The Heywood Township Committee convened to discuss several key issues, including community safety initiatives, trustee appointments for the Heywood Relief in Need Trust Fund, and updates from Greater Manchester Police. The committee received a presentation on community safety and resolved to note the update from the Greater Manchester Police (GMP).

Community Safety Initiatives

The committee received a presentation on community safety initiatives from the Community Safety & Resilience Service, which included an overview of the Safer Neighbourhoods Team and their work.

The Safer Neighbourhoods Team consists of five Community Safety Officers, each responsible for a specific township. Danielle Daly is the Community Safety Officer for Heywood. The team addresses issues such as neighbour disputes, youth-related nuisance, and general anti-social behaviour, and also focuses on target hardening¹ and prevention work.

We work in partnership with a number of other services, including but not limited to, Greater Manchester Police, social housing providers, Petrus, Youth Services, Adult Care, Environmental Management.

The presentation also covered Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs)[^3] in place to tackle a range of issues across the borough. There are two PSPOs in Rochdale:

• Rochdale Town Centre PSPO restrictions: These include restrictions on driving or using a car in an antisocial manner, obstructing the highway or loitering, using a skateboard in restricted areas, begging in a way that is likely to cause intimidation or harassment, and using bicycles, scooters, or other wheeled vehicles in a way that may cause nuisance, alarm, or distress.
• Borough-wide PSPO restrictions: These include restrictions on drinking alcohol in public areas and using mechanically propelled vehicles (MPVs).

The Community Safety Team also conducts other work, such as target hardening in response to vehicle crime and addressing neighbour issues related to off-road bikes. They conduct regular patrols around Transport for Greater Manchester (TFGM) sites to monitor antisocial behaviour and commission Foundation 92, a charity that works with youths across the borough.

Greater Manchester Police Update

Inspector Cooke from Greater Manchester Police provided an update on local policing matters in Heywood. Issues reported included:

• Cuckooing incidents: Police had dealt with several 'cuckooing' incidents in Heywood, where criminals take over the homes of vulnerable people to use them for illegal activities. The perpetrator had been arrested and charged.
• Anti-social behaviour: A woman had been prohibited from entering Times Retail Park, Heywood due to repeated incidents of anti-social behaviour and had been issued an Anti-Social Behaviour Order.
• Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs): Following several visits to HMOs in Heywood, the Police were seeking a closure order of one premises due to ongoing concerns.
• Recorded crimes: The overall number of recorded crimes continued to reduce, but shoplifting incidents had increased compared to the same period last year.

The Safer Neighbourhood Manager outlined plans for a 'Safer Summer' campaign in Heywood Town Centre, aimed at reducing anti-social behaviour and promoting a safer community environment.

The committee resolved to note the Greater Manchester Police update.

Open Forum

During the Open Forum session, members of the public raised the following matters:

• Cuckooing: A resident sought clarification on how to identify signs that someone may be a victim of this type of criminal behaviour. Inspector Cooke explained that offenders often took over the homes of vulnerable individuals and used the premises as a base for criminal activity.
• Environmental management: Concern was raised regarding the cleanliness of areas within Heywood, with a resident emphasising the importance of maintaining a tidy public realm.
• New buildings in Heywood: A resident requested further details regarding the intended use of several new or redeveloped buildings across Heywood, including a large four-storey building on Green Lane, The Albany Hotel on Rochdale Road East, new builds on Hornby Street, Tower Street, and Brunswick Street, the Kingdom Hall, and new flats on Bethal Street. The Townships and Engagement Officer agreed to take the resident's contact details and provide an update following the meeting.
• Off-Road Bikes: Concerns were raised regarding the widespread misuse of off-road bikes and associated anti-social behaviour. Inspector Cooke urged members of the public to report any incidents to the police.
• White Lion Pub, York Street: Concern was raised regarding the safety of the White Lion Pub on York Street, which had sustained significant damage following a vehicle collision. It was explained that a police investigation was ongoing, and the structural integrity of the building was being regularly assessed. Councillor Liam O'Rourke, Portfolio Holder for Corporate, Governance and Transformation, requested that any further queries regarding the premises be sent to him directly.

Heywood Township Delegation Arrangements and Appointments 2025/26

The committee considered a report which sought confirmation of delegated decision arrangements for the municipal year 2025/26 and requested appointments to the Township Sub-Committee and various other bodies. The committee resolved:

• To appoint all Township Committee Members to the Heywood Township Delegated Sub-Committee, with Councillor Angela Brown and Councillor Bev Place appointed as Chair and Vice-Chair respectively for 2025/26.
• To appoint Councillor Paul O'Neill and Mr Brian Davies to the East Lancashire Railway Trust for 2025/26.
• To make no appointments to the Heywood Magic Board.
• To appoint Councillor Linda Robinson as Older Person Champion for 2025/26.
• To appoint Councillor Bev Place as Township Highways Champion for 2025/26.
• To appoint all Councillors that were not Members of the Planning Committee to the Heywood Township Planning Panel for 2025/26.
• To appoint Councillor Paul O'Neill to serve on the Road Safety Group for 2025/26.
• To appoint Councillor Linda Robinson as Township Environment Champion for 2025/26.
• To appoint Councillor Angela Brown and Councillor Bev Place to the Long-Term Plans for Neighbourhoods for 2025/26.

Heywood Township Funds Review

The committee considered a report that reviewed the revenue and capital expenditures during 2024/25 and provided options for the allocation of funds in 2025/26. The committee resolved:

• To note the expenditures, commitments, and balances for Heywood Township revenue and capital funds at the financial year end 2024/25, as set out in Appendix 1 and Appendix 2 of the report.
• To note the findings of the review of Heywood Township Funds 2024/25, as set out in Appendix 3 of the report, and the evaluations received to date for funded projects, as set out in Appendix 4 of the report.
• To approve the allocation of Heywood Township Funds to funding streams in 2025/26 as set out in Appendix 5 of the report.
• To approve the terms and conditions for Heywood Township revenue and capital funds for 2025/26, as set out in Appendix 6 of the report.
• To agree to the delegation arrangements for Heywood Township Funds 2025/26 as detailed in paragraph 5.6 of the report.

The committee agreed that the proposed terms and conditions and allocation of funds to funding streams would ensure the most efficient and effective use of the Township funds.

Welfare Advice in Heywood Township

The committee considered a report that provided an update in relation to a new model of welfare advice that had been launched on 1st October 2023. The Public Health Commissioning and Improvement Manager introduced the report and provided a supplementary presentation.

It was reported that over the last year, the advice offer in Heywood had supported over 1300 residents to resolve 4000 issues. Clients had been assisted with £683,675 in economic gains, and £147,515 of client debt had been written off.

Welfare Advice was currently provided in two levels:

• Level 1 advice is offered by various providers, including the voluntary sector, customer services, and Citizens Advice helpline, and includes form filling, support with budgeting, and understanding bill payments.
• Level 2 advice is provided by Citizens Advice, by accredited advisers qualified to advise on complex issues and offer debt advice, including benefit calculations. Recovery Republic were also used as registered debt advisers.

The committee was informed that work would continue to promote and develop a welfare advice forum, share good practice, and ensure that all welfare advice contracts issued by the Council included reporting methods, in order to pool information.

The committee resolved to note the report and presentation and requested that Heywood Township Committee Members promote awareness of the welfare advice offer available to residents within the Heywood Township area, and attendees were encouraged to visit the 'Our Rochdale' website for information and advice.