(time limit 30 minutes)
Motion 1
Councillor Woodvine to MOVE and Councillor Sheldon to SECOND:
A State of the Art Health Centre for Saddleworth
The Civil Parish of Saddleworth is the only District in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham to have not had the provision of a Health Centre planned for despite the overwhelming public support for one.
While the current Centre, situated in Uppermill, has given care to many people over the years, the modern medical needs of the population of Saddleworth are not met by the current site. Many people living in Saddleworth’s village communities have to travel to central Oldham for basic treatment – to Glodwick, Littlemoor, Moorside, or the Integrated Care Centre.
The provision of a state-of-the-art Health Centre of all of Saddleworth is the single biggest issue and this was made clear to The Council Leader, Councillor Arooj Shah, when she visited us in 2022 at her ‘Meet the Leader’ event in Saddleworth Civic Hall. Despite her warm words, no action has been taken.
The content of this Motion has an electoral mandate - in recent Elections, all successful Candidates in Saddleworth have been nominally or actively in favour of a Health Centre.
Increased pressure is being placed on the already stretched healthcare provisions in Saddleworth resulting from the increased house building, including the 78 dwellings on Huddersfield Road, Diggle, with the prospect of more developments to come at Knowls Lane, Birks Quarry, Bailey Mill, Fletcher’s Mill and possibly Stonebreaks in years to come.
The Member of Parliament for Oldham East & Saddleworth hosted an event too to discuss the prospect of developing a new Health Centre, but she did not invite the Councillors for the area and we have never seen any outcomes from this discussion, at which there were senior Officers of the Council.
The Integrated Care System for Greater Manchester has stated in the past that funding is not necessarily the problem in preventing progress, but the options for siting a Health Centre in Saddleworth is the stumbling block. However, a strategic site has opened up in a central, accessible location in Uppermill with the demolition of Saddleworth School and this is in the ownership of the Council.
Therefore, this Council commits:
- To prioritise the provision of a state-of-the-art Health Centre for all of Saddleworth.
- To commit to making the site of the old Saddleworth School mixed-use, and ear marking some space for a state-of-the-art Health Centre.
- To improve the pitches and playing fields on the old Saddleworth School site for the use of local people, and for increased sporting provisions.
- To consider ways to increase capacity at the Delph site in the meantime, whilst a new Health Centre is established, as it is a source of local commentary that this service is underutilised.
- To schedule a meeting with all stakeholders, including the Leader of the Council, the Cabinet Member for Health & Social Care and the Saddleworth North, South, and West & Lees Councillors, to discuss our priorities for the people we represent.
Motion 2
Councillor Al-Hamdani to MOVE and Councillor Williamson to SECOND:
Raw Sewage Discharges
This council notes that:
In 2011, the Environment Agency reported that our rivers were cleaner than at any time since the Industrial Revolution.
In March this year the same agency noted that there were more than 300,000 raw sewage discharges into rivers and coastal areas in 2022, lasting for more than 1.75 million hours.
In the same period our local water company, ‘United Utilities’, was responsible for 69,245 of those sewage discharges lasting for 425,491 hours.
In Oldham alone, raw sewage has been discharged into our waterways more than 2,500 times since 2021, lasting for more than 14,000 hours.
These hours of raw sewage went into the waterways alongside which Oldham residents walk, cycle and ride; and in which families go boating, fishing and paddling.
Raw sewage in open waters has been shown to increase the risk of diseases such as hepatitis and Weil’s disease.
The deterioration in the quality of our water is so apparent that it is evidenced not only by Environment Agency data but by the observations of Oldham residents who have noted the rise in unpleasant odours and visible pollution in the water.
The sewage discharge data, provided by the water companies themselves, demonstrates that not a single discharge in 2022 resulted from exceptional circumstances - rainfall or storms – but due to a lack of treatment and investment by the same water companies.
Yet since 1989, they have paid out £72 billion in dividends to shareholders and bonuses of millions of pounds to executives while accruing industry wide debts of £60 billion and inflicting a 40% real terms price increase on ordinary people.
So much value has been extracted from the sector that one of the largest companies is currently failing under its huge level of debt and there are forecasts of future huge price rises across the country, including Trafford, to make up for decades of lack of investment.
This situation is unfair and unsustainable – ordinary people are paying ever higher prices for the privilege of having raw human sewage dumped in their communities while the industry is allowed to be run for the enrichment of shareholders and executives.
This council resolves to:
Call upon Central Government to firmly establish the ‘Polluter Pays Principle' across the industry”. Water companies must operate in the interests of the Public, not shareholders. They must make meaningful provision for the monitoring of water quality, publish a strategy with targets for the reduction of sewage discharges, including meaningful economic impact assessments, and provide for financial penalties in relation to sewage discharges and breaches of monitoring requirements.
Minutes:
Motion 1 – A State of the Art Health Centre for Saddleworth
Councillor Woodvine MOVED and Councillor Sheldon SECONDED the following Motion
The Civil Parish of Saddleworth is the only District in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham to have not had the provision of a Health Centre planned for despite the overwhelming public support for one.
While the current Centre, situated in Uppermill, has given care to many people over the years, the modern medical needs of the population of Saddleworth are not met by the current site. Many people living in Saddleworth’s village communities have to travel to central Oldham for basic treatment – to Glodwick, Littlemoor, Moorside, or the Integrated Care Centre.
The provision of a state-of-the-art Health Centre of all of Saddleworth is the single biggest issue and this was made clear to The Council Leader, Councillor Arooj Shah, when she visited us in 2022 at her ‘Meet the Leader’ event in Saddleworth Civic Hall. Despite her warm words, no action has been taken.
The content of this Motion has an electoral mandate - in recent Elections, all successful Candidates in Saddleworth have been nominally or actively in favour of a Health Centre.
Increased pressure is being placed on the already stretched healthcare provisions in Saddleworth resulting from the increased house building, including the 78 dwellings on Huddersfield Road, Diggle, with the prospect of more developments to come at Knowls Lane, Birks Quarry, Bailey Mill, Fletcher’s Mill and possibly Stonebreaks in years to come.
The Member of Parliament for Oldham East & Saddleworth hosted an event too to discuss the prospect of developing a new Health Centre, but she did not invite the Councillors for the area and we have never seen any outcomes from this discussion, at which there were senior Officers of the Council.
The Integrated Care System for Greater Manchester has stated in the past that funding is not necessarily the problem in preventing progress, but the options for siting a Health Centre in Saddleworth is the stumbling block. However, a strategic site has opened up in a central, accessible location in Uppermill with the demolition of Saddleworth School and this is in the ownership of the Council.
Therefore, this Council commits:
- To prioritise the provision of a state-of-the-art Health Centre for all of Saddleworth.
- To commit to making the site of the old Saddleworth School mixed-use, and ear marking some space for a state-of-the-art Health Centre.
- To improve the pitches and playing fields on the old Saddleworth School site for the use of local people, and for increased sporting provisions.
- To consider ways to increase capacity at the Delph site in the meantime, whilst a new Health Centre is established, as it is a source of local commentary that this service is underutilised.
- To schedule a meeting with all stakeholders, including the Leader of the Council, the Cabinet Member for Health & Social Care and the Saddleworth North, South, and West & Lees Councillors, to discuss our priorities for the people we represent.
AMENDMENT
Councillor Brownridge MOVED and Councillor Marie Bashforth SECONDED the following AMENDMENT:
The Civil Parish of Saddleworth is the only District in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham to have not had the provision of a Health Centre planned for despite the overwhelming public support for one.
While the current Centre, situated in Uppermill, has given care to many people over the years, the modern medical needs of the population of Saddleworth are not met by the current site. Many people living in Saddleworth’s village communities have to travel to central Oldham for basic treatment – to Glodwick, Littlemoor, Moorside, or the Integrated Care Centre.
The provision of a state-of-the-art Health Centre of all of Saddleworth is the single biggest issue and this was made clear to The Council Leader, Councillor Arooj Shah, when she visited us in 2022 at her ‘Meet the Leader’ event in Saddleworth Civic Hall, where she was supportive of resolving this issue, whilst reminding people that responsibility for the provision of new health centres lies with the NHS and Integrated Care System, not Oldham Council.
The content of this Motion has an electoral mandate - in recent Elections, all successful Candidates in Saddleworth have been nominally or actively in favour of a Health Centre.
Increased pressure is being placed on the already stretched healthcare provisions in Saddleworth resulting from the increased house building, including the 78 dwellings on Huddersfield Road, Diggle, with the prospect of more developments to come at Knowls Lane, Birks Quarry, Bailey Mill, Fletcher’s Mill and possibly Stonebreaks in years to come.
The Member of Parliament for Oldham East & Saddleworth hosted an event too to discuss the prospect of developing a new Health Centre.
The Integrated Care System for Greater Manchester has stated in the past that funding is not necessarily the problem in preventing progress, but the options for siting a Health Centre in Saddleworth is the stumbling block.
Therefore, this Council commits:
- To work alongside the GM Integrated Care System and NHS England to prioritise the provision of a state-of-the-art Health Centre for all of Saddleworth and find a suitable site within Saddleworth.
- To making the best use of the site of the old Saddleworth School for the people of Saddleworth
- To work with the GM Integrated Care System to consider ways to increase capacity at the Delph site in the meantime, whilst a new Health Centre is established, as it is a source of local commentary that this service is underutilised.
- To invite all relevant stakeholders, including the Leader of the Council, the Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care and the Place Lead for Health and Care Integration to a meeting of East District Community Council to discuss this issue with residents and local Councillors.
On being put to the Vote the AMENDMENT was CARRIED.
On being put to the Vote the MOTION as AMENDED was CARRIED.
RESOLVED:
The Council commits:
1. To work alongside the GM Integrated Care System and NHS England to prioritise the provision of a state-of-the-art Health Centre for all of Saddleworth and find a suitable site within Saddleworth.
2. To making the best use of the site of the old Saddleworth School for the people of Saddleworth
3. To work with the GM Integrated Care System to consider ways to increase capacity at the Delph site in the meantime, whilst a new Health Centre is established, as it is a source of local commentary that this service is underutilised.
4. To invite all relevant stakeholders, including the Leader of the Council, the Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care and the Place Lead for Health and Care Integration to a meeting of East District Community Council to discuss this issue with residents and local Councillors.
Motion 2 – Raw Sewage Discharges
Councillor Al-Hamdani MOVED and Councillor Williamson SECONDED the following Motion:
This council notes that:
In 2011, the Environment Agency reported that our rivers were cleaner than at any time since the Industrial Revolution.
In March this year the same agency noted that there were more than 300,000 raw sewage discharges into rivers and coastal areas in 2022, lasting for more than 1.75 million hours.
In the same period our local water company, ‘United Utilities’, was responsible for 69,245 of those sewage discharges lasting for 425,491 hours.
In Oldham alone, raw sewage has been discharged into our waterways more than 2,500 times since 2021, lasting for more than 14,000 hours.
These hours of raw sewage went into the waterways alongside which Oldham residents walk, cycle and ride; and in which families go boating, fishing and paddling.
Raw sewage in open waters has been shown to increase the risk of diseases such as hepatitis and Weil’s disease.
The deterioration in the quality of our water is so apparent that it is evidenced not only by Environment Agency data but by the observations of Oldham residents who have noted the rise in unpleasant odours and visible pollution in the water.
The sewage discharge data, provided by the water companies themselves, demonstrates that not a single discharge in 2022 resulted from exceptional circumstances - rainfall or storms – but due to a lack of treatment and investment by the same water companies.
Yet since 1989, they have paid out £72 billion in dividends to shareholders and bonuses of millions of pounds to executives while accruing industry wide debts of £60 billion and inflicting a 40% real terms price increase on ordinary people.
So much value has been extracted from the sector that one of the largest companies is currently failing under its huge level of debt and there are forecasts of future huge price rises across the country, including Trafford, to make up for decades of lack of investment.
This situation is unfair and unsustainable – ordinary people are paying ever higher prices for the privilege of having raw human sewage dumped in their communities while the industry is allowed to be run for the enrichment of shareholders and executives.
Call upon Central Government to firmly establish the ‘Polluter Pays Principle' across the industry”. Water companies must operate in the interests of the Public, not shareholders. They must make meaningful provision for the monitoring of water quality, publish a strategy with targets for the reduction of sewage discharges, including meaningful economic impact assessments, and provide for financial penalties in relation to sewage discharges and breaches of monitoring requirements.
On being put to the vote the MOTION was CARRIED
RESOLVED:
This council resolves to call upon Central Government to firmly establish the ‘Polluter Pays Principle' across the industry”. Water companies must operate in the interests of the Public, not shareholders. They must make meaningful provision for the monitoring of water quality, publish a strategy with targets for the reduction of sewage discharges, including meaningful economic impact assessments, and provide for financial penalties in relation to sewage discharges and breaches of monitoring requirements.