Community Payback clears up at the end of Lorna Grove
August 19, 2011 Iain Roberts 11 Comments

The Lib Dem team has been working to get offenders on the Community Payback scheme to do useful work around Cheadle and Gatley, and I’m pleased to report that the area of land at the end of Lorna Grove has now been properly cleared by offenders.

We regularly suggest areas that could do with attention – either clearing litter or simple gardening work – so why not let us have your suggestions.

There are some restrictions at present, so I can’t guarantee that every suggestion will happen, but we will continue to both pass on suggestions and press for the system to be streamlined so we can get Community Payback onto the case as quickly as possible.

crime, environment

11 Comments

1
John Hartley
Friday 19 August 2011 - 6:19 pm

Excellent idea, Iain.

I am an ex-employee of the Probation Service and recall it was always difficult to find work for offenders undertaking Community Payback. The constraint, quite rightly in my view, was that it must be work that would not otherwise get done (and, therefore, wasnt taking work away from folk who might be employed to do that sort of thing. So, for example, no litter clearing of pavements as the Council employs folk, but yes to clearing litter on “spare ground”.

Community Payback is one of the real success stories of the criminal justice system. It has alow reoffending rate and can instill some “work ethic” discipline into folk.

2
Judy Ashworth
Sunday 21 August 2011 - 2:40 pm

The spare ground opposite Cheadle library is overgrown and full of nettles near the path which children take on their way to school.It would be good if this can be cleared.
Judy Ashworth.

3
B. A. Horstmann
Sunday 21 August 2011 - 2:55 pm

I take it this is the triangle of land between Longley Lane, the motoryay and Lorna Grove. When I first saw it in the 60′s it was a long avenue of trees going north. This was severed by the motorway. Who owns it and what are the access rights? Representations were made so that an access was maintained from Longley Lane after the new build. Is a cycle route posible to Gatley Carrs as a continuation of that through Holyhedge Park?

4
Iain Roberts
Sunday 21 August 2011 - 6:06 pm

Hi Bryan,

Part of the problem is that we don’t know who owns it – there’s no owner registered with the Land Registry and no-one else has come forward.

An official cycle route through Gatley Carrs has quite a few challenges and isn’t on the radar just yet.

Iain

5
Emma Burrows
Sunday 21 August 2011 - 8:44 pm

Great idea.
Why not suggest help for some of our OAPs who need major garden tidy ups or folk who can’t cope with their gardens because of illness or disability?
There are several very elderly people I know who could really do with some help in their gardens as gardening charges are so expensive and a pension doesn’t stretch so far these days.
The Community Payback scheme could do alot to reach out to the communities and people in need.

6
Val Gardner
Sunday 21 August 2011 - 8:45 pm

Hi Iain, you are already aware of my gripe with litter round the CO-Ops in Gatley,maybe they could clean up there. Tonight the Big Co-Op service road and Gatley car park are covered in litter. And the parking area at the Oakwood Ave Co-Op car park is its usual mess

7
Robert Taggart
Monday 22 August 2011 - 10:33 am

re: JH. “…an ex-employee of the Probation Service…”, hm, methinks you have let the cat out of the bag – you LIBERAL !

8
John Hartley
Monday 22 August 2011 - 5:56 pm

Emma

Unless things have changed in the years since I retired, Community Payback does undertake gardening for pensioners and disabled folk. There are conditions, of course. As I recall,folk have to be unable to afford to pay a gardener and have no family able to do it. There’s no need for folk to be nervous about having offenders in their garden as there is a Service employee with the work groups at all times. If you know someone who could benefit, you (or they) should get in touch with CP:

Stockport Community Payback Unit
19/37, High Street
Stockport
SK1 1EG
Tel: 0300 047 7500

9
Emma Burrows
Monday 22 August 2011 - 11:03 pm

Thanks John, I will pass this info on.
Very kind of you to come back to me on this. Much appreciated :)

Emma.

10
Paula Isherwood
Thursday 25 August 2011 - 10:13 am

The Gatley Carrs Conservation Group wanted the C.P.U’s help to remove glass from the Carrs pond area after it had been redug but the problem was toilet facilities. We arranged for them to be bused to Bruntwood for a lunchtime relief stop but then heard that they would need these stops frequently throughout the day (going behind bushes was not allowed!). At this point we did it ourselves and have filled about 50 bags over a period of time. It sounded too good to be true – and that was the problem, it was!

I’m probably too late for anyone to see this, sorry!

11
Iain Roberts
Thursday 25 August 2011 - 8:24 pm

Hi Paula,

We picked up on the problems at Gatley Carrs and have been pressing to get things improved – I think we’re well on the way. I wasn’t at all happy with what happened at the Carrs, but it does seem to be much smoother now.



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