The Citizen 50 - Page 1
Ashton-Under-Lyne 
Audenshaw Denton Droylsden Dukinfield Hyde Longdendale Mossley Stalybridge
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Page 1
Splendid Summer
Although this summer has seen some miserable weather it has also played host to some fantastic events like this splendid weekend event in Hyde Park in July.
The borough's summer in pictures
Here's just a few pictures taken at this summer's council-run public events. They include the Stalybridge Splash, Hyde's Splendid Weekend, Stamford Park's Beach Party plus much, much more. We may not have had the best summer when it comes to the weather, but that didn't stop our residents going out and enjoying themselves all the same
Patrollers’ 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.
Enforcement
The Tameside Patroller Service always listens to your concerns and continues to work hard to tackle environmental anti-social behaviour such as littering and dog fouling.
Enforcing council by-laws is a vital part of the patrollers' role and supports the council's zero-tolerance approach.
Dog fouling and littering the borough has a detrimental effect upon the environment in which we live. We want to encourage people to take pride in their communities and to make Tameside a safer, greener, cleaner place.
As part of the “Most People” campaign the patroller service organised and led on a day of action around dog fouling. The aim of the day was to target the dog owners who do not pick up after their pets and sent a very clear message that this will not be tolerated.
The day of action included patrols with enforcement officers from the environmental services unit at Tameside Council and, using information gathered by the patroller service, hot spot areas were identified across the borough for concentrated work to be carried out.
This day of action resulted in five fixed penalty notices being issued to people who allowed their dogs to foul and then failed to remove the mess afterwards.
Although five may not seem a large number it is extremely difficult to catch offenders because as soon as they realise someone is watching them they make an effort to pick up.
The dog fouling day of action in June demonstrated the commitment the service has to reduce this type of anti social behaviour. Further days of action are planned throughout the year.
Summer activities and events
The summer has seen many activities and events that the patroller service has been involved in. A number of these have been youth-based projects that have been specifically organised for the long summer break.
The patroller teams have been working closely with partners including youth services, neighbourhood policing teams and Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, in providing a visible presence and engaging with youths directing them to positive activities including ice skating, climbing and beach parties.
Joint partnership activity
Operation Safe4Summer 
was a partnership initiative aimed at keeping young people safe and addressing community concerns about youth-related crime and anti-social behaviour during July and August. This initiative ran across the whole of Greater Manchester and included the council, Greater Manchester Police , Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service , trading standards and GMPTE .
Information was updated on the council website which included events and activities on offer in the borough. These ranged from cheerleading, boogie boarding and photography to name but a few. There was also a range of sports clubs and courses on offer, to enable youths to learn and develop new skills including tri-golf, rugby, athletics and cricket.
Operation STAND (Safer Tameside Against Night Time Disorder) ran during July and August every Friday and Saturday night in the busy town centres of Stalybridge and Ashton. Patrollers worked the early part of the evening, providing a visible presence and promoting safety messages ensuring visitors had a safe and enjoyable evening.
Operation STORM also ran for a week during mid-July.
This operation was to provide a high visible presence and promote neighbourhood policing which included attending at local supermarkets and advising people how to register their valuables at www.immobilise.com .
This is the world's largest free register of possession ownership details and can be used by members of the public and businesses to register their possessions or company assets. It contains the largest database of stolen property and blocked mobile phones.
This online checking service is used by all the UK police forces to trace owners of lost and stolen property. In addition Immobilise is checked daily by a huge range of recovery agencies and lost property offices including the Transport for London lost property office.
As a direct result of Immobilise there are over 250 cases a week where property is returned to their rightful owners.
As part of this operation a multi-agency event took place in Ashton town centre with Greater Manchester Police, patrollers and Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service. The day saw the fire service demonstrating the techniques used when a person is trapped in a vehicle following a road accident. The Tameside Safebus was also on display and was used by services to provide advice and information on a large range of issues including crime prevention, safe drinking and property marking kits.
Community safety message
Seasonal celebrations such as Halloween and bonfire night are nearly upon us. To ensure everyone enjoys the festivities a few simple steps are necessary.
- Lock up and Light up – Make sure your house looks occupied when attending events by using items such as light timers.
- Vulnerable or older members of the community can feel intimidated, alarmed and frightened at this time of year;.Ensure you take this into consideration when planning your festivities.
- Children need to be mindful of road safety and to wear reflective clothing in the dark.
- There are many serious injuries caused by fireworks. Do not ignore simple safety guidelines.
- Never throw fireworks
- Keep pets indoors
- To enjoy celebrations in a safe, controlled environment, members of the public are encouraged to attend organised events.
If you would like further firework safety information and advice visit www.manchesterfire.gov.uk or contact the community fire safety department on 0161 609 1617
If you would like to contact the Tameside Patrollers to find out more about what the service can offer you, please contact us by telephone on 0161 342 3010 or e-mail: Tameside Patrollers
Number of Fixed Penalty Notices issued this year: Dog fouling 39, Littering 822
Flower power
Flower power was out in force as the borough readies itself for this year’s In Bloom judges' decision.
The team have worked hard all year in preparation for the visiting inspectors as Tameside attempts to secure the regional In Bloom title for the fifth time.
This year has seen even more partnership with residents and local employers, with Sainsbury’s in Ashton pushing the boat out with new landscaping at the store entrance, designed to be up and ready in time for judging day.
Hanging baskets packed with colourful floral displays can be found along Wellington Street and all the way down to Lord Sheldon Way, with further floral displays outside key buildings.
The 17 new hanging basket holders that have been installed on Wellington Road were made by PG Fabrications Ltd, in conjunction with the Tameside Works First initiative. This Hyde-based company also designed and made the new feature which holds 10 hanging baskets that can be seen in the central reservation outside the New Charter Housing Trust offices in Ashton. NCHT donated £2,400 towards the cost of this feature.
Executive Member for economic services, Cllr Kieran Quinn, commented on the link between Tameside Works First and Tameside in Bloom: “Both these initiatives are wholly aimed at improving the borough of Tameside for the people who live, work and visit here. Tameside in Bloom carries out work across the entire area of Tameside, and by using local companies and contractors ensures that this work benefits small businesses and strengthens the local economy.”
Cllr Sweeton, project head for Tameside in Bloom said: “Tameside in Bloom is committed to improving the borough because we realise that in these difficult economic times it is important to maintain our efforts. Tameside in Bloom is about so much more than flowers. It encompasses permanent landscaping but also cleanliness in terms of street sweeping, dog fouling, chewing gum and litter removal, as well as taking into account the massive efforts made by members of the public and community groups and organisations in the borough. When added together all these efforts make Tameside a very attractive area to invest in.”
The Tameside in Bloom team are particularly pleased that the Garsey planters can again be seen around Tameside. Last year the whole crop of Impatiens, which are usually used in the planters, suffered from a nation-wide disease and could not be used. This year, Tameside Nursery (or Tameside Central Horticultural Unit to give it its proper title) has experimented with different species of flowers which have resulted in several innovative designs. These planters form an important part of Tameside Council’s commitment to bring floral displays into town centres and other built-up areas.
As well as aiming to win the regional competition, everyone involved in Tameside in Bloom has their fingers crossed for the nomination to represent the North West in the 2010 national Britain in Bloom competition. The results should be known later in the year.
Tameside is Celebrating
Tameside is celebrating after achieving prestigious Green Flag status for yet another one of its parks.
Cheethams Park in Stalybridge now joins the extensive list of local parks and green spaces to be recognised under the national scheme.
Judges also re-awarded Green Flags to the following 10 sites:
- Victoria Park in Denton
- Haughton Green Playing Fields
- Ryecroft Hall in Audenshaw
- Hyde Park
- Cedar Park and Oxford Park in Ashton
- Cheetham Park in Stalybridge
- Park Bridge in Ashton
- Werneth Low Country Park
- Lymefields and Broad Mills in Broadbottom
- Denton Cemetery
Black Knight rides again
White knights normally ride to the rescue, but there was a twist to the traditional story when Tameside Council came to the aid of the Black Knight.
Sculptor Marjan Wouda’s statue, which stood in the Arcades shopping centre for several years, was almost literally rescued from the scrapheap and now stands in the customer service centre at Tameside Council’s Ashton offices.
It was unveiled by the executive leader, Cllr Roy Oldham, and he noted that he was following in the footsteps of his colleague, Cllr Alan Whitehead, who had been at the Arcades to perform the same ceremony during his mayoralty in 1995.
At the end of a humorous speech, Cllr Oldham said: “The Black Knight is synonymous with Ashton and I am delighted that we have been able to restore the statue and put it on display.”
According to legend, the Black Knight was Sir Ralph de Assheton who lived during the 15th century. It is said that he fought in the Wars of the Roses and was one of the chief supporters of Richard III.
Sir Ralph’s reputation for cruelty was based on his practice of riding through the town each Easter Monday with the determination of finding anyone in whose field he could find a corn-marigold. The offender was punished by being placed in the stocks until the fine was paid.
On these incursions, Sir Ralph wore a full suit of black armour and was mounted on a charger.
Sir Ralph is also said to have placed anyone who offended him in a barrel into which nails were driven. The offender was then rolled down Crickets Lane.
