Pledge of new direction and ambition

A NEW direction and ambition for Saddleworth Parish Council was laid out last night at the annual meeting.

Outgoing chairman Bill Cullen handed over the chain to Councillor Brian Lord, who is taking up the role for the third time in his 26 years on the parish council.

Councillor Lord spoke of a new, more active future for the parish and will work with Councillor Graham Sheldon, who was voted in as vice-chairman.

However, the celebration was tinged with sadness as Councillor Lord had to step into the role at short notice following the death of Councillor Ken Hulme in February.

Councillor Lord said: "I have to say I was desperately sorry for Ken Hulme, who had fought so hard to become chairman, and had passed away so close to taking up the post. While I had not always seen eye to eye with many of Kenis views I did respect his p ersistence and enthusiasm in pushing his point."

Councillor Lord, whose wife Pat — also a parish councillor — will be his consort, announced that they will be supporting the Royal Oldham Hospital League of Friends, The Oldham Diabetic Volunteers Group and Macmillan throughout the year.

Councillor Lord said the first, most important thing to do will be for the parish to sit down with Oldham Council and discuss using its Quality Parish Council status to take on more responsibilities locally.

Councillor Mike Buckley said: "We have already made a good start under Bill Cullen to take on more powers in the coming year I hope to see this develop further."

He followed this by announcing a new structure for the council, which is hoped will foster a rejuvenated attitude among councillors.

New committees include a standalone finance committee, a communication committee to better inform the public of activity and estates committee to govern the civic hall and cemetery.

Votes of thanks were extended to both the outgoing and incoming chairmen and their consorts for their tireless efforts in Saddleworth.



Follow us on Twitter — @OldhamChronicle