Only One Person Goes To PACT Meeting

There was a surprisingly poor turnout from the public at last night’s PACT (Police and Communities Together) meeting for the Saddleworth South area, held at Uppermill Civic Hall. In fact, I was the only person who turned up.

All three Borough Councillors for Saddleworth South were there, along with the community champion for the Saddleworth and Lees District Partnership, Cllr Barbara Beeley. Several police officers and PCSOs were also in attendance, as was the new divisional commander for Oldham, Chief Superintendent Tim Forber. Sadly, no residents took the opportunity to go along and ask any questions they might have about policing or other local issues.

However, the police’s latest ‘village a month’ initiative, held at the Civic Hall earlier in the day, had been more successful. The police and other local agencies have been holding the events at the different communities in Saddleworth and Lees in recent months. This month’s focus is on Uppermill, and once again a steady stream of people attended.

Perhaps the contrasting experiences of yesterday suggest that more informal events such as the ‘village a month’ format are a better way for the police and councillors to interact with the public, instead of traditional public meetings. On the other hand, more than 30 people went to a recent PACT meeting in Greenfield, held amid concern about anti-social behaviour in the area. That implies meetings work better when a particular issue helps drive local interest.

The next PACT meeting, for the Saddleworth West and Lees ward, is due to take place on 23 March at Springhead Community Centre. It’ll be interesting to see how many members of the public are there.

Author: Jude Gidney - Editor

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