Citizens' Panel Spring 2009 Newsletter
Citizens' Panel Newsletter
Issue 5: Spring 2009
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In this newsletter:
Welcome!
This is the latest Citizens’ Panel update where we tell you the results from our Spring 2009 survey. Thanks so much to all of you who took the time to fill in the questionnaires and send them back to us. The results are really helping us to make informed decisions when planning and developing services across the Council.
There’s lots to do in Tameside!
From yoga to local history, bat-watching to classic car shows, brass bands to craft groups there are lots of opportunities for Tameside residents to find a new hobby or to restart an old one.
Group activities are a great way to make new friends, try something different and perhaps even learn new skills.
Tameside What’s On Guide is published six times a year and is packed with ideas and activities for all ages and the great thing is that many of them are free!
We wanted to know what you think of the What’s On Guide. It’s great that most of you who read the What's On Guide find it very informative and easy to use. Lots of you have also attended events and activities after seeing them mentioned in the guide.
Tameside What’s On Guide
Why not pick up your free copy today?
It’s available at customer service centres, tourist information centres, libraries and children’s centres, sports centres and at Tameside’s museums and galleries.
The long and winding road...
A safe and reliable road system is vital for enabling Tameside’s residents, visitors and businesses to go about their day-to-day lives. It is really important that our roads stay well maintained and in a good condition so that they continue to be safe and convenient to use.
Because in one way or another you all rely on Tameside’s roads, we were really keen to find out what you think of them.
Did you know...?
Tameside has over 720km of roads (not including motorways and trunk roads), over 28,000 streetlights and illuminated signs and over 47,000 drainage gully grids.
If we had to replace the entire highway network in one go it would cost about £760 million
You told us that your main priorities are:
- the conditions of road and pavement surfaces.
- the number of times roads and pavements are dug up for pipe laying and repair works such as gas and water mains.
- the provision of winter services such as gritting.
We’re really glad that over the last three years, and compared to our neighbours, most of you think that we are performing well with regards to street lighting, highway drainage and winter services.
How we will use the information.
We have already started working with the main utility companies to make sure that when they do have to carry out repairs, the work is better planned and of a high quality. We have also highlighted our concerns in Parliament with local MPs supporting our approach to the Department of Transport to tighten up legislation controlling these activities.
We are working with the District Assemblies to identify local priorities for road and pavement repairs and we are looking particularly hard at the services we provide in the winter.
We will continue to use all of our available resources in the best possible way so we can continue to provide a high quality service to all road users.
Health and Wellbeing
Did you know...?
Every Council in the country carries out scrutiny. Councillors that are not part of the decision-making Executive (the Cabinet) have a scrutiny role. They look closely at the way the Council, and other service providers (including the police and health service), address local issues and deliver services.
This allows councillors to hold decision-makers to account, because it provides an opportunity for the community to influence the people who are responsible for providing services and addressing local issues. This helps decision-makers to make the best choices for local residents.
The Personal and Health Services Scrutiny Panel wanted to know about the opportunities and barriers that Tameside residents experience in leading more active and healthy lives, as part of a project they are currently undertaking on tackling obesity.
It’s recommended that most adults should try to do 30 minutes of activity that makes you slightly warmer and breathe more heavily on 5 or more days of the week.
Its great that 44% of you told us you do some form of physical activity 3 times a week, or more and that most of you (63%) consider yourselves to be a healthy weight.
It was interesting for us to learn that the top two reasons why people don’t take exercise are because they don’t have the time and the cost of exercising is too high and that nearly a third of people would be willing to do more exercise if they were more aware of the opportunities available to them.
The information you have given us is really helpful in letting us and NHS Tameside and Glossop know how to promote healthy lifestyles across Tameside.
We’re working really hard to improve your access to exercise facilities. As well as opening a brand new 1km cycle track here in Tameside this autumn we’re also improving our sports centres. The new and improved Ashton Pools and Copley Sports Centre are now open for use. Hyde Leisure Pool is also being refurbished and should be open by late July, Longdendale Recreation Centre will open as a gymnastics facility in October and £3.1 million is being invested in the Ken Ward centre in Hattersley where work will start this summer.
You can find lots of tips on how to get active at http://www.tameside.gov.uk/health.
Risen from the Ashes
Ashton Market Hall is now thriving again after the devastating fire four years ago.
Situated right in the heart of Tameside, the 140 stalls in the new Market Hall offer shoppers great bargains on everything from fresh produce to homeware, from clothes to computer games and from spectacles to mobile phones.
We were keen to see what you think of the new Market Hall and we are really pleased that most of you are happy with it and think that there is the right balance between food and non-food stalls.
In the current economic climate it’s really important to support our local businesses where possible so it’s great news that 50% more people intend to use the refurbished Market Hall regularly as compared to those who shopped at the Phoenix Market Hall.
How are we doing?
Tameside Council is committed to providing excellent customer services to our residents.
We wanted to know about your experience of contacting the Council and how well you think it is run.
- 59% of you are happy with the quality of services provided by the Council
- almost half of you think that the Council gives residents good value for money
- 70% of you who had contacted the Council were satisfied with the experience
- of those of you who wanted to make a complaint, 66% found it easy to do so.
We will continue to work hard to provide you with high quality services which are good value for money.
We will make sure that our standards stay high. We do this by monitoring our performance and continuing to ask you how you think we’re doing and where we need to improve.
Did you know...?
Tameside has the second lowest Council Tax in the North West and is in the lowest 5% nationally, with increases well below the national average for the last four years.
Recycling
Waste management is a key part of the Council’s duty to Tameside’s residents. What we do with our rubbish has a really big impact on the environment, environmental health and the general appearance of the area so we want to make sure that we collect your waste and recyclable materials in the best way. The feedback you gave us helps us to plan where we need to focus our resources.
Did you know...?
- Each year in Britain, we throw away 28 million tonnes of rubbish from our homes. This weighs the same as three and a half million double-decker buses. A queue of buses that long would go around the world one and a half times.
- You can make 20 cans out of recycled material with the same amount of energy it takes to make one new one.
- The UK produces 420 million tonnes of solid waste every year. That's the weight of 5 cars for each person every year. We only recycle 11% of it.
- Incinerating 10,000 tonnes of waste creates 1 job, landfill the same amount of waste creates 6 jobs, but recycling the same 10,000 tonnes creates 36 jobs.
- In just over a week, we produce enough rubbish to fill Wembley stadium. Over half of that waste can be recycled.
(Source: http://www.recycle-more.co.uk 
)