Agenda and minutes

Councillors D Bailey and Cllr M Bailey each declared a personal interest in relation to Agenda Item 5.  NHS Healthier Together presentation as they are both NHS employees.  

Minutes of the last meeting held on 1 July, 2014.

That the Minutes of the last meeting of the Township Forum held on July 2014 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

Matters Arising:

RTF. 808 Open Forum – Councillor M Bailey asked that this item be moved higher up on the agenda as was agreed at the last meeting of the Township Forum.  The Township Co-ordinator explained that this had been considered, however, given that the Forum would be considering the issue of the changes to the Refuse Collection service via the Waste Management presentation and the Healthier Together Consultation, it was decided to hold the Open Forum after these items in order to free up the Open Forum for any other issues. 

An update on local police issues will be provided at the meeting subject to the availability of an officer from Greater Manchester Police.

Inspector Lorraine Crossman, Bury South attended the meeting in order to provide an update on key policing issues in Bury:-

·      Banana Walk – a series of community safety initiatives would be taking place following the recent serious sexual assault in the area.  These would include the leaflet drop, the cutting back of foliage and the crime prevention event at Banana Walk on Tuesday 23 September.  Inspector Crossman welcomed feedback in relation to the physical environment in this area and whether or not further changes would be necessary in terms of improving safety.

·      Burglary Team – the remit of the team would change in order to deliver a wider proactive team in Bury.  The changes would be taking place in October, the team being more proactive in dealing with other issues other than burglaries.

·      Dark nights initiative would be brought in soon which would mean an increase in police foot patrols. 

·      Operation Treacle would be coming into force soon in the run up to Bonfire Night.  The police were undertaking outreach work and work with young people in local schools as part of the initiative.

·      Restorative Justice Service “Homewatch” Conference would be taking place on 23 October.  Further information would be available from the Township Co-ordinator.

The Chair invited questions/comments from the audience:-

There have been a number of violent crimes reported in recent weeks -local shops targeted and car crimes in Dumers Lane.  Is this representative of escalating higher levels of crime in Radcliffe?

Inspector Crossman reported that any violent crime was heavily investigated on an individual basis by the police. Recent crimes did not represent an overall increase in such crimes in Radcliffe.  These crimes were most certainly representative of more sporadic pockets of crime in the area.  Crime prevention advice was an important element of police work for householders and businesses.

Cllr Shori asked for clarification regarding PCSO’s in Radcliffe.  Inspector Crossman explained that PCSO numbers had declined in Bury following cuts in the Police budget.  There were no plans to increase the numbers of PCSO’s in Radcliffe from the current 2 Officers.  Inspector Crossman would be happy to forward the names of the PCSO’s that cover Radcliffe to those interested in getting in touch.

Cllr D Bailey raised concerns regarding discovery of the cannabis farm following the recent fire in a rented property in Radcliffe and asked about the detection of cannabis farms in the area.

Inspector Crossman explained that the police rely and act on intelligence.  Members of the public with suspicions/concerns were asked to report them to Crimestoppers.

It was agreed:

That the information provided be noted and Inspector Crossman be thanked for her contribution to the meeting.

Eddie Spencer from Radcliffe Carnival Committee attended the meeting to provide an update on the Radcliffe Carnival 2014.  Eddie informed the meeting that despite the worst Carnival weather in living memory, the event had been a tremendous success with feedback from the public being described as nothing short of breath-taking.  Next year’s Carnival would be held on the weekend of 6^th and 7^th June 2015 and would be the 50^th Radcliffe Carnival.  The Radcliffe Carnival AGM would take place on 25^th September at Radcliffe Cricket Club which would include a presentation of the end of year accounts giving a clear indication of monies available to put into community projects.  The Committee would welcome suggestions as to deserving causes in Radcliffe which could benefit from money raised by the Carnival.

It was agreed:

That the information provided be noted, with thanks.

Shaun Gibson, Community Activator with the “I Will If I Will” campaign reported that the uptake of groups of women in Radcliffe joining the project had been extremely disappointing.  Shaun welcomed anyone who may be interested in joining the project to contact him as there were grants available to support women to get involved in Radcliffe, the aim of the project being to get women and girls of Bury moving, trying new activities and having fun.  Anyone interested could contact Shaun, who is based in Radcliffe with the project at s.gibson@bury.gov.uk and/or Liz Saunders at Bury Council.  Further details of the project were available on the Council’s and I Will If You Will websites.

It was agreed:

That the information provided be noted, with thanks.

NHS Greater Manchester Association of Clinical Commissioning Groups will give a presentation on the Review of Health and Care in Greater Manchester.

Dr Kiran Patel, Chair of the Bury Clinical Commissioning Group, attended the meeting to explain the current Healthier Together consultation and to ask those present for their comments and feedback on the proposals. 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

·       Hospital Services (designation of Specialist Sites)

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 Emergency and Planned abdominal surgery) across the conurbation and give feedback on them.  Hospital currently providing specialist services such as stroke and heart surgery 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 and would run until 30^th September, 2014. Copies of the consultation questionnaire were available at the meeting.

The Chair invited questions/comments from those present:-

Would maternity services be affected by the proposals?

Maternity services were not part of the proposals.

A question about standardised service provision at Specialist hospitals.

It was reported that all hospitals designated as providing “Specialist” services would meet all of the quality and safety standards and standard services would be retained.

Concerns regarding paramedics deciding on the appropriate hospital to take  patients to and the subsequent time elements involved.

Any major trauma would be dealt with at a major trauma centre.  Each journey would need to meet standards relating to the time elements in transporting a patient to the relevant hospital.

Are “Royal” hospitals preferred in terms of Specialist designation?

There are a number of “Royal” hospitals who are not deemed as “Specialist” centres.

My son is registered disabled – can parents still choose which hospital  to take their child?

Yes, but if the nature of the emergency/non-emergency required specialist treatment, then that child would be transferred to the relevant “Specialist” hospital.

Will Bolton’s Children’s A & E remain?

The Children’s A & E will remain, specialist services may be provided elsewhere in Greater Manchester.

Concerns raised regarding proposals to close Children’s Centres in Bury.

The Healthier Together initiative would bring more care available to communities as part of integrated care services.

Councillor Shori commented on social care provision, the changing roles of health practitioners and the need for universal service provision within the community.

It was  ...  view the full minutes text for item RTF276

Cllr Isherwood, Cabinet Member for Environment will give a presentation at the meeting.

Councillor Tony Isherwood, Cabinet Member for Environment gave a presentation on the changes to bin collections across the borough and explained why the changes were necessary.

It was reported that the Council had to find savings of £16m for the 2015/2016 financial year and many options were being considered.  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.

The Chair invited questions/comments from those present:-

Concerns raised regarding people dumping rubbish in other householder’s bins. 

If you were not able to move your bin back onto your property immediately after your bins had been emptied, please ask a neighbour to bring your bin back for you.

Not all residents had received a brown bin.

Give your name and address to members of the team at the meeting and this would be dealt with.

Were Council Offices recycling rubbish?

This was happening across Council buidings.  If any staff were not being encouraged to do this then this would need to be flagged up with the Waste Management Team.

Concerns raised by families with babies and young children and nappy waste filling up grey bins and odour controls.

Officers can come to householders and carry out an assessment.  If an extra bin was required then this would be provided.  It was reported that the blue and green bins would be emptied more frequently.

Would schools be included in the publicity drive?

The Teams were working with local schools.  Some children had also designed some of the Team’s leaflets.

Concerns about the quality of liners and not being provided with enough liners.

The quality of the liners had recently been improved and bags could be provided at public meetings/other Council outlets. 

Concerns raised regarding the supermarkets overpackaging of products.

Concerns expressed relating the hazards for pedestrians from people leaving their bins on pavements – particularly for wheelchair users and parents with prams.

A question as to  ...  view the full minutes text for item RTF277

The Chair invited questions/comments and representations from members of the public present at the meeting.  The Township Co-ordinator undertook to obtain a reply to matters that could not be dealt with directly at the meeting:-

A number of concerns were raised regarding the proposals to close Children’s Centres in Bury.

Councillor Shori explained about the current consultation process taking place.  It was reported that 25 per cent of Under 5’s in the area were currently living in deprivation and that universal services were not reaching these vulnerable families and that the Council had a moral obligation to support these families.   Family and Health practitioners were key to providing support and all universal services were being considered as part of this consultation process.  All of the concerns raised at this and other Township Forum meetings would be fed into the consultation process, including those raised regarding “Stepping Stones”. 

Would Councillors Matt and Daisy Bailey continue to support Labour policies in future following their recent move to Independent Councillors on the Authority?

Councillor M Bailey responded by informing the meeting that both Councillors would continue to support their communities and local representatives and would support policies if they felt that this was the appropriate course of action.

Councillor Shori provided an update on the Radcliffe Pool facilities.  Cllr Shori confirmed that there would be a pool in Radcliffe and the Council were currently looking into the installation of a temporary pool, similar to the one used in Broad Oak, as an interim arrangement.  The Council were hoping that, in the long term a new facility would be built in Radcliffe on receipt of an external funding award.  Radcliffe Pool is currently offering swimming lessons and gym facilities are open.  

It was agreed:

To note the information provided, with thanks to Cllr Shori for the update.

The Township Co-ordinator will provide an update at the meeting.

Christine Maksymowski, Township Co-ordinator submitted the draft Township Forum Plan which provided an update on the progress of the themes contained within the Action Plan for 2013/14.  The draft Plan contained issues/ideas raised at the July meeting as part of the Round Table discussions which took place.  Comments on the draft plan were welcomed and a request to forward them directly to Christine whose contact details were contained within the report.

It was agreed:

That the report be noted.

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.

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

Colette informed the meeting of the recent act of vandalism carried out to structures in the park, particularly to the “Cupcake Man” and that it was doubtful if funds would be made available to repair the damage.  The Rangers Hut had also been ransacked.

Community Development Fund had awarded funds for the forest pathway, including the owl carving and story chairs.

£3000 had been awarded towards gym activities in the park.  Colette was concerned that the work needed to quantify/evidence funding was not being carried out due to lack of manpower and asked for Councillors to discuss this issue further with the Friends.

The Party in the Park, Tower Tours and RSPCA events had all been a great success.

Colette reported on the Apprenticeships available for young people around the Tower.

The Information Panel Walls created by volunteers would be ready by December.

Art Work at Bury College – no home available – ideas welcome.

The latest dig had uncovered other areas of interest, namely evidence of a manor house from the 14^th Century.

It was agreed:

That the information provided be noted, with thanks.