Council Candidate Interview: John McCann (Liberal Democrat, Saddleworth South)

John McCann, the Liberal Democrat candidate for Saddleworth South, at his home in Dobcross yesterday.

John McCann, the Liberal Democrat standing for the Saddleworth South ward on Oldham Council, has said improving Churchill Fields would be one of his main priorities if he’s re-elected. He also used an interview with Saddleworth News to say the recent row over the future of the Whit Friday Contests was “unfortunate” and added that there will be improved facilities at this year’s events.

Mr McCann said work to sort out the drainage problems at Churchill Fields would cost in the region of a quarter of a million pounds. He said the improvements may have to be carried out in two phases depending on whether funding could be secured, but added that he hoped work would begin later this year.

On the issue of Whit Friday, Mr McCann said he was “a bit annoyed” that police ideas for potential changes to traffic regulations on the day had been leaked, giving many people in Saddleworth the impression that Oldham Council was somehow trying to wreck the much-loved contests. He said he’d spent a “frantic” weekend speaking to all parties trying to reach a solution, and re-iterated that the council is providing extra cash for the events this year, some of which will be spent on temporary toilets in Uppermill.

Mr McCann said he was particularly pleased with the developments which have taken place at Saddleworth Leisure Centre in Uppermill, and praised the “wonderful” new gym and all-weather pitches. He also said he’d been involved with turning the old mortuary in Uppermill into a new car park, and added that he hoped new council-funded vehicle-activated speed limit signs on roads around Saddleworth would help prevent accidents.

Mr McCann, a former Revenue and Customs official who’s now retired, revealed that he first got involved in politics about 15 years ago, when he campaigned against plans to increase the speed limit outside his home on Wool Road in Dobcross. He said he’d received help then from politicians from different parties, and said that kind of cross-party co-operation was “one of the big strengths” of politics in Saddleworth.

I interviewed Mr McCann at his home yesterday. We also talked about housing, including his recent experiences as the member of Oldham Council’s cabinet with responsibility for that policy area, as well as the general issue of trust in politics.

You can listen to the interview in full by downloading it from here.

The Saddleworth South ward covers Uppermill, Greenfield, Friezland, Grasscroft and Lydgate. My interview with Conservative candidate Graham Sheldon is here, and my interview with Labour candidate Kaiser Rehman is here.

Author: Jude Gidney - Editor

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