Slip Road
Lining response from Highways England – “I passed this on to our resurfacing team and they tell me that the issue with accidents at the East Bound J21 exit is speed related; people overshooting the end of slip road onto Rochdale’s network.  The alignment on the A6193 doesn’t lend itself to excess speed either.  We will be renewing the lines at J21, however, this is not one of our top priorities at this stage as despite the poor appearance the surfacing is still providing adequate skid resistance as per the 2018 and 2019 surveys.  The need for resurfacing and road markings has been added into forward programme, but we haven’t got a date to share with you at this stage.  The West Bound entry and exit at J21 have both been resurfaced in recent years.  The light and reflective bollard has been replaced by Eon”.

Action 3: Request road sweeper for Severn Drive, Pennine Drive, Kiln Lane and Crossgates Road
Update from Environmental Management is they will arrange for the sweeper to visit the areas.
Action 1: Request the sweeper revisits to sweep the roads and pavements in these areas.

Ladybarn development
A resident raised a number of issues concerning this site including flooding, filthy makeshift paths and unauthorised drainage.  The resident will email the developer and copy in Councillors and Officers.  Councillor Kelly offered to meet the resident on site to look at the issues.

Sonoco
There are rumours circulating regarding the closing down of the site.  There are concerns about the sites usage should the land be sold.  It’s not thought that the closure has been officially confirmed.

Milnrow Precinct Car Park
The site is privately owned, the fines are set by the company, and the Council has no influence over this situation.  Residents were encouraged to use alternative parking rather than risk high fines.

Parking on Railway Street
A resident spoke about the number of vehicles parked on the street that are using either the Metrolink or they are staff from nearby schools.  It was explained that this street doesn’t meet the criteria for a residents parking scheme.

Overhanging hedges
There were complaints of overhanging hedges, causing obstruction of the pavement, on the corner of Sandringham and Pennine Drive and on Mendip Drive where the neighbouring hedges are covering the street sign and another overhanging hedge about half way up the street.

Milnrow Working Men’s Club fence
A discussion took place regarding the height of a new fence that has been erected by Milnrow Working Men’s Club.  Councillor Davidson confirmed that the fence is legal.

St James Church’s renovation work is now complete.
Ellenroad have been successful with a £50,000 lottery grant to improve the entrance and lighting.
Milnrow Brass Band has received a £10,000 grant to celebrate their 150 anniversary.  There is a celebration concert on 21 March 2020 at Rochdale Town Hal.  Tickets are free.

No other business was raised.

2020/21 meeting dates will be added to the Council website and meeting invites will be sent prior to the meetings.


Police Contact Details:

Rochdale East
Tel                   0161 856 8549
Email               rochdaleeast@gmp.police.uk
Facebook        GMPRochdaleEast
Twitter             @gmprochdaleeast

Crimestoppers 0800 555 111 www.crimestoppers-uk.org
GMP Live Chat https://goo.gl/KsUihd
Police non-emergency calls 101
Emergency calls 999

PC Stephen Hutchinson Email: stephen.hutchinson@gmp.police.uk

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