Parish council candidates

ELECTION 2011

SADDLEWORTH PARISH COUNCIL

POLLS OPEN 7AM-10PM

A SHAKE-UP could be in store for Saddleworth Parish Council as voters go to the polls tomorrow.

Forty candidates are vying for 20 seats on the council that currently boasts 17 Liberal Democrats, two Conservatives and an independent.

A total of seven councillors are standing down from the council, including current chairman Keith Begley and Bob Birse, who has served as a councillor for 39 years.

Candidates for the three main parties could also face tough competition this year from the Voice of Saddleworth group.

Formed this year, the group is made up of seven independent candidates with no party political ties.

(* indicates candidates already serving)



Delph (Three seats)



Louie Hamblet (Lib-Dem) has lived in Delph for 17 years. He is studying hospitality and catering at The Manchester College, along with travel and tourism.

*Kenneth Hulme (Independent) has served as a parish councillor and has been involved in campaigns in Delph against wind farms, the closure of Delph Library and for the safety zone at the primary school.

Nicola Kirkham (Independent) is standing for the first time after living in Delph for over 30 years. Well-known in the community, she is a helper at Delph Methodist cubs.

Sharon McGladderey (Lib-Dem) has lived in Denshaw for the last 10 years and was educated at Saddleworth School and Sheffield University. She is an active member of Denshaw Community Association and Saddleworth Musical Society.

Alan Roughley (Lib-Dem) has spent 50 years in Saddleworth in a variety of manufacturing jobs. He is active in the Saddleworth and Lees District Partnership and is currently a borough councillor.




Dobcross (Three seats)



Lesley Brown (Independent) owns a vegetarian restaurant at the University of Manchester and is a long-standing Diggle resident. A mother of two, Lesley is concerned about reviving the village atmosphere.

*Mike Buckley (Lib-Dem) represents Saddleworth North on Oldham Council. He is chairman of Saddleworth Historical Society and is Heritage Champion for the borough.

*Royce Franklin (Lib-Dem) has lived in Diggle for over 25 years. A retired probation service manager, he is chairman of Saddleworth Homewatch Group, Saddleworth and Lees District Partnership Transport Sub-Committee and the National Association for Patient Partnership Group.

Barbara Jackson (Con) has two grown-up children and three grandchildren and has served as a parish councillor in the past. A long-standing Diggle resident, she was formerly secretary of the Uppermill Conservative Club and is currently the secretary for a local civil engineering company.

Phil Sewell (Con) is married with three daughters and is a director of a bakery operations food company. He is a member of Diggle Community Association and involved with Diggle Whit Friday band contest.

*Dorothy Shaw (Lib-Dem) is a retired head teacher and is protective of the green belt. A councillor for 28 years and former chairman, she has been an activist for over 40 years. She was awarded an MBE for community service.




Greenfield (Five seats)



Neil Allsopp (Con) is married with an adult son. He is a retired pharmacy stores manager at a local NHS hospital and he supports the mountain rescue team and Ghurka welfare.

*David Atherton (Con) is married with four sons. He is a retired GP who was the doctor to the British Amateur Rugby League team, and a former parish councillor who served as chairman twice.

*Mavis Bingley (Lib-Dem) is an experienced parish councillor and governor at St Anne’s School, Lydgate. She is determined to see the improvements in Saddleworth’s environment, including roads and walls, continue.

Helen Bishop (Independent) was educated at St Mary’s Primary in Greenfield, is a graduate of Keele University and is a youth worker in Greenfield and Saddleworth. She recently finished her job working with homeless people in Rochdale and has been involved in the campaign regarding the changes to Churchill playing fields.

David Caddick (Con) lives in Greenfield, served from 2003-2007 as a parish councillor and is chairman of the Saddleworth Home Safety Committee. A keen fisherman, he is also a committee member at Greenfield Conservative Club.

Joan Darke (Lib-Dem) lived in Saddleworth as a young woman, moved away but returned 28 years ago. Her children went to local schools and most still live in Saddleworth with their families.

*John Hudson (Con) has served as chairman of the parish council a record four times. He has lived in Greenfield for over 50 years, and raised money for several charity causes by organising functions. He also represents Chadderton North on Oldham Council.

Ian Manners (Lab) is a practising solicitor who has lived in Greenfield for just over eight years. A Labour Party and USDAW trade union member, he is also chairman of the local labour group.

Robert McCann (Lib-Dem) was born in Saddleworth and currently represents the Saddleworth South ward on Oldham Council. He has been a prominent member of the Saddleworth and Lees District Partnership.

Dannielle Murphy (Lib-Dem) has lived is Saddleworth over 20 years and appreciates those things that make Saddleworth special; the traditions, festivals and culture.

Jill Read (Lab), a former Oldham councillor for Royton, is a retired teacher from Greenfield and is chairman of the constituency Labour party. She has served as a member of the Greater Manchester County Council and an independent member of the police authority.

Keith Taylor (Lib-Dem) lectured in economics, politics and history at Manchester Polytechnic and Manchester Metropolitan University. He was in sales management in the cotton textile industry and is a former member of Chadderton Urban District Council before coming to live in Saddleworth.

Edna Wolstenhulme (Con), a mother of four children and two grandchildren, has lived in Greenfield for over 20 years. A retired businesswoman, she was formerly involved with Oldham Victims’ Support and is a former secretary of the Saddleworth Business Association.




Springhead Higher (Two seats)



*Barbara Beeley (Lib-Dem) has been a Springhead resident for over 40 years. She is a governor at Springhead Infant and Nursery School and the Community Champion and chairman of Saddleworth and Lees District Partnership.

*Derek Heffernan (Lib-Dem) has represented Springhead Higher Ward for 24 years. He is a former chairman of the parish council and helped organise the millennium celebrations. Derek is chairman of governors at Knowsley Junior School.

Robert Knotts (Independent) served in the RAF for 33 years and has lived in Austerlands since 1989. He actively campaigned against a planning application for Birks Quarry.

Natalie Wolstenhulme (Con) is a 21-year-old Lees resident who is currently vice-president of the students’ union at the University of Huddersfield. She has helped deliver leaflets for the Conservative party since being young.




Springhead Lower (Five Seats)



*Bill Cullen (Lib-Dem) has lived in Springhead for 25 years. A parish councillor since 2007, he represents the parish on the district partnership and is the secretary of Springhead Community Centre Management Committee and chairman of Lees and Springhead Whit Friday band contest.

Enid Firth (Lib-Dem) is a retired nurse and has lived in Springhead for 12 years. She is a member of the Springhead Community Centre Committee, Saddleworth and Lees Home Safety Committee, and Springhead and Lees Whit Friday Band Contest Committee.

Paul Fryer (Independent), a secondary school maths teacher, is involved with the Saddleworth White Rose Society and the Co-operative Society. He has lived in Springhead for over 35 years.

Philip Gaul (Lab) is the Labour link officer between the party and Unison, he is also the vice-chairman of Unison in Oldham. He has lived in Oldham for over a decade.

Garth Harkness (Lib-Dem) is a maths Teacher with six years experience. He is a member of Grotton Residents’ Association and has campaigned with local Liberal Democrats and an MP on constituency issues.

*Brian Lord (Lib-Dem) has been a Springhead resident for 45 years. He has been a borough councillor for 13 years and a Saddleworth Parish Councillor for 24 years. He is chairman of governors at Saddleworth School and a governor at Springhead Infants School.

*Pat Lord (Lib-Dem) has lived in Grotton and Springhead for over 30 years. She is chairman of the Special Projects Committee and chairman of governors at St Anne’s School, Lydgate. Mrs Lord is involved in local and national charities.




Uppermill (Two seats)



Pam Byrne (Con) runs her own business and tea rooms. A former member of Oldham Community Council, she is membership secretary at Saddleworth Business Association. She is involved in charity fundraising and Whit Friday, and the Oldham area band contest committee.

*Alma McInnes (Lib-Dem) has twice been the chairman of Saddleworth Parish Council and is currently chairman of the Finance and General Purposes Committee and the Civic Hall Sub-Committee. She has lived in Saddleworth for the last 37 years and is a fund-raiser for local and national charities.

Lesley Schofield (Lib-Dem) has lived in Uppermill all her life. She ran her business from home for many years. Mrs Schofield is a mother of two, has served as a parish councillor and is keen to promote sport and culture.

Graham Sheldon (Con) is married with three adult sons. Subpostmaster at Uppermill, he has lived in Saddleworth all of his life and is the church organist at St Mary’s Greenfield.

Nicholas Watts (Independent) has lived in Uppermill for nine years and runs his own Internet company from home. He became involved with the Saddleworth Parish Council after raising a petition against parking restrictions in Uppermill.




Leaflet complaint



INDEPENDENT election candidate Lesley Brown has complained that information about her in Liberal Democrats’ Focus leaflet is false. It claims she is married, was the chair of Saddleworth Labour Party and asks if she is still a Labour party member.



Ms Brown, who is not married, is standing in Dobcross. She says she was vice-chair of the Littleborough and Saddleworth party and last stood as an election candidate for Labour in 1996. She is no longer a member of the Labour Party.