Cllr Barbara Beeley (picture: Liberal Democrats)
Below is a letter to the editor sent by Cllr Barbara Beeley, a Liberal Democrat who represents Saddleworth West and Lees on Oldham Council, and who has played a leading role in bringing forward plans for the drainage of Churchill Fields. It was sent to Saddleworth News on 14 September, but I’ve only been able to publish it now as I’ve been on holiday.
If you want to respond to the points made in the letter, you can either leave a comment below this post, or send an e-mail by clicking on the Contact option at the top of this page. If you would like an e-mail published on Saddleworth News then please mark it as a letter to the editor, and I’ll be happy to do so.
More letters and articles about Churchill Fields can be found in the Saddleworth News archive here.
I SHOULD LIKE TO put the record straight on a number of points made in the council chamber tonight by members of the Conservative Party concerning Churchill Playing Fields.
Councillor Hudson forsook Saddleworth for Chadderton so that he could get elected and does not represent Saddleworth at borough level and is not a member of Saddleworth and Lees District Partnership. He stated that he had not had a chance to comment on the plans which is totally untrue. The matter was discussed at Saddleworth Parish Council in March and the minutes of that meeting will show that he made his views clear at that time.
Cllr Sheldon suggested that the matter had been hastily done but trying to find a solution to a problem which has been around for 25 to 30 years and to which other solutions have failed is not acting hastily.
If this investment of £400,000 were not to go ahead, then by the time the next Olympics come round in 2016, Churchill Playing Fields could well be a boggy, desolate wasteland.
Cllr Barbara Beeley
“Councillor Hudson forsook Saddleworth for Chadderton so that he could get elected ”
Of course, no liberal democrats do that do they? Live in Delph, represent Waterhead e.t.c
Perhaps Beeley should be reminded that when you are elected to Oldham council, you work for and on behalf of THE WHOLE TOWN.
It is made very clear by officials at the civic and by party leaders.
By this bizarre arguement, Beeley representing Lees and Saddleworth West isn’t the councillor in which the playing fields are located and so can’t have an option?
What a utterly moronic idea.
Pathetic party politics at its worst.
It is very clear that the decision was made sometime ago and any attempt to come to a compromise is pointless as people like Beeley are not interested. They will just dismiss out of hand any suggestions that haven’t come from them.
Personally, I don’t care if there is a running track there or not as I don’t live in the area and don’t run but it clear that the football/Rugby/Councillors trifecta will run (pun) roughshod over everyone elses opinions.
Democracy in action!
Councillor Beeley the same old Liberal Democrats say one thing and mean another, its not the time to attack other cpuncillors but to put everything into the Churchill playing fields and get this matter put away and get the job done. It seems to me you are still making this go along and do not want this job done. Come out with some truth Councillor Beeley with the full account, everyone seems to think you should no everything about and the truth about it come out and tell us put your cards on the table whihc it seems you do not want to do, for some reason or other. With regards to the Cluncillor who got on the Council in another area if that is true he sholuld be kicked off. Councillor Hudson should work for the area he is elected for.
Frankly Barbara Beeley’s letter is a disgrace. This sort of personal attack on John Hudson is completely uncalled for.
John is the longest serving Parish Councillor in Saddleworth and has, I believe, represented Greenfield since the Parish Council was established over 35 years ago.
You may not agree with every thing John says but using cheap personal abuse to try to deny him the right to comment on this issue is deplorable.
On this occasion I entirely agree with John Hudson. The Parish Council has not been adequately consulted and involved in this issue. The Parish Council at its March meeting supported the view put forward by John & myself that the Churchill Fields Working Group should be widened to involve Saddleworth Runners and local community groups.
John and I sought to bring people together and unite Saddleworth avoiding all this conflict and division. Barbara seems intent on stoking up unpleasant sectarian party politics laced with a strong dose of personal abuse.
No wonder people are increasingly fed up with party politics in Saddleworth – I certainly am.
Got to agree with George on this one, Cllr Beeley’s Party political points are weak at best and in some cases bizarre!
I’m not sure what she hoped to gain from this public letter.
Both sides of the Churchill issue have strong arguments, but this kind of attacking behaviour from anybody on either side is not going to help their argument.
I just can’t see what anyone would have to gain from behaving like this, unless there’s more going on here than first meets the eye?
Smoke and mirrors…
So rather than answer any of the concerns and questions raised by the people of Saddleworth, Councillor Beeley tries to patronise everyone with this piece of tired old rhetoric and personal verbal assaults on two councillors who are doing what she should be doing, taking the public’s concerns to the council chamber. This smacks of the tactics employed by Councillor John McCann recently in his very public personal attack in a letter published on here about the unpaid work that Councillor Hulme does for the people of the parish. Councillor Hulme complained on behalf of the residents of a Diggle street about the condition of their road and was subjected to a very unprovoked and unnecessary public tirade by John McCann.
Barbara Beeley stated at a public meeting that she didn’t know about the existence of Saddleworth Runners. She represents Saddleworth West and Lees. Churchill PF is in Saddleworth South, Graham Sheldon’s borough ward. It also falls under John Hudson and David Atherton’s Greenfield ward on the parish council, and yet for some reason, she seeks to interfere in a ward she was not elected in and does not represent. I think it is completely abhorrent that she dismisses their opinions with such disrespect and contempt. She is trying to belittle the opinions of those who were elected in that ward whilst not-so-skillfully negating to ever provide any real facts. Thankfully, I know many people who live in her ward and will be sure to spread the good word! We shouldn’t allow Saddleworth to continue to be represented with people with very little integrity and who so arrogantly dismiss anyone who dares to question their opinion and methods.
I think this ill-considered letter is as fantastic an example as one could hope for of the unpleasant and highly unprofessional behaviour of some members of our local Lib-Dem party. How very disappointing.
A sad indication of the level of local politics where those with ability move up and away fairly quickly leaving a level of not so impressive self serving opportunists such as Beeley and McCann who have little or no interest in the public good but just want a bigger garden fence to gossip over when they can pull their snouts out of the trough.
Well said Ian! Absolutely spot on! I couldnt have put it better myself. I fear that if we had a close look at Councillor Beeley’s resume we would indeed find very little that qualifies her to speak with any level of expertise on pretty much any issue……….other than how to waltz around, in a blaze of mis-placed self-importance, upsetting vast swathes of the Saddleworth public. Just what is Mrs Beeley’s knowledge of engineering, the legal system or indeed of the Greenfield area? Absolutely zero! This is not the worst of it though. Despite being bereft of any interpersonal skills, or technical knowledge, she is promoted by a very dubious but successful propaganda machine as being of benefit to Saddleworth. I feel sympathy for her in some ways that she finds herself so far out of her depth. However, my sympathy subsides when she tries to compensate for it by ignoring direct questions about serious issues and instead choosing to personally attack other, more conscientious councillors as an obvious attempt to divert the attention from herself. Id like to say she’s about as much use as a chocolate teapot but chocolate teapots are probably more useful……….and less vindictive!