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The Mancunian Way: Bearing fruit
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Hello
In her time as leader of Oldham Council, Arooj Shah’s car was set alight in a firebomb attack. She received death threats and threats of physical violence, and needed police escorts to safely get around the borough.
Having taken over from Sean Fielding following his election loss in 2021, Shah then lost her Chadderton South seat in May 2022. Slamming a ‘deliberate smear campaign’ at the time of the loss, many did not expect to see her returning to local politics – at least, not anytime soon.
So, it was a surprise when the first female Muslim council leader in the north of England appeared on ballot papers for St Mary’s ward at this year’s all-out contest.
Having won the seat for the area she grew up in – with 2,743 votes – Ms Shah has explained to Local Democracy Reporter Charlotte Green why she’s staging a comeback.
“I love my town and I didn’t stop thinking about it, and I didn’t stop being passionate about the town when I lost my seat,” she says. “That was instilled in me and made me more determined to come back and do what I could to improve people’s lives.
“I’ve always been authentic and I’ve had conversations about really difficult things that I think other politicians may not have, and I’ve done that because my gut’s told me it’s the right thing to do.”
Ms Shah explained that being a woman in politics, and being someone with ‘normal life experience’, means she often feels sidelined. But she believes it also means she has a unique approach to offer Oldham.
“People all the time say ‘politicians are not like us’ but when you get someone who is normal, who has normal life experience, everyone says, ‘this can’t be right’,” she says. “People need to decide what they want.”
She adds: “We have a politics of division and hate and I think that I am going to do everything I can in my leadership so that I don’t leave any ground fertile enough for anybody to sow any seeds of hate anymore.”
Since returning to Oldham Council, Ms Shah has already set forward a number of priorities, including expanding on a street cleaning programme to include more tree and flower planting in public places and alleyways, finding a way to save a theatre in Oldham and bringing back district community councils.
“I think the last 13 years have been incredibly difficult for residents across Oldham for a variety of reasons, but it’s hard when resources are diminishing, budgets are diminishing and you’re trying to instil pride in the place at the same time,” she says.
“There is a cost of living crisis, there are some people that are really struggling. There were houses I knocked on in St Mary’s ward during this last year and I was heartbroken when I left those houses.
“You’ve got people living in really poor housing, with poor insulation, poverty – in work poverty – every single member of the family working but still can’t afford to put the heating on, can’t afford food, having to rely on food banks or churches or mosques to give them food packages.
“So for me it’s been ultimately about coming back and giving them that TLC that they so much deserve.”
In today’s Mancunian Way, we’ll also be looking at a noisy gym causing sleepless nights for residents, workers facing redundancy and the future of Oldham Coliseum.
Just about managing
Cash-strapped residents in Greater Manchester say they are ‘frightened to bits’ as they struggle to see a way out of the ongoing cost of living crisis.
65-year-old Alan Marland, from Oldham, was forced to sell his home in 2017 after losing his decorating job and has been living off the £40k proceeds ever since. Now he finds himself begging his son to lend him a tenner.
“I’m struggling like mad,” Alan, who is unable to find work due to suffering from dizziness, told M.E.N reporter Paige Oldfield. “I’ve just been to the job centre because I’ve had dizziness for four years.
“There’s a food bank near me on Huddersfield Road. When I’m really desperate, I’ll go there. I’ve had people say, ‘If you ring this number, they’ll deliver door-to-door’.
“But I’ve worked all my life and I’m quite a proud person. I’d rather starve to death than beg people.”
Alan’s situation, sadly, is not a unique one. Figures from The Trussell Trust found that the charity had handed out 31,311 emergency food parcels across the city-region in the year ending March 2023.
These figures were up on the 19,998 handed out in 2021/22 and the highest figure ever recorded in the area. Nationwide, The Trussell Trust’s 1,400 centres provided 2,986,203 aid packages – with enough ingredients for 26.8 million meals – over the last year.
Shaun Reynolds, who works on the trolleys at Tesco, is also just about managing to afford his shopping and energy bills. “I’m just scraping by,” the 62-year-old says. “It makes you feel horrible; it’s rubbish. I just take it as it comes. I reckon it’s going to get worse.”
Just like everything else, the cost of food continues to rise with inflation across the country at a record high. Food prices are rising at the fastest rate in more than 45 years, with the latest BRC-NielsenIQ shop price index finding a 15.7 per cent increase in the year to April.
“Everything goes up,” Daryl Hilton, 45, who lives in Shaw, said. Pointing to a packet of chocolate in a shopping bag, he says: “Last week, this was £1.49. Now, it’s £1.79.”
Daryl adds: “Things are depressing, aren’t they? I emphasise with these families. If I had children, it would frighten me to death.
Noisy neighbours
Neighbours living next to a gym made more than 1,000 recordings of loud music blasting from the premises during fitness classes.
Bury Council said those living near PT41 Fitness on Lodge Road in Radcliffe would often hear loud music booming from the gym in the early hours of the morning, seven days a week.
Residents told the M.E.N back in 2021 that fitness classes as early as 4am would often wake them up. “It’s a daily struggle, it’s unreal,” Carl Stewart said at the time. “I’ve had to buy ear plugs and wrap a towel around my head just so I don’t hear it.”
The council served noise abatement notices on the gym but said these were breached on a number of occasions. The council also seized equipment from the premises.
Carl and a number of local residents complained to the council about the noise and submitted audio and video proof of the disturbances. “I must have sent in around 500 different recordings in the space of 16 months,” Carl said two years ago.
At court on May 4, the owner of the gym pleaded guilty to breaching a noise abatement notice, under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, and was imposed a fine of £492, plus a victim surcharge of £197 and costs of £3,000.
Manchester Magistrates Court awarded a forfeiture order to the council, allowing it to keep all the noise-making equipment it had previously seized.
Coun Alan Quinn, cabinet member for the environment, climate change and operations, said: “Noisy neighbours can make people’s lives a misery, and it’s disgraceful that the gym owners ignored orders to keep the noise down and allowed these problems to carry on for so long.
“Well done to the residents for refusing to sit back and take it, and for keeping such diligent records which assisted us in the prosecution.
“We will continue to take action against those who indulge in anti-social behaviour and break the law.”
‘Key milestone’
When the curtain fell for the last time at Oldham Coliseum on March 31, a town said goodbye to a 138-year-old institution.
Whilst the venue itself will not be reopening anytime soon, bosses at the theatre have announced they have been given the go-ahead to move into a new £24.5m theatre in the borough.
The new theatre will be located on Greaves Street, within Oldham’s Cultural Quarter, and is set to open in 2026. The new space will be smaller than the 585-seat Coliseum, but What’s On editor Jenna Campbell reports that it will be designed with a ‘modern and sustainable’ approach.
Emma Barton, Oldham Council’s Executive Director for Place and Economic Growth, said: “This is a key milestone in the future of theatre in the borough, ensuring arts and performance continue to thrive in Oldham, and ensuring that performers and audiences have a fully accessible, modern and sustainable new venue.
“The new theatre will revitalize Oldham’s cultural offer, create additional jobs and attract visitors into the town centre. It’s on target to be open by 2026 – giving certainty to the future of performing arts in the town and building on our theatrical legacy – along with activities and performance to build and maintain audiences between now and then.”
Duncan Craig OBE, Chair of Oldham Coliseum Theatre Ltd, said that he was pleased to see that conversations to protect the future of the company were ‘starting to bear fruit’.
“This has been a very difficult time for so many people associated with the Coliseum, from staff and volunteers to those who’ve simply known and loved this grand old theatre,” he added.
‘Absolutely devastating’
Over 500 employees are at risk of losing their jobs after pork giant Pilgrim’s UK revealed plans to close its Ashton-under-Lyne base.
The food provider cited current unfavourable market conditions in the country and all 542 staff based at the site, at all levels, are being put at risk of redundancy, with the company now entering a period of consultation.
If the closure goes ahead, operations would be transferred to its other facilities in south Gloucestershire, Lincolnshire and Merseyside. Rachel Baldwin, Vice President of Human Resources, Pilgrim’s UK, said the decision to propose the closure of the Ashton site ‘has not been taken lightly’.
She explained: “A key part of our work to return to growth includes ensuring we fully optimise our operational footprint and the age and location of Ashton within a densely populated area means that there is no feasible opportunity to modernise or grow the site.”
Local politicians said they were “shocked” by the news, and told the M.E.N the plans would be ‘absolutely devastating’ for people in Ashton and Dukinfield.
Jackie Lane, Labour councillor for Dukinfield, said: “I am in shock. There are a lot of people in Dukinfield that work there and have worked there for many years and families before them.
“It really attracts families as a place to work as well, so we will get whole families working together – so it’s going to have a huge impact on Dukinfield and the local economy.”
Choosing kindness
In 2021-2022, there was a 23.7% rise in hate crime relating to sexual orientation and a 69.6% increase in hate crimes relating to gender identity across Greater Manchester.
Nationwide, hate crimes against sexual orientation rose by 41%, while hate crimes against transgender people surged by 56%. Today is International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT), and Manchester Pride has reiterated its commitment to combat hate crimes against LGBTQ+ people.
Launched in October 2022, the charity’s ‘I Choose Kindness’ initiative raises awareness of the abuse, violence, and intimation faced by LGBTQ+ people today. The campaign, which is backed by Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham and the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), also provides resources to help individuals safely challenge such behaviours and understand how to safely report incidents.
“‘I Choose Kindness’ is a powerful tool in our fight against hate crime,” Mark Fletcher, CEO of Manchester Pride, said. “It emphasises the importance of community, solidarity, and allyship – which is also at the heart of this year’s IDAHOBIT theme: ‘Together always: united in diversity’.
“As we observe IDAHOBIT, let us remember the power of unity in diversity, and the change we can effect when we choose kindness.”
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Weather etc
Temperatures: Cloudy. 16C.
Roads: Contraflow and roadworks on A62 Oldham Way between B6477 Prince Street and A627 Ashton Road (King Street roundabout) until May 26. Delays expected.
Demolition work on the M56, near junctions 11 and 12, is taking place at the weekend. Parts of the motorway will be closed in both directions from Friday night until Monday morning. Drivers advised to plan ahead. More here.
Trains: New TransPennine Express timetable coming into effect on Sunday. There will be some changes to services. More here.
Manchester headlines
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Fraud: A Rochdale man was paid £200 to sit a driving theory test for his friend, a court has heard. Aaron Farrell, 27, was stopped at a driving test centre just before he was about to sit the test after staff recognised his face. More here.
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Ready, set, Mo: Athletic legend Sir Mo Farah will be voicing Metrolink announcements ahead of this weekend’s Great Manchester Run. “It’s gonna be momentous, you know it,” the four-time Olympic champion said. Commonwealth Games champion Eilish McColgan will also be heard at tram stations across Greater Manchester. Read about it here.
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Flight: A man was arrested after a flight from Germany to the USA had to land at Manchester Airport on Monday night. He was later sent back to Munich as the flight continued on its intended journey.
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Haaland: Ahead of Wednesday’s Champion’s League semi-final decider between Manchester City and Real Madrid, one Holland and Barrett shop in Manchester is considering changing its name in a show of support. The name change will go ahead if a social post gets a million likes. Any guesses on the proposed new name? Find out here.
Worth a read
A Manchester venue caused controversy when it opened in 1982 after employing waitresses dressed in St Trinian’s-style uniforms serving “rude food” from a menu with suggestively-titled dishes.
Guests at School Dinners, on Portland Street, could order a dish shaped like women’s breasts with “strategically-placed cherries” called a Bust Wellington. Other dishes were named Between The Sheets, Mister Universe, Boaster’s Fresh Bit, and Little Hanky Panky.
The schoolgirl-themed restaurant faced anger from the get-go when bosses proposed naming the venue Manchester High School, infuriating governors at legitimate educational institution Manchester High School for Girls.
You can read more about the bad-taste venture and its quick demise here.
That’s all for today
Thanks for joining me. If you have stories you would like us to look into, email [email protected].
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