Find out this week's news from Oldham Council

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Essential maintenance work – 18 October

On Tuesday 18 October, 5–10.30pm all Council systems will be down due to essential maintenance work.

This means that you will be unable to make contact with the council during these hours by phone.

Apologies for any inconvenience this may cause.

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£17 billion in unclaimed benefits

There are billions of pounds in benefits such as pension credits, housing benefit and free school meals that are unclaimed each year.

Last year alone our Welfare Rights service helped Oldham residents claim around £1.8 million in money they were entitled to, but this is the tip of the iceberg.

The Cost of Living Crisis crisis is impacting on all of us and so it's important that you maximise your income and claim any money you're entitled to. We Can Help. call 0161 770 7007 (9am–5pm on weekdays) or the We Can Help webpage ([link removed]) .

Recycle Week 2022: Let's get real about recycling

Returns from October 17 to 23, the original event was postponed following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

We all want a cleaner and greener borough and one way you can help is by recycling more and making sure waste goes in the correct bin.

Too much-contaminated waste means the whole bin lorry load can’t be recycled – we want to reduce this happening.

Waste collected from homes across the borough is recycled and even general waste is turned into energy right here in the North West, meaning it doesn’t go to landfill.

Throughout the week – via our social media channels – we’ll be letting people know how they can do their bit for the environment, highlighting what should go in which bin and also busting some popular myths about recycling

For more information on waste and recycling, including your collection date and information about what goes in which binclick here ([link removed])

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'Change the Pattern' Seb Lowe

Glastonbury performer and Oldham musician Seb Lowe has released a new song, titled ‘Change the Pattern’. If you haven't yet heard it, here it is!

Seb has released this song in collaboration with young people from Oldham Theatre Workshop and Oldham Youth Council to raise awareness of hate crime during a national week of action.

As part of this we’re encouraging residents to come forward and report incidents they may have been affected by.

Hate crime is an act of violence or hostility that is directed at a person or group because of who they are or what they think they are, and it can come in many different forms such as physical attacks, a threat of attack, and verbal abuse or insults.

It is important to know that anyone can be affected by such incidents, so if you have been affected by a hate crime as a victim – or even as a witness – call 999 in an emergency.

In a non-emergency call 101 or go to a nearby police station and report it.

Extra support is available for people who wish not to contact the police or for those who need extra support.

This can be accessed at the Stop Hate Helpline – 0800 138 1625 – a free confidential 24-hour hate crime reporting service, or by visiting one of Oldham’s various third-party reporting centres which are detailed on our website ([link removed])

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Push The Button Competition

The Big Bang Bonfire – the biggest FREE bonfire event in the borough – returns on Thursday 3 November at Oldham Edge (5-8.30pm) and we are giving one lucky child the chance to turn on this year’s fireworks.

All they must do to enter our ‘Push the Button’ competition is enter their details ([link removed])

Entrants must be 12 years old or younger and live in the Oldham area. They must also be available between 5-8.30pm on Thursday 3 November.

The submission deadline for entries is midnight on Sunday 30 October and the winner (selected at random) will then be contacted shortly after.

For more information on the event please visit The Big Bonfire page ([link removed])

#BigBangBonfire
Wave of light for #BabyLossAwarenessWeek

This week we have been acknowledging 20 years of Baby Loss Awareness Week. Tomorrow, Saturday 15 October, is the last day of the campaign and we will be hosting an online Wave of Light forum on social media.

Parents and families are invited to share the names of their lost baby or a picture of a candle to represent the light that will always burn in their memory. Please join us on our I Love Oldham Facebook page ([link removed])

The Civic Centre tower has been lit in purple all week to mark the event and acknowledge all of Oldham’s little ones who were taken too soon.

This week we have also joined with Relax with Lucy and Co - A short-based nonprofit that specialises in mindfulness for baby loss grief. Founder of the organisation, Lucy Livesey, hosted an online mindfulness session with practical help for families and parents to deal with the loss of a baby or pregnancy. The event was well attended and is still available to view on our page: Managing Grief for Baby Loss Awareness Week ([link removed])

Lucy will also be hosting an online retreat tomorrow. If you would like to join please register on the Relax with Lucy website: Ellies Gift ([link removed])

If you would like support with the loss of pregnancy or loss of a baby, the following organisations:
* Sands - Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Charity ([link removed])
* Tommy’s - the largest UK pregnancy and baby loss charity. ([link removed])
* Relax with Lucy and Co - Support organisation as an alternative to prescription medication or counselling ([link removed])

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Derelict site was brought back into community use and continues to GROWE thanks to council support

A new community growing and wellbeing facility has launched in Failsworth.

GROWE
– Grassroots Oldham Women Enterprise – offers residents a place to meet, learn gardening skills, grow fruit and vegetables, and support the environment. They have taken over the former Oldham Council-owned Grassroots after it became vacant.

GROWE is a partnership between Northern Lily Community Interest Company, which specialises in horticulture, and the charity Support Action for Women Network (SAWN), supporting the welfare of black and African women.

Over the summer groups from across Oldham visited and learned how to grow food and harvest fruit - giving them access to organic, locally grown produce when household budgets are tight. ([link removed])

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New film raises awareness of foster care shortage in Oldham

Oldham Council has teamed up with more than 50 local authorities across the country to produce a short film as part of a ground-breaking national collaboration to increase the number of foster carers.

Many of Oldham’s children are in desperate need of nurturing homes, and the release of the short film 'Childhood' has been jointly funded by the councils to target local people who may be interested in becoming foster carers.

Having local foster carers ensures that local children can be cared for in the local area and attend their local school.

Oldham’s Fostering Service particularly needs foster carers for older children, children from ethnic minorities, and sibling

The film shows the journey of a sister and brother who are in a very difficult home situation where their needs are not being met

Anyone can apply to foster regardless of marital status, sexuality, race, or religion, or whether you are in work or have a disability.

All the fostering service ask is that you are over 21, enjoy working with children, and have room in your home ([link removed])

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Have your say on proposals for an Active Neighbourhood in Chadderton North and Westwood

Creating better and safer neighbourhoods is a priority for the council – that’s why we are proposing plans for an Active Neighbourhood in Chadderton North and Westwood.

The council has been contacted by residents concerned about the number of vehicles on the roads and congestion levels, especially as a number of primary schools are in the area.

Active Neighbourhoods look to create safer, quieter, and more attractive areas so residents have places where they can spend time with their family, friends and neighbours.

Four consultation events are being held on 18 October:

1pm at OBA Millennium Cultural Centre, Featherstall Road North, OL9 6QB ([link removed])
2pm at OBA Millennium Cultural Centre, Featherstall Road North, OL9 6QB ([link removed])
6pm at Chadderton Wellbeing Centre, Burnley Street, OL9 0JW ([link removed])
7pm at Chadderton Wellbeing Centre, Burnley Street, OL9 0JW ([link removed])

Residents will be able to look at draft plans followed by a question and answer session. Each session will last 45 minutes.

You can also take part in the consultation online, the consultation runs until November 4 ([link removed])

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Black History Month

October is #BlackHistoryMonth which is recognised worldwide as a chance to celebrate black history, heritage, and culture and to explore what still needs to change to create a more equal society for all. Take a look at the events happening across Greater Manchester this month.
* Tuesday 18 October – Father-daughter combo Pete Kalu and Naomi Kalu stage a night of reading and songs from Pete Kalu's new novel, One Drop ([link removed])
* Wednesday 26 October – 2pm for families – suitable for ages 10+: History of Carnival Workshops with Linford Sweeney. Learn about how established African-Caribbean communities transferred the traditions associated with carnival to Manchester as we explore the roots of the different aspects of carnival ([link removed])
* Thursday 27 October – We Are Carnival! Young Identity, a spoken word performance by members of Manchester-based literature and performance arts charity Young Identity is part of the We Are Carnival ([link removed])

Repositioning of town centre cable
Work is set to begin on Monday 17 October to reposition an electrical cable which runs underneath the town centre. Unfortunately this may lead to some traffic disruption.

Contractors will work seven days a week between the hours of 9am and 5pm (aside from Remembrance Sunday when it is agreed that works will be paused). The seven day a week approach has been requested to ensure that the works are completed as soon as possible so to not disrupt the busy period in the run up to the Christmas shopping period.

The cable runs from St Mary's/ Tommyfield Market, through Parliament Square and towards Sainsbury's. The moving of the cable should not involve any loss of power during the works.

Bus operators have been informed and will be re-routing buses for a short time.

It is estimated that work will be completed by the end of November 2022. Apologies in advance for any inconvenience this may cause.
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Delivering a Connected Oldham: 142 public sites benefit from new broadband infrastructure
The council and its partners have completed a broadband project which delivers faster speeds to 142 public sector sites and buildings.

More than 78km of new fibre optic broadband infrastructure cabling is now in place across the borough, meaning places which have been traditionally hard to reach such as the Castleshaw Centre, Uppermill Library and Greenfield Library are now connected.

Schools, council offices, libraries, children’s centres, fire stations can now access a full fibre network, providing the foundation for improved connectivity across the borough – helping to deliver better, and faster, services to you.

The Oldham scheme is part of the UK’s largest public sector Local Full Fibre Networks (LFFN) programme: a £23.8m investment across Greater Manchester.

Read our press release for more information ([link removed]) .
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Residents survey

We’re conducting a borough-wide survey to help understand your views on our local areas, the council, and council services.

This survey is the biggest and most far-reaching of its kind for Oldham for more than a decade, and the findings will play an important role in informing our future decisions.

The survey is being conducted by the market research company Enventure and runs from 13 October 2022 to 10 November 2022. It will primarily be conducted via telephone between the hours of 9am and 8.30pm, so if you get a phone call from this company it is legitimate.

There will also be researchers based in shopping and town centres around Oldham asking you to share your views about Oldham as a place to live.

The survey should take just over 10 minutes to complete and asks questions about the services we deliver and your views on Oldham.

If you would like to be further consulted on issues in our borough, please consider signing up for the Oldham Big Conversation and the Oldham Residents’ Panel at:

Oldham Big Conversation and the Oldham Residents’ Panel ([link removed]) .

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Connect with us on Social Media
Oldham Council is on Twitter ([link removed]) , Facebook ([link removed]) , Instagram, ([link removed]) TikTok ([link removed]) and LinkedIn ([link removed]) . Join our followers and get the latest news, events, alerts from across the borough, business, regeneration, employment opportunities and much more.

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