Greater Manchester Winter Update 2022
Investing in Greater Manchester
It’s been a busy few months across Greater Manchester and Cheshire East, we are supporting and promoting a range of great organisations and initiatives in the area.
For those that like to get active, we’re delivering boxing sessions in Oldham for all. We’re also offering women only keep fit classes held at St Hilda’s school. The Work and Skills coach service in Hattersley continues thrive. Delivered jointly with Tameside MBC we’ve seen the sessions become more popular with customers and we’ve making strong links with local major employers. We’re also starting to work with Trafford College and Tameside ACE to deliver training for the local community.
Look out for us at our next drop in sessions. We’re hosting sessions at the Meeting Point January for a job club service on Thursdays and in the Youth Room at the Hub. The boardroom at the Hub is also now being used as a space to deliver training too. Finally, to keep children engaged and entertained in the school holidays we’ll be delivering Christmas sessions at Oasis Academy, Hollins Rd, Poppy Rd and Spindle Mews.
Neighbourhood news
A new series of monthly walkabouts has started, with colleagues from Neighbourhoods, Social Investment and Customer Engagement talking to customers on The Avenues in Oldham about issues affecting residents in their community. Key themes were fly tipping and addressing anti-social behaviour. We will continue to follow up these actions and provide further updates.
A community consultation was also recently held at Poppy Road, looking at how to tackle parking issues in this area. Fly tipping remains an issue in a number of neighbourhoods across Greater Manchester. In Oldham, we have continued our monthly walkabouts and are looking to introduce skip days to tackle hotspots. We are also attending monthly surgeries with Ward Councillors working together to address issues as they are reported in conjunction with the Local Authority.
Neighbourhood colleagues also delivered fly tipping leaflets in Harper Court and spoke to residents about ways to reduce the amount of waste at the scheme. Coldhurst Hall has also seen a number of improvements in recent months, including new bin store doors and replacement tarmac. We have also provided extensive improvements to the environment in Coldhurst Hall with the provision of planters and new flower beds.
We will be reopening the Tenants Hall in Oldham South and working with residents to make it a space with opportunities for a range of activities such as an IT suite and a Karate club. A brand new playground has opened and welcomed many young visitors over the half term break. The playground, which has been hotly anticipated by the community in Hattersley, transforms a previously derelict space into a destination for families.
The new playground is one of several new play area investments Onward Homes have made across the borough. It has been busy with children and parents from the moment it launched. We are also well underway in identifying suitable contractor to provide a new Multi-Use Games Area and reopening Waterside Clough for the Community.
Engaging Customers
Our Customer Engagement team has been busy across Greater Manchester and Cheshire East over the last few months, working with customers on a variety of issues. More and more customers are continuing to join the Customer Engagement Community and get involved with various opportunities across the region. If you aren’t already a member, sign up and find out more here.
Over the last few months, the Customer Engagement team has supported Neighbourhood Specialists with getting customers involved in Estate Inspections. They have supported an informal consultation with customers in Oldham South at a community fun day, talking to residents about the future use of the tenants’ hall in their neighbourhood. The day was a great success with many teams across Onward collaborating to improve the area for our customers.
The team is also supporting many different customers to set up residents’ groups across the region to help address local issues, as well as facilitating local engagement sessions for residents at Parrs Court and Camp Street to help improve issues in the local area.
Across Onward, customers have been involved in our Systems for the Future face to face sessions with our digital team in each regional office, talking all about technology and how we can improve our systems to make them fit for the future.
The Customer Engagement Team is always on the lookout for more members in Greater Manchester and Cheshire East to ensure a strong voice for customers across all neighbourhoods. If you’re not already part of the CEC, why not join? If you see our Customer Engagement team out and about, stop and say hello and have a chat about what’s happening in your neighbourhood.
New Homes
New Homes have completed at New Rd Littleborough and Back Lane Congleton providing homes for Affordable Rent and Shared Ownership.
Additional schemes are on site to be delivered prior to the end of March 23, at new Rd Littleborough, Back Lane Congleton, Falcon Rise, Congleton, and the first phase of completions are due at the Hattersley site in Tameside, all providing new Homes for Affordable Rent and Shared Ownership. Work is continuing at Hattersley and Basford with the hope that further homes will be built over the next year, all providing homes for Affordable Rent and Shared Ownership and Supported Extra Care Living.
Tendering process has commenced for delivery of more properties at Wheatland Avenue with the aim for completion prior to the end of March 23, starting in site in 23/24.