The Monthly - Rochdale, Heywood & Middleton - Mar 21
Important updates on the things that effect you - from across the Borough
COVID:
Lockdown restrictions remain in effect until 8th March when some restrictions will be relaxed - beginning with children being able to go back to school. Those in higher education will also return to class from 8th March. People will be allowed to leave home for recreation and exercise outdoors with their household or support bubble, or with one person from outside their household. Care home residents will also be allowed one regular visitor.
From 29th March it will be possible to meet outdoors with upto six people from no more than two households. Organised outdoor sports can also resume from 29th March - with tennis courts, basketball courts and open air swimming pools re-opening.
Those who can work from home are encouraged to continue doing so. If you have to go out for work, shopping or exercise, please click here for guidance on how to effectively protect yourself and those you may meet while outside.
If you have symptoms please visit the NHS website or call 119 to book a test - unless you have an appointment please do not go to the testing centres. Testing centres are located in Rochdale, Heywood & Middleton. For full details - including how to get a home testing kit - click here. If you do not have symptoms but are concerned, you can visit one of four FAST testing centres - located in Rochdale, Heywood, Pennines and Middleton. They are open 8am-7pm on weekdays and 10am-4pm on weekends. Current guidance is to get tested weekly - more than once if possible. You do not need to book an appointment to visit the FAST testing centres. For full details, click here.
The vaccination program is being co-odinated centrally - you will be contacted directly when it is your turn. Please do not contact your GP regarding vaccination and please do not go to the vaccination centres unless you have an appointment. If you are registered with a GP, over 65 or are a healthcare or support worker and have not been vaccinated yet - please book your vaccination now. To book a vaccination or for more information on the vaccination programplease click here.
This latest period of Lockdown has been stressful for everyone. Rochdale, Heywood & Middleton Lib Dems have prepared a useful guide on the various support services available to you. Please click here for more information.
Refuse Collections:
With everything else that is going on, its easy to forget which day you need to put out which bin. To make life easier, click here then pop in your postcode and you will see a handy table which shows which bins will be collected on your street on which day. The are no seasonal changes to refuse collection during the month of March to worry about. Easter is on the first weekend in April - but there should be no disruption to normal collections. When collecting you bin after collection, we would suggest that you sanitize the handle (part of the hinge at the back of the lid) before touching it yourself as a simple COVID precaution.
Roadworks:
Packer Street in Rochdale Town Centre will remain closed while the COVID testing centre in is operation. Falinge Road will be reduced to one way traffic until 20/02/21 to allow repairs to the gas main. Bull Brow & Butts Avenue in Rochdale Town Centre will be closed until 21/03/21 for environmental repairs. Hareshill Road in Heywood will be partially closed to traffic for road widening from 8/2/21 to 1/08/21. Greenwood Street in Rochdale at its junction with Great George Street will be closed 15/3/21 to 17/3/21 for water main repairs. For full details of all road closures, please click here.
Planning Applications:
For full details of new planning applications in your area, please click here. You can also see all planning applications across the borough.
Voting:
Local Elections will go ahead on 6th May 2021. Many people are chosing to vote by post at these elections. To register to vote by post please click here. If you are not already registered to vote in the Local Elections, please click here to register.
What else would you like to know? We publish these updates monthly - so if there is something else you need to know about, drop us a line and we will include it in the next update.