Area Commmittee South East

Area Commmittee South East

NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY COUNCIL

AREA COMMMITTEE – SOUTH EAST

At a meeting of the Area Committee – South East held at Newbiggin Sports and Community Centre, Woodhorn Road, Newbiggin by the Sea on Wednesday, 11 November 2015 at 6.00 pm.

PRESENT

Councillor D Campbell

(in the Chair)

MEMBERS

G R Arckless
J G Davey
S Davey
M I Douglas
B M Flux
J J Gobin
L Grimshaw
A Hepple
T Johnstone / J A Lang
K Nisbet
B Pidcock
J Reid
E Simpson
I C F Swithenbank
V Tyler
A Wallace

OFFICERS

M Carle
H Clear-Hill
A Cryer
G Davies
T Garnick
I Hedley
P Jones
K Norris
G Paul / Area Highways Manager South East
Sustainability Programme Manager
Neighbourhood Services Area Manager
Engagement Manager
Neighbourhood Services Area Manager
Locality Development Officer
Head of Neighbourhood Services
Democratic Services Officer
Director of Planning and Economy

ALSO PRESENT:

15 members of the public

24.APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Cartie, Daley, Dickinson, Dungworth, Foster, Gallacher, Graham, Ledger, Parry, L Pidcock, Purvis, Richards, Rickerby, Webb, Wilson.

25.MINUTES

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the meeting of Area Committee – South East held on Wednesday, 16 September 2015, as circulated, be confirmed as a true record and signed by the Chair.

26.PUBLIC QUESTION TIME

Mark Swinburn, Cramlington

Mr Swinburn raised concerns about the safety of residents in Cramlington due to the volume of traffic accessing retail areas and primary junctions. He had specific concerns about the junction behind McDonalds on Westmoreland Way/Forum Way and access to one of the residential areas. He asked for the Council to pay some urgent attention to the situation which was becoming a major safety hazard due to increased retail traffic, the time of year and on-going residential development. He queried the traffic management plans and asked if temporary measures could be put in place until a permanent solution was found. In response the Cabinet Member for Local Services said he would ask officers to look into the situation. The Head of Neighbourhood Services agreed to follow this up.

Tom Roll, Newbiggin by the Sea

Mr Roll queried what had happened to memorabilia belonging to the former district Councils. He referred to gifts received from Schalkesmuhle and Remscheid to the former Wansbeck District Council and an autograph book containing autographs of the royal family. Mr Roll asked if it would be possible to have some of these displayed in the new Ashington Leisure Centre. In response the Director of Planning and Economy said it was his understanding that, upon re-organisation, all such items had been recorded and stored or displayed. However, he would follow this up and arrange for a response to be forwarded to Mr Roll.

Keith Dalton, Bedlington

Mr Dalton asked if the committee was aware that the war memorial at the Colliery end of Newbiggin, built by miners in memory of those who lost their lives in the First World War, was in a state of disrepair and in need of restoration. He added that in previous years the Remembrance Day Parade had marched past there, but had not done so on Sunday. In response the Business Chair stated it was the British Legion’s decision not to take that route on Sunday and the upkeep of the memorial was the responsibility of the Town Council.

27.PETITIONS

a) To receive any new petitions:

(i) Request for resident parking solution and 20 mph speed reduction to Whitelea Glade and Whitelea Grange

The Chair reported that a petition had been received that night from Mr Swinburn of Cramlington on behalf of residents of Whitelea Glade and Whitelea Grange. The petition called for the Council to consult with residents and introduce a suitable resident parking solution and 20 mph speed reduction to the estates which provided access to the Hareside Primary School. The petition contained 99 signatures.

RESOLVED – that the petition be received and a report be requested for the next meeting of the committee in January.

Two further petitions had been handed into Democratic Services by Councillor M Douglas who briefly spoke on each stating that the lead petitioners could not be in attendance but were looking forward to receiving reports in January:-

(ii) Request for the speed limit to be reduced on the C121 Road, Linton

The petition contained 113 signatures and urged the Council to reduce the speed limit from 60 mph to 30 mph on the C121 Road at Linton.

RESOLVED – that the petition be received and a report be requested for the next meeting of the committee in January.

(iii) Request for a public footpath to be laid between East Moor Farm and Ellington Village via the old A1068 road

The petition contained 56 signatures and stated that the road was now overgrown with vegetation making it impossible to walk the short distance that linked residents to facilities, public transport, footpaths etc of the local community.

RESOLVED – that the petition be received and a report be requested for the next meeting of the committee in January.

b) To consider reports on petitions previously received: none to discuss at the meeting.

c) To consider updates on petitions previously considered: There were no updates reported at the meeting but the Chair queried the outcome of a petition regarding CCTV at Benridge Park in Blyth which had been discussed at March’s meeting. She requested that a follow up be provided.

RESOLVED – that details of the current situation be requested from the Head of Public Protection.

28.LOCAL SERVICES ISSUES

The agenda item enabled members to raise Local Services issues within the geographic boundaries of the area committee. No issues were raised but Councillor Tyler praised the staff who had worked to such a high standard in Bedlington on Sunday for the Remembrance Day Parade and asked that her appreciation and thanks to them be placed on record. The Chair and members added their thanks to all staff who had been working that day throughout Northumberland.

DISCUSSION ITEMS – CORPORATE

29.BUDGET 2015/16-2016/17 AND STATE OF THE AREA DEBATE

Geoff Paul, Director of Planning and Economy introduced the item and submitted apologies for Alison Elsdon, Director of Corporate Resources, who could not be in attendance. As required by the Council's constitution, a 'State of the Area Debate' would take place in February 2016 at County Council. All of the Area Committees in November were invited to feed their own thoughts into the February meeting. Mr Paul gave a Power-point presentation. The presentation covered the context of the budget, capital and revenue spending, why there was a gap and the extent of the gap, details about balancing the budget, savings proposals, Council Tax, the impact of the savings and the impact of the Chancellor’s budget. Information was also provided about the state of Northumberland, including details of the County’s population, economic growth, places and environment, stronger communities and families, health and well-being and the Corporate Plan. (A copy of the presentation is attached to the signed minutes of the meeting.)

Discussion ensued which included the following:

  • Thanks were given to Mr Paul for a very concise and easy to understand presentation.
  • The Government had made the cuts so the Government was therefore responsible for redundancies. It was queried if the number of redundancies was comparable with those made due to closure of the coal mines.
  • Social housing would be taken away - the situation was very complicated and scandalous.
  • It was thought the Government had not expected to win the election by majority and had made some statements in their pre-election campaign that would not actually be carried through.
  • In comparison to the South of the Country, the North East would not benefit from the Business Rates Initiative. It was stated that officers were currently looking into how Northumberland would be affected.
  • Did agile working include the disabled? Confirmation was given that it did. A lot of work was being done to determine what agile working meant to the authority and an assessment would be undertaken to ensure equality.
  • In response to a question regarding Arch, it was stated that the Council wholly owned the company so Arch would therefore spend some of the capital funding.
  • It was queried if Parish/Town Councils would feel the brunt of service cuts. In response it was stated that there was a schedule of specific reductions in cost and it was very important that the Council worked closely with Town and Parish Councils.
  • With reference to queries regarding devolution, the Leader stated he was a member of the Combined North East Authority which was currently debating devolution. With regards to the role of a mayor, there were different views in the North East to those in London with emphasis here being on bringing the powers of Government to the local area. A public consultation was underway to seek views regarding the election of a mayor.
  • It was acknowledged that the devolution agreement would mean changes in the way some strategic functions were carried out but the funding allocation of £30m would be controlled by the combined authority, not the mayor.
  • There were significant challenges to be faced in the future.

RESOLVED – that the information be noted and comments forwarded to the State of the Debate after Council in February.

DISCUSSION ITEMS – LOCAL

30.ASHINGTON, BLYTH AND TYNE LINE PROJECT - UPDATE

The agenda was re-ordered to discuss the above item next as it was being presented by Mr Paul who had also made the previous presentation. Mr Paul said he had specifically asked for the presentation to be made to the South East Area Committee because of the impact it would have on the area. He had spent the previous day in York discussing the GRIP 2 process and had left feeling encouraged that there was a real chance of the line being re-opened. A Power-point presentation was provided which covered the history of the line, details of how re-opening it would support and benefit the region, work being carried with Network Rail, the service specification, routes and locations, the current stage of the project, the key issues GRIP 2 would address, the GRIP 2 outcomes and what the next steps would be. (A copy of the presentation is attached to the signed minutes of the meeting)

It was stated that GRIP was the project management process which needed to be undertaken with Network Rail. It was acknowledged that there could be some major obstacles ahead but if all went to plan the line would be re-opened in 2019 or 2020.

The Chair and members thanked Mr Paul for his presentation. The Chair welcomed the benefits of the proposal but expressed concern that Blyth could become grid-locked because of railway crossings.

RESOLVED – that the information be noted.

DISCUSSION ITEMS CORPORATE

32.CENTRAL HEATING FUND - UPDATE

Hugh Clear-Hill, Sustainability Programme Manager, provided a verbal update on the Central Heating Fund (CHF) which was a one-off £25m fund in England focussing on central heating systems for people who did not have central heating and were at risk of fuel poverty. The Council was leading a consortium of North East Councils that had been awarded £6.5 m of funding from the CHF to deliver around 2,000 new central heating systems across the North East.

It was stated that it had been the Government’s intention for funding to have a rural focus but it was not exclusive to rural communities and could be awarded to people in all housing sectors. Details of the required criteria for eligibility were provided. It was pointed out that money could not be used to make new gas connections but, in some circumstances, there could be opportunities for it to be linked to other funding which could support that. A lot of work was being carried out and Members were asked for their help in identifying suitable, potential beneficiaries of CHF funding.

Although there was not enough money to solve all problems, it was hoped that Northumberland would receive a substantial amount of the funding. Details of the funding were currently being finalised and, once complete, would be circulated to members. Mr Clear-Hill encouraged members to contact him if they had any questions or required any further information.

Discussion followed which included the following:

  • Was there a connection with Warm Zone? In response it was stated that CHF funding was through the Warm up North Regional Energy Efficiency Partnership and was separate to Warm Zone who had access to different funding. It was understood that this funding was available to some people who had been unable to access funding from Warm Zone.
  • Once details of the funding were finalised a briefing would be issued to members and displayed on the website.
  • Further clarification was provided regarding eligibility checks.
  • CHF could support the replacement of electric storage heaters with a new central heating system in some cases.

The Chair thanked Mr Clear-Hill for his presentation.

RESOLVED that the information be noted.

33.WINTER SERVICES PREPAREDNESS AND RESILIENCE

Michael Carle, Area Highways Manager for the South East, presented the above report which provided details of the pre-season preparations ahead of the forthcoming winter services period. Information was provided on staffing and control of operations, salt management, vehicles and gritting routes, additional support, grit bins/heaps, weather monitoring, cross boundary working and severe weather procedures. (A copy of the report is attached to the signed minutes as Appendix A.)

Discussion followed which included:

  • The storage of salt and whether it lost value over a period of time. It was noted that internal storage was being explored. Although salt was never stored for a long period of time, it was tested to ensure that it had not deteriorated.
  • Salt had been imported from Spain at no additional cost and it was pointed out that it had been imported from Chile in the past.
  • In response to a request, confirmation was provided that a list of grit bins would be provided to members for their ward and each bin had been given a number.
  • In response to a member’s suggestion, the Area Manager confirmed that he would arrange for customer information leaflets on ‘Highway Services in Winter’ to be available from GP surgeries.

RESOLVED - that

(1) the information be noted.

(2) Customer services information leaflets on ‘Highways Services in Winter’ be made available from GP surgeries.

34.MEMBERS’ LOCAL IMPROVEMENT SCHEMES

The report provided the latest position on schemes during 2015-16.

A member complained about the size of the font used on the report and asked that the report author be requested to ensure it was large enough for members to read. The Chair agreed and said that would be followed up.

RESOLVED – that

(1) the information be noted.

(2) The report author be requested to ensure the size of the font used on the report was large enough for members to read.

35.FUTURE MEETINGS

The Chair stated that the next meeting would take place on Wednesday, 13 January 2016 at 6:00 pm at Lynemouth Miners Welfare.

RESOLVED that the information be noted.

CHAIR

DATE

Ch.’s Initials………

Area Committee – South East, 11 November 2015 1