No burgalrys? Because they don't rob from their own - they move to other estates to rob them instead!

   Interesting point made by Silver. The local influx of asylum seekers is partially due to Council policy, in a bid to generate extra income from void properties. How typical is this short-term outlook and short sightedness. What has the Council done to integrate this new generation of immigrants? Has the revenue generated from the void properties off-set the costs incurred by schools and other public services in translation & integration costs? How many are forced to work in the black economy in order to cope with the cost of UK living. How many are living in poverty? How many have secured permenant stay and been given the right to work legally? How many are now working legitimately in the economy and competing in the local labour market? How many are skilled and unskilled? Are those with the skills in demand been given the opportunity to utilise their skills. Are those without skills been given opportunity to acquire relevant skills? Can the Counicl provide any statistics to answer these questions? I suspect not, but they're keen to benefit from the additional housing revenue and expect these newcomers to be absorbed into the populas without consideration on how this will impact community cohesion i.e. positive or negative.

Mr R. Poole, Oakenrod

   Falinge is not the only ward with high unemployement. All the wards around the town centre have 50-60% out of work. Sparth only has 25% in full time employment. Falinge was sent over their usual quota a few years ago when the council accepted government grants to accommodate asylum seekers. The government paid all their expenses (remember the £3000 furniture grants from Lanebottom Co-op) There was no cost to Rochdale for the first 12 months. They filled hard to let flats in the area, this gave the council extra revenues. Unfortunatly they could not work until they had permission to stay. They are now included in the statistics SILVER60

   surely all the figures for Falinge are distorted by the large numbers of Asylum Seekers who live there - who are not permitted to work

   I agree with you (Sally74)as I know people from Falinge who work and can get work at one of the local supermarkets. Some people just don't try, do they? Wake up and do something for a change, which will benefit both society and yourself.

   Voice of the Town, I suggest you are unsuccessful in your job application attempts due to your inability to spell correctly not because you are from Falinge!

   news crew got it so wrong , how can people who are alinated by companys in rochdale when the apply for work be singled out in this way , id like to see if they try putting falinge as thier address and apply for a job at tesco , asda ,or morrisons how many get even a letter back how about an interview ,,,, most aplications get binned before they get to the interview groupings ,,and falinge isnt the only place singled out for such treatment by local bussiness, if they opened the eyes before coming out with ridiculas comments which only alinate areas

   The number of people claiming out of work benefits is a serious concern for the borough. Mr Zuntz is correct to state that “deprivation isn’t reduced overnight”, but the problem wasn’t born overnight either, it has got progressively worse over the last 10 years when the economy has been at its strongest and unemployment at its lowest. Given the current economic down-turn and spate of redundancies across the borough, it will likely deteriorate even further. Surely this is an indicator of an incompetent 2 star Council and a gross failing of policy and strategy, especially from those that profess to regenerate the borough. It is a failing to improve the economic prosperity of our most deprived wards, despite the cash injection of millions of regeneration funds (SRB & NRF). Now the problem has been highlighted, Mr Zuntz and his regeneration colleagues need take ownership and demonstrate leadership to arrest the problem and develop & deliver a set of robust and coherent strategies that will turn the situation around, before the strap-line coined by Jonathan Swain becomes a common cliché: Rochdale – a place where living on benefits is the norm.

It’s a pity we can’t buy our services from a neighbouring council.

Mr R. Poole, Oakenrod.

   I suppose it is easy to attack the people of Rochdale and will only serve GMTV'S ratings. The sad aspect of this situation, is that the answer to these problems is available. We don't have a Government or council who have the courage to make the right decisions. What I call economices with compassion. Elect christian Government and council and we will deal with this situation.

   In answer to Anglo Saxon I'm not a racist like he thinks, I just like to see a fair proportional represention of what goes on, I agree that white families are on benifits and I'm not saying all Asians are on benifits just that none were shown on TV. If Someone signs to say they are fit for work they should take any work given. It sounds that Anglo Saxon has something to hide when he or she goes on about all the whites around town OH Whos the racist!!

   I worked on Lower Falinge for sometime and I must say that the people where on the whole great. The people living on Lower Falinge need to be offered training courses that will lead to decent jobs that will solve the problem of scroungers both ways-the true picture of those that want to work and those that don't. From my experience most do. Lower Falinge has a great community spirit it is a shame that the report seemed to highlight the bad-a sitting target I'd say. A great deal of Neighbourhood Renewal money has been ploughed into this area why hasn't anything changed is the question that should be asked.

   Whilst I agree with what nemesis has said, the rot that created the current malaise in Falinge set in over 40 years ago. Reading what Mr Zuntz, the £100,000+ a year council executive officer says fills me with dread and a feeling of deja vu.

I am old enough to remember the so called "bold and exciting" town centre plans from the 1960's to the 1980's. In those 2 decades they demolished much of our heritage, poured concrete and ripped the heart out of Rochdale's shopping centre. Soulless malls, expensive car parks, a bus station in the wrong place and inappropriate transport plans such as the dual carridgeway that ended at Townhead then reappears for a couple of hundred yards of Halifax Rd.

Now in 2008 what are we just about to get even more of? Soulless malls, more expensive car parks a new bus station -even further away. The cherry on top is a £200 million Metrolink to Oldham that doesn't make economic or common sense.

Huge decisions are made about our town by people who appear arrogant and aloof. The message is delivered by compliant councillors happy to take the credit and hog the limelight. Unfortunately the limelight blinds them to reality. They also become so entrenched with the officers' vision that they cannot admit to mistakes.

For another deja vu moment, I recall a certain alderman in the 1960's signing off many of our town's demolition and construction projects. Such egotistical hubris cannot be blamed on party politics as one of the local politicians who did so much damage to Rochdale was a Labour councillor then went Independent before jumping on the Liberal bandwagon.

What legacy is left by these unwise projects? A major one that has harmed Falinge was Ashfield Valley- the worst example of gerry-built shattered dreams. When it was finally demolished, many of the inmates were forced upon the good residents of the Town Flats and Falinge.

The destruction of our town centre, its independent shops and stalls, has been a disgrace. Much of the system built council flats were an expensive mistake that Rochdale is still paying for.

The scandal is that those who run this town are repeating the same mistakes. Demolition projects will displace happy communities, from the old folks bungalow on Halifax Rd to the decent families on Kirkholt. Hundreds of millions is being wasted on something called Pathfinder (RAF bombing sorties come to mind). We now have the crazy situation were these government grants have demolished more homes in Rochdale than they have built.

Mr Zuntz is a very well paid public servant who is also a director of the Rochdale Development Agency. Other very well paid senior Rochdale Council officers are also on the board of the RDA. In the years since the RDA was created they have had millions in wages and pension contributions. They now have the brass neck to say they need more time. No- they need their P45's with no golden handshake. Spend the money on action - not talk and propaganda.

Any of those senior politicians who will obediently defend the RDA's incompetence also need to think long and hard before speaking out. Falinge has been on a steady decline for decades. They should do the walk of shame along Spotland Road, though the market onto Yorkshire Street then up Drake Street. They will see a shameful legacy of 40 years of neglect and mismanagement.

    well done to the people who have the gut's to speak out. give the benefits to those who WORK not the layabouts who ruin our great town. stop giving these parrasites things that you only get when you WORK. when you put something in then you can get something out like WORK. why should these crettins get the best of everything when they don't WORK for them. let the people who WORK for a living get the best of things. i have cleaned the streets before today. thats WORK it's better than the dole. so come on all you mp's pull your finger out & make these lazy benefit grabbing barstewards get off there backside's & make them WORK for there money. stop making it so easy to stay in bed. GET OUT THERE & WORK WORK WORK like the decent people do.

   Only just moved into Rochdale in the last two years due to ill health and family reasons.

If it was said to be the "Nicest" place to live in the UK would they have been here, no they would not. Before he tries to knock it, let him try living on it.

   WOW!!!! the truth hurts doesnt it as soon as someone raises the possibility of disclosing the benefits that are freely given out to people who know the system inside out everybody seems to want to defend them i am sure there are a few decent hard working people around these areas but lets face it have there views of the area been asked ??? probably not! its about time people face the hard facts cut the benefits make it impossible to live comfortable on them and make it worthwhile to work then maybe that will encourage them to look for work the hard working families that maybe get two jobs to make ends meet deserve a little help we are fed up with people putting nothing in the system and getting everything out take note!!!!!! there was a silence about the recent election results around the norden bamford ward 451 people noted for the bnp alot more than labour and not that far behind lib dems i hear it everyday why should they be treated better than us because they are a minority beware a sleeping giant !!!