The Citizen 49 - Page 1
Ashton-Under-Lyne 
Audenshaw Denton Droylsden Dukinfield Hyde Longdendale Mossley Stalybridge
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Page 1
Plans back on track
Tameside's transport plans are back on track following the announcement of a £200m package of funding.
Money is now available for a revised Longdendale Bypass scheme, plus the Metrolink extension from Droylsden to Ashton and the Ashton Northern Bypass, bringing them a step closer.
The money is part of the new £1.4bn transport deal struck between the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities 
(AGMA) and the government.
And the funds that have been made available will not be paid for by introducing the controversial congestion charge as part of the failed Transport Innovation Fund.
Instead the money will be raised by borrowing against a small rise in Council Tax and an increase in the Integrated Transport Authority levy.
It is believed that work on the Metrolink extension to Ashton could start before the end of 2009 and could be completed as soon as 2013. Work on the line to Droylsden has already started and is expected to be finished by 2012.
Council leader Cllr Roy Oldham said: “A recent AGMA meeting unanimously decided to support the reintroduction of a revised Longdendale Bypass as well as bringing the Metrolink to Ashton and the Ashton Northern Bypass back on track.
“The decision will now have to be ratified by the regional assembly before being sent back to government for final approval.
“This is brilliant news for Tameside because the decision not only underpins the region’s infrastructure but it is bound to mean thousands of construction jobs which can feed into our successful Tameside Works First project.
“I would like to pay tribute to the Secretary of State, Geoff Hoon, our three MPs James Purnell, David Heyes and Andrew Gwynne and the High Peak MP Tom Levitt for their continued and unswerving support.”
The original plan to bring trams to Ashton hit the buffers when their introduction depended on a congestion charge at peak times in and out of Manchester.
All 10 Greater Manchester authorities (AGMA) asked their residents to vote on whether or not they wanted the cash injection into the region’s public transport, but with it the congestion charge.
When the referendum result highlighted that a majority of the county’s public didn’t want the scheme as it stood, the proposal was dropped.
Credit Crunch Special
In this edition of the Citizen we have highlighted a number of ways we think we can help you, our readers and Tameside residents, cope more easily with the current economic downturn.
In the middle of the paper is a four-page credit crunch special pull-out packed with useful tips and ideas on ways to save money and resources during this difficult time.
Page 5 has details on how to save money by using less energy in your home plus details on free countryside events for the whole family. It also includes information on help on offer to make sure you claim the right benefits entitled to you.
Page 5 also give you tips on finding work and ways to save on food waste as well as handy tips on free visitor attractions and summer activity sports.
The final page gives advice on uniform grants and free school meals.
Explained executive member with responsibility for publicity, Cllr John Taylor: “We’ve decided to do this because during the current economic climate every little bit helps and, hopefully, readers will find some of this information useful.
“We’ve already launched an initiative to help local businesses through these tough times called Tameside Works First. We hope this may prove equally helpful to our public.”
View the Credit Crunch Special
Patroller's Notice Board
Welcome to the latest from the Crime & Disorder Reduction Partnership Notice Board. This is a whistle-stop tour of what your patrollers have been up to recently.
You will have seen posters throughout Tameside displaying “most people” advertisements.
The campaign has been well received by the public. As the wording states, most people dispose of their litter correctly and are aggrieved by those who do not.
Enforcing council by-laws is a vital part of the patrollers’ role and supports the council’s zero tolerance approach. We want to encourage people to take pride in their community to encourage people to live and work in the area.
The Tameside Patrollers are working hard to tackle these issues by issuing fixed penalty notices to people caught dropping litter or allowing their dogs to foul and failing to remove the mess.
Patrollers work with the community in a number of ways. They go into schools to tell youngsters about the importance of looking after the environment so that they will take pride in their behaviour.
In April, schools in two Hyde wards participated in a competition to design a poster highlighting environmental issues and the importance of disposing of litter and dog foul correctly.
It was sponsored by New Charter Housing and Manchester and District Housing .
Visits and presentations were also made to community groups, residents’ associations and sheltered housing schemes.
These visits are always welcomed as they provide the opportunity to inform, advise and educate groups. Literature is provided and sometimes equipment like pouches for cigarette ends.
If you have any information or would like the patrollers to give a presentation to your group, contact 342 3010 or at www.tameside.gov.uk/patrollers
Working with the police, New Charter Housing, Contour Housing and the district assemblies, the patrollers joined residents in removing rubbish and issuing penalties for litter and dog fouling.
Droylsden patrollers worked successfully with residents and the community safety team to implement alley-gating in an area that was suffering from anti-social behaviour.
Patrollers assisted with the confiscation of a nuisance motorcycle in Stalybridge.
In Ashton, patrollers were thanked for their help in ensuring the smooth running of St George’s Day events and in Stalybridge for their contribution to Tulip Sunday, reported to be the best one yet.
Hyde patrollers attended a community engagement day at the Hyde Bangladeshi Welfare association organised by the Werneth neighbourhood police team. Also present on the day to offer advice and services to local residents were staff from NACRO housing, the chairman of the Hyde Bangladeshi Welfare Association and a local councillor.
Number of Fixed Penalty Notices issued this year: 587
Flowering Success
Tameside is aiming to win North West in Bloom for the fifth successive year.
And if sucessful it will lead to a nomination to represent the North West in the national Britain in Bloom competition in 2010.
Judging Day for Tameside in Bloom is Thursday July 16th, while judging the Neighbourhood Awards will take place on July 17th and 20th. Below is just a taster of what’s going on, for more information log on to www.tameside.gov.uk/inbloom.
Wellington Road, Ashton
This year we are undertaking a project that will dramatically improve one of the major entry ways into the town centre of Ashton. New hanging basket trees have been designed and will co-ordinate with the existing street furniture. Eighteen of these will be installed in the centre reservation of the dual carriage way which leads directly into the town centre. These structures will carry two large, self-watering baskets each. They have been designed to provide the maximum visual impact to both drivers and pedestrians, to be easy to maintain and water and yet not disrupting the lines of sight in this high traffic area.
New Charter Housing Trust
New Charter Housing Trust donated £2,400 to Tameside in Bloom to design, produce and install a floral display feature in the central reservation of a dual carriage way which runs past their head office building in Ashton. A feature has been designed which will include ten self-watering hanging baskets. The design has also taken into account this scheme’s proximity to the hanging basket trees which are to be installed on Wellington Road in Ashton to ensure a continuity of design.
Lord Sheldon Way, Ashton and Audenshaw
Several schemes have been undertaken on Lord Sheldon Way this year to further enhance this artery into the borough. Planting has been undertaken to ensure a high standard of general horticulture along the carriage way, and schemes of specific interest have also been undertaken. Over 6000 shrubs and whips have been planted in its area.
A large scale planting scheme undertaken in partnership with Sainsbury’s and IKEA has regenerated the planting around their store. These schemes complement the 120,000 daffodil bulbs which have already been planted along the central reservation of the carriageway. The carriageway has been designed to allow the tracks for the Metrolink to be laid in the central reservation, when the existing lines are extended through Droylsden into Ashton.
Neighbourhood Award Entries
This year there has been a significant increase in the number of areas entering the North West in Bloom Neighbourhood Awards. These projects have been well supported by their local Registered Social Landlords. This year’s entries include:
- Central Estate, Dukinfield (New Charter Housing Trust)
- The Larches, Micklehurst Estate, Mossley (New Charter Housing Trust)
- Brushes Estate, Stalybridge (New Charter Housing Trust)
- Crowswood Estate, Stalybridge (New Charter Housing Trust)
- Dixon Road Community Garden, Denton (New Charter Housing Trust)
- Yew Tree Community Garden, Denton (New Charter Housing Trust)
- East Audenshaw in Bloom, Audenshaw (New Charter Housing Trust)
- Harbour Farm Estate, Hyde (New Charter Housing Trust)
- Broadoak in Bloom, Ashton-under-Lyne (New Charter Housing Trust)
- Haughton Green Village, Denton (Irwell Valley Housing Associati
Bypass a goer
The stalled move to bring a bypass to Longdendale has been reignited, thanks to the decision to reintroduce the regional transport plan.
A revised plan put forward by the Greater Manchester councils (AGMA ) as part of the £1bn plus package of public transport initiatives for the region was agreed by Secretary of State Geoff Hoon during a recent visit to the North West.
The move comes just weeks after the regional decision-makers decided to withdraw thier support by funding the scheme until after 2016.
This was taken by some to mean the proposal would never see the light of day again.
But now the revised bid, with reduced costs, is back on the agenda.
The revised bid has taken out what many considered the most controversial and costly section of the original, leaving the Glossop Spur from Brookfield to Mottram and the dual carriageway from Mottram Moor to the M67 intact.
Cllr leader Roy Oldham, said: “I never lost faith that, with the groundswell of support this scheme has always attracted, we would find a solution. The traffic congestion in that area is simply unacceptable to those who have to suffer on a daily basis and something needed to be done.
“My hope now is that this scheme will be introduced as quickly as possible. Those who live in the area have suffered for long enough and the scheme’s reintroduction will be a massive relief to them.”
