Agenda and minutes

Councillor Mallon chaired the meeting in the absence of Councillor Fitzgerald.

There were no declarations of interests made at the meeting.

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 20 September 2016.

The minutes of the meeting held on 20 September 2016 were submitted.

Delegated decision:

That minutes of the meeting held on 20 September 2016 were approved as a correct record.

To receive an update on Police matters for the Whitefield and Unsworth area.

The meeting was attended by PCSO Calvert (GMP) who proved an update on the local crime statistics for the period October 2016-January 2017.

The following statistics were given:

Business robberies: 1

Burglaries: 45

Theft from a person: 5

PCSO Calvert reported that thefts from motor vehicles were in many cases due to vehicles be left unlocked.

Residents were reminded to ensure that their vehicle and property were properly secured at all times.

With reference to the burglaries that had taken place, the forum was informed that officers had investigated thefts and had identified three members of the same family. The three individuals were subsequently charged. One had received a 12-16 month prison sentence. One was currently on bail but was due to attend court in the near future. The remaining person was currently serving a sentence for a separate crime.

The Township Forum was informed of operations being conducted by the Police in Whitefield. One operation had targeted a supermarket where there had been a number of handbag thefts. Residents were advised to ensure that their handbag was closed and not left on top of the shopping trolley. Another operation had targeted illegal parking outside schools and had resulted in five tickets being issued outside Higher Lane Primary School. Other schools would be visited. Speed operations had been taking place on various roads in the area to take action on speeding vehicles. Licensing visits were also taking place to various premises across the area and high visibility patrols were taking place on the Metrolink.

The meeting was informed that Whitefield Police Station, which was due to shut to public in February 2017, had been closed (to the public) in November 2016. Members of the pubic attending the police station would be directed towards a telephone that would connect them to a police landline. Instructions would be displayed on how to use the telephone.

A presentation will be given providing details of the efficiency savings to be made for Bury Council’s budget over the next three years, to 2020.

Councillor Rishi Shori, the Leader of the Council and Deputy Executive of Resources and Regulation Steve Kenyon attended the meeting as part of the Council’s budget process to consult residents on the budget options for the next three years. As part of a new strategy the Council would produce a three year budget approach to 2020, instead of the usual fiscal year plan.

It was explained that the main objectives of proposals were to lead, shape and maintain a prosperous Bury that was fit for the future.

Councillor Shori reported that Bury was a popular place to live and the town centre was the third most popular in Greater Manchester after the Trafford Centre and Manchester City Centre. Bury Council was the biggest employer within the borough as well as the biggest provider of services in the town with a £448 million turnover.

Steve Kenyon explained how the Council received funding and reminded residents that there had been a reduction of £65 million in Government funding since 2010 with a further £32 million to be cut up to 2020.

The point was made that if Bury Council had been funded on a per head basis to the same level nationally it would have an extra £9 million and if it had been funded per head to the same level as Greater Manchester it would have received £18 million extra.

Details were given on how the Council spends its money:-

•       Adult Social Care                 £46.8 million

•       Looked after Children          £10.6 million

•       Waste Disposal                   £12.5 million

•       Highways                            £6.4 million

•       Refuse Collection                £4.0 million

•       Libraries                    £2.4 million

•       Parks & Open Spaces £2.2 million

•       Sports & Leisure                  £1.2 million

The meeting was also informed that there were other demands on Council services resulting from a population living longer but needing added support in later life. In addition there were other unknown variables to consider such as inflation, rises in energy prices and other levies. The Council was constantly looking for efficiency savings and were planning to transform services across the three Council Departments:-

Resource and Regulation – Proposed cut of £7.3m

Children, Young People and Culture – Proposed cut of £7.7m

Communities and Wellbeing – Proposed cut of £17.7m

·         Resource and Regulation – proposed cuts of £7.3 million in areas including, reconfiguring back office services, collaborative working with other public bodies, continued rationalisation of Council property, income generation, Highways asset management,  Treasury Management/ Investment activity.

·         Children, Young People and Culture – proposed cuts of £7.7 million in areas such as Development of Early Years provision and the Fostering and Looked After Children Service, Service reviews, Management restructure and changes to School Funding Regimes.

·         Communities and Wellbeing – proposed cuts of £17 million in areas such as reviewing Operational and Leisure and Wellbeing Services, focusing on bringing together Health and Social Care Services and Joint Commissioning and to review the Organisational and Transport arrangements.

It was explained that the Council would continue to deliver statutory services but would also have  ...  view the full minutes text for item WUTF.475

Health Centre Development, Uplands, Former Town Hall, Hickory Grange, Porada, Pilsworth

Hickory Grange - Councillor Kersh referred to a previous update and reported that it was anticipated that work on the site could be finished by December 2017. An area of the site would be chosen to show to potential developers.

Pilsworth Development - Councillor Adams informed the meeting that plans had been submitted for the Pilsworth Regeneration. The plans were not online due to their amendment but may be available in the next few days.

Porada - Mr Marshall referred to the planning Porada car park was supposed to go before a planning control committee but there had been no plans submitted as of yet.

It was reported that a date for an additional meeting about the Township Forum had not been set to look at the Town Plan.

Persona and Support are looking to establish a Community Stakeholder Forum which will form part of the organisations governance structure and will be utilised to help shape social care service for the future.

Representatives from Persona will be present at the meeting.

The Township Forum received a presentation from Eddie Chung (Persona) on a proposal to develop the Persona Stakeholder Forum. Persona Care and Support wants those interested to help contribute their ideas to develop social care provision in Bury. Persona Care and Support was established 12 months ago as a Local Authority trading company for Bury’s Social Care provision.  Demand for its services had continued to grow and Persona wanted to utilise the feedback it receives from current service users and from members of the local community in order to develop future service provision. This feedback will help the company be more responsive to the changing social care needs of the local community. The meeting was informed of the ways to get involved; expectations on member involvement and on what to do next if you are interested in joining the Stakeholder Forum.

Persona Support and Care is an arms-length Local Authority Trading Company providing Social Care to older people and adults with learning difficulties and operates across a range of community settings including day and residential care centres.

The purpose of Persona was the delivery of high quality services, working with local communities and key partners to think creatively and innovatively, listen to what people want and allow them to have to say, respond to the needs of the local community and keep in touch with all Partners and communities.

Persona would like to hear comments and suggestions and there are various ways to get in touch, such as face to face with meetings, workshops and events; facebook and twitter or via email, telephone and surveys.  People can contact Persona in the following ways:

·         Telephone 0161 253 6000

·         Website – www.personasupport.org

·         Email – info@personasupport.org

It was agreed:

1.   That Eddie Chueng be thanked for his attendance and presentation.

2.   That Eddie Chueng or Persona representative be invited to a future meeting of the Township Forum to provide more information on the services provided by Persona, how to engage with Persona and the cost involved.

The Chair was request to provide an update on the amalgamation of the car parks at Aldi Supermarket and McDonalds restaurant in Whitefield.

The meeting was informed that progress was being made and regular meetings were ongoing.

Reference was made to the need for more waist level bins along Bury New Road to help deal with the level of litter in the area. If the Council could help provide them it may be possible for volunteers to clear them.

A resident of Elm Road reported that there was an ongoing problem concerning speeding cars. It was noted that there was a proposal for speed humps from Mather Road. The suggestion was made that a one way system Mather Road/Morton Avenue be introduced. Parking access for the Morrisons supermarket would not be affected and humps wouldn’t be required providing a cheaper solution for the Council. Investment was needed to improve the condition of the road.

It was reported that people were regularly fly-tipping on land on Philips Park Road West and Ringley Road. Could the Council take action. It was reported that the Council and Police were aware of this problem and investigations had taken place to check the refuse dumped to identify an address or individual.

If there is refuse and items dumped in an area, residents were directed to the ‘Report a Problem’ page on the Council website.

A member of the public pointed out that the double yellow lines on Moss Lane had made the traffic worse and asked for the decision to be reviewed.

Councillor Mallon reported that he understood that the yellow lines were working as they had been designed to.

Reference was made to a section of the walkway in the park at Albert Road and Thatch Leach Lane that would flood after rain due to its location in a depression. The resident requested action be taken to improve drainage to divert water away from the footpath to ensure the path was usable in bad weather.

It was reported that the Council offered to look into the matter further.

The Township Forum was asked why there were painted bicycles located along Park Lane. Officers would look in to the issue and report back.

Pam Taylor address the meeting regarding the GM Spatial Framework and the impact on Hollins Village and Parr Lane. It was important for residents to be aware of the potential impact of the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework (GMSF). It had been noted that an application for development had been submitted to Rochdale BMC that involved the building of 2,000 houses at on the Bury (Pilsworth) border. It appeared that none of the houses included in the design plans would be classed as affordable homes. The likely result of such a substantial development on Bury’s border would mean a potential 2,000 additional cars on the Bury roads. This would have a knock on effect of increasing congestion in particular around Junction 19 of the M66. Combined with the development proposal  ...  view the full minutes text for item WUTF.479

Ruth Shedwick notified the forum that there was £5250 available in single wards for community groups to apply for and £1000 available for cross ward applications. Community groups could apply for up to £500 each.

Councillor Caserta requested that the font on the funding form be reduced to provide more space to explain the reasons why a request for funding had been declined rather than just stating ‘declined’.

The date of the next meeting was set at 14 March 2017 at 18:30.