Tameside Council say they’re cleaning up Ashton town centre after concerns were raised by local traders.

Hoardings in front of the town hall have now been removed and they say there has also been a concerted effort to tackle anti-social behaviour in the centre of the town following complaints from market traders and shoppers.

A multi-agency day of action between the council and the police was held in October as a visible show of force and a number of spot checks and arrests were made.

The leader of Tameside Council, Councillor Brenda Warrington, said: “As a council, we are continually listening to our local traders and residents to better understand what is important to them and in turn, shape how we progress plans to create thriving and successful town centres.

“Concerns have been raised by traders in Ashton town centre that the visual amenity is detrimental to the overall experience when visiting the area and therefore affecting the success of town centre businesses. In response to this we have now removed all the scaffolding and hoardings around Ashton Town Hall and carried out works to tidy and brighten the centre so that it looks more pleasing and open for business.

“In conjunction with the aesthetic works, we have teamed up with Greater Manchester Police on operation ‘Safer Tameside’ which aims to tackle anti-social behaviour, community safety and public protection issues across the borough. As a result, we have seen a dramatic decrease in anti-social behaviour reports, particularly in the Ashton area, which again adds to creating a more welcoming and safer environment to shop and visit.

“Further plans are afoot for bringing the Town Hall back into use following the successful bid for £20 million of levelling-up funding and we look forward to sharing more detailed plans. We are committed to investing in Ashton as can be seen from work to date including the opening of the interchange, the building of a new college complex and library service in the town centre and improvements to our market.

“Ashton already has a lot to offer, and we only plan to build on this as we move forwards with input from our local communities.”

Meanwhile Valerie Unwin, who runs Decision Clothing in the town centre and is a member of the independent traders group says that there has been an improvement in the town centre, thanking the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, for the help he has given her.

She said: “As an independent business owner in Ashton town Centre I was fed up with all the anti social behaviour, drug dealing, etc in Ashton town centre. 

“Fortunately for me, Andy Burnham took this on and convened a meeting 6 weeks later with myself, Tameside Council Leader Brenda Warrington, Sup. Int. Chris Foster from Greater Manchester Police, Tameside Community Safety and other Council officers. 

“Following this we have seen days of action, people being arrested for these offences. Everyone working hard to ensure a safe pleasant environment for shoppers and businesses. There is more work to be done but this is a start.”

A second meeting was held by Mayor Burnham one week ago and Cllr Warrington reiterated her assurances that the council intend to work with local businesses going forward to ensure that they have input to planned changes to the town centre.

Ashton’s MP, Angela Rayner, has also had her say on the clean up, praising the beauty of the old building.

She said: “It’s fantastic to see the boards around Ashton Town Hall disappear. This fabulous building is the focal point of the town centre so it’s great to be able to see it in all its glory again as renovation work continues. I have been requesting that more is done to improve the appearance of the town centre, so I’m really pleased to see this happening in time for Christmas shoppers to enjoy.

“I have received a number of complaints from market stall owners and shoppers about anti-social behaviour in the town centre and have been working closely with the council and the police to tackle this problem.

“The multi-agency day of action was a huge success and the introduction of new police posts in the Market Hall will give traders and shoppers increased peace of mind.

“I look forward to seeing the exciting programme of improvements in the town centre take shape over the coming months.”

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