Agenda and draft minutes

There were no declarations of interest made at the meeting.

Minutes of the last meeting held on 10 January, 2017.

It was agreed:

That the Minutes of the last meeting of the Township Forum held on 10 January 2017 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

An update will be provided subject to the availability of an Officer from Greater Manchester Police.

Inspector Jones, Greater Manchester Police provided an update on local policing in Radcliffe, as follows: -

·           There had been no crime spikes in Radcliffe since the last report to the Township Forum.

·           There had been a rise in incidents of anti-social behavior on the Metrolink – the perpetrators were not from Radcliffe.  A member of the public present raised concerns regarding the theft gangs at ticket machines which had meant that a number of machines were out of order.  Inspector Jones informed the meeting that this had not been publicised to local police but that he would follow this up.  Councillor Walker also gave an assurance that issues relating to noise pollution from ticket machine alarms would be followed up.

·           Incidents of burglaries in Radcliffe were no worse than any other area in Bury with most incidents being classed as ‘sporadic’.

·           Paul McGovern’s recent work with local schools on ‘Actions have Consequences’ had been well received.  In response to a question from a member of the public, Inspector Jones confirmed that Paul had spent a full day in local schools with pupils of all ages.

·           The travelers at the former Wincanton distribution site had been moved on although the public present reported on travelers who had just arrived at East Street that morning.  Councillor Cathcart reported that the local authority was aware of this situation and would be dealing with it accordingly.

·           The female offending scheme piloted in Radcliffe had been implemented borough-wide. 

·           A veteran support scheme had been introduced in the area and the neighbourhood team had seen an increase in staffing levels.

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

·                A question was asked on parking violations in Radcliffe and if the police had jurisdiction on illegal parking in restricted areas.  Inspector Jones confirmed that illegal parking was decriminalised by the Government in 2001 the exception relating to vehicles parked causing danger or serious obstruction.  All other parking issues were now dealt with by the local authority.

·                Concerns raised relating to car drivers breaking the new 20 mph speed limits and HGV/Council bin wagons driving down Grindsbrook Road.  Inspector Jones would follow this up with the central traffic unit.  John Foudy, BMBC would follow this up with the transportation section.

·                Concerns relating to recent graffiti tagging in Radcliffe.  Councillor Shori explained that some of the graffiti in the Stand Lane area had been removed by the Council but there were difficulties in accessing private property to remove it.

It was agreed:

That the information provided be noted, with thanks.

A presentation will be given at the meeting on the Council’s current Review of Library provision in the Borough.

Elizabeth Binns, Head of Library Service, BMBC gave a presentation on the current stage of the consultation on the future of library provision in Bury.  It was reported that the Library Service needed to make radical changes in the way the services are delivered in the borough due to the unprecedented cuts to local authority funding in the coming years.  The Library Service Review began in 2016, would last over a year and was currently half-way through the process.  The review focused on the following 6 key principles:-

1.        Library services across the borough – the reality was that there would not be a library for every community.

2.        Protecting the vulnerable – ensuring service provision for the most vulnerable members of the community.

3.        Cost effective

4.        Technology - over 50% of the community do not have a PC or access to a PC.

5.        Volunteers – there were approximately 140 library volunteers in Bury.

6.        Communities – reorganising service provision to ensure the community access for the wider community.

The Core offer would prioritise reading and literacy; digital inclusion, support information and learning and community support and development.  The presentation highlighted the financial situation for the service, that the library budget had already been cut by one-third – reduced in 2013/14 by £870,000 and would be reduced by a further £1 million by 2018/19.  Option 1 would be to retain Bury, Ramsbottom and Prestwich libraries plus a service wide team, Option 2 would retain Bury, Ramsbottom, Prestiwch and Radcliffe libraries plus a smaller service wide team.  The Communities were being invited to have their say on the Options available as part of the consultation.  It was reported that over 2,000 responses had been received so far.  The consultation would close on 26 April, the Cabinet would make the decision on the future of the library service at a meeting on 18 May, 2017 followed by a staff consultation process from July, 2017.  The final implementation of the revised library service would commence from 1 August, 2017. 

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

·                If Radcliffe library were to close, what would happen to the building?

Some of the buildings may be utilised by the community but there were cost implications relating to ongoing expenses to for the running and upkeep of the buildings.  Each building would be looked at on an individual basis.

·                Radcliffe library had ‘Carnegie’ status – would that not offer it some protection from potential closure?

There is an element of protection for libraries who hold this statement but it was important to note that some of these had been closed by other local authorities around the country.

·                What about community groups who may be interested in taking over service provision?

Any community group who may be interested to take over library provision were being asked to contact Elizabeth Binns.

·                What will happen to the Adult Education services at Whitefield?

There would be Adult  ...  view the full minutes text for item RTF613

John Foudy, Car Park Supervisor will attend the meeting.

John Foudy, attended the meeting in order to discuss parking issues in and around the Metrolink station with Radcliffe residents.  John explained some of the limitations on dealing with enforcement at busier times during the day and of the constraints of government legislation.  It was reported that the Council were in consultation with Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) and the Metrolink with regards to the concerns commuter traffic is having on Radcliffe residents in and around the Metrolink.

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

·                Concerns that the Health Centre car park is full of commuters.  Whilst most people acknowledge that the introduction of car parking fees would be detrimental to Radcliffe and local residents, could a car parking limit not be imposed – also on the restricted parking bays on Church St West/Dale St/Deansgate?  John explained some of the conflicting issues around enforcement and then moving commuters on to park in other areas where they can cause issues for residents.

·                Could CCTC footage be used as evidence against those who flout parking restrictions? It was reported that CCTV footage would not be used as evidence.  

·                Could the Council utilise land at the former High School for parking?

·                The need for Residents Only parking to be introduced in the worst hit areas of Radcliffe.

·                There needs to be more carriages on the Metrolink to deal with the numbers of communters.  Councillor Shori reported that there were issues around capacity on tram services, an example being that there was no more capacity on the Bury/Althrincham line to add more carriages to existing tram services.

·                Could you introduce some double yellow lines around the Metrolink station?

·                The future of Stones Bakery, one of the oldest surviving businesses in Radcliffe was under threat as people could not park near to the business die to commuter parking.  The owners had campaigned for resident only parking to be introduced at Church St West/Dale St/Brook St since 2011.  John Foudy explained that the Council were having discussions with Metrolink.  Councillor Preston asked that residents/businesses be kept informed on the progress made following the discussions with Metrolink.

The Chair thanked John Foudy for attending the meeting and asked that residents be kept informed of developments from the discussions held between the Council/TfGM and the Metrolink.

It was agreed:

That the information provided be noted.

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:-

·                The fault on the Remembrance lights on the Piazza was currently being investigated.

·                An update requested on the bid for a Free School in Radcliffe.  Councillor Shori informed the meeting that the Chapel Street church bid had not been submitted in time for the March 2016 deadline.  Central Government had recently announced an increase of funding to support the implementation of free schools across the country and a fresh bid was due to be submitted by Chapel St Church by the end of the month.

·                A resident raised concerns relating to the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework Strategy and the increase in house building in the area would only increase the flooding risk.  In response, Councillor Shori explained that the proposals within the strategy in relation to Radcliffe would affect one area around Elton reservoir.  The Housing Minister had written to the Council asking them to re-draw the Greenfield boundaries once all of the brownfield sites had been utilised.  Bury was limited with the number of Brownfiels sites available to build upon.

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, community and voluntary groups.

It was agreed:

That the report be noted.

The Township Forum Funding Panel had considered applications for grants from the Community Fund from the following organisations :-

 - Radcliffe Civic Window Group - £500 awarded

 - Radcliffe Over-50’s Yoga Group - £500 awarded

 - Radcliffe Rotary Club - £500 awarded

 - Well Springs House - £500 awarded towards a well-being project

It was agreed:

That the application for funding be approved by members of Radcliffe Township Forum.

Colette Jones, representing Friends of Close Park, provided the following update:-

·                The Tower Group were hoping to hold a family event in the Park in May and were looking into the possibility of holding a future dig on the grounds of the Medieval Hall.

·                Close Park had suffered a loss of a number of trees due to the recent flooding. 

·                Please contact the Park security if you see anything happening in the Park which may concern you.

·                Flooding update – The Environment Agency were holding a community drop in session on 20 April at St Mary’s church.  The Flood Action Group had been asked to address a conference in Telford and at the Manchester Metropolitan University in August.  The Group would be meeting up with other communities affected by flooding.  An independent report commissioned by St Mary’s Church concluded that the tip played a part in the flooding in Radcliffe.  In response to a question from Councillor Preston regarding who was the author of the report, Colette informed that meeting that Richard Allard Associated had been commissioned to undertake the report by the church.

It was agreed:

That the information provided be noted, with thanks.