Council chief’s column: the Bee Community, wi-fi masts, North West in Bloom and new banking and buyer recommendation companies at Heywood Library
Councillor Neil Emmott, chief of Rochdale Council
Neil Emmott is the chief of Rochdale Council and a councillor for West Middleton.
This month he dedicates his column to a spread of subjects together with the Bee Community, wi-fi masts, North West in Bloom and new banking and buyer recommendation companies at Heywood Library.
It was an honour to welcome colleagues from throughout Larger Manchester to Rochdale, as a brand new vary of tickets have been introduced to tie in with the launch of the Bee Community.
The superb Bee Community is a plan for extra accessible and built-in transport, bringing collectively native trams and buses and, additional down the road, native practice companies. It represents nice worth for passengers, making mixed bus and tram journey round 20 % cheaper when it launches in September, marking the second buses come again below native management for the primary time in a era.
Armed Forces Day was marked with particular ceremonies at Quantity One Riverside in Rochdale, and Middleton Memorial Gardens. As all the time, I used to be proud to pay tribute to the excellent contribution of our Armed Forces group. The day was about paying respects to our Armed Forces, previous and current, who’ve all the time led the best way in defending the freedoms, liberty and values we cherish a lot.
As a council, we’ve got all the time stood shoulder-to-shoulder with our Armed Forces group. We’re proactive in our strategy to offering assist and perceive the difficulties many face throughout and after transition from service. We’re all the time there for you.
Residents throughout the borough have raised issues with me and different councillors about wi-fi masts bobbing up in native communities, usually with none prior data or communication from these firms. I’ve raised my issues straight with the federal government and the regulator, OFCOM.
This week I had a gathering with OFCOM, which was extraordinarily optimistic. As I mentioned on the assembly, I’m not against widening entry to the intranet, however we have already got glorious underground infrastructure in place throughout the borough.
I don’t need wider digital entry to be achieved on a budget, so I used to be happy that OFCOM have dedicated to writing to me with a attainable manner ahead. I’ll carry on elevating residents’ issues on this vital situation.
It was a terrific pleasure to welcome Ukrainian MP Halyna Vasylchenko to Rochdale. Mrs Vasylchenko, who sits within the Ukraininan Parliament Verkhovna Radd, was visiting the borough as a visitor of Rochdale MP, Tony Lloyd.
I briefed the MP on our formidable regeneration schemes, the assist we’re offering to the native Ukrainian group, and the very important funding we’ve got secured from the federal government.
Halyna is a superb Member of Parliament and an excellent consultant for the Ukrainian group at residence and overseas. It was a pleasure to welcome her to Rochdale and he or she was extraordinarily grateful for the assist and solidarity we’re extending to our Ukrainian pals.
As chief of the council, I’m pleased with the help we’ve got supplied pals from day certainly one of this battle and I reassured Haylna of our continued and unerring assist.
We not too long ago welcomed North West in Bloom judges to our borough. Our parks, floral shows, group tasks, and city centres look excellent, because of our devoted groups, volunteer teams, faculties, native companies, Rochdale BID, and the numerous group teams, who’ve pulled out all of the stops once more.
Final yr Rochdale was entered within the nationwide Britain in Bloom competitors, the place the city took the highest spot as Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) judges voted Rochdale as one of the best small metropolis within the UK and one of the best within the class. It’s all the time good to welcome the In Bloom judges, as we showcase our inexperienced and clear borough to a wider viewers.
There may be a lot to be pleased with our borough, and by working collectively, we hope to reign supreme once more as we go for gold throughout all 4 townships.
In additional excellent news for our borough, Heywood Library is branching out after Barclays signed as much as present a brand new banking and buyer recommendation service. The partnership follows the latest closure of the financial institution’s Heywood city centre department. The library service means Barclays clients can proceed to entry in-person monetary assist, assist with day-to-day funds, and assist with cash administration.
Libraries will all the time be a spot to go and study, learn, borrow books and entry our computer systems to entry digital companies, however they’re additionally about widening our library supply. When the native Barclays closed, this was the right alternative to retain an important service within the city and construct on our glorious partnership with native companies.
Spotland Bridge Mill, the brand new base for our Rochdale north and south well being and social care built-in neighbourhood groups, is now up and working.
The refurbished constructing sees our grownup care and NHS workers working alongside one another, as a part of our imaginative and prescient to ship absolutely built-in working throughout our borough. The groups can be making certain our residents proceed to obtain top quality, worth for cash companies.
That is one other instance of the hyperlinks we’ve got constructed between the council and our native well being companies, serving to to scale back the gaps which have all the time existed between native authorities and the NHS. That in flip is resulting in extra joined-up care, higher affected person experiences; serving to to scale back well being inequalities and enhance our residents’ lives.
One other Rochdale success story to be pleased with.