Failsworth will be a winner if Oldham's Parks for People lottery bid is successful according to a local councillor.

Jim McMahon has been leading on Higher Memorial Park and Daisy Nook Country Park lottery bids with the hugely successful Parks Department at Oldham Council.

If the bids are approved it could mean over £1million of investment in the two parks, which are seen as central to the quality of life in Failsworth.

Failsworth Carnival volunteers set out on their annual Santa singalong through Failsworth recently and raised a whopping £1,200. All of which is used to put on the summer carnival.

Last year was a record year for the carnival with income of almost £15,000, this was great news for local groups who are granted any profit made at the event.

Well done to all those involved!

Failsworth East Councillors are leading the way in order to connect with constituents through the use of 'Walking Surgeries'.

The principal is straightforward; a area of around 500 properties is chosen and residents are sent a postcard which they are asked to place in their window on the date and times shown. Councillors then knock on and discuss any issues as they walk by.

If the dates/times shown are not convenient then residents are given the contact details of local councillors and home visits can be arranged to suit.

10/12/06

Building work on the new £30million school for Failsworth is well under way with the steel structure being erected.

Work is expected to go until Feb 2008 when the school, together with it's sister-school at Radcliffe School will be the best facility for secondary education in the region.

Councillors are continuing to work with the developer and school to ensure disruption to local residents is minimised.

The long running saga with Ashton Road East sinking in places appears to have occurred again, with two sections  near Roman Road which were repaired a year ago showing signs of sinking again!

The problem may be caused by old mine shafts or gaps in older house foundations and the Council's Highway Department are investigating. We have been assured the problem will be addressed and the road surface repaired.

The results of our 'Labour Listening' survey are in and show that the majority of residents in the town are concerned most by crime and anti-social behaviour.

The survey also showed that while much work had been done to improve the open space in Failsworth it still appears as a priority, closely followed by traffic speed and volume.

This information will help inform our work during the coming months.

Thank you to all those who took part in the survey.