I promised to share our notes and write-up from the Safer Middleton event I organised.

Thank you for making it such a well-attended event.  We heard from stakeholders, the community, Rochdale Council and the Sergeant from the local Middleton Police Station, as well as plenty of individual contributions from local people.

I want to make this a regular occurrence and to help, I will keep updates on my Middleton webpage – www.elsieblundell.org.uk/middleton – and send a regular email to everyone registered for my newsletter.  Please encourage others to sign up for the email – on my website.

Finally, I want to thank everyone who turned up, including our stakeholders, and a big thank you to the Burnside Community Centre for hosting us.

Safer Middleton meeting

In setting the scene for the meeting, Elsie thanked our contributors for attending, alongside thanking members of the public and other stakeholders.

Elsie spoke of constituents’ concerns with Middleton and recent events, which prompted her to organise the event, distributing around 5,000 invitations locally and promoting the event online, on social media and in the local library.

Kerry from the Burnside Centre welcomed everyone and stated that the Centre shares the same concerns as Elsie about safety, the community and the need to organise a regular connection with residents.

Sergeant James Donnelly from Greater Manchester Police, spoke about his background growing up in Middleton and how he was asked to come back to work in the area last November.

Policing in the area

Local policing is a crucial issue for the area, with many believing that there isn’t enough of a police presence in the area.  Concerns were also raised about organised crime, drug dealing, quad bikes & e-bikes, and anti-social behaviour.

Sergeant Donnelly pointed out that they have had real success with organised crime resulting in gangs having to travel from long distances into the area.

However, he pointed out that he has only 3 officers to cover neighbourhood policing in Middleton, with no response officers in the area (they are based in Rochdale).  As a result, neighbourhood officers are frequently needed for more urgent cases.

There was a discussion about how we can improve responsiveness to the local community and how to get in touch with the Middleton team, without going through the centralised services which can cause delay. (see below).

GMP further stated that the issue with e-bikes is complex as there are no solutions to combat the issue, except for making it illegal or harder for people to purchase the bikes.

One resident stated that they had reported 3 robberies and only received a crime report.

Another mentioned reporting a crime to the police and never hearing anything back. The constituent also asked about ensuring the area is safe for women, who live alone. (The Community Safety team agreed to follow this up and look at improving safety for women.)

There was a discussion about co-ordination across agencies, with past experience where the Home Office used to organise social cohesion meetings, which involved police officers and immigration officers. Apparently, they don’t occur anymore, but the council, housing associations and the police all spoke about the different mechanisms they use to co-ordinate with each other.

Anti-social behaviour

Attendees discussed the difficulty of tackling anti-social behaviour, especially when some instances are not crimes which restricts the ability of the police to be involved.

For example, the issue of anti-social behaviour in local parks was raised – residents advised that drug deals occur in the park, frequently, and that many young kids drive through with e-bikes.

Rochdale Council’s community safety team and housing associations can get involved and the room was introduced to the local co-ordinator.  The Council can provide further assistance with ensuring crime is dealt with, such as installing CCTV cameras in the area. Residents can also report ASB to the Council; if there are issues within a park, if the park is managed by the local council, this can then be escalated through the Community Safety Team.

They also stated they could assist with the e-bike situation as the Council is completing a protection order for the whole of Middleton, in relation to the e-bike issue.

Government spending

One resident asked about the need for more taxes on the wealthy to provide more money for local areas like Middleton.  Elsie Blundell MP reassured the meeting that she is working hard to make the case for more funding in communities as a priority, and early signs are positive.

SEN funding

Assistance for families with children affected by SEN was raised and how difficult it can be to look after them.  A representative from Rochdale Council’s Children’s Services were present at the meeting.  Apparently 20% of children in Rochdale have SEN needs and the Council is looking to increase provision.  The representative from Children’s Services was available to meet the family immediately after the meeting.

*Note from Elsie*: I am organising a meeting for parents of children with SEN needs to feed into the Government’s consultation.  If this is you and you want to take part, please send me an email elsie.blundell.mp@parliament.uk

Keepmoat

Several people raised issues related to the development of the Keepmoat estate and Willow Park.

It’s clear that the private developers have contributed to a lack of care in the local area, both by not finishing the development and failing in full and proper maintenance of infrastructure which would preserve the park.

There are also issues with street lighting on roads which are unadopted but haven’t been maintained to a standard that would allow the council to adopt the road.

*Note from Elsie*: It’s clear there are a lot of issues that can be traced back to Keepmoat’s approach to this development.  I have written to their Chief Executive already demanding a follow up to make improvements in the area.  I will keep everyone updated as I progress.

Warwick Mill (and mobile signals)

There was a brief conversation about Warwick Mill and mobile phone towers.

*Note from Elsie*: The derelict nature of the building is holding the town back and it is vital that the site is developed or refurbished.  There are no mobile phone towers on the roof anymore, which has also held the town back with improving connectivity.  I am hoping we will have positive news on improving mobile signal in coming months, and that the new Mayoral Development Corporation will kickstart progress on the wider site.