Coppice residents fail in alley gating appeal

A TWO-year appeal for alley gating at a Coppice block of flats has been renewed after a dumped car was set alight.

Residents in a block of 12 privately-owned flats in Pellowe Road have been calling for an alley gating scheme to secure their garage area.

But they claim they have been refused the scheme because they are on the wrong side of neighbouring Copster Hill Road.

On Tuesday night last week, fire crews were called out to the flats at 9.15pm to extinguish a burning car which damaged the garages.

A 75-year-old resident, who did not want to be named, said: “We are a cul-de-sac with 12 garages and it’s not the first time this has happened.

“Six years ago another car was set alight which damaged two of the garages. They had to be taken down and rebuilt. We’ve asked for gates to be put on at the Pellowe Road and Copster Hill Road entry into the cul-de-sac because we’ve got problems.

“Properties on the other side of Copster Hill Road are all gated.

“We made inquiries to the council and apparently we are on the wrong side.”

The resident, who has lived in the flats for 23 years, said installing the gates would also prevent current youth nuisance problems.

She said: “If we got the alley gating, it would prevent cars being driven on to the forecourt.

“It would also put a lot of trouble and worry out of people’s minds.

“We get a lot of youths hanging around, making noise and dealing in drugs. The next car that gets set alight could cause damage to the flats as well as the garage.”

Mike Farrell, from Oldham Council’s community safety unit, said they could not comment on individual cases but there were many reasons why installing an alley gate would not be possible.

He said: “Our alley gating scheme does not have a secure, continuous stream of funding so there are some occasions when we receive request for gates to be installed, but unfortunately funding is not available.

“Because of this we need to target the installation of gates where there are high levels of domestic burglary, or areas which have suffered from a high level of anti social behaviour.

“There is also an issue around alleyways that have been adopted, in which case there would be protracted legal procedure to enable us to install gates.

“We strive to install gates in those areas where they will have the most impact on reducing crime and improving lives.”

Medlock Vale councillor Ateeque Ur Rehman said he was aware of anti-social issues involving the flats.

He said: “Copster Hill Road is the boundary line for the New Deal for Communities (NDC) area whose properties have all been alley gated.

“Unfortunately, the flats fall outside this area but residents can still apply to the council if they want the scheme introduced.

“There are about 400 alley gating schemes currently waiting to be assessed in the borough, but I would be happy to speak to the resident about her concerns.”