Connection Vouchers Scheme Extended to Parts of Oldham

The government funded Connection Vouchers Scheme has been extended to include some parts of Oldham and Stockport.

The parts of Oldham included for the first time are Broadway Business Park, Brookgate Business Park and Greengate Industrial Estate at Chadderton and Salmon Fields Business Village at Royton.
The scheme provides grants of between £100 and £3000 for the cost of connection of faster broadband service and runs until March 2015.
Other areas of Oldham are not covered by this scheme but in many cases Plum Communications offer Free Installation to customers taking service on contracts between one and three years.

Advantages of Faster Broadband

Businesses adopting Faster Broadband have found that the benefits are:

• A stronger ability to work collaboratively on projects with other groups within an organisation or with external organisations
• The capability to upload and download large multi media files, making user and customer experiences easier and more streamlined
• The ability to link up separate work sites and remote workers

Does My Business Qualify for the Connection Voucher Scheme?

Each business or organisation will have the chance of receiving the vouchers valued from £100 up to £3000 if they meet the required criteria for eligibility. If you are wondering whether or not your business qualifies for the Connection Vouchers Scheme then have a look below at some of the qualifying conditions. This list is not exhaustive so please speak to a member of the Plum Communications team to find out more information on eligibility.

• Connections must cost over £100
• The connection must indicate a step change in connectivity
• Contract duration must be for at least six months
• Small to Medium sized Enterprise need to meet the same definition as defined by the European Commission
• You must be located in a local authority of one of the SuperConnected Cities
• There are other conditions which also apply, please see guidance from your Local Authority on this as there are different rules for each city

How Do I Begin the Process?

• Firstly contact Plum Communications for a quotation or estimate and an initial check on whether you may qualify for the scheme
• You will then need to submit your application and quotation or estimate online
• If your application is successful and you receive a voucher or conditional offer letter you will place your order with us at Plum Communications
• You will be responsible for payment of VAT and the invoice amount less the voucher amount and you will send the invoice and claim form to your local authority for payment of the voucher amount

The Connection Voucher will contribute to or cover the initial installation cost. Connection costs in excess of £3000 and ongoing costs are not covered by the grant and your business will have to pay for those. If you are not in a SuperConnected City or do not qualify for a voucher we may still be able to offer free or reduced price installation.

List of SuperConnected Cities as of 3 June 2014: Aberdeen, Belfast, Birmingham, Bradford/Leeds, Brighton and Hove, Bristol, Cambridge, Cardiff, Coventry, Derby, Derry/Londonderry, Edinburgh, London, Manchester/Salford, Newcastle, Newport, Nottingham, Oxford, Perth, Portsmouth, York.


Sources
https://www.connectionvouchers.co.uk/
http://www.plumcom.co.uk/cvs.php

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Oldham town centre car parking charges are halved

In a bid to ease the financial strain, on-street car parking charges in Oldham town centre have been reduced by at least 50%. It follows concerns expressed at meetings of the Oldham Business Improvement District (BID) and Oldham Town Centre Partnership that parking charges were unreasonably high and driving away customers. It is hoped that these new lower prices will encourage more customers to visit Oldham town centre and therefore increase local business.

The new charges are: Up to 15 minutes — 20p (was 40p); Up to 30 minutes — 40p (80p); Up to one hour — 70p (£1.40); Up to one hour and 30 minutes — £1.10 (£2.30). The maximum stay has been extended by 30 minutes to two hours — for a £1.50 fee.

Councillor Lynne Thompson, cabinet member for finance and resources, said: “It is crucial that Oldham Council listens to and acts upon the genuine concerns of traders and residents who use the town centre. Customers are more likely to visit their shops specifically for a one-off visit rather than browsing and we’re confident — based on what traders and shoppers have told us — that slashing these charges will help promote the health of the High Street.”

Many local traders have expressed their delight with the new lower charges. Let’s hope that the charges do help businesses in the town centre.

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Bus services finalised for Oldham Loop Line closure

With the train lines in Oldham set to close at the start of October in preparation for the new trams, the GMPTE have finalised a special package of enhanced bus services, in order to cater for passengers who would normally be travelling to and from Oldham on these trains. The changes will provide a mixture of express and high frequency services that reflect the types of journeys currently made on the Loop Line. In addition, GMPTE has modified its subsidised services to support these changes to ensure that an appropriate level of service is provided. Transport bosses used the results of two surveys detailing the journeys that passengers are currently making to create the new timetables, which will be in place for 2 ½ years.

Commuters can look forward to up to 18 buses an hour between Oldham and Manchester and a doubling of the number of buses that will link Milnrow, Newhey and Shaw with Manchester, including a faster service at peak periods that will also serve Buckstones. A new link is also being provided to Rochdale railway station from Shaw, Newhey and Milnrow, as rail services will be running as normal between Manchester, Rochdale and Leeds. Normal bus fares will apply on all the services, including special value tickets.

Over the summer, public information events will be held, and leaflets and timetables will be widely available. Information will also be sent to local businesses and employers, as well as to community centres and libraries. For more information you can visit GMPTE or view the changes to the bus services below.

Changes to services:

Service 20 (renumbered X82) (Milnrow/Buckstones/Shaw/Manchester) will have some extra peak hour journeys added giving a semi-express journey into Manchester.

Service 24 (Rochdale/Royton/Chadderton/Manchester) will operate every 30 minutes (instead of every 15 as at present) to accommodate increased frequencies on other services.

Services 181 and 182 (Manchester/Chadderton/Shaw/Rochdale) will double in frequency to every 15 minutes and will operate every half hour via Rochdale Rail Station; the Bluebird service twice per hour will also continue.

Service 159 (Oldham/Chadderton/Woodhouses/Failsworth/New Moston/Middleton): hourly daytime service re-timed to improve links from Failsworth and New Moston with Moston Rail Station.

Service 419 (Ashton/Chadderton/Werneth/Mills Hill/Middleton): half-hourly daytime service re-timed to improve links from Werneth and Chadderton to Mills Hill Rail Station, where a number of passengers may choose to travel from once the line is closed.

Service 408 (Stalybridge/Oldham/Shaw/Buckstones): the hourly evening and Sunday service will be timed to co-ordinate as closely as possible with the main bus service at Shaw.

Also available: Services 58 and 59 (Rochdale/Rushcroft/Shaw/Oldham/Mills Hill Station/Middleton/Manchester) which operate every seven to eight minutes between Shaw and Middleton, and every 15 minutes on other sections of route.

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Plum Communications staff give blood again

After what has seemed a very fast 18 weeks since they last gave blood in February, three staff members of Plum Communications gave blood again yesterday at Queen Elizabeth Hall in Oldham Town Centre on behalf of the National Blood Service. Suzanne Cain, Plum’s Customer Services manager, has been donating blood for 13 years, while Peter Savic (Managing Director) and Rhodri Lloyd (Marketing Manager) were making their 2nd donation. Thankfully everything went smoothly and all 3 are pleased to have made their donation for such a worthy cause. In at least 16 weeks time they will be able to make another donation. For those interested in giving blood themselves, you can find more information and book an appointment on the National Blood Service website.

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Could Oldham get two tram lines running through the town centre?

GMPTE bosses and local businesses are holding talks on how to make the most of taking trams into Oldham. Work has already started to convert the Oldham Loop railway line to Metrolink by autumn 2011 with the existing train stations at Werneth and Oldham Mumps being converted into tram stations, and other new tram stops being built between Manchester Victoria and Rochdale (click here to view the tram route). However, last month's announcement that a new Metrolink line will run through Oldham town centre itself, creating 6 tram stops instead of the initial 2, has forced a rethink, as it could result in trams running parallel through Oldham. Therefore, people could be able to catch one tram into Oldham town centre or a different one to send them round the outskirts and towards Manchester or Rochdale more quickly (as this route map here shows).

Oldham Council leader, Councillor Howard Sykes, explains the problem: “If we had both [lines], one would assume some trams would go round the town centre and some would go through. It means the existing site of the railway line is kept, while the original plans were that it would be given up”.

Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive will now discuss with local businesses over the new few weeks whether there's a future for both lines or should they scrap the 'outer' line (Oldham Werneth to Oldham Mumps) plan when the town centre line is built. There are 3 proposals which will be discussed:

1. create a new ‘Mumps’ stop between Bell Street and Brook Street, next to Mumps Bridge, which would enable the two lines to co-exist. An artist’s impression of the new Metrolink bridge at Mumps roundabout can viewed here:
2. create a new stop at the Rhodes Bank end of Union Street which would serve the town centre line
3. refurbish the existing Mumps train station

A planning application will be submitted next month for a new ‘Mumps’ stop between Bell Street and Brook Street. Once this application has been submitted, there will be a formal public consultation regarding the issue.

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Trams to run through Oldham town centre

Despite failing to gain funding from the government following a resounding ‘no’ vote in the Congestion Charge referendum in Greater Manchester in December, Great Manchester is to now get a £1.4bn transport fund from the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA) and government, in order to carry out a number of currently stalled transport projects across the region, as well as creating 21,000 new jobs.

This funding will now help with the following transport projects:

• Further Metrolink (tram line) extensions to Manchester Airport, East Didsbury, Ashton-under-Lyne and the town centres of Oldham and Rochdale, as well as a second city crossing between Victoria and G-Mex. View the full Metrolink map here
• A Stockport bypass linking the airport and the A6
• The Mottram by-pass
• A guided busway between Leigh and Manchester
• The Wigan inner-relief road
• Increased park-and-ride facilities across Greater Manchester
• A `cross-city' bus package, with better and more frequent routes through the city centre
• Bus station improvements in Bolton and Altrincham

The new funding will see 6 tram stations being created in Oldham town centre, instead of the original 2 at Mumps and Werneth- Mumps, Oldham Central (Clegg Street), Union Street, King Street, Westwood and Werneth.

Oldham Council Leader Howard Sykes has explained how the £84 million funding given to Oldham will reap many benefits for the town, “This has the potential to transform Oldham into an aspirational 21st century town and send out the message that we are open for business. This is about creating an infrastructure for those studying in Oldham to find work across Greater Manchester, giving them easy access to work areas across and within the city region.” The Metrolink extensions will help to link up the key higher and further educational establishments in the town - Oldham College, Oldham Sixth Form College, University Centre Oldham, and the planned Regional Science Centre - and therefore provide students with a transport network that will help them exploit their skills.

A broadcast of the above news can be viewed below

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Manchester Victoria rail station to get £9 million makeover

The northern Manchester rail station, which dates back to 160 years ago, is to have £9 million spent on it as part of a restoration project. The station provides the only train services available from Manchester to Oldham, taking commuters to Oldham Mumps, Werneth and Mills Hill, as well as Shaw and Rochdale.

A report in February by the Travelwatch passenger watchdog has stated that Victoria doesn't provide a welcoming environment for the five million passengers who use it every year.

Plans were unveiled 2 years ago proposing a £300 million redevelopment of the station, which would have involved the station’s leaking roof being replaced with a large new one in the shape of a boomerang to cover the station’s concourse, Metrolink platforms, and new shops, bars and restaurants, as well as offices and apartment blocks to be built behind the station and a new extension to Chetham’s School of Music at the front of the station. However, such redevelopment has been put on hold by the current economic climate.

Regardless of the economic climate, Network Rail says badly-needed improvements will still go ahead within the next 5 years, with the priority being a replacement for the leaking roof which was shattered by the IRA bomb in 1996. Jo Kaye, Network Rail’s new Route Director, has said "We are in talks with both the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive and Manchester council about a scheme that could potentially, be worth in excess of £7m. As well as the roof, there will be £2m of improvements to passenger waiting areas, toilets, the footbridge, and security measures."

Additionally, new passenger facilities (including customer information screens, CCTV and improved public address systems) are to be installed at seven railway stations in Bolton and Wigan: Bromley Cross, Daisy Hill, Farnworth, Lostock, Atherton, Hag Fold and Hindley.

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Oldham will be one of the first cities to get super-fast broadband

BT’s local network business Openreach has today announced the first 29 locations where, from early 2010, substantial numbers of customers will have access to fibre-based super-fast broadband via BT’s network, bringing high speeds within reach of 500,000 homes and businesses. The announcement is the next stage in the UK's biggest ever investment programme, some £1.5 billion, in super-fast broadband. This super-fast broadband is to be piloted this summer in Muswell Hill, north London, and Whitchurch, South Wales, prior to the wider roll-out in 2010. Amongst the locations announced today, areas of Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, London and Greater Manchester have all been chosen as the first set of customers. Most of these areas are urban, but two of them (Calder Valley, near Halifax, West Yorkshire, and Taffs Well, near Cardiff) are smaller so BT intend to learn lessons from deploying fibre technology in such environments.

6 out of the 29 locations are in Greater Manchester: Bury, Didsbury, Failsworth, Heaton Moor, Oldham, and Rusholme. This means that initial broadband speeds of up to 40Mbps will become available to more than 41,000 homes and businesses in Oldham, and more than 23,000 in Failsworth. Mike Blackburn, BT’s regional director for the North-West, said: “Super-fast broadband is essential to this region’s future, so it is great to announce this initial set of locations”. A full list of the 29 locations can be viewed by clicking here.

A further announcement regarding the next set of locations, which will serve a further million homes and businesses, will be announced in the autumn.

Plum are keeping tracks on the progress of super-fast broadband. Click here in order to sign up and find out when super-fast broadband comes available, please start yout message with SFB.

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Plum Communications staff give blood

Three staff members of Plum Communications today gave blood at Queen Elizabeth Hall in Oldham Town Centre on behalf of the National Blood Service. Suzanne Cain, Plum’s Customer Services Manager has been donating blood for 13 years, but for Peter Savic (Managing Director) and Rhodri Lloyd (Marketing Manager) this was their 1st donation. Thankfully everything went smoothly and all 3 are pleased to have made their donation for such a worthy cause. In 16 weeks time they will be able to make another donation. For those interested in giving blood themselves, you can find more information and book an appointment on the National Blood Service website.

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Council tax to rise in Greater Manchester – but not as much in Oldham

As of April council tax charges across the UK are to increase by an average of 3.5%, the lowest increase in the last decade, which means that a household would pay an extra £45 of council tax per year. In Greater Manchester, the average increase across the 10 councils is 3.8%, with the highest increase being 5% in Trafford and the lowest 2.5% in Oldham. This increase will see the charge for Band A properties in Oldham increase by £24.63 to £1,009.39, and the tax for an average Band D house rise to £1,514.07. In Greater Manchester, the council tax increases are as follows:

• Bolton = 4.22%
• Bury = 4.73%
• Manchester = 3.46%
• Oldham = 2.5%
• Rochdale = 4.04%
• Salford = 3.4%
• Stockport = 4.5%
• Tameside = 3.93%
• Trafford = 5%
• Wigan = 2.58%

However, Oldham residents will still end up paying more council tax than the other regions, with Trafford residents still paying the least. Below are figures showing Band A and Band D council tax prices in the regions:

• Bolton = £922.39, £1383.59
• Bury = £933.73, £1400.58
• Manchester = £877.12, £1315.68
• Oldham = £1009.39, £1514.07
• Rochdale = £950.94, £1426.41
• Salford = £1007.98, £1511.97
• Stockport = £1003.78, £1505.70
• Tameside = £891.69, £1337.53
• Trafford = £846.88, £1270.82
• Wigan = £895.26, £1342.89

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Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow…again!

Exactly 2 months since the North West was last widely affected by heavy snow fall, more snow has fallen in the area, severely affecting travel across the North West. Heavy snow has caused treacherous driving conditions causing parts of the A62, A635, A66, A6024, A640, A57 and M62 to be closed and caused long delays on the M6 in the area. Drivers can check out the latest news regarding road closures on the BBC website. Domestic flights from Manchester Airport have also been affected due to cancellations at London Heathrow, also caused by the heavy snow, so passengers hoping to make domestic flights today are being told to expect 'cancellations and significant delays' . As reported in the Manchester Evening News, actress Julia Roberts was one of the thousands stranded at the airport, as her flight from India to Gatwick was diverted to Manchester.

Many schools have been forced to close today nationwide, especially in Oldham where 40 schools alone have closed down. However, Oldham City Council has been praised in their work in gritting the roads in Oldham, which helped enable drivers to travel safely across Oldham today. Oldham City Council has reportedly spent £540,000 on a large scale gritting and snow plough operation over the winter to ensure such safe travel. Mark Alcock, cabinet member for infrastructure and the environment praised the work of Oldham City Council, “They have done a terrific job and I am really proud of them”, but criticised the lack of work done by neighbouring areas, “I am really upset that, for whatever reasons, there have been problems on roads at the Rochdale and Kirklees borders”. However, this photo showing 3 cars which have slid back down a hill near our office and banged into another stationary car, suggests otherwise about how well gritted the roads in Oldham are.

Compared to the South East, the North West has appeared to come off more easily from the snow, with the South East supposedly having the worst snowfall it has had in the last 18 years, with all flights and buses being cancelled for the day. A plane from Cyprus to London Heathrow slipped off a taxiway shortly after its arrival due to the heavy snow. A BBC news broadcast about today’s snow can be viewed here. It wasn’t just Britain either, large parts of France and Italy were affected by snow too, as this news broadcast shows.

Have you been forced to stay at home due to the weather? Has this consequently affected your business? Plum Communications can help you and your business to work remotely so no valuable business time and money is not lost today.

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Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow!

Residents of Greater Manchester today woke up to picturesque views of roads, houses, cars and fields blanketed by up to 6 inches of snow. Last night’s snow falls were supposedly the heaviest since November 1996. However, this ‘winter wonderland’ has caused major disruptions to people travelling to school and work, with traffic and public transport being affected, in particular in Middleton and Oldham.

Throughout the region drivers were forced to reduce their speeds to 15 – 20mph in fear of skidding on the roads, which in addition to the traffic caused mass delays on the roads, with cars being abandoned on the traffic gridlocked A62, A635 and A627M. Snow ploughs were in put into use on the M62 eastbound out of Greater Manchester, in order to re-open a lane. Junctions 19 (Middleton/Heywood) and 20 (Rochdale) of the M62 was closed due to 2 HGVs colliding at 19, and a vehicle careering up the embankment at 20. In one incident, a car crashed into a house in Grimshaw Lane, Middleton, but thankfully no-one was injured. Consequently, many workers had to find alternative ways of travelling into work, as buses alike also struggled to cope with the poor weather conditions.

Due to teachers struggling to get into work, many schools in the area have been closed for the day or opened later in the day. Schools which have closed down today include: Royton and Crompton Secondary School, Crompton House, St. Mary’s, Buckstones Primary School, Saddleworth Prep, South Failsworth Primary, Counthill and North Chadderton.

The weather conditions also affected trains in the area, with trains breaking down and numerous services being heavily delayed or cancelled; Manchester Airport to Edinburgh, Manchester Victoria to Leeds, to name but a few. However, these disruptions look set to be cleared up this afternoon.

Is this the last of the snow? Possibly. Oldham Chronicle’s weatherman Damien Rogers said, “There may be more snow on Thursday and it is possibly going to stay cold until the weekend”. The BBC Weather pages show that for Oldham; there may be more snow today, tomorrow will be foggy, Thursday will be very wet, and Friday will have some sunny intervals. Is it me or is the weather just too unpredictable at the moment? Is this our snow for the year? Will there still be a White Christmas?

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Oldham Chronicle Business Awards

The Oldham Chronicle today launched the ‘One Oldham Business Awards’, to take place in March 2009, in conjunction with Oldham Council, and the Royal Bank of Scotland and NatWest Business Banking’ sponsorship. The awards aim to find the ‘cream’ of the business community in Oldham, in order to reward and celebrate their achievements. Between now and February the Chronicle will publish an entry form for each of the 8 categories available. The 8 categories will be:

• Business of the Year
• Start-Up Business
• Businessman of the Year
• Businesswoman of the Year
• Innovation and Design
• Young Entrepreneur
• Retailer of the Year
• Small Business of the Year

To enter you will need to download a form here and send it to the address on the Oldham Chronicle Business website.

For those wishing to attend what should be a memorable evening, tickets cost £35 per head, or tables of 10 are available for £400, for which you also get an advertisement in the programme.
God luck to all entrants!!

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