OLDHAM’S youngest ever council leader has vowed to give the town hall a shot in the arm and bring an end to council complacency – but denied he was ‘ripping up’ the town’s masterplan.

In his inaugural speech, newly elected council leader Sean Fielding outlined his vision for the borough in which residents’ concerns are not swept under the carpet and ‘something new’ is injected into its politics and policies.

At just 28 years old, the Failsworth West councillor came to power earlier this month in a dramatic coup which saw incumbent Jean Stretton ousted in a crunch vote at Labour’s annual general meeting.

At yesterday's (Wednesday May 23) full council meeting at the Civic Centre, Cllr Stretton was conspicuous in her new role as a backbencher, taking up an outer tier seat yards away from her former colleagues.

While Cllr Fielding’s speech to the chamber did not directly criticise his predecessor’s time in power, he told councillors that he couldn’t ignore the issues raised on the doorstep during the local election campaign.

Residents brought up concerns over cleanliness, the state of the roads, community safety and about “some elements” of the town centre regeneration masterplan, Cllr Fielding said.

“I listened to them and I realised for us not to take these away and act upon them would have been the worst kind of politics and the thing that the public hates more than anything else,” he said.

Work on his new agenda is already underway, he added, with additional street cleaners being recruited. Town hall chiefs are also looking at how to top up the £6.2m already pledged to bring roads up to scratch.

Officers are reviewing the Oldham town centre masterplan, but Cllr Fielding denied he was ‘ripping up’ the multi-million pound project.

He told members he wanted to see a greater emphasis on town centre living and the Queen Elizabeth Hall and Tommyfield Market saved from the bulldozers, a major part of the existing proposals.

Cllr Fielding added: “This is a plan going ahead all the way to 2035. Show me a plan looking nearly 20 years ahead that stayed the same throughout, and you’ll be showing me a plan that failed.

“I have no intention of stopping this process but in order to command the support of people of our borough we must ensure that we occasionally pause, reflect, and take time to listen to the views of those we represent.

“We cannot stand still and assume we have got everything right. That would be dangerous for our borough.”

Cllr Fielding urged fellow councillors to now ‘lead from the front’ to inspire confidence in the borough.

He told the meeting: “If we limit our expectations today or dampen our aspirations for Oldham that will inevitably seep into everything that we do and that will also work its way down to residents and partners. So we must continue to stretch ourselves as a group.

“With such a large majority group on the council it can be easy to become complacent and deny concerns the attention they deserve.

“I’m clear however that doing so would be wrong and frankly disrespectful to those who sent us here again earlier this month.”

Born at the Royal Oldham hospital, Cllr Fielding grew up in the borough, attending Failsworth School – now Co-op Academy Failsworth – and bought a house in Failsworth with his girlfriend.

He has become one of the youngest council leaders in the country. But he said that would not define his leadership.

“My past, present and future is all invested in the borough, and this is what really matters – that’s who I am,” Cllr Fielding added.

“And please do not make the mistake that youth equals inexperience, and that experience equals wisdom. What matters above all is having the right vision to move this town forward.

“I know that achieving some of the goals we have been setting is going to be hard and mean tough decisions.

“But nothing makes me more determined than people telling me something cannot be done or telling me to aim lower. So my message – if you’re hungry and ambitious for Oldham – join with me.”