Lost cash anger
Reporter: Marina Berry
Date published: 25 June 2010
WEST OLDHAM PARTNERSHIP:
THOUSANDS of pounds were slashed from West Oldham District Partnership’s budget last year because it failed to act quickly enough to spend it.
Committee member Councillor Abdul Jabbar hit out at the situation, calling it “an utter mess,” after hearing it lost £6,300 which has put plans to revamp Widdop Street play area in jeopardy.
The scheme was put on hold when the £20,000 set aside to pay for it turned out to be £10,000 short.
The hold-up meant the March, 2010 deadline for spending the cash was missed, which meant £6,300 had to be paid back into council coffers.
And councillors were warned that if the shortfall, which has now risen to £16,300 because of the payback, can’t be found this year, the partnership risks losing a further £13,700.
Councillor Jabbar questioned why he and fellow members of the partnership had not been warned the money would be lost, and that the cost of the scheme rose to £30,000.
He said: “We shouldn’t have been put in this position.
“We should have been warned this was going to happen.
“We have lost money which could have been spent on other schemes and important projects had we not been able to find the extra £10,000 for the play scheme.”
Zaime Khan, area manager for West Oldham, said he only found out the money would be lost once the deadline had passed.
He explained that the condition of the land at Widdop Street was so poor that the extra money had been needed to make it safe before play equipment could be installed.
Residents failing to lock alleygates
SOUGHT-AFTER alleygates which have already been installed around Oldham are useless because residents are failing to lock them.
The sorry situation was revealed after Councillor Hugh McDonald highlighted a problem with alleygating around Eldon Street.
He said: “This is not an isolated incident, it’s a regular occurrence.
“We need to get a process to make sure the gates are locked.”
Alleygating is designed to cut down on burglaries, fly-tipping and anti-social behaviour by preventing access to back alleys to all but the people who live there.
Residents across the borough are clamouring for similar schemes to protect their homes, but their success relies on the people locking the gates behind them.
Zaime Khan, area manager for West Oldham, pointed out the fact that residents could not be forced to lock the gates. He said that even when 80 per cent of people were in favour of having them installed, failure to comply with the rules by the remaining 20 per cent could cause a major problem.
He said: “It’s really frustrating for us as a council when people leave the gates open.
“It’s not only happening in West Oldham but across the borough.
“People say it’s more convenient to leave the gates unlocked when they drive their cars in and out.”
£40,000 CCTV scheme ‘vital’
A pledge has been made for a £40,000 CCTV scheme for Featherstall Road, Westwood, to go ahead.
The promise was made by West Oldham District Partnership, despite it being £20,000 short.
Members decided savings would be made from other areas to fund the scheme if a grant to make up the shortfall could not be secured.
The meeting heard the scheme was vital to combat drug dealing, burglaries and street robberies which blight the area.
But a suggestion to ask local businesses to make a contribution was scoffed by Councillor Abdul Jabbar, who said they were already struggling to survive.
