Distressed residents.

The end of the tether appears to be in sight, as residents of Deeplish lose hope that the police or the council will ever respond to their repeated requests for help.

Children are being brought up in an everyday street culture of quote: "flagrant drug dealing in broad daylight"
http://www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/81607/local-community-fed-up-of-drug-dealers

I agree Cyfrifia, as a resident that has been in that situation, I and my neighbours well know the misery of street dealing.

If I could offer these residents any advice, it would be to ring the Police reporting every incident (even if it is at 3 o'clock in the morning) giving descriptions, times, car numbers etc, obtain a Log Number and if the Police don't offer one then ASK for one.  This all helps to build up a picture/pattern for the Police and the Council to work with and eventually, they will get there but it will be a long, hard slog.  You have to be just as determined to get your streets back as the drug dealers are to take them off you!

Our situation is very much under control now but it has taken about 4 years and we still get the occasional blip, only today a car number and descriptions were passed on to GMP by one of my neighbours and a Log Number obtained and, the Police did show up and checked the area out about 30 minutes later.

It is miserable to be caught up in the middle of their filthy trade.

It's very hard on residents to find themselves trying to live and to bring up families in an area blighted and ignored in this way.

Drug use and dealing, and the associated crimes, violence and social tensions has become so much a constant feature of our towns, the authorities may feel that chasing it out of one area just means it reappears elsewhere, so, yes, it's really down to residents to make it very clear that they cannot and will not tolerate it where they live.

cyfrifia wrote:P.S. The forum could probably do with something more interesting to discuss, but drugs, despair and ruined lives of both young and old is what is happening, and the stabbing mayhem in Heywood.

Yes it could.

So maybe you , I , us could start more 'happy' threads.

Posts that are "happy" might be a bit contrived, but give it a go. Posts that are interesting are more .    .    .    interesting. As the forum is for and about Rochdale, it's at its' best if it's about what goes on, the story behind it, the reasons why, and the larger issues that inevitably affect the town. Is Rochdale a forgotten and irrelevant backwater, or an arena where the future is being made?

cyfrifia wrote:Posts that are "happy" might be a bit contrived, but give it a go. Posts that are interesting are more .    .    .    interesting. As the forum is for and about Rochdale, it's at its' best if it's about what goes on, the story behind it, the reasons why, and the larger issues that inevitably affect the town. Is Rochdale a forgotten and irrelevant backwater, or an arena where the future is being made?

Why is being happy contrived?

Ok how positive? Exciting? Expectant? Jovial? Cause for celebration. List is endless:D 

You state/query that Rochdale could be a forgotten Town. Well as I've said before Rochdale seems to be in the papers for all the wrong reasons. Such as the horrific sex case. Also the headlines screaming from the Ob is our MP creating a diplomatic incident! Stunning you couldn't make it up!! You ask for more positive stuff for Rochdale yet I find a thread on G20 - that is global not local. You stop A N Other person in the empty high street in Rochdale and you ask them what affects them on a daily basis and I think you be very hard pushed to get a G20 comment.

As for future being made. What future? The unwanted un-needed Rochdale East Pound Shop expansion still has not been signed off!!! Yet RMBC spin department is spewing out leaflets/reports that it has all been rubber stamped.

Yet I do try and promote Rochdale over on FB, and I get a good response back. Hopefully we have moved on from that horrific Rochdale song and actually getting on with happy (oops cant used that word in case I come across as a bit contrived) news and promotion of Rochdale and steering away from the Political waters.

Ah well. Keep calm and shop for quality elsewhere.

Being happy in itself is not contrived, it's very nice. Happy posts do seem a little more difficult to find.

The G20 is nowt to do with me.

I put the question about how relevant Rochdale is, and it's future, because it's an interesting question. As you explain, Chill, Rochdale, at least at local government level does seem to have some grasp of it's size, situation, potential and importance, but a rather flummoxed idea of it's future.

cyfrifia wrote:Being happy in itself is not contrived, it's very nice. Happy posts do seem a little more difficult to find.

The G20 is nowt to do with me.

I put the question about how relevant Rochdale is, and it's future, because it's an interesting question. As you explain, Chill, Rochdale, at least at local government level does seem to have some grasp of it's size, situation, potential and importance, but a rather flummoxed idea of it's future.

I'm sorry cyfrifia but saying the G20 is 'nowt' to do with me is naive in the extreme. It has 'everything' to do with you and all the rest of us. Taking your parochial little pen and wittering thus does absolutely nothing for the good of your town or its residents. Rochdale's biggest problems stem from a chronic lack of investment both in its people and its infrastructures. Money in the big pot means more for the little pots. Whatever is decided at the G20 will always ultimately effect YOU. So ignore at your peril why don't you.

To be brutally honest here I fail to see how G20 accounts for the chronic lack of investment in Rochdale.

I peronally level the blame at RMBC and their total lack of priorities.  Roads crumbling, Kingsway Business Park 3/4 empty, RMBC crying and using copious amounts of red ink and saying they are broke.  Yet what did they do -  found £50m to build an office block yet imposing a huge Council Tax Rise on us.    Or spending £15k on a blooming light fitting!!  Is that a priority?  Seriously I ask you!   The failure of RMBC to even question the highly dubious cancelling of Metrolink Staion on Drake Street.  ISo I suggest Rochdales biggest issue are blameed on the reams of pen pushers and back office staff that run the town, sorry, ruin our town!   How does G20 affect over 30 people applying for each and every job in Rochdale? How does G20 affect the reports going on about treatment of staff at JD Sports? Judging by the comments on RO. Lets all have a think about how much good the £50m would have done to improve Rochdale both short and long term. Yes Im ready for the power point presentations and comments from ex and current Cllrs. But did we really truly needa new office block at the height of recession? Are we really to belive ALL of the offices and depots would have fallen down over night if 50 Smith Street had not been passed? Oh wait - its G20 fault!


As ive said, stop anyone on our almost empty streets in the Town Centre and ask them what concerns them more in day to day issues in Rochdale.  You will struggle to get the G20 mentioned. I also think it was unfair at the least to call the poster naive or to reference wittering on.  Everyone has issues that are important to them and not to others.     We dont accuse you of wittering on about a G20 issue.   I am truly sorry but yes feel free to discuss topics.  But please dont call people naive or accuse them of wittering on when they dont agree with what you are on about or dont wish to discuss it. But on a day to day basis I think people in Rochdale have bigger things to worry about.

What, will my naive and parochial little pen witter about today?

With the big changes we are seeing in the how the world is organised, at what level, local, national, European, international can anything be done to influence anything for the better? For better, more meaningful, free-er lives? For a cleaner environment? For a place and a society where children can grow up well?

Some of us may wish to influence what goes on in Europe or internationally, but realistically, the ordinary person has much more knowledge of, and leverage on, local issues. Even at local level, it isn't easy to get the basics sorted out, to even get the streets cleaned, but if enough people do care and focus on immediate and local issues, that seems as good a place to start as any. Whatever level you concern yourself with it's an uphill struggle and results don't appear as soon as we would like.

 Well that had the desired effect didn't it;) Seriously though. The point I made earlier was regarding the G20s attempts to close down on tax avoidance. Some 70 billion in this country alone at last years calculation. If and I do stress 'if' such loopholes were to be closed and the monies accrued - how much better off would a council like Rochdale be with regards its rate grants etc? You see - it does effect you - quite substantially in the greater scope of things. It would be foolish not to give it some thought whilst we are worrying about the idiots that govern the township. Which is not to say you are right to do so. Give them hell - as well - I say.