The
former AEI Cables site in Birtley has been put on the market in a bid to find
new owners to develop the location on Durham Road.
Earlier this year, the closure of the
plant meant an end to 175 years of cable manufacturing by the company which
claimed to be the oldest cable maker in the world.
Now, Birtley Liberal Democrats are
calling on the Government and Gateshead Council to work together to ensure the
site is brought back into use as soon as possible.
“The Government’s Business Department
and Gateshead Council must work closely together to ensure a new buyer is found
and brought back into use as soon as possible,” said Lib Dem campaigner Paul
Elliott.
“The
Conservative Government’s decision to leave the Single Market is adding to
economic uncertainty so whatever assistance possible must be provided to bring
back manufacturing and jobs to the site.”
Photo above: Lib Dem campaigner Paul Elliott outside the AEI Cables site in Birtley.
Dr Jonathan Wallace, Liberal Democrat candidate for
Blaydon, has sent his good wishes to Dave Anderson on his announcement of his
retirement as Labour MP for the constituency.
“Dave has given 12 years of his life to
serving the people of Blaydon as MP,” said Jonathan. “Regardless of politics, I
know he always tried his best for our area and I would like to thank him for
his many years of hard work.”
Photo above: Dave Anderson MP and Jonathan Wallace share a hustings platform during the 2015 general election campaign in Blaydon. On the right, Alison Griffiths, the Conservative candidate.
Flytippers
beware! At long last, Gateshead Council is to take action to tackle the scourge
of illegal dumping of waste in public places by using new powers to fine
offenders.
Anyone caught flytipping now faces a
fixed penalty fine of £400. Fines for dropping litter are doubling to £100.
“At last, strong action is being taken
by Gateshead Council,” said Lib Dem campaigner in Birtley, Paul Elliott. “Hopefully this
will help to put an end to the appalling actions of a small minority of people
who think it’s fine to dump their rubbish on the rest of us.”
In
2015-16 there were 10702 incidents of flytipping in Gateshead leaving council
tax payers with a £570,216 clean up bill.
Gateshead
Council’s all-Labour Cabinet have agreed to declare the old stable block,
depot, former social services office and Rectory Lane entrance to Chase Park as
“surplus to requirements.” This is the first step towards selling them off for
house-building.
The plans are being fought
by local Lib Dems who are concerned that the sale is the thin end of the wedge
that could lead to other parts of the park being sold for housing.
Cllr Peter Maughan
opposed the plans when they were discussed by the Cabinet. He argued that the
original agreement with the former Whickham Council that saw the former Chase
House become a public park in 1936 prevented any sale of the site for housing.
“I took the original
agreement signed by Whickham Council to the cabinet meeting but it was clear
Labour were not prepared to listen,” said Peter.
“I warned Labour councillors
that there will be a huge legal battle ahead if they insist on pressing ahead
with this terrible plan. Some things are sacrosanct. Clearly to Labour, Chase
Park isn’t.” Photo above: Lib Dem campaigners Sonya Hawkins, Peter Craig, Marilynn Ord, Peter Maughan, John McClurey, Kevin McClurey and Chris Ord outside the stable block in Chase Park which Labour wants to sell off for housing.
Gateshead's Deputy Mayor, Cllr Pauline Dillion, will be visiting the Whinnies Community Garden, Gateshead Road, Sunniside, at 11am on Sunday 16th April. The garden is designed to give people with disabilities the opportunity to do some gardening and enjoy the great outdoors. All residents are welcome to call in on 16th. The video above looks at what the garden offers.
The Whinnies Community Garden in Sunniside had a surprise delivery during Sunday's volunteer day. While volunteers were busy assembling garden furniture, weeding flower beds and cleaning greenhouses, Georgina, one of the resident goats on the site, gave birth to 2 babies. She had one boy (the white one) and one girl (the black one).
Local Councillor and volunteer helper at the garden, Jonathan Wallace, is the owner of the goats and is delighted with the new arrivals.
"Mother and babies are doing well," said Jonathan. "People will be able to see the babies if they come to the Whinnies Open Day in Easter Sunday, 16th April, 11am to 3pm. Everyone welcome."
Gateshead's old Town Hall is to be sold off in a bid to boost economic development in central Gateshead. Surrounding land and car parks will also be offered for sale. The move has been supported by Gateshead Lib Dem Leader of the Opposition Councillor Jonathan Wallace who said: "A building such as the old Gateshead Town Hall needs a new owner to develop it into a positive asset to the local economy. By 2020/21, the Council will receive no money from the government to support the costs of local services. We therefore need to help businesses to become established in Gateshead and to grow, not just for the jobs and wealth they create, but for the business rates they will pay to the council once they are denationalised. “It’s important we use whatever assets we have got in a positive way to regenerate our area.”
Proposals to amalgamate Hollyhurst Medical Centre, Winlaton with Elvaston Road Surgery, Ryton from 1st July have been put forward. Hollyhurst Medical Centre has a current patient list size of 2458 and Elvaston Road Surgery is currently 2320. The proposed amalgamation will bring the above two GP practices formally under one management structure.
There will be no changes to the level of care patients currently receive. It is anticipated that by merging the two practices they will be able to offer more GP appointments and more specialist care by developing new services such as minor surgery and a year of care service for Elvaston patients.
There are no proposed changes to the structure of the buildings at both sites and opening and closing hours will remain the same, with patients being able to request which site they would like to attend.
Both practices will be holding drop-in meeting for patients about the merger on 10th May.
There will be a volunteer work day at the Whinnies Community Garden ion Gateshead Road, Sunniside, on Sunday 2nd April, 10am to 4pm. If you can spare a couple of hours, please pop in to help created raised beds, weed flower beds and tend the garden. All welcome. If you are there over lunch time, why not bring a picnic as well?
The North East Disability Sports Awards were held at Slaley Hall, near Hexham, on Thursday 23rd March 2017. Gateshead Council’s Adult Social Care Provider service achieved double success at the awards night.
‘Angling 4 All’ is an angling club for people with disabilities which began in 2014. The club now has over 40 members who train every week in angling at venues such as Baltic Riverside and Leazes Park, Newcastle. From such training, anglers build up their skills and confidence, to then compete in regional and national competitions. Everyone with a disability is catered for and the committee of the sporting club is entirely made up of people with disabilities. The judges were impressed with the club’s activities and awarded it with the title of ‘Outstanding Sports Club of the year’ award, beating 17 other finalists.
Richard Young, is a young Special Olympics Gateshead Tyne & Wear athlete who made exceptional progress in 2016 winning gold medals in regional and national Special Olympics Cycling and Athletics competitions. He was awarded the ‘Participant of the year’ award at the ceremony.
Gateshead Council is to consider a planning application to convert Derwentside, in Swalwell, the former aged persons' unit into 22 apartments.
Planning permission is being sought for a scaffolding yard on land to the south of Kingsway Interchange,
Eleventh Avenue, Team Valley Trading Estate.
Plans have been submitted to convert the former public house and manager's maisonette at Fellows House, Ryton Village, into a
single residence, including installation of balcony and balustrade on south
elevation. Hazardous substances consent is being sought to store 18000 tonnes of flammable
liquid and 1,500 tonnes of Flammable Aerosols on land at White Rose Way, Follingsby
Park, Follingsby Lane, Felling. Planning permission is being sought convert part of Chaplins, Spa Well Road, Winlaton Mill from restaurant use to
Childrens' Day Nursery and cafe.
Meetings for volunteers willing to take on the running of the new voluntary libraries at Felling, Whickham and Rowlands Gill will stake place as follows:
The Whinnies Community Garden on Gateshead Road, Sunniside, will be holding an open day from 11am to 3pm on Easter Sunday, 16th April. All residents are welcome to pop in and have a look around. The garden is designed for use by people with disabilities. More details will be circulated shortly.
Gateshead Council have granted planning permission to Prince Bishop Homes for 13 new home at Beda Hill, Hookergate Lane, Rowlands Gill.
Gateshead has also granted planning permission for 60 homes to be built on land at Portobello Road, Birtley. The applicant was Gleeson Developments Ltd.
A single new dwelling has been given planning permission on land adjacent to 11 Butterfield Close, Ryton.
Permission has been granted to install a 15 metre high phone mast on land adjacent to the Red Kite pub, Spa Well Road, Winlaton Mill.
A Gateshead based charity which aims to improve women’s mental health, which has won a prestigious national award.
Tyneside Women’s Health beat more than 400 other organisations from across the UK to be one of the 10 winners of the 2017 Glaxo Smith Kline IMPACT Awards, a national award that recognises excellence in charities improving health and wellbeing in their communities. The charity will receive £30,000 in funding as well as expert support and development from The King’s Fund.
Tyneside Women’s Health was established in 1985 to provide mental health support to women in a women-only environment. It runs a range of services for local women, including counselling, support groups, and creative and therapeutic activities.
Grove House Children’s Home in Gateshead was inspected by Ofsted on 29 November 2016 and has maintained its Outstanding judgement.
The Children’s Home provides short breaks for up to five children with physical disabilities and/or learning disabilities. It was found to be outstanding in all categories ie the overall experiences and progress of children and young people living in the home; how well children and young people are helped and protected; and impact and effectiveness of leaders and managers.
Ofsted noted the Home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good and that the actions of the home contribute to significantly improved outcomes for children and young people who need help, protection and care.
The community orchard on Kingsway, Sunniside, has been extended to cover most of the previously unused site. And with another 100 trees planted, the whole project cost only £200. The trees were provided by environmental charity for Groundwork for only £2 each. The planting was carried out on Tuesday 21st March by volunteers from the Princes Trust and by Councillors Marilynn Ord and Jonathan Wallace.
"We discovered that Groundwork had a large number of trees they were keen to sell so we took the opportunity to complete the woodland orchard project which was first started 5 years ago when 40 trees were planted," said Cllr Jonathan Wallace.
"The site is at the top of Kingsway, on the south side of the road. 50 years ago it was scheduled for house building but the homes were never built and the site wasn't given a new role.
"7 years ago a council consultation was carried out in Sunniside to ask people about where possible new play equipment should go. The overwhelming view of residents was that the top of Kingsway should not be used as a play area.
"We've now found a new use as a woodland and community orchard. In years to come it will look great in the spring and help boost the appearance of Sunniside."
Cllrs Marilynn Ord and Jonathan Wallace with the final tree to be planted in the Kingsway woodland.
Front Street School in Whickham has recently come out top of the class following an inspection by the official school standards body Ofsted. The school, previously rated “good” has moved into top gear with a new rating of “outstanding”.
“This is great news for the children, teachers and parents,” said Lib Dem Councillor John McClurey, who is also a governor of the school. “Not only has everyone taken the move to the new building in their stride, the school is now regarded as an education showcase.”
Labour Leader of Gateshead Council, Martin Gannon, moves the budget for 2017/18
Council tax in Gateshead is rising by 5% following the decision of the Conservative Government to end all grants to local councils.
With nearly every Council in England facing a complete end to Government money for social care for the elderly, libraries, parks and other services run by local government, Conservative ministers in effect ordered each council to increase council tax by up to 5%.
The grants will come to an end in 2020 and all councils are going through a process of cutting back services, making efficiencies and handing some activites to volunteer groups.
But a double whammy is in store for Gateshead as there is rapidly rising demand for social care for the elderly - and the council is legally required to provide it.
By 2020/21, Gateshead will have to make around £92 million of savings while increasing spending on adult social care by £30 million.
“Many people are living much longer and need more support,” said Lib Dem Leader of the Opposition Councillor Jonathan Wallace. “That means Gateshead Council has to provide more services for our elderly residents.
,
“Yet at the same time as the Conservative Government is taking away from us the money to pay for these services.
“In 2010-15, when the Lib Dems were part of the Coalition Government, we funded councils to freeze council tax for 4 years.
“But the Labour party left the nation’s finances in a terrible state so cuts had to be made to help balance the books.”
“And they have decided to let wealthy areas bringing in large amounts of business rates to keep all this money. At the moment, some of the business rates are transferred to areas with greater needs, such as Gateshead. That is to end in 2020.
“Labour in Parliament are hopeless as an opposition. Under Jeremy Corbyn, they are letting the Conservatives walk all over them.
“It means the Conservatives are getting away with huge cuts to services in areas like Gateshead while letting the richest parts of the country keep the money that was previously being moved to areas such as the North East.
“While it is the Conservatives who are treating our area unfairly, it is Labour and Jeremy Corbyn who are letting them get away with it.”
Lib Dem Leader of the Opposition in Gateshead, Cllr Jonathan Wallace, responds to the budget.
A national call centre for Consumer, Energy and Post is to
be set up in Gateshead by the Citizens Advice Service with the service
beginning in April. It will be located in Gateshead Civic Centre.
Due to the closure of
Hills Street in Gateshead, bus services 27, 56, 57 and 58 will not serve
Gateshead Interchange. Service 27 will serve Jackson Street and services 56,57
and 58 will serve High Street. Hills Street will remain closed for 5 weeks
after 20th March.
The
Council’s School Catering Service collected four awards from the Lead Association
for Catering in Education at its annual North East & Scotland Awards which
were held at Hardwick Hall in Sedgefield on 17 March 2017. The awards are open
to all education catering organisations in both the private and public sector. They
aim to acknowledge individuals and teams of people who continue to make a real
difference in education catering.
Amanda Rowe
(Unit Manager, Bill Quay Primary School) won the ‘Golden Rolling Pin Employee
of the Year award’ which recognises an individual with a high level of commitment,
enthusiasm and initiative who has made an outstanding contribution to the
catering service in their school or catering establishment. Lorraine Parker
(Unit Manager, Caedmon Primary School) was awarded ‘Highly Commended Silver
Rolling Pin’ in this category.
Marek
Blonski was awarded Highly Commended in the category of ‘Management Employee
Outstanding Achievement award’ which represents the highest accolade that can
be received by an individual within education catering as it is awarded to the person
who has, above all others, demonstrated outstanding levels of service and commitment.
And Gateshead’s
School Catering Management Team was awarded Highly Commended in the category of
‘Management Team of the Year award’ which aims to recognise a Catering Business
Team which has made an outstanding contribution to catering for schools in the
local area.
Opponents of a hard Brexit and supporters of Britain's role in Europe gathered on the Gateshead Quays on Tuesday 14th March to demonstrate their backing for the EU.
Flags at Gateshead Civic Centre on Wednesday and Thursday were flying at half-mast as a mark of respect to the four victims of the terror attack in Westminster on 22nd March.
The Right Reverend James Newcome, Bishop of Carlisle, was a visitor to Whickham on Saturday 4th March to visit St Mary's Church and take a look at, and joined in the work of, Planting Up Whickham, a group of volunteers that took on the maintenance of various flower beds in the village after Gateshead Council withdrew the service due to cutbacks.
In this video, the Bishop is interviewed by Gateshead News editor Jonathan Wallace who also took along one of his goats (at the invite of Planting Up Whickham!)
Labour’s plans for large housing developments in Ryton and Crawcrook appear to have got off to a mixed start.
Planning applications for the two sites between Ryton and the by-pass had been expected before Christmas. But failure to reach agreement on access roads have left the plans parked (for now) while discussions between the 2 developers and Council planning officers continue.
Crawcrook however saw work start last year on 169 houses at “Fairfields Manor” being built on former greenbelt land between Crawcrook and the by-pass. Planning permission was granted in April after Labour Councillors voted to remove the site from greenbelt.
Developer Story Homes are selling the houses at prices starting at £254,950, well beyond the reach of many young families living in the area but needing a bigger home.
“When Labour pushed through their plans for building on greenbelt in Ryton and Crawcrook, we warned that these houses would be too expensive for local families,” said Lib Dem Councillor Christine McHatton. “Not many local first time buyers can fork out quarter of a million pounds.”
The delay in seeking planning permission in Ryton means nearby road safety measures on the by-pass are on hold. Similar measures on the Crawcrook part of the by-pass will go ahead.
A review of libraries in Gateshead has proposed that Pelaw and Crawcrook libraries should continue to be provided by the Council but Rowlands Gill, Whickham and Felling branches should be transferred to the voluntary sector.
However, the current status of Crawcrook and Pelaw, and indeed any of the libraries currently provided by Gateshead, is not guaranteed as the Council will carry out another review of libraries in the coming year which will look at making further savings of £250,000.
4 years ago, Ryton was at the forefront of moves by the community to take on the running of library services. The volunteer-run library has been a success and is strongly engaged with residents.
“The transfer of libraries from the council to voluntary groups has been driven by the need to save costs,” said Cllr Christine McHatton, Lib Dem Councillor for Ryton, Crookhill and Stella.
“The choice was between the complete loss of the library and the community coming together and investing time and resources to save the branch and making it a success.
“Ryton has shown what can be done. To be fair to Gateshead, the Council will consider positively proposals from community groups to help with or take on the running of community based facilities such as libraries, community centres and parks.”
Speaking about the review of libraries in Gateshead
which is due to be considered by the Council’s cabinet on 12th July,
Liberal Democrat Leader of the Opposition, Dr Jonathan Wallace, said:
“It is vital that residents take part in the
consultation next month and make their views heard. It is also important that
people with new ideas on how to make savings and run a volunteer service should
come forward and pass on their thoughts to Gateshead Council.
“Meanwhile Gateshead must leave no stone unturned in
looking for ideas on how to maintain access and funding for libraries.
“I have been pressing for the Council to open talks
with coffee shop chains to rent out space in our libraries. Many are in front
street locations which would be ideal as retail outlets which could provide
Gateshead with the income needed to keep libraries open.
“We should not close any library until this option
is fully explored.”
Liberal Democrats in Gateshead had sent an email message to over 2000 homes in the borough calling on residents to vote Remain today.
Leader of the Opposition on the Council, Jonathan Wallace, argues that Britain is better off in Europe and leaving the EU would be damaging for the economy, jobs, British influence abroad and attempts to tackle pollution.
He wrote:
Dear Fellow Residents,
Today, we each have a vote in the European Referendum. I’m voting to REMAIN and I hope you will do the same as well.
I am voting to stay in the EU because I believe we are stronger in Europe. We have full access to the world’s biggest Single Market. This is vital for our economy as 60% of our trade is done with the EU.
We are safer because of the European Arrest Warrant. This allows police forces to have criminals returned to the UK to face justice.
Our air and seas are cleaner because of the EU. Pollution ignores international boundaries so tackling it needs to be done at an international level. The EU has led on this.
On jobs and prosperity, tackling crime and cutting pollution, the EU has brought us great improvements.
But what is the future of Britain if we vote to leave the EU? Those who are leading the campaign to abandon the EU have not answered that - because they can’t. They are unable to tell us how Britain would be better off alone.
They cannot tell us how the economy will recover from the damage a vote to leave will cause (nearly all experts agree that leaving would deal a big blow to the economy).
Voting to leave is an enormous risk with too many unknowns. On Friday morning we could wake up to find our economy in a state of shock and the country marching into the unknown.
Or we could vote to REMAIN and wake up tomorrow to a Britain that is prosperous and has influence abroad. That’s what I want and I hope you join me in voting to REMAIN.
Yours sincerely, Dr Jonathan Wallace Leader of the Liberal Democrat Opposition on Gateshead Council
Jonathan Wallace is calling on Gateshead residents to vote Remain in the Referendum on Thursday.
Residents of Gateshead are being urged to vote
Remain in the Referendum on Thursday 23rd June by local Liberal Democrats.
Dr Jonathan Wallace, Leader of the Opposition on
Gateshead Council, said, “60% of our trade is with the EU, the world’s biggest
market. 3 million jobs rely on that trade. Quitting will be a self-inflicted
wound that will risk our economy.
“The recovery from the crisis under Labour in 2008-9
is still weak but the sacrifices we have had to make to restore the economy
could be nothing compared to the impact of leaving the EU.
“Thousands of local residents work in firms such as Nissan
in Sunderland or Komatsu, in Birtley, or in the supply chain businesses. These
businesses prosper because they can export easily to Europe. Leaving the EU
will mean barriers to trade will be raised. That will risk jobs of Gateshead
residents.
“So far no one from the Brexit side has been able to
outline a realistic vision for Britain outside the EU. The vast majority of economic
experts believe quitting would be bad for Britain. Most of the biggest
employers believe it will be bad for Britain. And I believe it will be bad for
Britain and communities here in Gateshead.
“Being in Europe means we can export our goods free
of tariffs. Pollution takes no notice of international boundaries. That’s why
the EU has had such an important role to play in cutting pollution.
“Working with our European partners, British police
forces have been able to track down and have criminals returned to the UK under
the European Arrest Warrant to face justice.
“Britain is better off in Europe. Leaving brings a
huge number of risks. I’m not voting to gamble with our future. I’m voting to
Remain and I’m urging residents of Gateshead to do the same.”
Liberal Democrat Leader of the Opposition in
Gateshead, Cllr Jonathan Wallace, has described the Labour Council Cabinet’s
decision to reject the proposed devolution package to the North East as
“utterly mad.”
The Cabinet met today, 22nd March,
for less than half an hour to discuss the package that had been negotiated by
the 7 council leaders in the region with the government.
Despite months of negotiation by Gateshead
Council Leader Mick Henry, his own Deputy, Martin Gannon, moved that the plans
be rejected as he opposed the creation of elected mayors.
Speaking after the Cabinet meeting, Cllr Wallace
said, “This decision is completely the wrong one. We have on offer from the
government control over skills training, economic development, transport and
planning. There is even the possibility of taking on some health powers.
“This has all been sacrificed by those in the
Labour party who view elected mayors as a threat to their own establishment and
control of the region. Labour have now put party interests before the people’s
interests.
“Labour have not even put Gateshead into the
Slow Lane. Instead they have put us in the No Lane – no extra powers, no extra
investment, no hope.
“There were many smug grins on the faces of
Labour cabinet members this morning after the meeting. But smug grins won’t
held fill the skills gap, develop the economy or sort out our transport. Labour
have set back Gateshead and the North East. It is difficult to see how the
region can recover from this wholly unnecessary, Labour-inflicted wound.”
Liberal Democrats in Northumberland and Tyne and Wear are putting forward a candidate for the Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner who will campaign for the post to be axed and the savings ploughed back into putting police on the beat.
Dr Jonathan Wallace is Leader of the Opposition on Gateshead Council and has almost 30 years of experience in local government in the North East. He was born in Bensham, grew up in Lobley Hill, and was elected at the age of 23 to Gateshead Council in 1986 for Whickham South and Sunniside ward where he has been re-elected 8 times since.
Whilst Jonathan has extensive experience of local government, he does not come from a typical political background. 7 years ago he gave up paid employment to live the “good life” with his partner David in Sunniside, growing his own food and keeping bees, poultry and goats. His broadcasts about self-sufficiency on his YouTube channel have had over 4 million viewings. Jonathan graduated from Newcastle University in 1988 where he studied history, and was awarded a research doctorate in 1995.
“It is a great privilege to have been chosen by fellow Liberal Democrats,” said Jonathan, who is also Leader of the Opposition on Gateshead Council.
“My three priorities are to ensure front line policing is protected, bureaucracy is kept to a minimum through scrapping the post of police and crime commissioner, and seeking to reduce the increase in crime experienced under the current incumbent.
“Liberal Democrats want a more democratic system to ensure all communities in the area of the police force are taken into account when policing plans are drawn up, without the unnecessary overheads of the commissioner and her office.
“I am determined to challenge the Labour establishment in the North East. They have complacently controlled the region for decades without the North East seeing any significant gains. After years of crime falling locally, the incumbent Labour PCC has presided over an increase in crime rates and has been involved in controversy over the departure of the chief constable and her decision to axe funding for Victim Support in favour of funding an alternative organisation of which she is a director. I want to prioritise community policing principles which have taken a back seat under the current Labour PCC.”
Liberal Democrats in Gateshead are to press the
Council to back a cut in the number of councillors in the borough. The party is
also calling for the local election cycle to be changed to save money and make
the council more efficient.
There are currently 66 councillors in
Gateshead, with three representing each of the 22 wards. One councillor is
elected each year to serve for four years. Every fourth year there are no local
elections.
Low Fell Councillor and Deputy Leader of the
Opposition in Gateshead, Ron Beadle, said, “Gateshead Council has 2000 fewer
people working for it since 2010. As an authority, it does far less than it
used to.
“The total of 66 councillors can no longer be
justified. Liberal Democrats are therefore pressing for each ward to have two
rather than three councillors.
“The cost of each set of local elections is
around £200,000. Annual elections by thirds don’t make sense when most councils
in Britain hold their electoral contests only once every four years when all
councillors are up for election.
“The functions of Gateshead Council have been
reduced in recent years. The number of politicians needs to be reduced as well
to reflect this.
“The savings from reduced councillor numbers
and by switching from annual elections will save over £1 million over 4 years.
This is money that can be spent on local services, rather than local
councillors.”
Liberal Democrat Councillors will be moving a
motion at the meeting of Gateshead Council on Thursday 4th February
calling on the Chief Executive to investigate how the council can be reduced in
size and elections switched to a four year cycle.
The government’s Right to Buy scheme could see homelessness return to
the levels of the 1980s Liberal Democrat peer Baroness Olly Grender warned
yesterday (Monday).
Former Director of Communications for Shelter, Baroness Olly Grender
asked a question in the House of Lords to challenge the government over its
abandonment of the homelessness strategy.
Liberal Democrats oppose the Housing and Planning Bill which threatens
to end social housing in Britain as we know it. With 1.6 million people
nationwide on housing waiting lists and homelessness steadily increasing year,
on year, the government should start to tackle the housing shortage and stick
to the plans to build 300,000 homes a year.
Baroness Olly Grender said, “Social housing with no legal guarantee
of replacement can be anything other than abandonment of the homelessness
strategy altogether and a return to the 1980s when kids out of care and troops
returning home were left with no option but sleeping rough?”
Leader of the Liberal Democrats Tim Farron said, “Today’s Housing Bill
threatens to end social housing in Britain as we know it.
“Selling off homes and
pushing people out of the communities they have grown up in is tantamount to
social cleansing, ripping the hearts from communities where people have
lived and belonged to for many years.”
Lib Dem Councillor Peter Maughan said, "In Gateshead we already have far more demand for social housing than we have available homes. The government's plans will make a bad situation worse.
"Ministers should focus instead on building affordable homes on brownfield sites. Unfortunately, on Gateshead Council, we have a Labour party that are putting their effort into building executive homes on the greenbelt, not supplying affordable homes for Gateshead residents."
Gateshead Council have decided to increase the charge for the green bin
garden waste collection service from £20 to £25 next year - with more
increases planned. Even at £25 per year however the Council is subsidising
the service, which was first introduced in 2006 as a free service.
Low Fell Councillor Ron Beadle has asked the Council to reconsider the decision not to
continue garden waste collection in November, and to make faster
progress on providing alternative ways for people to recycle their
garden waste.
Ron said, “Services should improve when the cost of
the service is going up.”
Council officials have said that the staff who
collect the green bins are currently re-allocated to winter duties (e.g.
preparing gritters) in November but that they will look at this issue
again.
Gateshead Council have now received permission from the Government to sell Marley Hill School. As a result, the site has been put on the market and it is expected to be sold for housing.
Bids, along with outline proposals for the site, have to be received by the Council by early December. The school has been closed for 4 years with local primary age children now going mainly to Clover Hill and Washingwell Schools.
Cllr John McClurey, whose sons Kevin and Stuart, went to Marley Hill School, said, “The collapse in pupil numbers meant it was not possible to keep the school open.
“Since the school closed, we have pressed the Council to sort out the future of the site. We were concerned that the building was becoming derelict and an eyesore. But the law required permission from the Government before the sale could go ahead and that was only forthcoming recently.
“Our hope is that any developer will retain the original school building, built in the 1890s, and convert it to housing. Sadly, though the Council will look on this favourably, they have not made it a condition, despite our requests.
“We are expecting any bid to include new homes on the playing field. We have asked officers to look into access to the site. There are concerns at the speed of vehicles entering Marley Hill, despite there being a 30mph limit. We would like developers taking on the site to make changes to the road layout outside the school to improve safety.”
Pictured above: Cllr John McClurey outside Marley Hill School
Liberal Democrat Councillors in Sunniside, Gateshead - John McClurey, Jonathan Wallace and Marilynn Ord - have raised concerns about the state of the embankment at the bottom of Metal Bank which carries one of the main roads between Sunniside and Whickham
They brought highway engineers to look at the road surface which is starting to subside. “The road is on a steep embankment and we are concerned that it is starting to give way,” said Jonathan.
“Engineers have now carried out an initial investigation of the road and embankment. They tell us that there are a number of possible causes. Under the embankment is a large culvert, there are old mine workings in the area, there are sewers under the road and animals burrowing into the bankside.
“The engineers will carry out further investigations to identify the cause but they say there is no immediate risk to the safety of road users.
"However, in recent weeks, the fractures in the road surface have got bigger, the curbstones are now out of alignment and the fence is sagging. We are worried that a landslip could could close what is a very busy road and cause traffic to be congested on other already busy roads in Sunniside and Whickham."
Pictured above: Cllr Jonathan Wallace on the embankment where the road is beginning to give way between Whickham and Sunniside.
Northumbria Police force faces a £57 million
loss over the next four years as part of potential Conservative cuts to police
budgets as part of Wednesday's Autumn Statement.
These cuts are likely to hit Neighbourhood Policing
teams hardest and put 211 PCSOs at risk across the force area.
The Liberal Democrats are clear that Neighbourhood
Policing teams are vital to community safety and cohesion and are campaigning
against the looming cuts.
Speaking ahead of the
Comprehensive Spending Review, Lord Paddick – the Liberal Democrats Home
Affairs lead in the Lords and former Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant
Commissioner said:
“Neighbourhood policing has been a great success in
providing reassurance to communities.
"By building trust and confidence between the
police and the people they serve, neighbourhood policing teams are the front
line in preventing radicalisation and trusted routes through which community
intelligence can be passed, information on issues from drug dealing to
terrorism.
“The government must ensure police forces are given
the resources they need to maintain this vital part of policing.
Lib Dem leader of the
Opposition on Gateshead Council Cllr Jonathan Wallace added:
“I know how hard our local
policemen and women work to keep us all safe, day in and day out. It is
shocking to see that the Conservative Government are failing to do right by
them. I am calling on the Government to rethink these damaging cuts
and back our bobbies to protect frontline neighbourhood teams in the Northumbria
force area.”
Puppy farming needs to become a thing of the past, a leading Liberal
Democrat and animal welfare campaigner has claimed.
Gateshead Councillor Peter Maughan, who is also chairman of Newcastle
and North Northumberland RSPCA, made the call following a challenge by Lib Dem
peer Kate Parminter in the House of Lords to the government to end puppy
farming. Lady Parminter made the call on Monday 9th November.
“In Gateshead there are two registered puppy farms,” said Peter.
“Overall the system of licensing is weak and fails to give adequate welfare
protection to dogs used to breed the puppies or to puppies themselves.
“My own preference is to see an end to puppy farms but if they are to
continue, they need much tougher control and regulation. We have to put an end
to squalid, unhealthy and often cruel circumstances in which puppies are
farmed. We need to ban the sale of puppies below the age of 8 weeks.
“If farms are not registered and conforming to higher welfare standards,
they should be closed down. People who buy puppies from them do not know how
well their dog has been treated and do not have consumer protection.
“There is more protection in buying a fridge from an electrical store
than a puppy from an unregistered puppy farm.
“I urge all those wanting to buy a puppy to go to a reputable breeder
rather than a puppy farm where dogs are treated as puppy producing machines.”
Whickham hosted the largest of Gateshead's Remembrance Day parades yesterday which saw over 40 wreaths laid by organisations and individuals at the war memorial on Front Street.
You can see a full set of photos of the day in the above album.
The proposed Investigatory Powers Bill will put law abiding citizen's personal data at risk - while the seriously bad guys will simply use servers that are based overseas. It seems that Ministers need to find out more about how internet services work before they try to legislate about them.
Low Fell Lib Dem Councillor Frank Hindle, a former Head of Computing at Northumbria University, has pointed out that the proposed requirement for Internet Providers to keep people's browsing history for a year is a threat to the privacy of ordinary people.
"Our browsing habits say a lot about us. Whether it is looking up information about places before going away on holiday, or researching our own or our relatives’ illnesses, or simply the absence of any browsing when our homes are empty and unguarded, a perfectly innocent web browsing history will reveal things that we are entitled to keep private. Whatever safeguards the law might have (and at the moment they are inadequate) about how government agencies could use this data, the recent problems at TalkTalk demonstrate the risk that criminals will hack into and steal this data, and be able to use it to target their activities, or simply sell or publish it.
"But for any serious - or even semi-serious - criminal such as a terrorist, child pornographer, or drug trafficker it isn't hard to set up encrypted systems using a server or servers located outside of the UK that will let them do all the browsing they want out of reach of this proposed law. Expecting the internet service provider of someone doing this to be able to provide a meaningful browsing history is impossible.
"Similarly, the proposals don't make sense when it comes to services such as WhatsApp and iMessenger - internet companies are expected to be able to decrypt any messages, even though the companies have no way of knowing the key that is needed to do the decryption.
"Many of the proposals seem technologically illiterate and their absurdity is summed up by a quote by a researcher at University of Kent in New Scientist 'I don’t know what the legal position is on a government requiring a company to do something that is logically impossible.'"
Despite
having to find £22 million of cuts to services this year, Labour in Gateshead
have poured £45,000 into a plush revamp of the offices for the Labour Leader of
the Council and the all-Labour Cabinet.
And
Liberal Democrats, who discovered the spending following a Freedom of
Information request, are demanding to know why Labour have put their own
comfort ahead of vital services to residents.
The total
amount spent by the Labour Council on office improvements for the Labour
leader, cabinet and Labour group secretary is £45,264.89.
“I think
this is a staggering waste of money at a time of severe cutbacks to services on
which many people in Gateshead rely,” said Cllr Jonathan Wallace, Leader of the
Opposition in Gateshead.
“Labour
have clearly demonstrated where their priorities lie. Their own leadership now has
a comfortable office paid for by taxpayers from where they can decide how to
slash services to pay for their own plush comfort.
“At a
time when cuts have to be made to balance the books, Liberal Democrat
Councillors in Gateshead are committed to helping identify, wherever possible,
ways of finding savings without harming front line services.”
The same
Freedom of Information request also revealed that the Council plans to spend
nothing on the Opposition Office which has not been redecorated since 1986 when
the Civic Centre was built.
“Cash is
in short supply,” said Jonathan. “There are more important things on which to
spend than an office revamp. So I’m happy that the wallpaper and furniture
(other than one seat) in the Opposition Office hasn’t changed in 29 years!”
Another garden show taking place recently was the New Sands Allotments' in Swalwell. The show was held in the Sun Inn and funds raised went to the Swalwell Community Group.
Whickham in Bloom's Flower Show was held in September. Well done to everyone who helped organise the event in St Mary's Church Hall and congratulations to everyone who won prizes.
Northumbrian Water are carrying out renovation work on the Victorian Pipebridge over the Derwent River in Swalwell, which still carries 25 million litres of water a day. Cllr Jonathan Wallace was given access to the bridge recently to film and photograph it.
Work is on-going to replace some of the pipe supports and brackets and some reinforcement work is taking place before the painting of the bridge is carried out.
The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and Big Lottery Fund have awarded just under £1 million (£922,900) to local community group Friends of Chase Park (FoCP) and Gateshead Council on plans that will see them work together on the restoration and improvement of Whickham’s historic Chase Park.
This is fantastic news for the group which was established by Cllr. Peter Craig in 2009 and has worked tirelessly towards this objective since then. The award will mean that residents will be able enjoy many more facilities. The existing toddler play area will be improved, tennis courts resurfaced and teenage play and skateboard areas built.
Plans over a three year period also include a restoration project for the windmill, entrance gates, paths and ornamental gardens, installation of an outdoor gym and trim trail, development of community garden and orchard and installation of new street furniture, signs and interpretations/artworks of heritage points of interest.
A Lottery award of £66,000 was made in Spring 2014 so that the Friends of Chase Park, working with Gateshead Council, could work up the bid from the HLF. A master plan for the park was drawn up in consultation with local award-winning landscape architects Southern Green.
Chair of Friends of Chase Park, Alan Scott said: “We are absolutely delighted to have been awarded this HLF and Big Lottery Fund grant and look forward to working with Gateshead Council and Southern Green to see the plans for the renaissance of our beloved Chase Park come to fruition.
“Returning the park to its former glory will be something the whole community can be proud of for many years to come.
“So many people have worked hard to get us where we are today and I give huge thanks to everyone involved for the effort and contributions made. Who would have dreamed we would be in this position as we set out on our journey all those years ago.”
Cllr. Peter Craig, Founder of the Friends group said “I would like to thank everyone who has made this possible, with a special thank you to the individuals who have stuck with this.
“It has taken us 6 years to reach this point and we are delighted that our bid has been successful, so that a rejuvenated Chase Park can continue to play an important part at the heart of our community.”
Pictured above: the historic windmill in Chase Park, Whickham, which will undergo restoration.
In 2012, Liberal Democrats in the Coalition Government ensured local councils took control of public health from the NHS - and had a budget to go with the new powers.
They argued that councils are far better placed to address public health issues than the centralised, top down targets created by the previous Labour government.
After 2012, when the powers and the budgets were handed over, the only complaints came from Labour who attacked the Lib Dems for “not spending enough” on public health.
Sadly for Labour - and the residents of Gateshead - Labour’s agenda of all talk and no action has now put at risk £1 million of Gateshead’s public health money.
The Coalition Government gave Gateshead £12 million in 2014-15 for public health. The money can be spent only on public health. Labour inaction on the health issues facing Gateshead meant £1 million was left unspent.
And with the Conservatives now in government without the restraining hand of the Lib Dems to guide them along a liberal direction, George Osborne is planning a raid on unspent public health cash. And that could mean Gateshead handing back £1 million to the Treasury.
“Our area has significant public health issues such as alcohol and drug abuse, obesity and tobacco related diseases,” said Cllr Jonathan Wallace, Leader of the Opposition on Gateshead Council. “I find it quite shocking that Labour cried foul when the money was awarded to Gateshead. I find it even more shocking that, having claimed they had insufficient money, they then left £1 million unspent which we may now have to return to the Government.”
The Post
Office have been modernising branches throughout the country and they are now
planning to do the same with the branch in Sunniside.
There will
be improvements to the service point and longer opening hours. However, the
branch will no longer provide on-demand travel insurance or take payment by
cheque. Most other services will remain unchanged.
Residents
are being consulted on their views about the proposed changes. You can give
feedback online at www.postofficeviews.co.uk.
Click on the link about making comments on specific branch changes and then
enter the unique code for the Sunniside branch 35732999.
The closing
date for feedback is quite soon – 9th September.
