Castleton Forum – Tuesday 19 October 2004

Date published: 22/10/2004

There was a surprising turnout at the latest Castleton Forum, held at Castleton Community Centre on Tuesday 19 October. Many local people arrived to voice their opinions on the community, including members of British Waterways, Greater Manchester Police, and spokespeople from Castleton Library.

Adrian Sains of British Waterways gave an interesting presentation on Rochdale Canal, and the desertion that it has suffered in the last year. He said, “Even after the restoration, the canals are being treated worse than ever, hundreds of cars, bikes and shopping trolleys were found dumped in the canal last year alone”. This raised awareness with local people, and they all agreed that the answer lies with local authorities.

Spokesperson Chris Hill from Greater Manchester Police said “There are times that we need your feedback in order to act”. Chris’ presentation went on to discuss the street crime that Castleton has suffered over the years, although there was an uplifting outcome to the statistics. He went on to say, “Burglaries were on the increase as you all may know, and thanks to a programme that we carried out with PC Graham Cook to catch the people doing this, the numbers have gone down drastically”.

New Assistant Township Manager Tracy Preston was eager for everyone to voice their views in order to make a change. She said,  “we need to get Castleton heard, and we need everyone’s views to do so”.

Many people contributed in the forum, including thanking the Police for the £500 towards funding the project for Chesham Park, and support for Castleton Library after threats of closure.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t all good news on Tuesday evening, as it was announced that the forum’s Vice Chairman Charlie passed away six weeks previous. Charlie’s wife has worked hard to keep everyone together, and collected donations to fund the forum, along with new nominations for a temporary Chair Person.

The next meeting is provisionally arranged for 1 November 2004. For more information please contact Assistant Township Manager Tracy Preston on 01706 864908 or email tracy.preston@rochdale.gov.uk.