Tameside area service changes (December 2009):
After being awarded to First Pioneer on an emergency tender since the 5th October 2009, Speedwell Bus has regained the Monday to Friday daytime service of the 343 route. Prior to then, the Hyde based company operated the route since April 2007, with the weekday service being ran commercially since the 25th April 2009. Read the rest of this entry »
Since I wrote the first installment of ‘Lost Bus Routes of Greater Manchester’, there has already been a favourable response in terms of comments and visitor numbers. This has prompted me to continue the series further. With the fluid nature of bus routes since deregulation began over 23 years ago, it has made for fascinating reading and jogged a few memories of those who have almost forgotten the routes. Read the rest of this entry »
Anger as Top Mossley residents are cut off from outside world by road closure.
When’s the best time to close a main road for roadworks: Christmas Day? Half Term holidays? The rush hour? Christmas Day would of the three as most people would be sat at home scoffing turkey and listening to this year’s X Factor winner (whom would have rigged the Christmas No. 1 spot for the umpteenth time). In a small town, the half term holidays is a least worst option due to the reduced schools traffic. Read the rest of this entry »
Another tumultous month awaits us…
The school holidays are already over and the next few weeks are going to be far from dull indeed for Tameside based bus enthusiasts.
After the last Bank Holiday, a major change has been made to Stagecoach’s 389 route, with the service no longer running to Stockport. Since then, the revised terminus has changed to Gee Cross, in line with First Pioneer’s Sunday and Bank Holiday service. As a result, the 386 service from Greave to Stockport has been restored and taken over by Arriva North West. Sister services 380 and 381 too have been taken over by Arriva.
As a consequence of the traffic on Ashton New Road, Speedwell’s new S50 route will be revised to run between Ashton and Mossley only. This is a temporary measure till the Metrolink works have finished. Last week’s Tameside Reporter also included reference to Speedwell’s proposed expansion of S50 service with evening and Sunday operations in the pipeline.
In the latest installment of The Incredibly Fluid 343 Route, there will be an operator revision. From the 5th October, First Manchester will regain the Monday – Friday daytime route which was lost to Speedwell in April 2007. In the last month, Speedwell intended to deregister the daytime journeys leaving Flowery Field without a full time link to Stalybridge and Dukinfield. This led to the formation of a Facebook group (Save The 343) favouring the route’s retention.
With the next round of major service changes due by the end of October, the 343 could well be changed yet again, as an emergency tender has been granted to First Manchester for the interim period since the 5th October 2009. This recent change will be the fourth one which has affected this route in the last 6 months and the eighth in the last 6 years! By contrast, the 346 has had half that number of changes within the same period.
Elsewhere, fellow Monday – Friday daytime Speedwell routes 41 and 337 will also be operated by First Manchester. This will leave the two local services in the sole hands of First for the first time since September 2006.
With the unanimous ‘No’ vote of last year’s Transport Innovation Fund referendum and the recession, we could be in for a bumpy ride. If I expect to be walking more at 60 than at 30 years, you’ll know why.
S.V., 22 September 2009.
With 13,000 plus friends on Facebook favouring its retention, support from beyond the Tameside boundaries and celebrities, Tameside Hippodrome must have had a fighting chance of being saved. Read the rest of this entry »
A succession of hollow victories or The Great Leap Backwards?
Recent by-election results have seen the Tories gain ground over Labour in their former seats and wards. The most recent one was Norwich North where the Conservative candidate got twice the number of votes of the second place Labour candidate. Though third place, the Liberal Democrats saw a drop in their vote. Is this a Labour problem, or a problem facing the parties on the centre-left to centre of politics?
Critics would state that the expenses scandal, courtesy of the Daily Torygraph, had a main influence on the vote. This was the claim made after the European Elections where Britain warmed to the right-wing parties. However, it was not just Britain, but most of the EU Member States’ electorate which swung to the right. Instead of turning to the left-leaning parties, Little Englander style rhetoric has been exported to mainland Europe, small wonder why UKIP was the second most popular party in Britain at Strasbourg.
Are we voting Tory because we really want a change, or are we really mean spirited enough to vote for cutbacks? Do we really give a stuff about the unemployed, or would we rather make them suffer?
Cutting jobs would see a reduction in High Street spending due to reduced income, thus reducing income tax and VAT receipts for the chancellor. Result: reduced receipts leading to further cuts in public spending. Alternatively, VAT could be extended to more pervasive avenues like transport fares, books and children’s clothing – which would be massively unpopular.
The recession would also see an increased need for public services. By this I mean the local Jobcentre Plus, the NHS, municipal social services provision and the emergency services. Cutting jobs in the public sector would be a false economy. How do we know if private sector or third sector organisations would provide adequate replacements? Personally I think not.
The third sector should have a complementary role to existing public sector provision rather than as a replacement role. As for the private sector, well, they have to make a profit and answer to their shareholders. Therefore, the latter may only cherry-pick the most profitable areas.
Does Tameside need a Tory Government by 2010? Absolutely not. With few major employers besides superstore chains, the public sector accounts for more than half the borough’s workforce. This is not only Tameside MBC but also the NHS. The borough has already lost jobs from private enterprise with one of its constituencies (Denton and Reddish) reporting a 111% increase in unemployment. Tameside needs further cuts in employment like I need a hole in the head.
Cutting back the public sector could mean the end of Tameside’s ‘Tameside Works’ programme, designed to help local businesses weather the worst effects of the recession. Fewer bus services may be subsidised with service cuts reducing employment opportunities (thus exacerbating the recession). Events like ‘Party in the Park’ would also be a thing of the past.
It doesn’t take a genius to work where the cuts are going to go in Messrs Cameron and Osborne’s Utopia. If recent reports are anything to go by, they are chomping at the chance to cut and privatise anything at free will. To be totally honest, Britain needs a Tory Government like we all need holes in our heads.
For anyone wishing to see the reasons against, one should take a trip to South Elmsall, a place which has not recovered from the last Conservative government. Houses dating from the 1950s are boarded up, examples of which likely to fetch respectable prices – even in this downturn – in more affluent areas.
A Cameron led government could see the gap between the rich and poor widen even further – even though social mobility under this Labour government, is worse than the Great Dole Age of 1980 – 1993. The recession could mutate into a depression with the unemployed bullied even more. The public sector could go the way of the dinosaurs.
As for the North West, there will be several thousand Beasley Streets served by antiquarian trains and buses, taking tourists to the post-historic ruins of 1990s retail parks. All this would be amid the background of champagne quaffing City bankers, still not taking responsibility for the recession.
Still want to vote Tory? I take it you don’t remember Toxteth, the Miners’ Strike, the Falklands conflict, the abolition of GLC/GMC and other metropolitan counties, the castration of the trade unions, Poll Tax and privatisation…
I could go on, but that’s best left for another subject.
S.V., 27 July 2009.
Except on Saturdays
Recent service changes have seen Micklehurst Road and Staley Road disappear from the Greater Manchester bus network, with the exception of a Saturday only service.
Monday to Friday daytime journeys on the 343 (Oldham – Mossley – Hyde) route will follow the evening and Sunday route. Speedwell Bus, operator of the weekday daytime service has since lost the subsidy from GMITA resulting in this change. Passengers using the bus from Staley Road or Micklehurst Road will need to walk to Egmont Street or Winterford Road. Also scrapped is the Buckton Vale Road link which would mean Carrbrook passengers will have to change at The Carrbrook (late Buckton Castle) for the 348 to South View.
Passengers of the 343 from Dukinfield will however see a reduction in journey times to Mossley, equalling First Manchester’s evening route. The Saturday service operated by JP Travel (which along with the First Manchester service is subsidised) remains unaffected. The revised timetable also offers better connections for Dukinfield passengers with Flowery Field railway station.
Other changes:
East of the M60 Comment:
To compensate for the lost journeys on the 343, I would like to see Staley Road return to the bus network full time. This could be achieved by rerouting the 217/218 service via Staley Road. Another idea could be the rerouting of the 217 via Micklehurst Road with the 218 serving Staley Road. However the former could be problematic due to the gradient and the width of Micklehurst Road.
S.V., 02 July 2009
A57/A628 Mottram-Tintwistle Bypass funding rejected
Courtesy of an email from one of my fellow comrades, I am proud to announce one ‘No’ vote which will have greater benefits than that of The Car Lobby v. The New Trams. It is of great pleasure for me to announce that the North West Regional Development Agency and 4NW has rejected funding for the Mottram – Tintwistle bypass.
The bypass would cut through the heart of Swallows Wood and Arnfield Reservoir, which would lead to degradation of the environment, increased noise pollution and traffic fumes. Among the successful lobbiests against the bypass were Save Swallows Wood and the Tameside Nine Towns Green Party.
Estimated costs for the bypass increased from £184 million in July 2007, reaching £223 to £315 million by June 2008. Emma Lawrence from Save Swallow’s Wood stated “Of all the schemes being proposed Mottram Tintwistle was the most expensive and the most environmentally damaging. This is the first time a sensible decision has been made relating to the bypass and is a real cause for optimism amongst campaigners”.
The Tameside Nine Towns Green Party also support proposals to extend the proposed Piccadilly – Droylsden Metrolink line to Glossop, with extensions to Denton and new rolling stock.
A good move I say, but I reckon we should seriously think of reopening the Woodhead line.
Closed under the Thatcher led Conservative government in August 1981, the Woodhead line was considered as a trunk route for bulk freight in Dr Beeching’s ‘The Reshaping of the Railways’. Reopening the Woodhead line would potentially bring improved links with Sheffield and Barnsley from the Tameside area, assuming Guide Bridge becomes an intermediate station for Sheffield bound trains. The current journey from Manchester to Barnsley by rail involves changing at Huddersfield for the Penistone line (which is no bad thing if you love scenic routes but not speedy travel) – at least 90 – 120 minutes – compared with up to 90 minutes by road.
The Woodhead line could also be a suitable diversionary route for East Midlands Trains services to Norwich, whilst the Hope Valley line is closed for engineering works. This could avoid the need for reversal at Sheffield before continuing to Chesterfield or Manchester. Reopening the Woodhead line could increase journey opportunities for Glossopians whose only way of travel to Sheffield is likely to be the Woodhead Pass (A628) or Snake Pass (A57). Rail using Glossop folk are forced to change at Piccadilly. A Sheffield service over the Woodhead line could call at Dinting, providing connections with the stopping service. This could only work if the Hadfield – Glossop section is doubled.
Now the funding has gone for the bypass, let’s campaign for improved public transport based solutions for Tameside and Glossop.
Hopefully, those bypass signs near The Gun Inn will be demolished. 
S.V, 18 March 2009.
OK, not quite.
A nice surprise came to me this morning in one of the free papers on the 220 service towards Stalybridge railway station. I was reading the Metro when turning towards ‘The Ridiculant’ page I found that one of my side projects was listed.
As advertised elsewhere within East of the M60, I created a Google map on the places namechecked by Half Man Half Biscuit entitled (ahem) ‘Half Map Half Biscuit’ (don’t you just love the wordplay).
Top of the list under a section entitled ‘Check These Ones Out’ was… Half Map Half Biscuit!
Fame at last I thought. Quoting from the Metro, The Ridiculant stated:
“At long last someone has created a Google map of every place ever mentioned in a Half Man Half Biscuit song. You young ‘uns probably don’t even know who the band HMHB are, do you? Shame on you.”
Click on the link to The Ridiculant to see the map itself, some comments and other goodies.
At this time of writing, some 6,927 people have seen the map – not bad for a Google map anyway, but one that has only been up for one day more than a month! Feel free to contribute the map itself. Please note that entries may be edited for spelling and grammatical errors.
S.V., 18 February 2009
Why would you want to say ‘no’ to £3 billion Investment in public transport for the Greater Manchester area and stick with the same old congestion, packed trains, older buses and sardine-like trams?
The next few weeks Read the rest of this entry »
387 (Ashton – Hyde via Hattersley) bus service guaranteed till July 2009
Following fears that the 387 route was going to withdrawn, GMPTE has stepped in to save the people of Godley from being in a bus-free zone. Read the rest of this entry »
Popular stationmaster retires after 32 years
In a reign which has seen three recessions, privatisation, and several restructuring attempts, a well-known figure at Stalybridge station is to retire after 32 years in the job.
Ashley Oliver joined the Cheshire station in 1976, preciding over an era which has seen the Stockport – Stalybridge line service cut to once a week, substantial improvements on Manchester to Huddersfield services, and a multitude of liveries.
When Ashley joined Stalybridge station, the stopping service from Manchester to Huddersfield only ran in the peak hours, Class 40s, 123s and 45s formed the Trans-Pennine services, and the station buffet bar only had the conservatory and main bar.
Since 1976, Stalybridge station has seen:
Always a popular sight at Stalybridge station, Ashley’s announcements will be missed by over 700,000 people who use this station. In honour of his 32 years at the station, a special poster was produced on platform 1 by First Transpennine. George Wright Brewery have also made a special ale (Ashley’s Ale) in honour of his tenure.
We wish Ashley well on his retirement and hope his successor does as good a job he did. See you at the buffet bar over a pint of some obscure ale.
Some photos were taken at his farewell do at the buffet bar by Mike Smith (also known as Mossley Smiffy).
S.V., 15 October 2008
Most often than not, the very two words ’service changes’ fill me with dread. Thankfully not this time.
With the summer season ending in the Peak District, the Tameside area often gets four sets of service changes from Stagecoach alone. In addition to those affecting Manchester routes, Tameside’s are also affected by revisions affecting Glossop and Peak District routes at the beginning of and at the end of the summer season.
For probably the first time ever, the King Street and Boyd’s Walk area of Dukinfield will have a direct link with Mossley on Monday – Saturdays. Between the Albion Hotel and Mossley (Brookbottom), this will augment Speedwell’s 343 service. This is the knock on effect caused by the withdrawal of Mayne’s routes 232 – 235. Mossley passengers travelling into to Manchester by bus will take the 217 in a clockwise direction, with the 218 moving anti-clockwise.
Sunday services on the 220 will be renumbered 217 on journeys to Manchester from Stalybridge and 218 on journeys out of Manchester into Stalybridge and follow the route of the present 218 service. The present 217 Sunday service to Tameside Hospital will see westbound journeys renumbered as the 218.
The Littlemoss and Smallshaw sections of the 232 – 235 routes will be served by an upgraded 231, with a 15 minute daytime frequency between Ashton – Manchester – and buses running every 7/8 minutes in the weekday peaks. This will also replace the whole 230 route operated by Stagecoach.
The revisions also end an embarrassing gap in service provision in Dukinfield where there is at present a 4 hour gap between direct Manchester buses (1515 – 1915 from the Albion Hotel). However, there are some gripes with the changes, in that a more direct link with Tameside Hospital has been severed, and that there is no longer a journey between 0830 and 1012 to Stalybridge from Dukinfield (Albion Hotel).
Though less of a gripe (and of surprise) evening services on the 236/237 will terminate at Ashton, with extra journeys on the 216 taking over. I was also relieved to find that the 236/237 will still run to and from Manchester in the peak hours.
All other services are unaffected, thus meaning the evening 217 (Speedwell), evening 220 and 230 journeys (both First Manchester) will run as normal. The new 217/218 will also augment the extra peak hour journeys on the 220 and 221, also operated by Stagecoach Manchester.
S.V., 03 October 2008.
Live from Harrop Edge; 75% music, 25% chat, 100% Tameside, and now 367 days old*
Some time between the 30th September 2007 and the delocalisation of the Piccadilly Radio stations, the radio landscape in Tameside was a most barren place. Aside from the formation of Revolution 96.2 (the FM station serving Rochdale, Oldham and Tameside), the CD player or MP3 file were the only sanctuaries from mechanical playlists and reduced local coverage.
Quietly happening between test transmissions and within the walls of Tameside Hospital were the pioneers of who were about to become Tameside Radio. Most of which cut their teeth on Eight Towns Radio, a hospital radio station founded on Sunday 22 October 1983 as ‘Heartbeat Radio’.
Just under 24 years after and numerous limited service licences later came our station. Not for two weeks, not for a month, not only for Tameside Hospital, but the whole area.
At Chez Vallantine, Tameside Radio has now taken over from all other stations for radio needs (except for one, Oldham Community Radio, which has a good brass band programme). For me, its main factors include: a less rigid playlist, the excellent ‘The Show That Time Forgot’ (hosted by Mike Wallbank) and (most importantly) its local bias. I would be interested to know what effect Tameside Radio has had on other popular stations in the borough, such as Key 103.
For a community station, it is hard to tell whether they are a commercial one or one ran by volunteers. This is down to its professionalism and experience with Eight Towns Radio and Tameside’s other local station Revolution 96.2 – with production values that can hold their own against other commercial stations. Unlike the other local stations, Tameside’s non league clubs are covered, giving much needed coverage to my beloved Stalybridge Celtic.
Since ‘Beautiful Day’ by U2 marked Tameside Radio’s first song, we have been hooked ever since. Though I could listen to the other stations, overseas SW stations and the national radio stations on my portable radio, it is firmly stuck to Tameside Radio 103.6FM.
Long may they continue.
S.V, 02 October 2008
Links:
Eight Towns Radio history: http://tamesideradio.moonfruit.com
Tameside Radio 103.6FM: http://www.tamesideradio.com
* At the time of writing this entry.
TESCO Extension Plans Akin To Aesthetics Of A Youth Offenders’ Institute
Summertime has traditionally been a slow news period and a dependable outlet for news on the latest Big Brother entrants. Read the rest of this entry »
Plans for new cross-city bus network proposed under Transport Innovation Fund
Unless you have had your head buried in the sand, Manchester was the successful bidder for the Government’s Transport Innovation Fund. This would Read the rest of this entry »
“Pick You Up Tomorrow As Usual”
Today’s bus operations in Greater Manchester are dominated by the big three companies, Arriva, FirstGroup and Stagecoach. As with the local shopping centres, the clone town scenario is also true of bus operations outside London. Read the rest of this entry »
Part 2: The Whit Friday Brass Band Contest
2008 sees the 125th year of this great institution, the Whit Friday Brass Band Contest. The first Whit Friday contest began in Stalybridge a good 125 years ago. This came about after bands who led the churches decided to host a contest in the Cheshire town.
125 years on, Stalybridge remains an important venue for the Whit Friday contest. This year saw two contests, with one at Bower Fold (home of Stalybridge Celtic), and the town centre one at the Labour Club near Cheetham’s Park. Whereas Mossley and the Saddleworth villages are the best places to watch the Yorkshire bands, Stalybridge’s contest is probably the best one for bands from Cheshire, Lancashire, and the Midlands.
This year’s contest at the Stalybridge Labour Club had a venue record of 53 bands, some 3 short of the town’s record of 56 bands (achieved at the now demolished SIDS arena). Represented at the 2008 contest was a band from Switzerland, bands from East London, Oxfordshire and the Midlands, as well as Lancashire and Cheshire (which make the bulk of the contest’s entrants).
A Whit Friday band contest includes prizes for the best bands within a local area (usually a radius of 10 miles), a ‘Best Open’ prize (any entrant) and prizes for ‘Best Deportment’, youth bands and instrument based prizes (i.e best solo cornet, euphonium). Some contests award sectional prizes, according to which section the band is in. Points are allocated on how well each band plays the piece by an adjudicator.
Like the Football League and the FA Premier League, brass bands are divided into sections. The Championship section is the highest one, with world famous bands such as Black Dyke, Brighouse and Rastrick, and Foden’s Richardson among its members. There is also a further four sections and a youth section.
On arrival, the band ’s runner registers the band’s details (i.e. band [Black Dyke] then march piece [Knight Templar]) and pays its entry fee. The adjudicator checks note for note each piece, awarding marks on how well it is played. He or she is unaware of the band, as each band is referred to by number till the results are announced. Once finished, the band moves onto their next contest.
Since 1989, Tameside MBC has also added a competition for the best band in the borough. These are comprised of the results from each contest. The first winners of this was Black Dyke Mills band.
For anyone wishing to delve further into the history of the Whit Friday Brass Band contest, I fully recommend Alec Greenhalgh’s excellent book ‘Hail Smiling Morn’. Though published and (to the best of my knowledge) not updated since 1991, this is the definitive reference of the competition.
In chronological order, all contest venues past and present have been stated, with details of the winners in the Best Local and Best Open sections. For each year, there is also details of the weather conditions.
The book is available for sale at Oldham Tourist Information Centre (inside Gallery Oldham, Union Street) and in Uppermill Tourist Information Centre at Saddleworth Museum.
S.V., 17 May 2008.
Tags: music, entertainment, brass bands, Whit Friday, Tameside, Oldham, Saddleworth
Part 1: The Absolute Beginners’ Guide to Whit Friday
East of the M60 has been around in cyberspace for nearly two years, yet in this period it has still to cover Whit Friday.
Until now.
For those of you unsure about Whit Friday, Whit Friday falls after Whit Sunday and is two days before Pentecost. There is no fixed date, with the date determined by the month when Easter falls on.
A traditional Whit Friday involves the Procession of Witness in the morning. Churches from, for example Uppermill meet at a central point in the village or town centre and assemble for a short service. Before and after the service, each church leads with the church’s banner at the front (carried by two strong persons, augmented by a small number of children holding onto its ribbons).
As well as adult members of the congregation, each church is represented by members of its school, Cub/Beaver/Scout/Rainbow/Brownie/Guide groups or other bodies such as mother and toddlers or the local Mothers’ Union.
Behind the banner is a local brass band which leads out fellow walkers. Some of which carry smaller banners, or other religious artifacts such as a cuddly lamb (symbolising the ‘Lamb of God’). After the service, each church returns ‘home’ with the full congregation for raspberry buns and a brew.
After the parade (as if the younger members did enough walking), the afternoon’s proceedings would include a sports day, with traditional activities like ‘The Egg and Spoon race’, ‘Three Legged Race’ and an obstacle race featuring.
By night came the centrepiece of Whit Friday, a tradition upheld by villages within the Saddleworth area and the Tameside area – the Whit Friday brass band contests. From 1883, the first recorded contests took place in Stalybridge, Uppermill and Mossley. Bands travelled far and wide (within 20 miles from the venue).
Stalybridge, as well as being home to the world’s oldest brass band is also home to the first Whit Friday contest. Its roots stem from the bands trying to prove which church had the best band. 125 years on, it is now possible to see bands from Switzerland as well as Friezland competing – thanks to motorways and the Channel Tunnel.
Whit Friday is the traditional day for this procession, though the late 1980s saw, mainly in the Tameside area the walks switching to Sunday before Whit Friday. Since 1883, the number of Whit Friday contests had increased to 23 at any one time. The late 1980s also saw great expansion of the Whit Friday contest, with Denton, Ashton-under-Lyne and Droylsden alongside the traditional three (Stalybridge, Uppermill and Mossley).
As well as an increase in the number of contests, the modern day epidemic of congestion has made it impossible for any band to do all the contests, a far cry from 1884 when Stalybridge Borough won the first Stalybridge contest.
S.V., 17 May 2008
Tags: music, entertainment, brass bands, religion, Whit Friday, Tameside, Oldham, Saddleworth, local history
346 to gain Bank Holiday service for the first time since 2000!
For the first time since GM Buses was split into three (the third being Charterplan, moving to East Yorkshire Motor Services), Dukinfield now has some semblance of a decent bus network over the Bank Holiday period.
In line with First, Arriva and some independent companies, Stagecoach Manchester will operate a full Sunday service on Bank Holidays starting from Good Friday (21 March 2008). This is in line with the Mayne of Manchester services acquired by Stagecoach on the 22 January this year.
This good news for Dukinfield passengers who have recently been at the sharp end of this year’s service revisions alone – as well as insufficient Bank Holiday services. The knock on effect sees the 346 operating a Bank Holiday service for the first time since 2000!
The last company to do so was First Pennine (then owned by First PMT who are now First North Staffordshire), whom in 1999 operated a normal weekday service on their 346 route. From 2003, the only Bank Holiday 346 journey was the 0830 from Ashton – Hyde, operated by First Manchester.
Running order:
East of the M60 wishes its readers a Happy Easter.
S.V., 12 March 2008
The good, the downright obvious and the ugly
Bus and rail fare squabblefest
Can’t you tell that the New Year has started already? Two days into the year, our blessed transport companies let New Year in by issuing a 5 – 15% fares increase on its passengers. Read the rest of this entry »
As stated on the Stagecoach Manchester website and in today’s Manchester Evening News, the proposed stoppages on the 27th and the 29th November have been postponed. Instead, there will be a second ballot on Tuesday 27th November over a revised pay deal.
Should drivers agree to the revised offer, then the strikes on the 29th November, and the four days in December will be called off.
Confirmed in today’s [23 November 2007] Read the rest of this entry »
Setanta Shield, First Round, 25 October 2007
Stalybridge Celtic 0, Blyth Spartans 0 (AET Blyth Spartans win 4 – 3 on penalties)
A: This is your action news reporter coming to you live from the Setanta Shield First Round. Pardon me sir, do you see what happened?
B: Yeah I did. I saw a goalless draw taken to extra time and penalties with every ounce of drama you could think of. Four men ran on to the pitch from the Popular Side with 10 minutes to go, half a dozen teens had a fight just before extra time, and worse, the floodlights cut out during the penalty shoot out.
Today’s blog entry would have had a more mundane title like “Stalybridge Celtic on TV” had it not been for four streakers, in a game that was remembered most for anything other than the game itself. Read the rest of this entry »
Service changes, September 2007
One happy accident of Stagecoach in Manchester’s September service revisions has been the restoration of a link between Stalybridge and Stockport. Read the rest of this entry »
Young people’s haven faces closure in 2008
It was revealed in the Tameside Advertiser (09 August 2007) that unless funding could be sought, an important haven for Tameside’s 13 – 25 year olds could close by New Year’s Day 2008.
The Information Shop for Young People has for the last ten years offered free and confidential advice to young persons on services from counselling to anger management. From their premises in Market Avenue, 1,900 youngsters turned to the Information Shop in the last year alone. For its users, the shop is a comfortable place and often busy.
Losing this facility would leave its users devoid of a private, confidential and non intrusive place much needed in the Tameside area. Supported by NHS personnel, the Information Shop’s sexual health clinic is the busiest in the borough. Its counselling services have saved many a young person from mental distress and eating disorders.
It is important, for the greater good of Tameside that this facility should be saved. Having used this place myself, I too found the Information Shop a comfortable place when I was unemployed. I would like to see this place remain so.
Longdendale Bypass public enquiry, Stalybridge Civic Hall
Opponents of the Longdendale Bypass criticised plans to build a 3.5 mile across Green Belt land between Mottram-in-Longdendale. Read the rest of this entry »
Satellite views of the area ‘East of the M60′ motorway
First the good news: Google Maps has been updated.
The bad news: it is not that up to date. Read the rest of this entry »
Steve Burr appointed as new ‘Bridge manager.
It was announced yesterday that former Northwich Victoria manager Steve Burr signed a two year contract at Stalybridge Celtic.
The Cheshire side’s replacement for John Reed (now linked with the vacancy at Worksop Town) Read the rest of this entry »
Radio by the people for the people
If you are lucky enough to live in the Oldham or Tameside areas, you may find a new station on 99.7MHz on the VHF/FM band. Under the name of ‘Oldham Community Radio’, the station was awarded a five year licence to broadcast community orientated radio programming. The station will be launched properly by the summer. Read the rest of this entry »
Reports of a Labour meltdown seem to have fallen on deaf ears in the Tameside area. With Hull losing to the Liberal Democrats and the Tories taking control of Plymouth, it has been business as usual for the Greater Manchester area. Rochdale switched from being in no overall control to being a Lib Dem council. Manchester, Wigan, Salford and Tameside metropolitan borough councils remained solid Labour territory. Read the rest of this entry »
15 April 2007 Service Changes, Greater Manchester
The changes to the 343, as per the previous post has been confirmed by the GMPTE website.
Its sister service, the 344 will also be operated by Speedwell Travel. This service comprises of one journey from Oldham to Hyde, via Waterhead (unlike the other long withdrawn 344, Hyde – Mossley service via Staley Road). Read the rest of this entry »
The Koffee Pot, Ashton-under-Lyne: 1967 – 2007
After 40 years of being Ashton’s famous greasy spoon café, the Koffee Pot had closed its doors on Saturday 24 March 2007. Citing increased competition and the Ashton Market fire of 2004, the café closed at 4.00 pm, ending its tenure as one of the oldest residents of what is now known as the Ladysmith Centre. Read the rest of this entry »
Manchester Evening News, 20 March 2007
Over the last fortnight, 1,000 people were interviewed in a telephone poll over congestion charging via the Manchester Evening News. The 21 March edition stated that just under two thirds of those polled were against this. However 59% stated they agreed with congestion charging – if the money was channelled towards Metrolink expansion.
For the Tameside area, just over two thirds of people were against congestion charging. 63% were in favour of this, if the money was channelled towards the Metrolink. Of the people polled, 41% travelled by car or motorbike, and 35% used public transport. Of the ten districts which make up the Greater Manchester area, Tameside people were the biggest public transport users in the survey. The most popular form of public transport was the train, with 44% of the poll. In second place was the bus.
Much noise has been made against the congestion charges over the last three months, with the implication it may have for the local economy. The greatest concern has been the number of people expecting to shop outside the proposed zone (could Glossop and Sheffield benefit?). Another has been the cost – which is something that should be taken to account (I stress this given that Tameside based employees have the lowest wages in Greater Manchester).
As a public transport user, I support the idea of congestion charging, but… (and I mean but) further investment in buses, trains and the Metrolink must be made – as stressed by the conditions made by central government. If no further investment is made, I will therefore renege on this opinion.
For the greater good, I suggest that:
No congestion charging should take place without the public ownership of local bus and rail services.
In other words, I advocate the return of Greater Manchester Transport or SHMD, or the imposition of a London style franchising system. How can central government stick to its policies properly if bus operators outside London can do anything they like with their services (see my previous post on the 343 route)?
S.V., 22/03/2007
An EXCLUSIVE from East of the M60
From the 15th April 2007, First Manchester’s 343 service from Oldham to Hyde will see the withdrawal of its commercially operated journeys. This will not be the complete end of the service, as subsidised journeys in evenings, Sundays and Bank Holiday will continue.
I can reveal that GMPTE will be discussing the alternatives during a planning meeting, which will take place on Friday 23rd March 2007 in Manchester town hall. This meeting will discuss alternatives to fill the gap, which would leave Dukinfield bus users without a direct link to Mossley for the first time since 1904 for most part of the day. The 343 is one of six services in Greater Manchester under threat from the company’s April service revisions (the others include the 387 Ashton – Stalybridge – Newton – Hyde route).
Should the gap be left unfilled, this would mean greatly extended journey times. For example, a journey from Mossley to Grotton (five to ten minutes on the 343) would be three times longer, allowing for a change at Grasscroft, Greenfield or Uppermill. Rail passengers in the Dukinfield area, who use Flowery Field station would be expected to walk, or board the 346 for Newton instead of Flowery Field.
More will be revealed within this blog nearer the time of its proposed withdrawal.
Yes folks, it’s that time of the year again, ‘Comic Relief’.
What started off a ninety minute programme has mushroomed into an evening long telethon, with linked programmes. For the purpose of this post, I would like to hear your memories of previous Comic Relief years. I shall start off with my memories.
For me, 2001 was the best year, as I spent an hour outside the Stalybridge branch of Tescos, collecting for Comic Relief, dressed as an overweight Emily Howard lookalike! Ten years earlier, I was at school, and took part in a ‘talent contest’ singing the then popular Right Said Fred song ‘I’m Too Sexy’, followed by ‘The Stonk’ by Hale and Pace. In the same year, I brought the house down at the school hall with an impression of a washing machine for a version of ‘Whose Line Is It Anyway?’, organised by some sixth formers.
For the next part of this post, I shall make reference to the Comic Relief songs.
My favourite was the first ever single for the said charity, ‘Living Doll’. This was a version by Cliff Richard and The Young Ones (yes, Rik, Vyvian, Mike and Neil of the 1982 – 4 sitcom… heavv-vee!) from 1986. The most cheesiest one has to be ‘The Stonk’ by Hale and Pace and the Stonkers (which was a more blatant single; a trend followed by Right Said Fred with ‘Stick It Out’). This is due to the talent contest mentioned earlier.
The Singles (note, this is not a complete list; any additions welcome):
Your comments please…
The Stockport – Stalybridge Train (1128 hours, Saturdays Only)
Is this the worst scheduled passenger rail service in Europe in terms of frequency?
Running once a week, Saturdays only, is a train with only one journey – just one journey in one direction. The train calls between Stockport and Stalybridge via three intermediate stations: Reddish South, Denton and Guide Bridge. Both Reddish South and Denton are unstaffed stations without disabled access and (wait for it) platform lighting.
Before privatisation, this line had a much better service than that of passengers travelling to Mossley by rail from Stalybridge, with an hourly frequency. In 1991-92, 12,000 people signed a petition against cutbacks to the service, which boasted a frequency of five trains a day (two one way, three the other). Now, the current service is once weekly, and passengers to Mossley are now afforded an hourly service with a two hourly Sunday service.
The latest Network Rail Draft Network Management Statement for the North West proposes the closure of Denton and Reddish South stations. The local MP Andrew Gwynne favours the launch of a direct service from the doomed stations to Manchester Victoria. This move will increase journey opportunities for Denton and Reddish residents, as they would be able to travel to Bury, Bolton, Oldham and Blackburn without crossing Manchester city centre. This plan will involve turning left at Denton junction onto the line leading to Ashton Moss and Miles Platting. However, there is one problem in that links between Stalybridge and Guide Bridge would be severed.
In my opinion, I would give 2.5 cheers to this plan (the .5 being due to the real ale lovers missing their once weekly unidirectional shuttle to the Stalybridge Station Buffet Bar). Perhaps Gwynne’s proposal could prompt the reopening of Droylsden station. Cut off from the rail network since 1968, the Droylsden area suffers from congestion between Manchester Road (Audenshaw) and Edge Lane/Ashton New Road. This would be alleviated by a reopened Droylsden station off Lumb Lane near Littlemoss (as well as the Metrolink).
To make up the loss of the Stalybridge – Guide Bridge – Denton section of the route, I would recommend retaining the once weekly train for the time being, in addition to Gwynne’s proposal. This could be replaced by a direct London service, or other services to Cheshire, starting at Stalybridge or Huddersfield. This section also offers potential for a prospective Huddersfield to London Euston route (calling at Stalybridge, Guide Bridge and Stockport stations), though subject to line access issues.
Manchester to become the second city outside London to introduce congestion charging
Manchester Evening News, 24 January 2007
Don’t panic, this is not the current peak return train fare from Stalybridge or Bolton to Manchester. This is the projected rate of the Congestion Charge, which will be imposed on the 15 most busiest road corridors in the Greater Manchester area.
Affected within the area east of the M60 motorway will be: Rochdale Road (A664); Oldham Road (A62); Ashton Old Road (A635); Hyde Road (A57) and Stockport Road (A6). Previous plans involved placing the congestion charge zone inside the M60 motorway. Zones have been selected on a road basis – and quite rightly – the roads affected sport frequent bus services. Each driver will pay £3.00 within each corridor zone. It was stated that income from the charges will go toward improving public transport.
On the online poll, so far, some 78% are opposed to congestion charges in Greater Manchester.
I beg to differ. Since 2003, I have favoured the use of congestion charges, so long as there were tangible improvements to our bus and rail networks (and I speak from experience as a bus user). At present, Manchester’s deregulated buses and privatised trains have put a sizeable number of Mancunians off most forms of public transport for life. Learning to drive is seen as a rite of passage along with christenings, weddings and birthdays.
Congestion Charging should be imposed on condition that:
The latter point is an unashamed dig at the school run, which accounts for 20% of UK road traffic on a normal weekday. I can speak from experience, having noticed a saving of 10 – 15 minutes on a seven mile bus journey in the peak period of school holiday times, compared with school days. Within this point, I feel that:
Assuming that a fair number of schoolchildren are chauffeured to their nearest school, how would they learn to use public transport independently? How would they know how to behave on bus or train route, or how to purchase tickets? How would they be able to read a timetable? In doing this, we are denying children basic life skills, required for travel to and from work, leisure activities and respect. With the latter point, I use the term ‘respect’ in the context of personal space on buses; cooperating with railway guards; giving up seats for elderly persons, and queueing.
As a country, we need to get our priorities right regarding public and personal transport. Firstly, the cost of motoring has been allowed to stay constant since 1970, whilst public transport fares have increased by 95% upwards since 1986. Secondly, we need to see a change in perception of ’successful public transport’ networks. At present, a profitable network is seen by some as a success, rather than one where connections are coordinated and fares are subsidised. Thirdly, we need to integrate planning with transport provision more. Compare the car friendly retail parks with the bus friendly town centres.
Can we do it?
Or ‘Why is a single from Stalybridge to Dukinfield four times the price per mile as one from Manchester to London?’
Death and taxation are often stated as a main inevitability of life in dear old Blighty. What is never mentioned are that annual transport fare increases are another one.
Much noise has been made over the rail fare increases on the 2nd January this year. Several sources have stated that train travel will become a middle class pursuit.
Think again.
A lot of noise has been made over a fare from Manchester Piccadilly to London Euston costing £219 (second class). That is 34p per mile.
In my area, 34p a mile on my local bus routes would be a fares cut instead of an increase. A single fare journey from Dukinfield (Morrisons) to Stalybridge (Armentieres Square) on one route will cost £1.40 as of the 14th January this year. The distance? About one mile; that is four standard (non discounted) fares from London to Manchester per mile! Over the same distance, a taxi fare on the daytime Tariff 1 of one local private hire taxi firm would cost approximately £3.50 (for four people). The bus alternative: £5.60 for four people, with a saving of £2.10 for the same party, in a taxi.
Though rail fare increases attract the greatest criticism in the national newspapers, the bus user outside of Greater London is forgotten. I would love a 5% increase on bus fares rather than a 10% one. Better still, I would like a swingeing fares cut to 1986 levels and properly subsidised transport.
Bus fares in Greater Manchester have increased by 10% year on year since 1986. Though this may have seemed realistic in 1990, when inflation was in double digit figures, this is by no means a joke, now that UK 2007 inflation figures are 3.6%.
If you live within the Greater Manchester area, and if you can afford it, I strongly recommend buying one of the System One season tickets – or the company’s own season tickets. If, like myself, you work in the centre of Manchester, think of how much you will save on single fares to the city – and use your pass for the short distance journeys which would otherwise cost you next to millions. If you have the legs, and your journey’s a short distance, use a form of transport which has had unparalleled reliability since Adam and Eve or the Big Bang.
Foot/Shank’s Pony/Walking.
A (much belated) Happy New Year to all readers of ‘East of the M60′,
Stuart.
0600 Hull Paragon – Manchester Piccadilly – Liverpool Lime Street
After nearly two years of using Stalybridge station as a commuter rather than a leisure traveller, I found myself surprised to see one of First Transpennine’s new Class 185 diesel units on the 0748 to Liverpool Lime Street.
For nearly a year, these new DMUs have been plying their trade on services to Hull Paragon and Middlesbrough from Manchester Piccadilly. In recent months, these have included the service from Manchester Airport to Cleethorpes.
Now, it is the turn of the Scarborough to Liverpool routes.
Boarding the 0748 at platform 2 of Stalybridge station, the train pulled in some three minutes earlier than its actual departure time.
The ascent from the platform to carriage was two thirds higher than that of the more regular Class 158s. Only the earlier Class 101 or Class 110 Calder Valley DMUs – and the Mark II carriages – had a drop as high as this. Thankfully, the doors are twice the width of these Heritage DMUs – and a third longer than the Class 158s. Elsewhere within Stalybridge station are posters detailing the engineering works. I hope this includes raising the height of the platforms. Till then, I shall invest in a decent walking pole or get my boots on.
Once inside the train, acceleration is akin to an electric train. The legroom is greater than the Class 158s, and the ride quality is slightly smoother. One notable function is the inclusion of electronic information displays and announcements, in tones similar to the Connie character of the AOL adverts fame. Another first is the inclusion of a digital clock – ideal for calculating how long your train will be stuck at Ardwick junction for!
Sadly, the Class 185 has some imperfections. One is the lab rat style lighting (not very good for persons with sensory impairments), compared with the more relaxed levels on the Class 158s. The other is the positioning of the doors. Positioned a third and two thirds way of each carriage, it gives the impression of the train being suited for suburban medium distance workings, rather than medium-long distance inter-city journeys (which is the sector best suited to the Transpennine lines from Liverpool to Newcastle/Scarborough/Hull/Middlesbrough). Despite that, the positioning also allows for faster entry and exit. The only other quibble I have are the seat cushions. Though ideal for a short journey to Manchester Piccadilly, I would say the cushions would be a bit hard if I used the same station for a journey to Scarborough or Newcastle.
Other than that, the three car units are an improvement on most of the rolling stock that has appeared on the Transpennine line. Designed by Siemens, the units are reminiscent of their Class 350 EMUs, which I have had the pleasure of travelling on earlier this year from Crewe to Birmingham New Street. Unlike the 1988 Class 158s, there seems to be improved noise insulation.
My journey arrived at Manchester Piccadilly on time, though at Oxford Road, the train arrived two minutes late, due to the non technical issue of awaiting the guard for the Manchester Piccadilly – Liverpool Lime Street section.
Overall rating: 82%: Not the ultimate train for the Transpennine line, though not far off. Corridor ends rather than sealed cabs would have been much better for workings with greater than three carriages.
Never in my lifetime would I had expected the patron saint of flat pack furniture to darken the doorstep of Ashton-under-Lyne. It is happening, and on Thursday 19th October, the first town centre based IKEA store will be based in the administrative capital of Tameside.
On the site of a former NORWEB building, Ashton-under-Lyne gained the IKEA store ahead of Stockport, after deputy Prime Minister John Prescott snubbed the Cheshire town. The snubbed site on Portwood is close to the equally controversial Tesco Extra store (for being several square feet bigger than planned). This was rejected on the grounds of congestion, though the opening of Ashton’s store will test the congestion on the M60 and its attendant arterial roads to its limits.
For years, the average Ashtonian had to make do with MFI, B&Q, Argos, or a drive to IKEA in Warrington. From Thursday, this will no longer be the case. Just to prove that this is actually happening, please click on the IKEA link below:
New IKEA Store
On the other hand, this same Thursday will see Ashton-under-Lyne’s crown post office close. Along with two others in Greater Manchester (Chorlton-cum-Hardy and Altrincham), this will be moved to WHSmith, in the Arcades shopping centre. This leaves Stalybridge as the sole post office in Tameside to operate from its original building. Following a 5,000 name petition in July, the efforts of the petitioners were in vain, as Post Office Counters had already made the decision at the end of July – a week before their consultation period expired. This resulted in a meeting, which resulted in no further progress on retaining facilities in the Warrington Street building.
I have decided not to rant too much on the post office, as this detracts from the main purpose of this thread.
Expect to see future posts on the IKEA store itself.
Stuart.
