We see Labour Oldham Council leader Sean Fielding now has his own website to tell you all what a fantastic job he is doing for Failsworth and Oldham so let’s list a few of his achievements and failures he left out or failed to elaborate on.
Achievements .
Employed extra street cleaners supposedly across the borough although I have never seen one where I live in 2.5 years.
Kicked 20,000 people off the social housing waiting list so he could concentrate on prioritising subsidised housing for select socioeconomic groups.
Continued the rollout of a new six figure HR & payroll system despite the council wasting at least £2.1 million on a new system called A1 in 2017.
Managed to break and ignore government rules and guidance on Covid-19 gatherings and travel on at least three separate occasions in 2020.
Paid £110,000 to rent a hall from OCL while across the road the council’s own QEII Hall stood empty.
Allowed a charity to run an openly advertised multi team non socially distanced football tournament in the area with Oldham’s highest rate of COVID-19 infections.
Commissioned 5 bedroom social housing in one of Oldham’s benefit hotspots around Ashton Rd while the rest of us continued to pay one of the highest council tax rates in the country.
Cut grants to charities while continuing to pay £50k for bonfire night fireworks, tens of thousands in fees to a coop marketing firm and the project management of the multimillion Northern Roots scheme which currently has no funding stream in place.
Managed to increase the size of their press/communications team which has, unlike every other council department, not faced any staff cuts since 2011.
Managed to turn around plans to develop green land in Failsworth and Woodhouses where he lives while posing for pictures celebrating the destruction of the last sizeable area of green land in central Chadderton.
Volunteered at Failsworth vaccine hub making sure somebody was there to photo and video his heartfelt charitable community spirit, no 8 hours directing people from the car park at the Etihad or Oldham town centre hub for Sean.
Failures.
Failed to regenerate the Tommyfield market rather than bulldoze as promised when he ousted Jean Stretton as leader instead choosing to demolish the site and build housing in what is already the no1 MSOA area for housing benefit payments with 50% more claims than anywhere else.
Failed to deliver a new Coliseum.
Failed to deliver Prince’s Gate another legacy of his mentor Jim McMahon’s lack of economic savvy.
Failed to deliver any businesses or to create any permanent jobs at Foxdenton like past leaders Jim McMahon and Jean Stretton after almost a decade of site promotion.
Failed to deliver his (ludicrous) vandals dream of a Failsworth solar farm.
Failed to tackle householder fly tipping with Oldham having the worst rate in Greater Manchester at 74% of all Oldham incidents.
Allowed the closure of Oldham’s only walk in centre at the beginning of the pandemic leaving Oldham residents with vastly reduced access to treatment and facilities for non COVID-19 health issues.
Purchased the ailing Spindles shopping centre for a bargain price but left out the tens of millions it would require spending on purchasing leaseholds and conversion plans.
Continued spending money on the £32 million over budget and underperforming Town Hall Cinema to make use of the most expensive room to regenerate, the Egyptian Room, which has not secured a tenant in the 4.5 years since it’s multimillion facelift.
Turned a blind eye and remained silent on Oldham’s vaccination rollout which ignored entitlement rules and allowed people of all ages to have a first come first served vaccine free for all while making pensioners and the vulnerable in the borough wait past the official NHS and JCVI 77 to 84 day vaccine window for a second dose.