& Area Forum Minutes th www..gov.uk Thursday 29 November 2012, Newhey Community Primary School, Hawthorn Lane, Newhey, Rochdale

Pennines Township Office 01706 756601; Email: [email protected] S. Lowe (Chair), I. Rigby, C.Baron, R. Horton, J.Taylor, J.Chapman, Present J.Chapman, M.Ahmed, D.Cranny, Z.Cranny, M.Hopkinson, C.Barber, J. Brennan, B.Greenwood, M. Clarke, C.Clarke

Councillors & MP Councillor M. Rodger, Councillor A. Brett

Officers & Press Katie Moore (Township Management), Stephen Pyke (Environmental Management), Azizul Hoque (Youth Service), Kirsty Day (Rochdale Observer), Amanda Beeley (RBH), Lucy Pritchard (RBH)

Apologies S.Leach, K. Swift, I. Davidson, Councillor A. Kelly

Introduction and The Chair introduced himself to the forum and thanked everyone for attending. Code of Conduct Attention was drawn to the code of conduct. All attendees were asked to abide by the code for the duration of the meeting. Transport for Please see the accompanying notes for the update provided by MPT. Greater and Metrolink

Previous minutes Updates from previous meeting and matters arising CCTV in Milnrow and Milnrow The camera which was broken is being fixed. A Community Safety Officer is assessing all cameras in the area to see whether they need replacing. They will come back to Townships with costings of replacements if this is the case.

Environmental Management has responsibility of the camera in the park however, the camera is missing. A camera is on the Tavern near the park. Community safety are liaising with Environmental Management to monitor the equipment.

MPT Traffic Management Arrangements It was requested following the last area forum that should further traffic management be required in this location, MPT install this in a different fashion so as to impact less upon Railway Street. MPT confirmed on the 29th November 2012 that parapet/coping works are complete, thus will not require any further traffic management.

Reinstatement of bench and litter bin on Huddersfield Road MPT have confirmed that they have no plans to reinstate a bench or bin. As a side note, MPT have said that should anyone intend to replace a bench/bin then the substation now occupies their previous location.

Action 1: Councillor Brett agreed to investigate the reinstatement of a bench and bin.

Page 1 of 8 Request for permanent fencing around the old substation on Railway Street, Newhey Metrolink have built a new substation and it seems the council have been sold the land at the front of the ENWL substation.

Action 2: Katie to chase this up as there is a security risk around personal property.

Township Funding for the restoration of Milnrow Clock An application for funding was submitted for consideration at the Pennines Township Delegated and Funding Sub-Committee. Funding for the restoration of the clock was approved. Councillor Andy Kelly has submitted in an application to Lottery Heritage Funding. The application is pending.

Flashing 30mph sign on Wildhouse Lane All flashing signs are now purchased through Eon. Highways have given an approximate cost of £5500 for the purchase and installation of a sign. However, this does not include maintenance and upkeep. This will have to be considered. There is currently a battery operated speed sign on Wildhouse Lane. However, this is being removed in the next couple of weeks to Smithy Bridge Road. A battery operated sign could be an option however, this would also require ongoing maintenance. This will cost approx £2500.

Residents said that RMBC had agreed to do an automated traffic count survey. It was agreed for Katie to obtain the findings from the survey and any action that was taken as a result of the survey.

Action 3: Katie to obtain results and find out the action taken from the automated traffic count survey on Kiln Lane.

Residents are also concerned about HGV’s using Wildhouse Lane/Kiln Lane. Councillor Brett advised that at the last Pennines Township Committee members discussed the implications of restricting access for large goods vehicles to the Smithy Bridge area. The Committee considered the views of local residents and business representatives who addressed the Committee in relation to the report. Based on the report the committee agreed that no further proposals to restrict access to Smithy Bridge by large goods vehicles be undertaken in relation to the submitted report.

Katie advised that a meeting has been arranged for residents to speak with local haulage companies regarding HGV’s using the Smithy Bridge area. Details of the meeting are outlined under any other business.

Traffic Enforcement- Crossgate’s Primary School A request was sent to the headteacher of Crossgate’s Primary to remind parents to not park on the double yellow lines. RMBC’s Enforcement Team said that Crossgates School is patrolled by Civil Enforcement Officers on a rota basis with other schools in the Borough. The area was last visited several times during the week commencing 15th October 2012, previous to this the area was visited several times during the week commencing 24th September 2012. The Enforcement Officers last patrolled the areas w/c/ 5th November between the hours of 8.30am-9am and 3.15pm- 3.45pm.

Cotton Tree Corner maintenance Environmental Management visited the site on Tuesday 2nd October to remove the weeds.

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Maintenance and equipment at Hough Park No parks within the Borough have permanent rangers due to the efficiency savings. The grass cutting for the park is carried out by the Pennine’s streets service team. A request was put in for the team to address this.

The play equipment was inspected on 9th October as part of Environmental Managements scheduled 6 weekly technical inspections. The team did not find anything wrong with the equipment.

A resident asked for the inspection team to look at the slide and ask for the larger slide to be reinstated.

Action 4: Katie to ask park inspection team to look at slide and ask for larger slide to be reinstated.

Dog bags for Milnrow Park and Milnrow Library Following a request for dog bags, dog bags for the library and the park were issued w/c 1st October.

Community Speed Watch Irene Davidson has been in contact with Sgt Booth. The information collected has to be sent to him, and he will then take care of it.

Environmental maintenance of Bowland Grove, Grange Avenue, Beechfield Road and Egremont Road This was put on Environmental Managements schedule of works and will be addressed by the Green Team.

CCTV for Beechfield Road Following the last Tactical Tasking Group which is an RMBC led meeting with our partner agencies such as, the police and fire service, the police said they would look at the amount of reports they’ve received and liaise with Community Safety.

Since the meeting Community Safety has confirmed that there have been no incident logs received from the police which state that it is an ASB hotspot. Community Safety also said that to install a camera is the last report. Other interventions would need to be investigated. Community Safety encourages residents to call 101 to report crimes and other concerns that do not require an emergency response. Please call 999 when it is an emergency, such as when a crime is in progress, someone suspected of a crime is nearby, when there is danger to life or when violence is being used or threatened.

Overgrown bushes near to the John Milne Pub A request was put into Environmental Management to carry out this job. One of our Enforcement Officers visited the site and said that the pavement on the John Milne side of the road is very narrow.

Shelter for Milnrow Park and extra opening hours for the café Discussions are still ongoing.

Lighting at Newhey Carpet’s Newhey Carpets confirmed that the light shining into the residential houses was due to some temporary flood lights that had been installed whilst some work was being carried out on Coral Mill Factory.

Page 3 of 8 Open Forum Following a resident’s request, officers from RBH attended to discuss service charges. It was agreed that a meeting be arranged outside the forum meeting so residents could address their individual concerns.

Action 5: RBH officers to arrange tenants meeting with residents at Railway Street.

Concerns were raised about the off-license on Huddersfield Road selling alcohol to people underage via the back door. Councillor Brett agreed to obtain further information and send it to the councils Licensing Officer.

Action 6: Councillor Brett to obtain further information regarding the selling of alcohol to people underage and send it to the Licensing Officer.

Residents reported overflowing drains at the corner of Huddersfield road/Shaw Road and Railway Street junction/going onto Huddersfield Road. There was also concern around the road surfacing at Railway Street. Katie advised that a highways road resurfacing programme has been put together for the next two years. Unfortunately Railway Street is not included. It was agreed for Katie to check when Railway Street might be resurfaced.

Action 7: Katie to liaise with Highways regarding drainage and to find out when Railway Street will be resurfaced.

Residents reported waste fly-tipping and dog fouling in the small area in front of the new substation on Railway Street. It was agreed for Stephen Pyke to carry out a site visit to inspect the area with the view to taking the appropriate action.

Action 8: Stephen Pyke to visit site on Railway Street and to take appropriate action.

A resident from Railway Street raised concerns about the security unit behind the residential houses. The generator for the unit is very loud and starts running in the middle of the night. Katie agreed to approach MPT and find out how long the unit will be there for.

In addition, the planting at Newhey Station remains the same. Katie advised that the ward councillors had been in direct contact with MPT about the issues raised by the residents. Residents requested a meeting with an executive member of staff from TfGM/MPT. The ward councillors have received a detailed plan of the planting schemes for the area. TfGM believe that the planting installed is in line with the appropriate planning permissions granted for this stop. Councillor Brett agreed to contact RMBC’s planning department to find out if MPT have planted in line with what was agreed when planning was agreed.

Action 9: Katie to contact TfGM/MPT regarding the generator at the security unit and arrange a meeting with residents from Railway Street and an executive member from TfGM/MPT.

Action 10: Councillor Brett to contact RMBC’s planning department to find out if MPT have planted in line with what was agreed when planning was agreed.

Residents enquired about previous proposals for a temporary traffic management system between Elizabethan Way and the exit road from the motorway to relieve traffic congestion.

Action 11: Katie to check past records of a scheme for Elizabethan Way. Page 4 of 8

A meeting has been arranged for residents to speak with local haulage A.O.B companies regarding HGV’s using the Smithy Bridge area. The meeting will take place on:

Date: 4th December 2012, Time: 6pm-7pm Location: Room 5, Littleborough Community Campus, Road, Littleborough, OL15 9JQ

All welcome. 7.00pm Thursday 14th March 2012 at Newhey Community Primary School, Next meeting Hawthorn Lane, Newhey, Rochdale.

Page 5 of 8 TfGM statement – progress on Rochdale Metrolink line

Testing is underway on the new alignment between Oldham Mumps and Rochdale train station. This testing involves “dynamic testing” whereby trams are run along the alignment the help assess the interaction between tram vehicles, the infrastructure (track/platforms etc.) and the overhead line equipment. Testing has been going well and will continue until early 2013. Following this a brief period of driver training will commence prior to the line becoming operational.

In a change to previous plans to open the line from Oldham Mumps to Rochdale train station in one phase, the line will now open first to Shaw (anticipated very early in the New Year) followed by an opening to Rochdale train station a few months later. The opportunity, and subsequent decision, to open to Shaw before Rochdale train station will not impact upon the timescales for opening to Rochdale train station. A “turn back” is in place at the Shaw stop enabling testing and commissioning works to continue towards Rochdale without interruption being caused by the line operating to Shaw.

Progress of construction works elsewhere on the network:

• ‐ Testing works are progressing well on the new extensions to Droylsden with news expected soon regarding an opening date in the near future. • East Didsbury – Overhead line testing is underway on the new extension to East Didsbury (an extension to the current line to Chorlton), anticipated opening date Summer 2013. • extension ‐ Construction works are well underway on the new extension to Manchester Airport. Utility diversion works largely complete and track installation is underway. Anticipated opening date 2016. • Second City Crossing –TfGM are in the process of obtaining the appropriate Powers to construct and operate a second Metrolink line in the city centre. • Oldham town centre – Track works are on‐going along the extension, resulting in traffic management measures around the town. Anticipated opening date 2014. Once open, the Oldham Rochdale line will no longer travel to the former Oldham Mumps train station, instead running along Union Street, across King Street, beneath Oldham Way to Middleton Road and through Westwood business park to meet the alignment of the Oldham Rochdale line once more. • Rochdale town centre – Track works on‐going along Drake Street, Smith Street and Maclure Road, with resultant traffic management measures in place around the area. Majority of civil works expected to complete Easter 2013, which will be followed by overhead line works along the alignment. Anticipated opening date 2014.

If attendees have any queries or points they wish to discuss, my team can be reached on 0161 244 1555 or at [email protected]

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TfGM statement – concerns over large trees within Newhey Metrolink stop

Another separate point was raised by a resident who was concerned with the height of existing trees within the stop boundary. The concern was based upon the potential damage that these trees could do to nearby houses, given their height and root structures. I have attached document BS 5837‐2005 Trees in relation to Construction.

The pertinent points within this document are:

10.1.1 – this point stipulates that “buildings should be constructed to allow for future growth of planted or self‐sown trees”. I believe that the residential properties on Railway view are predated by the trees noted within the concern raised.

However, yet more pertinent is the information in table 3, which stipulates the minimum distance required by British Standards, within which it could be expected that trees could cause damage to a variety of structures. The trees in question are significantly further away from residential properties than the distances stated within this document.

Should the trees become unsafe over time due to disease, this would be monitored by the maintainer/operator and any required action would be undertaken. If trees grow over the boundary fencing of nearby properties then the residential property owner has the right to carry out any action required to cut back branches up to their property boundary. The owner of the trees, in this case TfGM does not have a responsibility to undertake any such work unless the branches are coming into contact with (and damaging) property.

TfGM statement – Landscaping at Newhey Metrolink stop.

Following the Milnrow and Newhey area forum meeting, TfGM stakeholder communications manager (Neil Harrison) and TfGM environment manager attended the Newhey site to examine planting installed by MPact‐Thales. Our environment manager then reviewed the planting to ensure the planting scheme (previously approved at planning stage) was adequate.

Having reviewed each of the species that have been planted, TfGM do not believe additional planting is necessary, providing the existing scheme matures it will provide adequate screening. Planting young shrubs and trees rather than mature trees significantly increases the growth rate of the plants whilst also reducing the chance of newly planted trees not “taking” and maturing properly. To plant additional, mature trees and plants would retard the growth of the younger trees, making the likelihood of the planting scheme failing much higher.

In summary, TfGM believe that the planting installed is in line with the appropriate planning permissions granted for this stop. TfGM believe that the approved scheme provides a suitable landscaping solution which over time will prove to be the most appropriate approach for providing screening for nearby properties whilst maintaining passive surveillance of the stop area – to the benefit of both Metrolink users and nearby homeowners. The approach of maintaining some passive surveillance echoes advice given during design stage by Police representatives.

The works undertaken at Newhey to remove the former heavy rail facility have improved security in the area significantly. The introduction of CCTV, lighting systems at the stop, and the increased passive surveillance in the area represent a positive change when compared to the impact of the former facility upon nearby houses and the local community. However,

Page 7 of 8 despite the security benefits which the new facility brings, the security of a residential property remains the responsibility of the property owner.

TfGM do not intend, nor feel it would be of benefit, to amend the planting scheme in this area. Should the planting scheme not mature as intended, this will be reviewed by operators and maintainers of the Oldham Rochdale Metrolink extension.

Below I have included a summary of the plants used in this scheme and some details about the plants, such as the expected mature size and growth rates.

In front of the first property we have the Stop Landscaping Scheme – • 135 No. Photina x fraseri “red robin” Popular evergreen shrub with glossy leaves, white flowers and young red shoots, often planted as a specimen shrub or as a fast growing dense, evergreen hedge. Flowers April to May. It will grow to 5m (17 ft) and spread 5 m (17ft) spread. Red Robin can grow up to 30 cm (1ft) a year. • 65 No. Viburnum opulus “compactum”. Guelder rose. Is a compact medium sized shrub with 3‐5 lobed leaves turning purplish pink in autumn. Flat heads of small fertile flowers in early summer, surrounded by creamy‐white sterile ones, and followed by bright red berries. Fruit can cause mild stomach upset if ingested. Mature height is 1‐1.5 m ‐ time to mature height is 10‐20 years. • 4 no. Acer campestre “Elsrijk” ‐ Grows to a height of less than 10 m twiggy branches, bearing dense green foliage, turning golden yellow in Autumn.

Remaining houses along Railway Terrace – 108 m² “Native shrub mix” • 21 No. Crataegus monogyna – common hawthorn ‐ The common hawthorn is a shrub or small tree 5‐14 m tall, with a dense crown. The Common Hawthorn is widely used for hedging. This variable native has small, lobed foliage. Masses of scented clusters of white flowers in May and small red fruits in autumn. The best growth is produced in good soil, but the plant is very tolerant of cold, occasional water‐logging and wind. Grows to a height of 8‐10m with a 6‐8m spread. • 21 No. Corylus avellana common hazel ‐ The Common Hazel is a native large multi‐ stemmed shrub or small to medium‐sized tree which is not typically grown as a clear stemmed tree. The yellow catkins make a fine display in early spring. The relatively large, rounded, green serrated foliage often turns to yellow shades in autumn, when the clusters of edible nuts are ripe. Thrives in a wide range of soils and in sun/light shade. Can grow to 8 m. • 16 No. Cytlsus scoparius – common broom ‐ Is a perennial leguminous shrub native to western and central europe. The shrubs have green shoots, in summer is covered with profuse golden yellow flowers. Achieves a height of between 1‐3 m • 16 No. Rosa canina – Dog rose ‐ The Native Dog Rose has white or, more usually, pink single flowers followed by red hips on vigorous thorny stems. This is a deciduous shrub normally ranging in height from 1‐5 m. • 16 No. Lonicera periclymenum‐ common honeysuckle‐ The Common Honeysuckle is a strong growing twining climber with oval to elliptic leaves. Very fragrant purplish‐ red tubular flowers open to white or pale yellow in June and July and possibly later, followed by round red berries in tight clusters. The plant is usually pollinated by moths or long‐tongued bees and develops bright red berries. Can grow up to 10 m. • 16 No. Ulex Europaeus – Common gorse – Grows to a height of approximately 2‐3 m

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