Teams aim for band contest clean sweep

TEAMS of street cleaners are gearing up to make sure one of the busiest weekend’s in the Oldham calendar is a tidy one.

Tomorrow will see more than 100 brass bands from all over the county, and thousands of spectators, descend on 11 Saddleworth Whit Friday band contests.

Last year 133 bands did the circuit — which this year includes Diggle for the first time — and similar numbers are expected again to compete for a biggest-ever prize pot in excess of £36,000.

The event is preceded by the traditional Whit Walks, when thousands of local people and visitors take part in church and chapel processions.

There will also be children’s sporting activities in the afternoon as many local businesses and schools will close.

This is a major operation for Oldham Council’s Street Scene teams, with 32 staff covering the events, plus the annual Saddleworth Beer Walk which takes place on Saturday.

Councillor John McCann, cabinet member for community services, who also represents Saddleworth South, said: “Since 1884 the Whit band contest has been a popular event. It is something we aim to support as much as possible and we ensure that resources are in place to enable it to be carried out safely and with the minimum of disruption to local residents.

“For example, last year over 100 tonnes of rubbish was removed in less then eight hours over Saturday and Sunday to ensure that everyone could get back to normal on Monday.

“This was a tremendous undertaking which went a great way to ensuring that the weekend was such a success.

“This year council staff have worked closely with event organisers to ensure that the clean up again moves quickly and that all the relevant road closures are in place.

“We would also like to again ask the public to play their part by using the bins provided.”