Council Leader Says There’s Room For Everyone On Crompton Moor

Crompton Moor

Oldham Council leader Howard Sykes has called for a “sensible” approach to the future of Crompton Moor. Cllr Sykes, who represents the Shaw ward where the moor is situated, has urged walkers, cyclists and horseriders to accept that there’s room on the moor for each of them to enjoy their activities.

The future of the moor has proved controversial in recent years, with some users of the area accusing the council of wanting to create mountain bike trails and other facilities despite local objections. The Friends of Crompton Moor group has claimed the council “buried” the results of an initial survey of moor users, because 45% of the 514 respondents wanted to keep the moor more or less as it is.

The council later carried out a separate survey of just 41 people, which gave a more favourable response to the proposals. A full public consultation on those plans is expected later this year.

In an interview with Saddleworth News, Cllr Sykes defended the way in which the council has sought local views: “The question is: if you’re looking at something do you just ask people who use it now, or do you ask people why they don’t use it? And I think that’s what it comes down to.”

Cllr Sykes admitted that “the path hasn’t been as smooth” as he’d have liked on the issue. Talking about the Friends of Crompton Moor directly, he said, “Some people have a very different view, they think it’s theirs… I think there’s enough room on Crompton Moor for the competing users, if dealt with sensibly… and most people have approached it in that way. I’m hoping we can take it forward like that and that’s what we’re trying to do by working with the community.”

The council is hosting a public meeting about Crompton Moor next Thursday, to which anyone with an interest in the issue is invited. It will take place from 5:30pm to 8:30pm at St George’s Primary School on George Street in Shaw.

I finished the interview by asking Cllr Sykes about his views on potential impact of the Tesco supermarket which is being built at Greenfield, a development he opposed. He said: “Part of it I think is in the mind. If you regard it as a threat I think you’ve already failed… the point is that will bring more footfall to the area. The question is: ‘am I offering a good or service where I can get somebody out of Tesco’s car park and into my shop?’ And that’s the challenge to other shopkeepers.”

He went on, “It might change the nature of some of the businesses. There are things we’re doing to support small businesses, about grants, training and marketing… so there are things there if small businesses want to grasp them in terms of help and support. But I think more of it is about their attitude.”

Cllr Sykes compared the new Tesco to the relatively new Asda in Shaw. He said that, while some of the businesses in Shaw had changed to do other things, others had thrived, helped by the number of customers the supermarket had brought to the area.

To listen to this part of the interview in full, you can download it from here.

I interviewed Cllr Sykes in his office at Oldham Civic Centre on Tuesday. You can read and listen to parts one and two of the interview here and here.

The Friends of Crompton Moor have a website here. Oldham Council’s webpage about the moor is here. Previous articles from Saddleworth News about the moor can be read here.

Author: Jude Gidney - Editor

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