AN ESTABLISHED group of Saddleworth writers, which is looking for new members, has had its meetings rescheduled due to council cutbacks.
Saddleworth Writers Group first heard that it would no longer be able to meet on Mondays at Greenfield Library at its July 29 meeting by Oldham Council’s Library service.
That was followed up by an email, which explained that this was “due to the cost and availability of providing additional staffing outside of our general opening times, which is no longer viable to accommodate for our service and will be applied to the other groups at Greenfield”.
Joan Harthan, who facilitates Saddleworth Writers Group, told the Independent: “We didn’t have any notice really, but they [Oldham Council] had tried to, sort of, move us a few months ago because I think they don’t want to open the library on a Monday when it’s officially closed to the public – and I can understand that because money’s tight now.”
Joan said the group’s preferred option was moving to Uppermill Library – in the old St Chad’s Registrar office building in the park – but was told the council was unable to accommodate the group at this location.
That’s where she restarted the group in February 2016, after returning to the area having been away for around 20 years, after being told by a librarian that the group advertised in a magazine had in fact been disbanded.
After quickly signing up a small group of members, Saddleworth Writers Group were based in the upstairs room at Uppermill Library initially – which Joan said was an ideal spot.
“It was private, there was an adjoining kitchen and also a toilet,” she explained. “We stayed there for probably a couple of years. We were then told that Oldham Council wanted to use it for their offices, so we were booted out and sent downstairs.
“We were then put in the far annex, where all the travel and cookery books are, which was a wee bit small for us but we were managing. We were then told we couldn’t use the toilet anymore, so that was a huge problem because we have a diabetic lady.
“Sometimes when she needs to go to the loo, she needs to go to the loo quickly, and the nearest one was at the Old Post Office. That’s why we moved to Greenfield Library.”
But since moving to Greenfield, the group have had concerns around noise from children using the library.
“It’s just one big light portacabin and there were children coming in and they just scream and shout, so it was proving impossible,” said Joan.
“There’s a big toddler play area and settees for mums to meet. Libraries are more of a community space now, rather than a quiet space.
“In our writing group, we do writing exercises for the first hour, which we need a quiet space for really, but then in the second hour, we feedback our work which is impossible to do if it’s noisy.
“I persuaded the council to let us use the library on a Monday, immediately after the Stitch and Knit group. We had been doing that for about a year or 18 months, but now we’ve been booted out of there as well.
“My biggest bugbear is that we were moved out of the upstairs room at Uppermill Library. That is such a shame because the writing group hasn’t been the same since then, and we’ve had to negotiate so many difficulties since then.
“When we first started, the group was so popular and everybody wanted more time so we ran an extra session in The Kingfisher pub in Greenfield, purely for people to get feedback on their own private work but we couldn’t compete with the background music so we abandoned that eventually.”
The council offered the group the opportunity to meet on Thursdays at 2pm at Greenfield Library – the option they have reluctantly chosen – or Friday at Lees Library, or an evening at Crompton Library.
The group’s first new scheduled meeting took place on Thursday, September 12.
The local authority told the Saddleworth Independent that moving the group’s meetings was necessary due to the budget challenges it is faced with.
Councillor Peter Dean, Cabinet Member for Thriving Communities and Culture, said: “We’re really pleased we’ve been able to agree dates when Saddleworth Writers Group can meet at Greenfield Library.
“We are sorry we had to reschedule their meetings, but we could no longer host them outside the library’s normal opening hours due to the costs involved.
“We are grateful that the group has been flexible and are thrilled they will be able to continue to meet at Greenfield.
“These kinds of decisions are always difficult but Oldham Council, like other local authorities across the country, is facing a huge budget challenge following 14 years of funding cuts from central government.
“This year it’s estimated we’ll have to find £36m worth of savings to balance the books while continuing to maintain vital services, such as protecting vulnerable children and adults, emptying the bins and maintaining the roads.”
Saddleworth Writers Group is also looking for new members to join.
You don’t necessarily have to live in Saddleworth and membership is free – as are the sessions to attend, which include tea and coffee.
The group currently meets on the second Thursday of every month, at 2pm at Greenfield Library, with sessions running until between 4pm and 5pm.
Joan, who co-facilitates Oldham Writing Cafe which meets at Lees Library every first and third Saturday of the month, stated: “We are a mixed bunch. I’m an indie author and independent publisher. I’ve got around 24 books in my back catalogue now, so I’m a very serious writer.
“We have another member who was a lecturer in creative writing at Tameside College and he’s written a couple of novels – he’s currently trying to get a publisher or an agent.
“We have a lady who is a really prolific science fiction and fantasy writer, who has never tried to get anything published but she’s really good.
“We have another lady who just writes for fun, though she’s now started doing research into her family’s background to write a novel based on her family’s history so she’s engaged with that.
“We have a police psychologist who is writing a book about his Nigerian background and a retired doctor who was mainly writing poetry.
“We all take writing very seriously and I’m quite a strict taskmaster, so I make sure everybody goes home feeling they have achieved something.”
Anyone interested in becoming a member can find out more by emailing Joan at j.c.harthan@gmail.com
Another interesting response, but I remain unconvinced.
I used to have an OMBC map of all the ROW/Public/Footpaths following a previous issue, but I can’t seem to find it again.
Nonetheless the Moorgate crossing seems to me to be a convenient and well use route, (not so much as you put a, “recreational,” one,) and one which I often seem other people using including a woman with children and pram not so long ago.
I also fell strongly that Railtrack have duty to keep the route open.
As for suicide; well sadly you don’t need a level crossing to do that, it’s now more than 30 years since I was crossing some fields in Middleton and I found the body of a young man who had killed himself in a small copse of trees..
This was a comment about the level crossing at Mooregate Halt, posted by mistake on the wrong article, (it was an interesting conversation,) but I’m getting old, a bit harassed and confused.
I hope you find someone else willing to accommodate your group in any case, perhaps one of the many local churches might be persuaded to help out ?