Community trust

PLEASED to meet you . . . Home Office minister Phil Woolas (left) with Alan Humphries

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Neighbourhood agreement scheme gains momentum

A Ground-breaking scheme which sets out what residents can expect from local services has been thrust into the national spotlight.

Householders in Fitton Hill and Hathershaw have signed up to five neighbourhood agreements covering crime and disorder, housing, the environment, community issues and health.

Now the initiative is being closely watched by other boroughs across the country to see how successful it turns out to be. The Home Office is also showing an interest.

Home Office Minister Phil Woolas, the Oldham East and Saddleworth MP, travelled to the Honeywell Centre in Ashton Road to see for himself how successful the scheme is.

As part of his visit, Mr Woolas met the so-called “street reps” who have volunteered to check on how well the scheme is working.

Mr Woolas met Insp Alan Humphries, the Oldham West neighbourhood officer, local residents and representatives of other groups involved in the partnership

Insp Humphries said: “Statistics don’t tell the whole story. We wanted to know how we could monitor how things were going.

“We have asked the street reps to complete a monitoring form once a month, with feedback, grading issues from A to D.

“That will give us an idea of what areas we need to concentrate on and see if there is improvement over time.

“The Oldham neighbourhood agreements are getting a lot of national attention, not only from the Home Office but also from other parts of the country.”