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Saddleworth Independent •

Pianist Rose McLachlan: ‘Teaching gives you a bigger perspective of what’s important’

AN AWARD-WINNING pianist who has been a star since she was a teenager has brought her talents to Uppermill.
Rose McLachlan was only 13-years-old when she debuted at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. She was 14 when she won the Scottish International Youth Prize at the Royal Conservatoire of Music, and she was 15 when she won the Yamaha Prize in the 2017 EPTA UK Piano Competition.
After turning 16, she won two awards with the Chetham’s Symphony Orchestra and at 17 she won the junior intercollegiate...
Saddleworth Independent •

Mountain Rescue Team fundraises for new equipment

OLDHAM Mountain Rescue Team helps an average of 52 people a year – but it is now asking for your help in return.  
The search and rescue service, which responds to emergencies across the region’s hills and mountains, is fully volunteer-led team stands on-call 24/7, 365 days a year and is often first on the scene before other emergency services. 
And after a commendable 16 years of service, it has now launched a fundraising appeal to replace both of their rescue Land Rovers, which play a vital ro...
Saddleworth Independent •

Mayoral elections 2026: Your candidates in full

A MAN running to be the next Mayor of Greater Manchester has backed the idea of ‘mass deportation’.
Marlon Scott West, of Ashton-under-Lyne, previously made headlines as an outspoken supporter of the grooming gangs inquiry, after his daughter was targeted at the age of thirteen.
However, West drew audible gasps around the room at a hustings event on Wednesday (July 8) when asked how he would respond to rising concerns and online misinformation about immigration.
He said: “Obviously I stand for R...
Saddleworth Independent •

Millgate Arts Centre gives audiences a backstage pass

“I’VE BEEN involved at the Lyceum and at the Playhouse 2 in Shaw – but this is the place which feels like home.” 
So says Pauline Walsh, theatre director and long-time member of the Millgate Arts Centre in Delph.
Strewn across the stage behind her sits a podium, balcony, and a large banner that reads ‘Degrees for Women’ – the leftovers of the theatre’s latest play, Blue Stockings.  
But on this one unusual evening, however, there is not a single cast member in sight. Rather, it is the visitors w...
Saddleworth Independent •

GM Mayoral candidate backs 'mass deportation'

A MAN running to be the next Mayor of Greater Manchester has backed the idea of ‘mass deportation.’
Marlon Scott West previously made headlines as an outspoken supporter of the grooming gangs inquiry, after his daughter was targeted at the age of 13.  
However, West drew audible gasps around the room at a hustings event on Wednesday, July 8 when asked how he would respond to rising concerns and online misinformation about immigration.
He said: “Obviously I stand for Restore Britain, and we have...
Saddleworth Independent •

Uppermill Summer Music Festival is high note for opera star

“I ALWAYS think this could be my last performance. You never know when you’re going to get to sing something again or work with the same people again, but I also think it’s good: it makes you enjoy every minute of it.” 
A life in the spotlight was by no means a dream that came easily to Kathryn Rudge. Born in Liverpool to a family of non-musicians, the now multi-award winning opera singer could never have imagined she would one day be lighting up stages the world over.
Since graduating from the...
Saddleworth Independent •

Award-winning band lights up children’s hospital – and Uppermill

“WE DON’T know of any other groups like ours – we think we’re one of the first concepts to be doing this.” 
Musician Jess Tomlinson is fresh out of her latest performance, still grinning, but already looking forward to her next. She’s talking about ‘reed playing’ – a musical theatre skill where musicians play several woodwind instruments at once, like clarinets and saxophones. 
The Chameleon Quartet – made up of Jess, Cara Houghton, Sarah Austen, and Eleanor Mills – is now celebrating its tenth...
Tameside Correspondent •

Half a million to fix Tameside’s rivers after United Utilities payout

More than half a million pounds is set to be put towards improving rivers in Tameside – after United Utilities was forced to pay for ‘substantial’ sewage leaks in Ashton.
The Environment Agency has secured £517,000 from the company after three separate incidents of sewage leaks at the Ashton-under-Lyne wastewater treatment works in 2022.
A water sample taken in the August of that year found that the levels of iron and solids “very significantly exceeded” those permitted by the Environment Agency...
Saddleworth Independent •

Healthcare workers hike Saddleworth peaks to raise funds for NHS charity

HIKING A whopping 16 miles across Saddleworth’s peaks is no small feat for anybody – least of all the critical care workers raising money for the NHS.
Advanced critical care practitioner Sarah Penkett and intensive care research nurse Paul Gill will be among the team taking on Saddleworth’s Four Meres Challenge on Sunday (12 July), in aid of the Tameside and Glossop NHS Charity.
“We do try to do quite a bit of fundraising for our unit,” Sarah says. “So we thought we’d do a sponsored walk because...
Saddleworth Independent •

Rail developments, banking hubs and a new slant on Yorkshire Day discussed at June Parish Council meeting

SADDLEWORTH Parish Council has discussed the Transpennine Route Upgrade at its general meeting.
The council’s June session saw all but a small handful of councillors gather to discuss the latest issues affecting the borough, including newly-elected Mayor of Oldham Pam Byrne.
May’s continued talks on a number of local developments, including a six-month delay to the Saddleworth Neighbourhood Plan, repairs to Uppermill Civic Hall’s lift and developing plans for a new health centre and pedestrian c...
Saddleworth Independent •

Kids overrun park for hospice

AN OLDHAM park was overrun on Wednesday (June 17) as more than a thousand schoolchildren joined together to raise money for a hospice.
Volunteers from Doctor Kershaw’s Hospice, Oldham, said they were left “chuffed” by the support as more than 1,200 primary school students ran two kilometres through Alexandra Park.
The ‘Eid Run’ – which took place three weeks after the official date for school timetabling reasons – has only grown since its launch last year.
The idea first came from volunteer Jill...
Saddleworth Independent •

Millgate Arts Centre announces new theatre season

It’s set to be an exciting year ahead for the theatre-lovers of Saddleworth, as the Millgate Arts Centre pulls back the curtain on its upcoming theatre season.
After a year of exciting programmes from the Saddleworth Players and youth company SPY Theatre – alongside additional events from the Saddleworth Concert and Films Societies – Sunday (21 June) promised a bright future for the Arts Centre, which is set to reopen in September following building repairs.
The new season will see six new shows...
Saddleworth Independent •

British Empire Medal for Saddleworth environmentalist

A SADDLEWORTH woman who founded a community hydroelectricity project has been honoured  – and says she hopes her work will get more people talking about the environment.  
Alison Brittle was awarded a British Empire Medal in the King’s Birthday Honours list for her services to Saddleworth, thanks to her work on Saddleworth Community Hydro in Greenfield.
Based at Dove Stone Reservoir, the project uses a cross flow turbine to generate renewable electricity, and saves more than 170 tonnes of carbon...
Saddleworth Independent •

Walking football club kicks off ahead of new kit

WALKING football is a much faster game than its name might suggest. 
That is the key takeaway from a Friday match at the Saddleworth Walking Football Club, where more than 70 members are united by a common goal – seeing how fast they can go when the referee’s not looking.  
Twice a week, up to 20 men and women gather in the fields at Saddleworth Leisure Centre for a kickabout and cuppa.
Most are above the age of 60, though the club attracts members from all age groups. The eldest, Keith, is 75 –...
Saddleworth Independent •

Saddleworth Village Olympics welcomes new chairman

THE OPENING ceremony of this year’s Saddleworth Village Olympics will be a prouder moment for one local man than most.  
For this year will be Scott Chapman’s first as the organisation’s new chairman, as he takes over from Stephen Hewitt.
Mr Chapman worked as a PE teacher for several years before stepping down after an injury. 
With his two children now taking part in the Olympics themselves, he began volunteering as a team manager in Diggle before later becoming a committee member for the Games...
Saddleworth Independent •

Silver trophies for Saddleworth’s best of brass

DOZENS OF local bands left laden in silverware after an official Whit Friday awards ceremony.  
41 trophies were up for grabs at the Dobcross and Uppermill Whit Friday Band Awards Presentation on Sunday, June 14, which recognised the best of brass who visited the villages in May.
With prizes ranging from section and soloist awards all the way to best band trophies, it was a tight contest for all involved – but for none more so than Dobcross Youth Band Chair Susan Crook, who took home four prizes...
Saddleworth Independent •

Ascot Ladies' Day event promises frocks, fascinators and fundraising for hospice

“PUTTING THE ‘fun’ in ‘fundraising’” is how Joanne Penketh describes Saddleworth’s biggest women’s fashion event of the year. 
She is talking, of course, about the Ascot Ladies’ Day event that will be held at The White Hart Inn in Lydgate on Thursday, June 18, at which dozens of women will raise thousands of pounds for Dr Kershaw’s Hospice.
“Dr. Kershaw’s is here for people at the most difficult time in their lives,” Joanne says. “Every day, our teams provide compassionate, specialised care and...
Saddleworth Independent •

Saddleworth author’s upcoming book a ‘cultural celebration’ of Ireland – and Mossley

“IMAGINE being sent away at 19-years-old and being invited with an old school friend to live in an Atlantic seaside cottage, by a legendary folk singer and seaweed-trawling giant of a man whose wife has just gone to England, leaving him and their eight kids in their cottage behind.” 
So goes the premise of an intriguing new novel from one of Saddleworth’s most promising novelists.
Go, Going, Gone: A Tale of Two Countries follows a young Englishman’s rite of passage on a journey out west – and pe...
Saddleworth Independent •

Last-minute salvation for Saddleworth community group

A SADDLEWORTH community association that was facing closure is breathing a sigh of relief after being saved by a good-natured volunteer.
The Scouthead and Austerlands Community Group faced an uncertain future ahead of its meeting on Tuesday, June 2, where a new committee was to be brought in to oversee their activities for the next two years.
However, with volunteers for the new team just one short, the group was forced to accept the possibility of closing for good – particularly as there would...
Saddleworth Independent •

The volunteers saddling up for disabled kids

“AT THE beginning, we had a child with cerebral palsy. It had taken some time for her to have the confidence to go on a ride, until one day she slid off the pony. She was crying, and we sorted her out.  
“We took her back to mum straight away – and she went, ‘That’s incredible!’” 
After nine years of leading the Saddleworth Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA), the young girl who slid off her horse remains one of Alison Pickering’s strongest memories.
The charity group had only been going f...
Saddleworth Independent •

Whit Friday results name Saddleworth’s best of brass

IT WAS the sounds of summer on Friday (29 May) as hundreds of band players descended upon Saddleworth for this year’s Whit Friday celebrations.
In all, 154 bands from the UK and abroad were heard trooping through the streets last week, each pausing to perform at 11 villages along the way: Delph; Denshaw; Diggle; Dobcross; Friezland; Greenfield; Grotton; Lees and Springhead; Lydgate; Scouthead and Austerlands; and Uppermill.
All were competing for the top prizes across both the local and Central...