Mayor of Greater Manchester: Andy Burnham’s Question Time in Rochdale
Date published: 25 July 2018
Andy Burnham's Question Time
The Seven Sisters (College Bank flats), the Northern Rail fiasco and tackling vandalism on the Metrolink were just a handful of hot topics during Andy Burnham’s Question Time at Wardle Academy on Tuesday.
Members of the public and the chairmen of all local townships were invited to the Mayor of Greater Manchester’s event, which saw a number of important issues both across Rochdale and Greater Manchester addressed.
Metrolink
Vandalism of the Metrolink service and its stations was raised, with Bob Morris from Transport for Greater Manchester stating that every day of the week, there are approximately three trams out of use on the network due to vandalism.
Recently, a Metrolink stop in Milnrow was smashed, and the Newbold stop has drawn criticism over the years due to antisocial behaviour at the site.
The Mayor commented: “We need to recruit more police as best we can, given that we are still facing cuts to our central government grant. We have asked you all to pay, I’m afraid, a bit more council tax to help recruit more police and GMP are on with that at the moment.
“We’re planning to recruit 100 more police officers and that’s the first time we’re actively adding to the numbers in eight years. We have put more PCSOs on Metrolink, and as part of the new franchise for Metrolink, the operator has committed to putting more TravelSafe officers on Metrolink.
“We have also asked the Home Secretary for powers to ban people from the service.”
College Bank Flats
Former Mayor of Rochdale Robin Parker asked if there is any shift in the regional or national funding regimes to retain and improve the Seven Sisters flats at College Bank.
He added: “This would be a net deficit of approximately 400 properties on the College Bank footprint alone. The Save the Seven Sisters campaign has a petition of 600 signatures of residents opposed to demolition and wide support from communities around the town.”
Mr Burnham answered: “At a Greater Manchester level, there isn’t funding available to refurbish in the way you’re asking. There was meant to be a government green paper today on social housing, but it doesn’t seem to have appeared. Frustratingly, this is the last day before parliament summer recess which suggests that paper won’t appear for two or three months.
“I was told it wouldn’t result in a net deficit. Is it right to spend the money refurbishing or is it right to build new stock that will last for the same period of time as the original blocks? I think those are difficult challenges. I am prepared to take a greater look at the issue and try to find out some answers from the government with regards to funding.”
Ward councillor Sultan Ali said he is convinced that Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH) is ‘making a mistake’ and he fully backs the campaign to save College Bank.
He added: “There is a local shortage of housing and I only have to go to RBH to see the droves of people crying out for housing”
Read more about RBH’s plans for College Bank and Lower Falinge:
Crime
Mr Burnham was asked what plans he has to tackle rising crime rates in Greater Manchester.
He replied: “We need more police officers and there’s no getting away from that. We have hit a point and there has to be a change starting with this budget and next year’s spending review.”
“We need to make the call for more police resources to central government louder and louder.”
Councillor Peter Rush questioned the use of 101 and PCSOs plus how much influence and power they have.
Mr Burnham said: “Most communities value PCSOs as they’re out and about in the community building relationships. “They complement the front line” but admitted 101 is “nowhere near good enough” and is yet to see improvement.
Greater Manchester Spatial Framework
The questions moved on to the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework and in particularly greenbelt.
Mr Burnham said: “The first draft of the Spatial Framework would not solve the housing crisis.
“Councils are under massive pressure from Whitehall to meet housing targets and they must respond to that. Councils say they can’t deal with that challenge through brownfield sites alone.
“We have been given housing funds from government to develop brownfield sites, but I can’t sit here and say there won’t be difficult decisions regarding greenbelt in response to the Spatial Framework.”
The revised plans will go before council leaders at the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) meeting on Friday (27 July).
Littleborough playing fields
Following on from the greenbelt discussion, a Littleborough headteacher mentioned the proposed new secondary school on playing fields used by two schools for PE and games.
The headteacher said: “If the playing fields we use are taken away, I don’t know what we will do. We have limited space and would have nowhere for PE and games. My governors are extremely concerned.”
Mr Burnham answered: “I would hate to see a situation where you lose access to green space. I would prefer a situation where there is more local control over education. The ability of the council to object, I don’t think it is what it should be. I personally believe in an educational system that is fair to all schools.
“If there’s going to be a new school at least have it in the right place and not something to the detriment of existing schools: that isn’t right in principle.”
Questions were raised regarding sports facilities being taken away for housing developments as part of the Spatial Framework.
He said: “Community sports clubs do an absolutely fantastic job and they should be cherished and protected. If there is need to take those facilities away they should absolutely be relocated.”
Virgin Media
The topic of Virgin Media digging up Rochdale’s roads and pavements has been ongoing for some time, and did not escape Andy Burnham’s Question Time.
One woman asked: “I would say a lot of people’s mobility in the borough has been hindered a lot by Virgin Media, who are digging up our pavements and leaving them uneven so people who can walk are having problems. I’m just wondering how it was allowed to happen across the whole borough and what the council or Andy Burnham can do about rectifying the pavements back to how they were.”
Mr Burnham said: “They’ve got a lot of power to dig up the roads and pavements. I would like to see more councils with power to monitor what they do. I will get the evidence from Rochdale Council and challenge them with it. If they’ve dug up your pavements and not put that back to an acceptable standard, they need to be challenged with that.”
Chief Executive of Rochdale Borough Council, Steve Rumbelow, added: “The balance of power is not right. It was subject of a council debate earlier this year and I was asked to write to the Secretary of State. That needs to rebalanced. We have put money aside to deal with potholes and footpaths are in better condition too. There are some controls but not enough.”
Accessible pavements
One member of the public asked: “What do you propose to do to help pedestrians and wheelchair users regain the pavements? Motorists park their vehicles on them, cyclists ride on them, householders leave their wheelie bins on them, irrespective of whether it’s waste collection day. What measures will you take to achieve obstruction free along our pavements and footpaths?”
Mr Burnham responded: “This gets raised with me so often because the frustration can limit people’s lives. There are things we need to do to support people. Most of the issues fall to local councils, however, I appointed Chris Boardman, the gold medal Olympian cyclist, as our cycling and walking commissioner.
“We need streets that give people the confidence to use them. I gave him a big budget to improve walking and cycling provision across Greater Manchester because that benefits everyone.”
The ‘Beelines’ network will be the largest joined-up system of walking and cycling routes in the UK and has been developed with all 10 Greater Manchester local authorities.
Once built, the network will better connect every community in Greater Manchester, benefitting 2.7 million people and making cycling and walking a real alternative to the car.
In Rochdale, 136 new or upgraded crossings are proposed enabling 89% of the population to use Beelines. Six miles of Beelines on busy roads are proposed.
Read more about Beelines at: https://www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/119979/greater-manchester-plans-for-beelines-cycling-and-walking-network
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