Agenda and minutes

No declarations of interest were made in relation to any items to be considered.

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 8 July 2014.

It was reported that the seat at the bus stop at park on Hamilton Road was not referred to in the minutes and was still covered by bushes and could not be used. Action was requested to cut back the growth. Also the signs at ‘The Uplands’ were still up and should be removed to prevent confusion.  

Delegated decisions:

1. That the minutes of the meeting held on 8 July 2014 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair, subject to the inclusion of Councillor J Mallon those in attendance and the above comments. 

2. That the matters arising update be noted.

A presentation will be given at the meeting.

Councillor Tony Isherwood (Cabinet Member Environment) attended the meeting along with Neil Long (Assistant Director Operations) and Talat Afzal (Recycling Awareness Officer). A presentation was given setting out changes to the ways that refuse and recycling bins would be collected across the borough and why these changes were necessary.

It was explained that the Council had to find savings of £16m for the 2015/2016 financial year and many options were being considered. Bury’s recycling figures had risen from 27% in 2011 to 47% currently but it was hoped that by encouraging more residents to recycle their waste more efficiently the percentage could be raised to 60% or more. This would then help to achieve a saving of over £1m and also help the borough to become greener.

The Council was paid £25 per tonne for green bin waste (paper and card) and £25 per tonne for blue bin waste (glass, plastics and metal) it also raised income by producing compost from the brown bin waste (garden and food waste).

The new collection rounds would commence in the second week of October and all residents would see a change to their current service.

Brown bins would be emptied every two weeks, blue and green bins would be emptied every three weeks as would the grey bin. The days on which the bins were emptied would also change for some residents.

It was explained that all of the information relating to the days on which the bins would be emptied was currently being delivered to every household in the borough along with information on what to put in each bin.

Those present were given the opportunity to ask questions and make comments and the following points were raised:

·         Why were brown bins being collected on a Saturday? This will provide households with a further collection in the lead up to the changes, if required.

·         In response to a question about the type/grades of plastics that can be recycled, the Cabinet Member explained that work was ongoing with Virridor and Greater Manchester Waste to increase the number of recyclables. Some plastics were of such a low grade it was not possible to recycle them further.

·         How much will this cost and how much will it save? – The cost of the changes will be cost neutral in the first year and will save the council a significant amount.

·         Why can’t some of the items identified for the grey bin be recycled? – Some packages are made from such low grade plastic that there is no market for its recycling and it would be sorted and put in land fill anyway.

·         Why do flats not have a recycling scheme? – Most flats do have a scheme. If this is not the case please contact the council and the Recycling Awareness Team will meet and discuss this with the residents in order to produce a scheme.

·         If there is severe weather, will the bin collection happen the day after if? – The aim is to  ...  view the full minutes text for item WUTF.330

‘Healthier Together' plans aim to improve services like those provided at your GP surgery, community-based services and hospital care (all as effect the people of Whitefield/Unsworth).  Representatives from NHS Bury Clinical Commissioning Group (NHS Bury CCG) will explain the proposals and gather feedback from people living in Whitefield/Unsworth.

Stuart North and Howard Hughes attended the meeting to explain the current Healthier Together consultation and to ask those present for their comments and feedback on the proposals. The time for responses had been extended until 24 October and online up to 30 October. 

It was explained that the way in which healthcare was provided across Greater Manchester was undergoing change. The three areas that were affected were:-

·         GP services

·         Health and Social Care

·         Specialist Surgery (Abdomen and Bowel)

Work is currently taking place to look at how services between health and social care could be integrated. It was reported that some schemes were already in place to bridge the gaps. This ongoing work is bringing together lots of different organisations to provide joined up services across health and social care and bring more community based services to people outside of a hospital based setting.

The current consultation is asking all Greater Manchester residents to look at the different options for specialist hospital services (relating to abdomen and bowel surgery) across the conurbation and give feedback on them.

It was explained that there were currently hospitals providing specialisms in areas such as stroke and heart surgery and these would not change. All hospitals that currently had an Accident and Emergency department would continue to have one and the changes being consulted on would effect a very small number of patients but would improve the service they received and help save lives.

The consultation was asking for views on which of the eight options set out was preferred. Copies of the consultation questionnaire were available at the meeting.

Questions and comments were invited and the following issues were raised:

·         In welcoming the proposals shouldn’t more be done to focus on preventative care instead of reactive care? – Work is ongoing to widen social care and to identify those people who are likely to become ill in the future. Action will be taken to prevent any decline in health. We will monitor people who live on their own. We know these are the people without regular social contact will become ill.

·         Will action be taken to address the relationship between bed closures and the need for primary and social care outside of hospital? We need to improve primary and social care and A&E services before and bed reductions are considered.

·         When will bed closures happen? – a decision will be made at some point next year (probably in the summer) and then implementation will take place the following g year.

·         Will specialist service site be affected under the proposals? These are the responsibility of NHS England and they are not part of the consultation.

·         Why was more information not included in the pack. I feel semi informed. It appears that some hospitals are competing and you are looking to the public to decide who gets what.- More information can be found on the web site under the pre consultation business case which is 2000 pages long. This process is not  ...  view the full minutes text for item WUTF.331

An update will be given on Policing issues within Whitefield and Unsworth.

The Chair reported that a representative of Greater Manchester Police was not present at the meeting. An update would be provided at the next meeting if a representative was not available to attend a written report would be requested.

A revised Action Plan is attached for Whitefield/Unsworth on current issues identified by the local community.

The Township Co-ordinator the updated version of the Action Plan for approval subject to any amendments at the meeting.

The following issues were added to the Plan:

Parking problems adjacent to St Bernadette’s School, Whitefield.

Change Allotment lead person – take off Mrs Yvonne Moore

TRA Unsworth Social Club – suggest that an approach be made to offer support to the club to help them move forward.

Mrs Pam Taylor referred to the ‘I Will If You Will’ initiative to promote health and exercise by targeting more women and girls to become more active and tackle the gender gap in sport. Mrs Taylor expressed her concern at the decision regarding the purchase of playground adult exercise equipment for Hollins Park. The reason given for this was the capital spend had taken place. The Council had explained that Sport England used criteria for spending the £2.8 funding and could not agree to the purchase as a result.

(Following the meeting an email and telephone conversation took place with Mrs Taylor regarding the Hollins proposal.  A visit was arranged to the site with Mike Bent (Parks Manager).

Mrs Taylor explained the situation and what she felt would help benefit the community there. Mr Bent said that the although they would look at the feasibility of having a Outdoor Gym there, it would more than likely be provided at a more central site, e.g. Whitefield Park if they had the money rather than Hollins Grundy.

The group are happy to work with Helen Blyth (External Funding & Projects officer) to access funding. Assisting with quotes, installation etc. The issue then would be who would inspect it regularly, fill in inspection reports & sign them (training would be required if the community decided to do it), and who would be responsible for any insurance claims if the group did the inspections.

A discussion took place on the IWIYW funding Capital money that might have been available, had been spent on the 4 Outdoor Gyms.  Sport England only allocated that amount of funding although it was asked for all Townships.  The group can apply for the IWIYW Community Fund.)

Delegated decision:

That the amended Whitefield and Unsworth Township Action Plan 2014/15 be approved.

Questions are invited from members of the public present at the meeting about the work or performance of the Council or the Council’s services relevant to the Whitefield and Unsworth area. A period of thirty minutes will be allocated.

The Chair invited the members of the public present to askquestions or raise items of concern relating to the provision of local services.

·         Trees on Middleton Drive – action is required to deal with the trees on Middleton Drive. They have become overgrown and the roots have started to displace the pavement and have undermined walls on properties. Pedestrians cannot use the pavement and have to use the road and gutters are constantly blocked.  The trees are drop sap and the leaves cover the road. The trees height is very excessive and is affecting the amenity of local residents. The bramble bushes have also become overgrown. Could the Council cut down/reduce the height of the trees/ brambles and deal with the tree root problems.

·         Potholes on Ripon Avenue - Can the Council take action to deal with the numerous potholes and the cracks in the pavement caused by parked cars on Ripon Avenue. Councillor Adams has taken pictures of the road and pavement and had forwarded them to the highways dept.

A copy of the report is attached.

Consideration was given to a Community Funding report which provided an update on the levels of funding available in the Whitefield and Unsworth wards for 2014/15.

Funding is still available for applications up to April 2015.

It was agreed:

That the report be noted.

This is an opportunity to inform the audience of events taking place in the area.

The Chair gave notices of forthcoming events that would be taking place within Whitefield and Unsworth.