tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82088522024-03-29T03:29:45.381+00:00Maureen Rigg's BlogJottings from Maureen Rigg, a retired Liberal Democrat Councillor for Eaglescliffe Ward on Stockton Borough Council, now spending much more time on genealogy and gardening than politics.Maureen Rigghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09668706709158698743noreply@blogger.comBlogger966125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8208852.post-8119686254978304732014-07-29T22:41:00.001+01:002014-07-29T22:41:40.545+01:00Gaza, a reflectionLike many people in the UK and elsewhere I've read in newspapers and on line, watched on TV and listened to the radio reports as the latest battles between Israel and the Palestinians trapped in Gaza have unfolded. I've not said very much, mainly because words fail me in the face of so much inhumanity and suffering. I'm not a great poet or artist, able to articulate the emotions that Maureen Rigghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09668706709158698743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8208852.post-2067321983137501872014-07-26T16:53:00.000+01:002014-07-26T16:53:01.806+01:00What I might have saidLast Wednesday I missed the meeting of Stockton Borough Council. This is not something I do frequently or lightly but because I'd been laid low by a bug of some sort Wednesday was one of those occasions. The agenda consisted of approving the decisions made by Cabinet the week before (officially known as recommendations but the inbuilt majority of the Labour/IBIS coalition means Maureen Rigghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09668706709158698743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8208852.post-37453889303014151832014-07-17T23:37:00.000+01:002014-07-17T23:37:04.107+01:00Proud to be a Liberal DemocratThis week's announcement that Liberal Democrat members of the Coalition government are going to be pressing the Conservatives to agree to changes in the Spare Room subsidy (Bedroom Tax) is very welcome. It's been a long time coming - last Autumn our federal conference agreed a motion which then became party policy to do just that. Many of us in the front line of local politics knew itMaureen Rigghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09668706709158698743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8208852.post-37107542556862642942014-05-29T09:45:00.003+01:002014-05-29T09:45:24.417+01:00Preston ParkIn yesterday morning's rain the ward councillors for Eaglescliffe were shown round the site of the skate park being built. Since the original plans were developed some modifications have been needed owing to the fact that a sewer which runs under the park had been positioned wrongly on the map. This seems to be a common feature of maps in Eaglescliffe!
As it's never a good idea to Maureen Rigghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09668706709158698743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8208852.post-23398996885049758042014-04-30T23:07:00.001+01:002014-04-30T23:07:51.224+01:00Greed or Stupidity?Tonight's meeting of Stockton Council produced some of the least credible arguments ever heard in that council chamber. One of the agenda items was on the subject of members' allowances. Over recent years the council has had to reduce its expenditure significantly and that has led to redundancies and cuts in services. In 2011 the Liberal Democrat group suggested that the specialMaureen Rigghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09668706709158698743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8208852.post-55718772962974201972014-02-24T21:22:00.001+00:002014-02-24T21:22:35.675+00:00Decision time in StocktonWednesday this week sees two Stockton Council meetings which will make decisions that have a real impact on residents of the borough.
On Wednesday afternoon the Planning Committee meet, in public, in the Jim Cooke Conference room, reached through Stockton Library. The agenda is a full one, with two lots of housing at Ingleby Barwick, a car park at Billingham and an update report on the 5 Maureen Rigghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09668706709158698743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8208852.post-38957220883812369612013-12-07T23:10:00.001+00:002013-12-07T23:10:13.276+00:00Cosmopolitan Stockton
In celebration of Small Business Saturday and keeping my
shopping relatively local I decided to buy only what I could get in Stockton town centre this
afternoon. I knew that I could get good
quality meat for tomorrow’s dinner and decent potatoes to supplement the greens
and carrots from the allotment. What I
didn’t know was whether I could get the other things I wanted.
For most of Maureen Rigghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09668706709158698743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8208852.post-24838541534215066862013-09-30T22:55:00.000+01:002013-09-30T22:55:17.275+01:00Local DemocracyThis afternoon I was at Municipal Buildings in Stockton to support Save Stockton South as they handed in their petition to the council. This umbrella organisation of pressure groups has worked very hard over the last couple of months to get more than 2000 signatures on a petition calling on Stockton council to review its planning decisions, following some of the most inconsistent and Maureen Rigghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09668706709158698743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8208852.post-17300956257807725902013-07-19T22:18:00.002+01:002013-07-19T22:18:18.066+01:00Yarm Parking ProposalsThis morning I sent in my objection to the Yarm Pay & Display proposals from Stockton Council, concentrating on the impact on Eaglescliffe. I leave the consideration of the impact on Yarm to those who represent that ward.
My objection is given below:
I wish to register my
objection to the scheme proposed for Yarm High Street on the following
grounds:
The research done prior to Maureen Rigghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09668706709158698743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8208852.post-32038705148895155482013-06-19T19:29:00.003+01:002013-06-19T19:29:41.570+01:00Skate park updateThis morning ward councillors and Stockton Council officers met on site in Preston Park to look at the development of the skate facility. Although the initial drawings show the whole site being more or less filled it's more likely that only about two thirds of the available land will be taken up with the jumps etc. The rest will be available for some landscaping and for what I've Maureen Rigghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09668706709158698743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8208852.post-26982559230140286422013-05-22T09:48:00.001+01:002013-05-22T09:48:35.877+01:00A week in the life of a councillor - a very personal view
It’s been brought to my attention that another councillor is
castigating me for not attending meetings earlier this week, saying that he’s
sure people expect their councillors to attend meetings. All I can say is that meetings are only
valuable if we learn something or contribute something to them.
As a council group leader I attend a lot of briefing
sessions with senior officers and Maureen Rigghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09668706709158698743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8208852.post-33464393720794819372013-05-17T23:00:00.000+01:002013-05-17T23:00:08.600+01:00Egglescliffe Library
Last night’s meeting of Stockton Council's cabinet approved the cuts in Library
services that we’ve been expecting. For
the next 12 months or so Egglescliffe will be guaranteed at least 17 hours a
week of opening. That’s a reduction of
50% on our present opening hours, but at least there’s still a library. It’s a sign of changing times that many
people prefer to read from Maureen Rigghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09668706709158698743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8208852.post-29505939666610974562013-05-15T22:58:00.000+01:002013-05-15T22:58:17.138+01:00Area Transport StrategyTwice a year a group meets with the rather grand title of Western Area Transport Strategy Steering Group. It's made up of representatives from Preston, Eaglescliffe, Yarm, Kirklevington, Long Newton and surrounding areas - elected ward councillors, parish councillors, police and residents' groups. At the first meetings some years ago the participants were asked to set some priorities Maureen Rigghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09668706709158698743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8208852.post-75539461514899861312013-04-16T10:03:00.002+01:002013-04-16T10:03:59.739+01:00Margaret Thatcher - a personal view
It has taken me some time to write anything about the life
or death of Mrs Thatcher since her death was announced last week. Unlike many who have spoken loudly in praise
or condemnation I lived through her premiership. I saw at first hand the changes that took
place and I wept at some of them.
I cringed on the day she first entered 10 Downing St as its rightful occupier
when she Maureen Rigghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09668706709158698743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8208852.post-1897213964133816062013-04-10T22:09:00.001+01:002013-04-10T22:10:12.106+01:00Wheeled sports at Preston ParkThe first consultation with probable users of the proposed skate park was today. For the first time this month the weather was spring like, which was just as well considering the amount of kit set up outside and the number of people of all ages watching the demonstrations. Lots of young people tried out the jumps themselves, at times perhaps surprising themselves at what they could Maureen Rigghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09668706709158698743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8208852.post-77545469201300879542013-03-29T17:22:00.003+00:002013-03-29T17:22:19.199+00:00The Shape of Schools to comeYesterday I was one of a group of councillors taken on a tour of the new North Shore Academy. The school holds a particular interest for me, not just as the first completely newly built secondary school in the borough for a number of years, but also because one of the schools which closed to form the new academy was the one at which my husband had been among the first to gain his school Maureen Rigghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09668706709158698743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8208852.post-27564335580159585662013-03-12T09:26:00.001+00:002013-03-12T09:26:35.970+00:00National Apprenticeship Week
More
than 2600 people were on an apprenticeship last year in Stockton-on-Tees
thanks to the Liberal Democrats in government. That is a huge increase of 111% compared to
the last year of Labour’s government.
These
figures are a big boost for apprenticeships and young people in our borough
which comes as National Apprenticeship Week is underway, aiming to raise
awareness and celebrate the Maureen Rigghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09668706709158698743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8208852.post-24072733417536272052013-03-09T21:58:00.002+00:002013-03-09T21:58:43.580+00:00Fairtrade Fortnight -busiest yet in StocktonThe last fortnight has seen more events and activity on the Fairtrade front than ever before in Stockton. It wasn't all organised by the Fairtrade Borough Partnership but we were involved in many of the events.
Of course the planning started before Christmas and it's been great this year to have support from sections of Stockton Council which previously haven't been involved. We've had a Maureen Rigghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09668706709158698743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8208852.post-16410519841180330532013-02-05T23:22:00.000+00:002013-02-05T23:22:06.310+00:00Ingleby Barwick Free schoolStockton Council's planning committee today had the unenviable task of determining the planning application for the Free school for Ingleby Barwick. It's a very strange process, completely contradicting the principles of the Localism Act.
Local people want more school places in Ingleby Barwick - fact. Many councillors across a range of parties agree with them. Ingleby started Maureen Rigghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09668706709158698743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8208852.post-69935405020755747802013-02-02T21:51:00.001+00:002013-02-02T21:51:21.738+00:00Investing in TobaccoOn Wednesday 23rd January Cllr Julia Cherrett proposed a Lib Dem motion calling for the Council to encourage the trustees of the Teesside Pension Fund to look at their investments in tobacco companies. This is the fund which carries the pension investment of thousands of public sector workers and councillors - generally not big investments for each individual but a significant sum in total.Maureen Rigghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09668706709158698743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8208852.post-45729123403209168182013-01-21T23:00:00.001+00:002013-01-21T23:00:26.899+00:00Teesside Air Show to restart?A group of enthusiasts is trying to resurrect the air show which used to delight thousands of visitors when I first lived in Eaglescliffe, and annoy those who didn't enjoy it. The noise of low-flying aircraft, the train being full of people heading to the airport rather than to Darlington or Middlesbrough (yes, the train did stop at the airport several times a day!), the cars parked on the Maureen Rigghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09668706709158698743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8208852.post-24802982177035433612013-01-15T23:13:00.000+00:002013-01-15T23:13:41.660+00:00There are more sensible ways to spend an afternoon than travelling around in the weather we've had today. We haven't had anything like as bad as some parts of the country, even locally, but it's been tricky enough at times.
This afternoon we had a briefing for members of planning committee along with Ingleby Barwick, Thornaby, Eaglescliffe and Yarm councillors and planning officers on the Maureen Rigghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09668706709158698743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8208852.post-84408879924670160582013-01-11T22:16:00.002+00:002013-01-11T22:16:59.440+00:00Budget Highs and LowsThe time is approaching when Stockton council, along with every other council in the country, has to set its budget for the next 12 months. The story being told by the officers who are expert on such calculations is that the budget gap is going to get wider each year for the next few years and that it's going to be increasingly difficult to find ways to cut costs. More services will Maureen Rigghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09668706709158698743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8208852.post-83077678020897595022013-01-08T23:12:00.000+00:002013-01-08T23:12:02.734+00:00Good news - bad news
Despite all the wet weather over the last few months the play equipment at Kingsmead has been successfully installed and the grass is managing to grow back. There are some horribly squelchy patches but nothing that a few days of wind and sun won't solve. The equipment is obviously very attractive because despite the safety fencing being erected round some of it still to let the Maureen Rigghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09668706709158698743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8208852.post-24464142488311455112013-01-06T21:39:00.001+00:002013-01-06T21:39:58.684+00:00This coming week sees a number of interesting meetings on the timetable. Tomorrow Alan and I concentrate on being Parish Councillors looking at the positioning of traditional toddler swings on St Margaret's Play Area as well as looking at the issues around flooding on that ground. The excessively wet weather last year has exacerbated problems all over the ward, but we are thankful Maureen Rigghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09668706709158698743noreply@blogger.com0