Agenda and minutes

Members of Radcliffe Township Forum are asked to consider whether they have an interest in any of the matters on the Agenda and, if so, to formally declare that interest.

There were no declarations of interest made at the meeting.

That the Minutes of the last meeting of the Township Forum held on 19 September, 2013 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

The Community Activator Team will provide some activities and information at the meeting.

Andrea Pilling from the Community Activator Team was introduced to the meeting.  Andrea will be working in Radcliffe to promote sports initiatives in the area.  Andrea informed the meeting of the Sport England initiative, “I Will if You Will”, a £2.4m nationally funded year-long programme aimed at encouraging local women and girls aged 14+ to take up some form of sporting activity classes in Bury, to try and tackle the gender gap in sport.  Some classes were starting to get underway in Bury Leisure sports centres and other community venues.  Details of events were available on the Council’s website. Andrea welcomed ideas from local community groups to get involved in this and other sport activities.  The Team were in the process of working on a borough-wide bursary scheme and further details on applying for funding to support sports activities would be available on the Council’s website in the very near future.

It was agreed:

That the information be noted, with thanks to Andrea and other members of the Team for attending the meeting.

Dr Peter Thomas and Dr Ajay Kotegaonkar will give a presentation at the meeting.

Dr Ajay Kotegaonkar and Dr Peter Thomas, two local GP’s, attended the meeting to report on the new initiative in Radcliffe aimed at improving access to six GP surgery’s in the area.  This initiative would see opening hours extended to Monday to Friday, from 8 am to 8 pm and Saturday and Sunday from 8 am to 6 pm.  These opening hours would be available to local people who are registered with the surgery’s taking part in the scheme, the aim being to improve access to patients and therefore improve the health outcomes for local residents.  

The Chair invited questions, comments and representations from members of the public present at the meeting:-

·         Would the initiative also include minor operations being made available locally rather than local residents having to travel out of the borough?

Yes, it was hoped that minor operations could take place locally on a Day Care basis as the programme develops.

·         Was this a borough-wide initiative under the Bury GP Federation?

26 GP practices within Bury had come together as part of the support structure to help put the initial bid together for the scheme.  Radcliffe had been chosen as a pilot area for the initiative.

·         A Radcliffe resident, registered at a practice in Little Lever in Bolton, enquired if they would be able to access the extended health services in one of the participating GP surgeries in Radcliffe?

Anyone registered at any other surgery which was not part of the scheme would need to continue to access the services at their registered surgery. 

·         What about access to services for local residents who are away from home?

Any member of the public was and is able to access any walk-in-centre for consultation and/or treatment.

·         Would the Church Street facility become a 24/7 service?

No, but there would be the opportunity to extend the opening hours at Church Street as the programme develops.

·         Will this initiative lead to local people being able to access their GP more frequently than at present?

         Yes, hopefully.

·         Will local pharmacies also be open until 8 pm?

Yes, the surgeries are linking with local chemists in relation to the extended opening hours. It was reported that further information in relation to the scheme would be available on the internet soon. 

The GP’s were currently working on an intense communications strategy and welcomed the support of local residents for the scheme.  An update would be provided at a future meeting of the Township Forum.

It was agreed:

That the information be noted with thanks to both GP’s for their attendance at the meeting.

Inspector Kenny will provide an update at the meeting.

Inspector Mark Kenny provided an update on local police issues since the last meeting of the Township Forum:-

·         Between 1 April 2013 and 7 November 2013 there were 153 less victims of crime in the area, a reduction of approximately 16% on this time last year

·         Burglary – 26 less victims

·         Vehicle crime – 11 less reported crimes

·         Damage - 46 less reported crimes

·         Robbery – 3 more reported than this time last year.

Anti-social behaviour continued to be a particular area of challenge.  Operational Treacle had seen some reductions to crime figures but there was still plenty to do.  Inspector Kenny advised the meeting of the particular risk of seasonal crime at this time of year and to be extra vigilant at this time of year to put measures in place to avoid becoming a victim of opportunistic crime.

The Chair invited questions, comments and representations from members of the public present at the meeting:-

·         Are there still Officers working from Radcliffe Station?

Radcliffe Police Station was still operational, although there was no enquiry desk there.

·         How do we protect the elderly and most vulnerable in terms of crime prevention?

We need to work together to reduce the risks to the most vulnerable members of the community.  Look out for elderly neighbours, particularly at this time of the year.

·         Concerns regarding the potential for a serious road traffic accident at Bolton Rd.

This highways issue would be passed on to the relevant highways officer.

It was agreed:

That the information provided be noted and Inspector Kenny was thanked for his attendance at the meeting.

Christine Maksyowski, Radcliffe Township Forum Co-ordinator will provide an update at the meeting.

Report Attached.

Christine Maksymowski, Township Co-ordinator submitted the RadcliffeTownship Plan 2012-15, which outlined how the Forum would continue to make progress towards the vision for the Township in order to promote better outcomes for the social, health, economic and environmental well-being of the people within the Radcliffe Community.  An update was provided on progress made on the Plan since the last meeting of the Township Forum which included progress in relation to the Street Safe initiative, the ‘I Will if You Will’ sports initiative, the Radcliffe Heritage Dig, partnership working with the Carnival Committee and the inclusion of the NHS Radcliffe Pilot into the Township Plan.            

It was agreed:

That the report be noted.

A report from the Programme Support Officer is attached, for information.

A copy of the Community Funding report for Radcliffe was submitted, setting out details of the funding allocations to date in support of the work of local voluntary and community groups.

It was agreed:

That the report be noted.

Andy Miller, representing the Youth Cabinet reported that the Youth Cabinet were currently working on ideas for a Youth Market to be held in Bury.  Further details would be provided at the next meeting of the Forum.

Colette Jones provided an update on the work of Friends of Close Park since the last meeting of the Forum, as follows:-

·         The HLF dig was now coming to an end.  There would be an open weekend this Saturday and Sunday 9th /10th November.

·         Brightside Brewery had agreed to create a beer for Radcliffe – ‘Tower Beer’

·         ‘Radcliffe Ring’ cake – a recipe was available on the ‘Friends of..’ Facebook page.

·         Community Development Funding – next round of bids would need to be submitted to the Bury 3rd Sector website by 10 January, 2014.  Please see Colette if you need further information/advice.

·         A crocus garden was being created in the Park for the Rotary Club. 

·         The Bluebell Wood initiative was coming soon – volunteers needed please!

·         Ongoing insurance issues – hoping these would be sorted soon.

Barbara Law from Chapelfield Village Association informed the meeting of the new Stand Lane Reform Church choir.  Radcliffe had won a Gold Medal in the North West in Bloom “Grow Your Own” competition.

It was agreed:

That the information provided be noted.     

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 Radcliffe area.

Approximately 30 minutes will be set aside for Open Forum, if required.

The Chair invited questions, comments and representations from members of the public present at the meeting.  Questions were asked and comments made on the issues detailed below.  The Township Forum Co-ordinator undertook to obtain a reply to matters which could not be dealt with at the meeting.

·         The communal bins on Coronation Road needed to be removed immediately due to issues with daily fly tipping.

·         Abbey Close residents discussed the anti-social behaviour experienced by residents following the fair on the day of the last Carnival.

·         Members of the Radcliffe Independence Party raised the issue of the Christmas lights in Radcliffe following a recent report in the Radcliffe Times.  Councillor Isherwood informed the meeting that the lights, purchased by the Authority in 2009, were currently in storage following a decision made by the Council two years ago to withdraw them as part of a borough-wide savings programme at that time.  There was no guarantee that the lights would be re-installed due to the increased financial constraints on the Authority.  The cost to test the lights and erect them would be £4,800.  Local traders had been informed of the cost and were welcome to make a financial contribution towards this budget.  Any local traders would be able to apply for a grant towards the costs involved and it was reported that an application had been received on 7 November.  It was also reported that Christmas lights in other areas of the Borough were privately funded.

·         It was reported that United Utilities would soon be carrying out works on Church Street West leading to the closure of this road for approximately 40 weeks.  Cllr Bailey raised concerns about whether or not adequate traffic management plans would be in place to deal with the traffic problems this closure will cause local residents.

·         A resident asked why money was being spent on Elton High School when Radcliffe was without a high school?  Councillor Isherwood informed the meeting of the history behind the closure of Radcliffe Riverside School.

The Chair thanked the public for their attendance at the meeting and took the opportunity to inform residents of the Radcliffe Market Fun Day which would be held on 30 November from 10.30 am to 2 pm.