“Johnson unfit to be PM” - Jonathan Wallace

Responding to the news from the Supreme Court that the Government acted illegally over the prorogation of Parliament, Liberal Democrat Leader of the Opposition in Gateshead and Parliamentary Candidate for Blaydon, Jonathan Wallace, said:

“Boris Johnson has demonstrated that he is not fit to be Prime Minister. He acted illegally in proroguing Parliament and although his behaviour has been astonishing, his coup has failed. He has become a national embarrassment and should now consider his future.

“Parliament must now sit again and hold the government to account.”

Lib Dems walk out in protest as “Labour brings Council into disrepute"

Liberal Democrat Councillors have today twice walked out of the full council meeting in Gateshead in protest at motions moved by Labour that they believe bring the Council into disrepute.

The first motion by Labour demands that the Council endorses the party political election campaign of their Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) candidate Kim McGuinness who won the Northumbria by-election in July.

The Labour motion claims:

“We believe that Kim McGuinness brought forward a detailed and clear vision for how

policing needs to change, that she ran a professional and high-minded campaign for

office and proved herself an articulate campaigner.”

The motion goes on to call on council officers to “write to the Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner to ask her to require the police to record misogyny as a hate crime in their day-to-day activities”.

Liberal Democrats point out that PCCs are not allowed, by law, to intervene in day-to-day policing and operational matters and therefore the motion calls on her to do something which she is not permitted to do.

The second Labour motion calls on the Council to back a Labour Party policy and campaign on Standard Attainment Tests in schools. Again, Liberal Democrats argue that the Council should not be drawn into endorsing party political campaigns.

Cllr Ron Beadle, Deputy Leader of the Opposition Liberal Democrat group, said, “It is not the role of any public body to endorse the election campaign of any party political candidate.

“We believe this to be a wholly inappropriate use of the Council and public resources. I know of no other council or public body that has endorsed the campaign of a party political candidate who stood in a public election.

“Liberal Democrats in Gateshead cannot and will not lend legitimacy to these two motions which should have been ruled out of order by the Mayor. For that reason, we left the council chamber rather than assist Labour in potentially bringing the authority into disrepute.”

Teddy bears picnic in Sunniside

There will be a teddy bears picnic and table top sale at the Whinnies Community Garden in Sunniside on Saturday 14th September from 1pm-4pm. Bring the children along with their favourite teddy. There will be a prize for the best dressed teddy.

There are still spaces available for anyone who wants to come along to sell their goods and there will also be stalls selling homemade jams, plants, fresh vegetables from the garden, raffle and tombola. There will also be games for the children and face painting. Local face painter Gaile Clark will be having all of her hair shaved off at 2pm to raise funds for prostate cancer so please come along to cheer her on.

Plans submitted for derelict school site

Councillors Peter Maughan and Kevin McClurey outside the derelict Dunston Hill School. They have called for the old buildings to be demolished as part of planning permission for the site.

The long awaited plans for housing on the derelict Dunston Hill Primary School site have now been submitted to Gateshead Council. They include proposals for 26 new houses and part of the site, where the main school buildings currently stand, will be allocated for the FACT cancer care centre.

The application itself will only consider the new houses. A further application will be required for the cancer facility.

The application has been welcomed by Lib Dem Councillors Kevin McClurey and Peter Maughan who have campaigned to have the decade long derelict site used for housing.

"Our chief concern is that as the house building will be on the part of the site that is not currently occupied by the main school building, full demolition before any other work takes place should be a condition for receiving planning permission," said Kevin.

Mayor reopens vandal hit bowling pavilion in Marley Hill

A year ago, the pavilion at Marley Hill Bowling Green suffered an arson attack. Considerable smoke damage meant the building could not be used for months. But club members were not going to let this setback undermine the club.

Instead, they carried out a programme of repair and renovation and the restored pavilion was officially reopened by the Mayor of Gateshead, Cllr Michael Hood, on Friday 6th September.

The club have also taken out a lease on the bowling green and pavilion, taking over the maintenance of the facility from the council. The new arrangement has allowed the club to apply for grant funding from charities which it previously could not receive under the umbrella of Gateshead Council.

"It is great to see the club in Marley Hill growing successfully," said Cllr John McClurey. "Members are making a great success of the facility by taking over the job of maintaining the green. They are now a model for other clubs to follow."

Anyone interested in playing bowls at Marley Hill or joining the club can contact the secretary, Alan Thompson, on acthompson@hotmail.co.uk.

Apartments plan for Whickham Social Club approved

Plans to demolish the former Whickham Social Club on School Lane, Whickham and build 13 apartments on the site have been approved by Gateshead's planning committee.

The apartments will be designed to accommodate households in which a family member uses a wheelchair.

Local Lib Dem Councillor Sonya Hawkins said, "I am pleased this application has been approved. Many of us will remember attending functions in the social club but, sadly, the building has been closed since 2016 and was becoming derelict.

"The new housing will address the need to provide wheelchair accessible homes of which we have a shortage in the area."

Dunston House Building plans rejected

A planning application to build up to ten houses on the former tennis court area to the rear of Monkridge Gardens in Dunston has been rejected. A large number of residents contacted local Lib Dem councillors to express concerns about these plans and the impact that they would have on neighbouring properties.

The application was heard by the Council’s planning committee on Wednesday 4th September. Cllr Kevin McClurey spoke on behalf of those residents who opposed the plans.

"The  applicant  does  have  a  right  of  appeal  against  this  decision,  and  your  local councillors will let residents know if there are any further updates on this case," said Kevin.

Photo above: Cllr Peter Maughan at the entrance to the former tennis courts behind Monkridge. Along with Cllr Kevin McClurey, he helped residents fight the plans for up to 10 houses on the site.