Some Good News

At last a bit of good news on the planning front. I picked up my council post on Monday evening and found a letter telling me that the application for Quad biking and motor cycle sport at Riverside Lodge had been refused. It was one of those applications where the vast majority of local residents are absolutely opposed and have been complaining about the noise for the past 3 or 4 years at least, but the applicant was determined that he could do enough to get planning permission. I just wasn't sure whether he could or not, and I wasn't looking forward to it coming to planning committee with a recommendation for approval. The committee would have needed the wisdom of Solomon I think, to make the right decision. As it is, the officers have said that the traffic hazard and the noise will be unacceptable and that there's a possible impact on wildlife which hadn't been addressed. I'm sure the applicant will go to appeal but I hope now that the inspector will agree with the council and the residents.
The not good news was that my friend's relative had died on Sunday in hospital. Police are appealing for any witnesses to the accident on Durham Lane on Saturday morning to come forward. (PC Craig Portas on 01642 301552)
We're at the stage in the council year when some committees complete their work and can't start anything else till after the election, while others like planning have to keep going to the bitter end. Yesterday another of the former completed its year.
It was also our last ward surgery of the municipal year, and the last one ever for Mike. We didn't have time to get maudlin though - a resident came along in response to articles about the area to suggest some ways in which we might brighten up Eaglescliffe and make it pleasanter for people travelling along Yarm Road. They were good interesting suggestions and I've noted them for consulting on after the election.
There was just time for a little bit of canvassing before going to our group meeting - again the last one before the election. We went the length of Elmwood Road where I'd been told there was a great deal of worry about road safety, but not one person raised the issue with us on the doorsteps. We did, however, get issues raised about the park which will be followed up. Yet again we have young people congregating, making it seem intimidating for older people, leaving the debris of their illicit drinking behind, but they have nowhere to go that doesn't cause these problems. A real priority for after the election.

I finally managed to reply to all the residents who kindly completed surveys for us over recent weeks. Yet again leisure facilities, especially for young people, and recycling/green issues were prominent. I've also sent a long list of people to the Neighbourhood Watch Coordinator for him to contact with more information on joining. Somewhere for young people to hang around safely, being able to chat or kick a ball about without upsetting others, is a real priority but I just don't know where we're going to find a suitable space.

The latest editions of Focus for all the wards are now uploaded to the website and we're getting a number of enquiries via that route which shows that people are finding it a useful resource. I also succeeded in putting the Parish Council Newsletter up onto that site so that people can find it there. It was good to be able to escape the heat of the sun and do a little work indoors. Sunday was far too hot for April, though apparently not the hottest April on record.

On Saturday morning Durham Lane was closed off by the police for a time due to an accident. I'm always sorry to hear of accidents but didn't know any details until yesterday morning at church I discovered that the driver of the car involved was a relative of a friend. I pray that she pulls through.

The national news is full of the arguments surrounding the sale of two stories to the press after the release of the prisoners from Iran. I hope that the easy target of whether the defence secretary authorised it doesn't stop a proper investigation into why it was so easy for the Iranian forces to take prisoners in those circumstances. I should have expected better armed and protected personnel to be doing that job and if it turns out that we're still sending people into danger without proper training or equipment that's a much more important thing than who authorised the sale of the stories. It's bad enough that we allow 17 yr olds who are too young to vote to go into battle for us, but if they're not getting the best possible protection then heads should roll and fast.

Friday the 13th

The end of a very busy week approaches. Last weekend passed in a blur of hospital visiting, rearranging Easter Sunday activities and preparing to have our grand-daughter for her first visit without parents. She was a real hit, attending meetings with me and generally being a great distraction from the work around us. I managed to return her safely to her parents mid-week.
On Thursday I presented the report of the Children and Young People Select Committee on Bullying to the Cabinet. After almost no debate the recommendations were all agreed except one. Interestingly, it was the one which was strongly promoted by one of the Labour members of the committee. On this occasion, as on several others in this committee in the past, party politics was put aside in a genuine attempt to get the best result for the young people of the borough. The recommendation which caused the upset was one suggesting that the council doesn't buy a piece of software until the schools have all been consulted on whether they'd use it. The officers say they have no choice, the union reps said they were very dubious and the Cabinet followed the advice of the officers. It'll be interesting to see whether anything is made of the decision at Council on Wednesday.

Though I'm not normally superstitious about such things, today certainly wasn't an auspicious one! Hurrying to get some tasks done before a meeting I was first stuck in a traffic jam caused by the Gas main needing emergency work, then in one caused by a train at the station keeping the level crossing shut. Then discovered that my mother-in-law hadn't been able to go out on a planned trip because she wasn't well, then that I couldn't access the internet on the council laptop. I gave up and went out for a late meal at the local vegetarian restaurant with my husband!

Good Friday

The first day of the long Easter weekend. Yesterday was busy, trying to do all the bits that needed doing before Municipal Buildings closed for the weekend. I had a good meeting about the agenda for the Western Area Partnership meeting next month, and agreed a community engagement idea to develop with the relevant officers. Felt much more positive about the Partnership, partly as a result of discussions with people from other parts of the country on Tuesday and Wednesday on my course.
The Statement of Persons nominated was published officially and it was a relief to see that all of our candidates are in place and validly nominated. I was sad to see the list of nominations for Billingham Town Council and to see how few people other than Labour party borough council candidates had put themselves forward for the Town council. I can't see how some of those Labour people can hope to have the time to devote to the town council if they're on the Stockton Cabinet again. But several of the people who've worked so hard to establish the idea of the Town Council then didn't decide to stand for election to it. I can't understand it.
Egglescliffe Parish again has too few nominations so there won't be an election, and similarly Preston. In fact the only ones that are having elections are the ones where there's a real issue like Yarm, Ingleby, Thornaby and Billingham. I don't know whether people in Egglescliffe and Preston are satisfied with their councillors or just don't see any hope of getting better ones.
Sadly, this morning a family crisis arose and so I spent a large part of the day at the hospital, seeing yet again how wonderfully the staff cope despite long shifts and little thanks. For the first time in I don't know how many years I didn't make hot cross buns for this morning and didn't get soup made for lunch. Two more traditions bite the dust. Never mind. I also missed the ecumenical walk of witness this morning carrying the cross into Yarm, so I hope there was a good turnout. It's one of the very few days of the year when something overtly Christian happens in the area and it's the best possible day for it.

Deadline Day

Well, like it or not, the deadline passed at noon for nominations. Too late now to wonder if someone would have liked to stand for a parish council or even the borough. I was on a course in York, along with other councillors from all over the country, and several were frantically sorting out last minute hitches by phone, darting in and out of the seminar room.
I came home to a quiet phone for a change and just a little hiccup over our Focus deliveries. They'll be a bit later than we'd planned because we hadn't communicated properly around the team. A lesson to be learned there!

Election Fever

Only two days to go before the close of nominations for the elections. This morning I took in the nomination papers for Alan, John and I for the Parish Council. They were the easy ones to complete. John and Alan had sorted out signatures for the Borough Council nominations and they've gone to our agent. People from all 3 main parties are scurrying round trying to get nomination papers signed in the wards where they don't have a big membership base, and looking increasingly fraught. The electoral registration desks are a hive of activity but seemed very well organised.
I spent time trying to organise things before I go away tomorrow morning on a course - not a good time to do that. Colleagues were still getting papers signed in far flung wards, and then Alan and John went out to do some surveys in the ward. I must say I'm impressed by the return rate we're getting on them. People do seem to be pleased to be listened to. Many of the responses have issues which need taking up and replying to, so that's a pile of work for later in the week when I return.
In the midst of all this were frantic phone calls about a problem that had cropped up, rumours of things going wrong for other parties, and the effort to carry on doing the casework which residents bring to us. And there's still a month to go till the election!!

Palm Sunday

Sunday mornings are politics-free zones, with family and church taking precedence even this close to an election. That doesn't stop people talking to me about local issues when they see me, but I'm not going to do anything about them immediately. Palm Sunday service starts in the Parish Hall with the blessing of the palms, and continues with a procession into the church. It's not a very long way, but it is a rare act of witness in our busy lives.
A large chunk of the remainder of the day was spent on laying out Focus, ready for printing and delivery before Easter. I enjoy working on the layout, but it does take a long time. The regular buzz of e-mails arriving reminded me that the rest of the team were busy too, responding to complaints and enquiries from residents and commenting on planning applications in the ward.
When not working on Focus I had other IT problems to worry about. A virus on our PC meant I was working on a laptop, which isn't as comfortable for long periods. Something went funny on it and I couldn't handle one set of photos a colleague had sent me. Then it decided to crash every time I tried to do certain things. By the end of the evening I was tearing my hair.

Plans and More Plans

This morning was the official launch of the Friends of the Tees Heritage Park. The Friends hope to be able to work with everyone concerned to protect the green areas remaining on the banks of the Tees between Yarm and Stockton. Backed by CPRE, Borough Councillors for Eaglescliffe, Ingleby Barwick and Thornaby, Parish and Town councils on both sides of the river and with lots of people from the communities all along the banks it got off to a good start. The steering group had already done much work but now it's over to the community to take it up and help. I've joined, along with fellow councillors and lots of local residents. If you want to join e-mail me and I'll send you the contact details of the treasurer.
After a quick lunch I went over to Orchard Estate shopping parade to see the exhibition by JG Land of their plans for the Allen's West site. The agents seemed to be receptive to suggestions and comments but we've seen that before and then been let down. However, I took the opportunity to suggest (just in case they do get approval of their plans) that they might consider some affordable sheltered housing for elderly people now that we've lost so many rented units in Witham House. We shall see just how much they've listened to the concerns of local residents about traffic and housing of types we don't need.

A Proper Perspective

After a very long irritating evening battling with some software which wouldn't behave itself, and having to work on the laptop because the desk top PC had a virus problem I went through a long and frustrating meeting this morning where certain members just didn't listen and tried to shout down others trying to have a proper discussion of things. It was all put into perspective by the news later in the morning that two friends have got very different but very serious health problems. Suddenly computers and meetings seemed unimportant.

Democracy Wins (I think!)

What a day Tuesday turned out to be. First of all the House of Commons report, confirming lots of things we'd heard in evidence in our Select Committee. Then a so-called Tripartite meeting of me as Chairman of the Children & Young People Select Committee, two officers from the Children, Education and Social Care dept (known as CESC) who have responsibility for policies relating to bullying and finally the Cabinet Member for Children & Young People who has the political responsibility for the policies. We were all supposed to agree the recommendations proposed by the committee last Friday, or modify them in such a way that they would be agreed. The people in the council who think that smooth working and consensus is all-important believe this is the best way forward. So discussions take place between "leaders" and everyone else falls in line.
At that meeting I thought that the assurances I was given about how the pilot of the software was going to be done were adequate - not brilliant but adequate. Fast forward 5 hours to the committee meeting. A Perfect Storm erupted. No way were those assurances adequate for some members of the committee. A democratic decision was taken - all schools and teaching unions should be consulted before the software was purchased to ensure that all were going to be on board with the system. The Scrutiny Officer was instructed to draft another recommendation and circulate it.
Wednesday dawned foggy and damp. I had arranged to take my mother to hospital for an early morning appointment. I emerged to e-mails on the Blackberry from councillors saying they approved the draft recommendation and from the SO asking me to ring him as soon as possible. The CESC officers couldn't accept the recommendation - it wouldn't work, the committee was asking the impossible etc. etc! Phone calls, e-mails and a further tripartite meeting set up for the half hour before the council meeting that night, except this time it was only bi-partite because the Cabinet Member couldn't get there in time. The Corporate Director couldn't agree the recommendation and I wouldn't take it out because the committee had made the decision to have it in. I said the debate had to take place at Cabinet over whether to accept or not. Certain elements not happy - this isn't the smooth presentation of a previously agreed report which they want to see. I am happy - the decision will be made in the open with the Cabinet member having to justify why he proposes whatever he proposes. Whichever way it goes he has to live with his political judgement - the most strident demands for the recommendation were from members of his own party.
Now I've found that the Cabinet member won't be there - he'll have to brief his colleagues in advance. Fun and games. I'm waiting to see which of his colleagues he trusts to speak for him!

After that it was the annual non-discussion of the Council plan before adoption. We're presented with reams of plans and expected to adopt. Most members don't even read them and there's no proper debate or discussion.

Bullying

This morning the report by the House of Commons Education and Skills Committee on bullying was published. They've produced some very strong guidance on what should be included in school policies which will be very useful in Stockton and reinforces what I hope Stockton's Select committee on children and young people will confirm at its meeting this afternoon. I'm hoping to get some publicity for Stockton' s report so that young people and their parents know that we didn't ignore their concerns.

Traffic Chaos and Tragedy

The day started with a shocking story. Parking problems near a local primary school have been at boiling point recently, with residents of one narrow estate road fuming at the parents who park opposite drives and even across them sometimes. Residents had contacted police and councillors about the problems, but a small number of inconsiderate parents still persisted in causing a problem. This morning we heard that one elderly resident had collapsed on her drive during the morning school run. We were told that it followed an argument over parking, and later heard that the lady had died. A post mortem will reveal the cause in time, but meanwhile there's a grieving family and a shocked community. Parents at all the schools in the ward keep telling us that they take their children to school by car because it's safer for them, but I wonder if now they'll stop to consider the potential danger to frail and elderly residents of the streets near the schools.

The review of bullying in Stockton came a step nearer to completion when I had a meeting with the Cabinet member and the officers responsible for the strategies. We had a useful discussion of how the proposed software would be used and how it could be set up to take note of the concerns of committee members. I don't think that all of our concerns will be allayed but i hope that things have changed enough from what was said on Friday that we can now put in a robust but helpful report and start to really reduce the threat of bullying to children in our schools and ultimately outside of school.

At long last I had time to go and set up some software on Alan's computer so that we can all hold canvass data and check information. A bit of progress was made on the alternative website for the Mayor's blog while the election prevents it being on SBC website. Anyone wanting to see what's been happening in the past or check on links to the charities can still have a look. It's not as professional as the SBC site was, but we haven't got time for too much fiddling.

Then Alan and I took the opportunity provided by the sunshine to go and do some door to door surveys in Hunters' Green. We met some interesting people and it was good to know that they all received Focus regularly, thanks to our volunteer deliverers. It was also good to see how many of them have children who walk to school at least some days of the week, as it's not the nearest estate to the schools by any means.

The last meeting of the day was cancelled because so many of us couldn't be there for one reason or another, so a windfall time to do a bit of tidying and have a look at the manifesto for the election. A little silver lining to the cloud! Now that I've done the easy bits I need others to do the hard sections and then we can print it.

Elections Approaching

Another step on the way to election day came on Friday when I collected the paperwork for nomination to Egglescliffe Parish Council for Alan, John and me. Mike is valiantly seeing to the Borough Council paperwork and deserves a medal for it.

I spent part of the morning in a meeting about how we assess the performance of senior officers of the council. It's a very difficult subject - so many things that really matter to us are beyond their control like bus timetables and yet they have targets to meet! I hope we've set in motion a slightly more sensible system but it'll take time to see if it works. The officers do a great job and it seems hard at times to be looking for ways to challenge them to do even better, but that's what performance management involves.

Then it was time to sort through some papers and try to catch up on things I'd missed when not well earlier in the week before trying to sort out an IT problem for another councillor. The more I read the more I concluded that Ming Campbell was right - Gordon Brown has wasted a great opportunity in his budget. Then I read about how little of the Lyons Review seems likely to be implemented and I thought "How on earth do they expect Local government to work when they won't finance it and won't give us the freedom to listen to our electorate?" Except I wasn't quite as polite as that when I was muttering.

Time to produce a Focus leaflet and get it to deliverers before Easter! Much more satisfying than listening to Labour MPs telling us why we can't be trusted to do things.

The Bad and the Good

Tuesday brought stories of young people congregating again near Orchard Shops, drinking alcohol and being nuisances to residents and passers by. Alan is taking that up with the police. We had complaints about people trespassing on the school playing field near Allens West, breaking through the hedge and fence, even being dropped off by adults in cars to do so! Mike has taken that up with the school who've been asked in the past to put up a better fence. The residents of the houses nearby are mostly elderly and are understandably unhappy with the situation.
Wednesday was Western Area Partnership Board, when our young members updated everyone on the Fashion Starz project which had been a huge success. 18 girls from the local youth clubs had worked for 7 months on a project, finding out about the history of fashion, photography, catwalk style, dress design and lots of other things. The culmination was a fantastic event on 10th March at Preston Hall which finished with a catwalk show of the clothes they had designed and made. The outfits and photos and the story of the project is on display in the Museum at the moment and everyone should go along and see what they achieved.
We then discussed the possibility of an environmental project to improve the gateways into the Western Area with planting of bulbs or flowers. The meeting took place at the Youth Club so that we could meet some of the members and ask their opinions. Alice led that session and showed that many of the young people would be willing to get involved in such a project. Unfortunately, and very annoyingly, we weren't allowed to put out a press release via Stockton Council about their involvement because it was deemed to be publicising councillors too near the election!!! So the youngest voting members of an Area Partnership Board are deprived of a bit of positive publicity because some councillors are involved as well. What a topsy turvy view of democracy is held in our legal department.

And then in the middle of the day we had the budget - what a swindle. Headline announcements that sound as though everyone's going to be better off, with the small print showing that this is a "tax neutral" budget - in other words increases for some to benefit others. Nothing significant for the environment, so yet again Labour fiddles while the world warms. I despair at times.

175 years on

The celebration dinner for Durham University's 175th birthday was last night at the Queen's Campus in Stockton-on-Tees. Actually, as the site is on the South side of the River Tees, it's in Thornaby-on-Tees which is part of the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees. And if that's not complicated enough, the Queen's Campus is about 150 years younger than its parent university. So we celebrated the growth of the "baby" as well as the venerable age of the "parent".
It was my good fortune that the Mayor's Consort was unable to attend and I was invited in his place. I met Sir Kenneth Calman at his final event at this campus as vice-chancellor, Sir Fred Holliday (after whom the Holliday building is named), and heard of the vision which led to the foundation of Queen's and of the exciting vision for the future all while enjoying a superb meal.
The Mayor spoke of the good relationship that has developed over the last 15 years and of the things she hopes will develop in the future. I just hope that her successors continue the good work. If I can do anything to encourage it I certainly will. Unfortunately the weather forecast was spot on for the evening and the gale made the marquee seem a very dubious place to be, especially when a bulb from a chandelier crashed to the ground. Suzanne carried on with her usual determination and people listened and enjoyed what they heard, but Sir Kenneth decided that it would be safer to adjourn to the Rotunda for the rest of the speeches which were given without benefit of microphone and so were more difficult to hear from where I was standing.

No-one was injured and everyone seemed to have enjoyed the evening, even if I didn't win the signed Middlesbrough shirt!

St Patrick's Day

I always feel a bit special on 17th March, thanks to my Irish mother, and this morning was no exception. Especially when the door bell rang and it turned out to be lovely flowers from my daughter in Australia. Coupled with a beautiful card from our other daughter in the Midlands they made me feel like a very special Mum indeed.
A quick update of the party website this morning and then I could spend the rest of the day on family and personal matters before I have to get ready to accompany the Mayor to dinner tonight. But more of that after I've been.

A Better Day

Indeed a much better day all round. This morning on the radio someone informed me that I didn't have to beware for another year, because the Ides of March had passed! As I'm not called Julius Caesar I hadn't realised I should beware, but it made me smile anyway.
After breakfast a delightful resident rang to thank me for something I'd done - a fairly small thing for me but it had obviously meant a great deal to her. That's one of the joys of being a councillor - just occasionally being able to make a real difference to someone.
A cold but dry morning meant that I could finish off the delivery of Focus without being too frozen, and could feel virtuous about how many steps I'd walked before lunch.
Then it was off to the FairTrade Borough Steering Group meeting where it was confirmed that we have now reached our target for retail and catering outlets. Great news and we were all delighted that the application would go in by the end of the month. We talked with enthusiasm of ways to spread the membership of the steering group and to have the councillors and officers step back a little from directing things. We even started to suggest ideas of activities over the next 12 months. That was followed by a meeting with the catering manager of the Resource Centre to discuss widening the range of products they sell. They're having a vote at the moment for which recipe they're going to enter in the Fairtrade recipe competition. Anyone who's in Newtown in the next week or so - drop in, sample their excellent cooking and vote for your favourite (Vegetable Biryani or Mississippi Mud Pie or Pineapple, Mango and Orange Smoothie ...mmm)
Some time spent with colleagues discussing things that need doing in the ward, a bit of software installation on someone's computer and then home to cook tea. By this time it was damp as well as cold, so I was glad to get back into the warm house for the evening. Even more happy when the post didn't contain any unpleasant surprises and the answerphones didn't have any difficult messages.

The day didn't start well. I had a meeting at 9.15 for which the papers had been e-mailed earlier. They included a huge document with the comment that a hard copy would be sent out the next day. Consequently I spent an hour last night looking for it, and then another half hour this morning. Eventually I had to set off without it. Arrived at the meeting to be told that it hadn't come out after all! Grrrrr! So I wasn't in the best mood ever when comments were being made about disabled parking spaces being a waste of space if they were empty and other people had to park elsewhere than in the grounds. I'm afraid I got more upset than I would normally at a meeting and my contributions were a bit more terse than they would otherwise have been. I remain to be convinced that we'll be using venues in a more effective way as a result of our deliberations.
But a visit to my mother soon put things into perspective - she was waiting for the wheelchair mechanic to arrive to sort out a problem, but she's never far from a smile or laugh. Leaving her to wait for him, I went to do her shopping and that of my mother-in-law. Then back to Mum's for a salad lunch.
An SOS from the scrutiny officer led to a change of date for our scrutiny meeting next week. The bureaucracy associated with the present scrutiny arrangements strikes again! And then it was time for Cabinet, and the presentation of our report on Teen Pregnancies. Of course it was accepted unanimously because the recommendations had already been agreed with the cabinet member and corporate director. It's a farce really, but we have to go through it to get anything to happen.
That meant I was late for my next meeting - Durham Lane School Governors. Usually that only lasts about an hour and a half but today it lasted two and a half! Not that time was wasted, but there were really important things to discuss. I was sad that the vice-chairman had decided to resign through ill health. He's been a real stalwart of that meeting for as long as I've been there.
As a result of being held up at the end of that meeting I was then late for the Parish Council meeting, which by contrast was one of the shortest ever. We'd finished the business before our normal 8pm half-way stop for members of the public to contribute. Fortunately on this occasion there were no members of the public there so it didn't cause a problem.
By the time I was home and had something to eat I was too shattered to do anything very much, so an early night and loads of stuff to do tomorrow.

So where did the day go?

I started with all sorts of good intentions - a very clear list in my mind of what needed doing, including some long overdue housework. But 'twas not to be. First off, a very pleasant distraction in the form of a chat with hubby on the other side of the world courtesy of that miracle of modern technology, Skype. Then our Focus leaflets arrived from the lovely people who count them out into rounds for our deliverers. So the letter which needed to go in each envelope then had to be added, the envelopes sorted into batches for each of us to take, and my colleagues contacted.
By then it was time to go to my first meeting - a look at the council's forward plan with other group leaders. No surprises there this time, thank goodness.
A quick dash to the High Street for something to eat and then it was Planning Committee. I don't think I've ever been quite so confused by a planning application as I was by two of the agenda items this time. Some really difficult decisions to make, and I still don't understand some of the evidence despite officers trying very hard to explain. The meeting lasted so long that I had to leave before the end and still was late for my next one. The only really bright spot in the whole proceedings was being able to look at a revised application for something that was turned down last year, remember the site visit we had, and bring that experience into the debate. At the end the overwhelming opinion of the committee was the same as mine - that this application was not a sufficient improvement and should not be allowed. It was a domestic application with a big impact on just one property, but it's good to be able to look after the interests of an individual from time to time.
Then on to SACRE (Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education) where the new chairman and vice-chairman brought a breath of fresh air to the procedings thanks to their "chalk face" knowledge of the subject. As a result I came away thinking that for the first time since I became a member two years ago, SACRE is about to become a proactive body in Stockton.

Mea Culpa

What a long time since I blogged! Honestly hadn't realised how long it was. But I'm not going to offer excuses - just tell you a few of the things that have happened in the meantime.

On a personal level - I had a wonderful Christmas and New Year visiting first one daughter and her family, then the other. Highlights included our granddaughter's first Christmas and visiting a country we'd never seen before.

My fellow councillor, Mike Cherrett, decided to retire at the forthcoming election but fortunately a local resident and Liberal Democrat activist, Alan Lewis, decided that he would like to stand for election. Alan is already part of the Focus editing team, an integral part of the printing team, and hopes very much to become a ward councillor for Eaglescliffe.

The planning application to demolish the Grange on Urlay Nook Road and replace it with flats and houses was rejected by Stockton Council planning committee because the new design was still deemed to be out of proportion with the dwellings on Valley Gardens. The applicant said he would lodge an appeal so we are waiting for the notice of that.

Riverside Lodge motorcross activities have occupied a good deal of time, with Stockton Council deciding to take enforcement action against the owner. A further planning application has now been submitted so residents and councillors are again going through the process of commenting on it.

Stockton Liberal Democrats have completely revamped their website so that it is easy to keep up to date and also contains regular updates of national Lib Dem news. It's good that several of us can now update instead of the previous situation of relying on one person who often was out of the country. We're not perfect but we're better than we were at the job.

The Council budget was set at the end of February - a very disappointing evening when Labour councillors turned out in force to vote for the cabinet's recommended budget and opposition parties couldn't muster enough numbers to vote through our alternative. As a result nearly a quarter of a million pounds is being spent on changing the way the public contact the council, but there was no money for an out-of-hours noise service to deal with the complaints people make about noisy parties, loud music, etc. Money was slashed from the budget for supporting victims of domestic violence and homelessness. There was no funding for dealing with stray dogs, nor with the wild horses which occasionally have to be caught and looked after - not things that happen every day but very important when they do.

And that's enough for today. If you want to know more have a look at our website - all the Focus leaflets are on there and also the news items from the ward and around the borough.

"Enforcement not expedient"

Residents of the Albert Rd, Swinburne Rd and Station Rd area of Eaglescliffe cannot help but be aware of the ongoing problems with 13/15 Station Rd. For others, a brief outline:
This is the building at the corner of Station Rd and Swinburne Rd. A couple of years ago it was extremely run-down in appearance and many businesses and residents complained that it spoiled the area. Ownership changed and eventually a planning application was submitted for an extension with conversion of the rear into 4 flats. Although the extension was quite large it seemed on balance to the planning authority that the end result would be a much tidier, pleasanter building in this conservation area and so approval was granted. But then came another application to make the extension even bigger. Despite misgivings councillors were persuaded that the increase in size being asked for would not make a significant difference to the area. Oh how wrong could we be? The neighbour most affected was not in a position to speak up for herself and we later discovered that far from being a little used window near the new build this was her living room. Her quality of life was severely impaired.
Then, to add insult to injury, the roof was built 1.2m higher than approved. The developer refused to lower it and refused to seek retrospective planning permission. The question of whether to enforce a reduction in height came to planning committee 3 weeks ago. The report to committee had errors in it, other parts were ambiguous, and the engineer told us that the parking arrangement is illegal anyway! The report was sent away to be rewritten.
On Wednesday it came back to committee. The developer's agent was so arrogant, telling councillors that if they voted for enforcement it would fail at court and the council would be liable for substantial costs. I could hardly speak - I was so angry with him. In the end, despite everyone being furious that he was getting away with behaving like this the committee vote was split 7-7 and the chairman's casting vote decided the matter in favour of the developer. So the extra roof height stays, he's got an illegal devlopment to sell or rent because without planning permission it's not legal even though we aren't going to enforce compliance with plans, but as long as someone will take it off his hands he's all right.
I hate enforcement cases, but this one has annoyed me so much it's a good job I'm not on a blood pressure monitor.

Celebrations

Today Suzanne Fletcher celebrates the 25th anniversary of her election to Stockton Council. On November 12th 1981 she drove a thin orange wedge into the red/blue comfort zone of Stockton Town Hall, winning the Elm Tree ward by-election.

At a celebration party last night, attended by friends and colleagues from across the north east including Fiona Hall MEP, she recalled the early days of Focus production and distribution. Letraset, hand turned duplicators and willing volunteers all featured. Over the 25 years Suzanne has been part of a group of Liberals then Liberal Democrats on the Council ranging in size from 1 to 11 with all the associated joys and sorrows.

She has been the first councillor to put out a regular leaflet, the first to run ward surgeries specifically for young people in the ward, a pioneer of e-updates to her constituents and an ardent advocate of having a good, active website.

She now shares an enlarged ward with Julia Roberts and together they continue to serve the residents who have elected them. What a cause for celebration!

On top of that, Stockton Libdems new improved website went live to public view just a few hours before the party started. So a dual celebration - cause for much consumption of champagne.

Noises great and small

Having spent two days with no voice all the telephone calls had to be taken by my colleagues. Enormous thanks to them - be of good cheer, my voice is getting better all the time.
Last night and of course tonight the noise has been that of fireworks which seem to get bigger and louder every year. No complaints to me so far, but I'll be surprised if there aren't some in the next couple of days. More dangerous by far is the fact that some person or persons set fire to allotment huts last night at Egglescliffe Village Site. There have been allotments there for nigh on 100 years and in general they're lovingly tended by the tenants. It's heart-breaking to think that someone finds it amusing to cause so much damage. The fire brigade were called and did a good job but of course that's no consolation to those who've lost huts and their contents.
The other noise that's caused complaint is the Motor Cycle track which is operating without benefit of planning permission near the edge of our ward. The people on Hunters' Green estate and Orchard estate have suffered intermittently for the last few years with this and it seems as though the owners are just running rings round the planning, environmental health and enforcement sections.
Tonight I need to have a good look at the plans submitted for The Grange on Urlay Nook Rd as a neighbour of the site wants to discuss some of the issues with me tomorrow. It's a difficult problem because the Planning Inspector more or less said that SPG4 couldn't apply strictly to this site and the only problem with the previous application was the design. I know that the Planning Officer has worked very hard to try to reduce the impact of the application but it's still bigger than most of the surrounding residents want to see.

Tarmac etc part 3

Even more complaints as people have returned from holidays or finally dug our phone/e-mail details from the back of their filing systems. We've now passed them all on to the engineers in Stockton to deal with as we agree that the consultation was way below standard, and writtten to every dwelling on the road explaining why it was done in the first place, what we've done with their complaints and how to access SBC's complaints system. Happy days!!

Yesterday started with a meeting between Mike & I on the one hand and Stockton's chief executive on the other, discussing issues of concern to our group. Confidentiality of the council's communications was one topic on which we're awaiting the outcome of some investigations. He was full of the implications of the White Paper which has finally been published, and the half promises it makes without any detail of how they'll be kept. One which will be good, as long as it isn't watered down, is the ability of the borough to make its own by-laws without approval by the central govt. That means that Stockton residents will know exactly who to blame if a by-law doesn't achieve what it's meant to achieve and it'll be a lot easier to change it if need be.

Then a quick meeting with the scrutiny officer supporting the Children and Young People committee to iron out a problem we have with dates of meetings before heading over to the Town House for a meeting of the Members' Advisory Panel. I wouldn't normally accept meetings at 11 on a Thursday because of family commitments but this had such an important agenda I had no real choice. In the end it was a constructive meeting because most of what we agreed was what we Lib Dems were happy with. There's still one outstanding issue - is there to be a mandatory requirement on councillors to undergo any kind of training or not. Some who are very keen to do training don't like the idea of it being mandatory for all kinds of very good reasons and that will take some negotiation in the future to make sure we don't lose the good will of very experienced councillors in all parties.

The early evening was taken up with the Cabinet meeting which was probably shorter than usual because I'd lost my voice so couldn't make any serious interjections or ask awkward questions. A rather dry document entitled "Employment Land Review" went through on its way to becoming part of the Local Development Framework. As part of the review 2 pieces of land in our ward will not be used for industrial development and the bigger of the two, between the present housing and the A66 will be noted as agricultural so won't be used for housing either. Hooray!!

Then it was home to prepare for the Annual Mayor's Charity Dinner - huge fundraising bash at the Tall Trees. Suzanne had worried originally that there might not be enough people willing to go but in the end there were more tickets sold than ever before and the rather different format seemed to go down well - dancing to the Beatlemaniacs, racing on a Scalextrix track, a roving caricaturist and a tombola as well as a raffle and auction and a superb meal made for a good night. Sadly, my conversation was limited severely by a lack of voice, but others seemed to be enjoying their chats.

Tarmac, Concrete etc Part 2

Yesterday John went right through his file on Newsam Rd and found everything he could relevant to the grass verges - complaints about how badly scarred they were, consultation about hard standing, complaints about vehicles etc. So now he's written to the relevant officers asking for the results of the consultation held in 2003 and a reason for the change to tarmac and bollards. Meanwhile he's delivered a letter to each of the residents telling them that we're looking into it and we'll get back to them.
On a brighter note, Suzanne was sent a photograph of herself as Mayor serving someone on the One World Week Fairtrade stall on Saturday at Newtown, so we can put that into the file of evidence of public engagement for when we apply for Fairtrade Town status.

Tarmac, Concrete and Trouble

There's an old saying "You can't do right for doing wrong". It doesn't seem to make a lot of sense but I've always understood it to mean that however much you try to do the right thing someone's always going to be upset. This week it could easily be our slogan! As part of the Western Area Transport Strategy it was agreed a few weeks ago that the grass verge on the north side of Newsam Rd would be hard surfaced in order to provide a cleaner, safer way to school for the comprehensive children and to make it easier for wheelchair users etc to make their way along the pavement. The pavement has always been too narrow for comfort and the verge generally looked a bit bedraggled and messy. Three and a half years ago the residents were consulted on whether to have block paving instead of grass, but told that the change was dependent on funding being available. Unfortunately, now that some funding was available, tarmac was used instead. And in order to protect the pavement from vehicles wanting to park on it, posts were introduced. Not nice-looking cast iron ones like in Butts Lane or in Maritime Rd in Stockton, but concrete ones. Our phones have not stopped since - not one person is in favour of them it seems. Some oil is needed for troubled waters but I've no idea where we'll find the right kind or sufficient quantity!

Exciting Times

This week our new website was released to us to experiment with and check over. Great excitement and great fun as two of us tried adding new stories, uploading past editions of Focus, trying all of its features. We were like children with a new toy. Now I can't wait to put it onto our public site so that residents can see it and take part in local decision making to a greater extent than they could till now. It should happen some time next week all being well.

Today was exciting in a different way. Common Purpose held one of their events for young people to learn about leadership and help them develop their leadership skills. I was invited to be part of a group of 3 councillors taking part in one of the sessions. These young people, 13 & 14 years old, had some really serious questions about issues that concerned them. I'm afraid that I may have incited rebellion in one school whose students told us that their staff don't listen to them and their School Council is appointed, not elected. They didn't feel as though they had a voice and I suggested that they should arrange an election to set up an alternative council - they looked excited at the thought of rebellion. I don't think the rather "establishment" Tory councillor was at all excited!
But then I wasn't very pleased at something he told me in a brief gap in the proceedings. We'd made a joint decision on Wednesday evening with the other opposition parties and now today he'd decided to do things differently, completely on his own. Not a team player at all. I have yet to speak to others in the Lib Dem group about how we deal with the situation, but I know that the Independents are fuming.

The Weekend

After a pretty busy few days it was good to have a weekend off. As my husband reached 60 this weekend we felt it a cause for mild celebration. So Saturday night found us enjoying a meal and stimulating conversation with old friends and today we took ourselves off to Whitby. The weather was hazy and chilly but nevertheless it was good to wander the old town again. Fortunes were closed, with a "sold out" sign up, but the smokehouse was working well in readiness for sales tomorrow.
Home just in time for a web conversation with the family in Derby, complete with the camera working. Emma did look a trifle confused at the hazy picture of Granny & Grandad on the computer screen.
Then to a quick read of e-mails and general catch-up before tomorrow's jobs.

Bill Bryson's Visit

Bill Bryson is Chancellor of Durham University, which includes Queens Campus at Stockton, and yesterday he paid a brief visit to the town. He's been to the University several times but had commented that he'd not seen the town itself so he was invited to visit. I was fortunate to be invited to the reception and to join him on the town trail afterwards. He's an easy person to talk to and very interested in the town which is home for the students for 3 years or so.
After that I had a short break for lunch before going to Durham Lane school for a meeting of a governing body committee. It was a very intensive meeting and very useful but I had to rush away the moment it finished in order to get to the Town Hall for the inaugural meeting of the Adult Care Partnership. Again, useful but intensive. It finished a little earlier than I'd expected so time to go home and open the post before going out to Stockton again for my final meeting of the day.

Disappointing News

A really productive morning spent with IT staff working on a database for tracking casework. If it all works as planned it'll be a real boon.
A quick detour to the supermarket so that I could stock up on some of the basics that were running low and then home to sort through the post - not usually very exciting on a Monday. My heart was in my mouth as I turned over a large brown envelope bearing the insignia of the Planning Inspectorate. Sure enough it contained the decisions on the two appeals by McCarthy & Stone for The Avenue. Both appeals granted - the inspector had taken everything they said at face value and rejected everything we'd said. So now no doubt they'll build the first of them, the bigger and more intrusive one. I really feel for the residents on Ashville Avenue who'll be most affected. The inspector seems to be saying that having one or two big buildings in an area means that any application for another one of the same mass should be acceptable, despite the fact that the character of the area will be completely different if the diversity disappears. Needless to say the residents are devastated.

30 years ago

30 years ago today I was in hospital, the proud but exhausted mother of a very new baby. Happy birthday K!
Today however, she's a grown up daughter living on the other side of the world, so has already been celebrating her birthday for almost a day before I rose from my bed.
Meanwhile, this morning I have a meeting with one of the Council's IT gurus who is developing a database for councillors to help us to keep track of casework. It'll be interesting to see what he's come up with so far. I've also got to report in all the things that cropped up over the weekend which I couldn't do because the e-mail system was down and there's no-one there to take phone calls.

E-deprived!

The council system linking councillors to the server has fallen over again - Since Saturday lunchtime we've been without e-mail links, no link to all the documents stored on the intranet, no links to the GIS mapping system. In fact total deprivation. People have had to resort to the telephone, knocking on doors, posting letters - all the lovely old fashioned things we used to do before the government encouraged us to go to e-government.

Yesterday and today I spent some time at Preston Hall at the Forge In of the British Artist Blacksmith Association - over 100 blacksmiths and apprentices working together to produce a new set of gates to the Period street in the museum. Craftsmen & women are always fascinating to watch, but this was a truly amazing experience. I'm looking forward to the gates being completed and hung in the near future.

Lottery fund grant

Success at last on arranging for some overgrown bushes to be trimmed back so that people waiting for the bus at Preston Park can see whether there's a bus coming without stepping out of the shelter into the rain. The officer trying to find the offending shrubbery was handicapped by being given the location by his admin section as the station rather than the park!

The rest of the morning was spent at Preston Hall at the official announcement of the Heritage Lottery Grant for refurbishment of the Winter Garden there. I remember it as an exotic place to visit but it's gone downhill over the last 30 years and now it's just draughty, damp and dangerous - some of the window glass is loose and cracked. However, it's going to be restored to its former glory thanks to the grant so the local TV station was there as well as the newspapers. The mayor was there to say thank-you on behalf of the Council and I was there as a ward councillor. I look forward to seeing the finished project.

Then on to the Municipal Buildings to a meeting about the Western Area Partnership Board, a quick bit of shopping and home to catch up on some paperwork and housework before ward surgery in the evening.
I took the rest of the evening off to have a meal with my husband at our local vegetarian restaurant, not because we're vegetarians but because the food is just too good to be left solely to vegetarians. AND they use Fairtrade tea, coffee, sugar, some of the wines, fruit and so on.

A wet and chilly autumnal day today. No meetings scheduled, so a chance to do a bit of catching up. Or so I thought. Somehow everything took twice as long as expected - maybe it was the weather!
The order arrived from Traidcraft, so that was to unpack and check then sort out the things which were special orders and the stock replenishment. Already I'm starting to plan my next order, things are selling so well at the moment.
This evening I visited our local Brownie pack, taking their certificate from the Care for Your Area awards. The garden in front of the Parish Hall is still looking colourful as they've now planted up troughs of pansies. They really deserve their award.

Vote now, or for ever hold your peace!

So far I have 3 votes - 2 from people who represent Yarm on the Borough or Town councils, and one from the other side of the world, though to be fair Thribble was once a resident of Eaglescliffe. Unsurprisingly perhaps the votes are currently 2 for the completion of the route to Yarm Station and one for the footway in Eaglescliffe. Voting will have to close soon, but as this blog isn't widely advertised it's unlikely to generate much interest.
Yesterday was a day off - spent visiting our daughter, son-in-law and grand-daughter. Great fun as always, with the photos on Flickr for those in the know.
As we were leaving Eaglescliffe I noticed that the Speed Camera van was parked on the footpath, in the narrowest place, forcing pedestrians into the cycle lane. It didn't seem like a very considerate place to park, given the fact that 2 or 3 metres either way wouldn't have made any difference to being able to catch speeding motorists, so a complaint accompanied by incriminating photograph will be winging its way tomorrow. Whilst I approve of the use of speed cameras to make people slow down and drive more safely I don't approve of it being at the expense of pedestrian safety!
Unfortunately yesterday I decided to do some tidying up in the garden while we were visiting and managed to stab my toe with a nasty sharp object lying hidden on the ground. My own fault entirely for gardening in open toed sandals, especially as A had offered me trainers. It makes walking uncomfortable and driving very difficult. Consequently my long-suffering husband needed to take me to church this morning, along with boxes of Fairtrade goodies to sell. It meant that he was extremely early for his service, which starts half an hour later than mine!

Loads of meetings this week, including Western Area Transport Strategy. That was really interesting - the Engineers had done the costing on the projects we'd identified as priorities at the beginning of the summer. Sadly for the residents of the Park View estate their wish for a pedestrian refuge can't be achieved. The road would need to be widened and that would involve no less than 5 utility companies so the cost is estimated at £47,000+. Given that we only have £20000 to spend it ain't gonna happen!
More hopefully, we found that the feasibility study on safe pedestrian and cycle routes between Eaglescliffe and Yarm on the one hand and Ingleby Barwick on the other had been done more cheaply than anticipated. Two possible routes to Eaglescliffe were considered feasible, though none to Yarm except via Eaglescliffe and Yarm Road. Preston Parish council are implacably opposed to the building of a pedestrian and cycle bridge over the river, but the proposals will be the subject of a wide consultation in next year's budget.
The work to make the crossing of Central Street in Yarm a safer experience for pedestrians can be achieved quite cheaply, leaving plenty for signs to indicate a pedestrian route between Yarm High Street and Yarm Station.
Then came the interesting bit - what to spend the remaining money on? A traffic calming measure which has been requested by residents and consulted on could be achieved by using this money but the Preston PC chairman told us that the problem had gone away as the residents causing it had moved! We're left with enough to put dropped kerbs in on the pedestrian route to Yarm Station or to widen the footway in Newsam Rd for the benefit of children going to and from Egglescliffe Comprehensive, but not both. At the moment an e-mail vote is taking place - so far 2 votes for the Yarm scheme and no-one else has voted.

Yesterday the Children & Young People Select Committee heard what should be the final evidence in our scrutiny of Teen Pregnancy Strategy in the Borough - Strategy to cut the numbers not increase them! The PCT representatives told us that the Borough Council was funding a coordinator post which previously has been funded on time limited grants. We were really pleased to hear the news, because it would have almost certainly been one of our recommendations that the post be mainstreamed. However, today I was told that there's still disagreement over the funding because the Borough wants the PCT to share the cost. It sounds to me as though there's another bit of evidence gathering needed here! I'm cross because we could have been told that in advance if our link officer had come to our meetings. So much for the wonderful procedures that we have in place.

Conference is over!

This time last week I was driving south to Brighton with two other delegates from Stockton to the Liberal Democrat conference. It was a perfect day for driving - dry, slightly overcast, light traffic. With a couple of comfort breaks we were there in time for the afternoon consultative sessions. Then a leisurely evening meal, taking advantage of the fact that there were no evening sessions.
The rest of the week passed in a whirlwind of debates, fringe meetings, meetings with people from all over the country who might be able to help with problems we had, touring the exhibition stands and grabbing some fresh air and exercise by walking along the sea front between venues.
One exhibition stand offered a health check with blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose, height, weight and waist measurement checks. They were followed by useful advice on how to put right the things that were wrong. Now all I have to do is put it all into practice. It did lead to a light-hearted competition to see who was walking furthest in the course of each day!
The quality of debating was superb - I'm always humbled by the range of expertise in our party, from academics and professionals to people who are "at the coal face". At the end of the tax debate there were many, including me, who weren't sure which way to vote right till the final speeches had been made.
I'm delighted that we've taken steps to move the burden of taxation from the earner to the polluter. And to remove some of the double benefits that richer people have at present. I really believe that our tax policy is now fairer than any policy has been in my lifetime and I look forward to us winning more seats in Parliament next election so that it can be put into practice. If anyone wants to see the policies explained simply this is the place.

Our whole emphasis on the environment and climate change was inspiring and I'm even more enthusiastic than ever to see microgeneration of electricity being used widely in new buildings and in older ones where possible. And no, that doesn't mean windmills on every corner - it means ground source heat pumps, photovoltaic cells, solar-thermal units, combined heat and power plants and yes, some windmills. I am amazed that we put up with the losses of electricity that we suffer by pushing the stuff round the national grid when we could be much more efficient if we generated more of it where it's used. Typical of the Labour government though - while exhorting everyone to do their bit towards climate change reduction they reduce the grants available to help ordinary people install these generating systems!

Meanwhile, it's back to ward work - overgrown shrubs, lights not working and Focus to be delivered.

Phew!

For better or for worse the appeal is over. My day started with a slight glitch yesterday morning when I found that the Council laptop wouldn't access the internet. Grabbed my things and headed for the council offices where I managed to read a couple of the bits I wanted to check before going over to the Inquiry. The procedural bits at the beginning were soon over and the two sides launched into their opening statements. Then it was time to hear the evidence for the Local Planning Authority, otherwise known as Stockton Council. I didn't think it went very well at first but perhaps I was looking at the wrong things. Some others didn't agree with me.
The inspector then decided he'd take evidence from 3rd parties after lunch, but some had left and others wanted to speak at the end. Consequently it was my turn first, followed by John. I wasn't as well prepared as I should have been and didn't feel I did very well, but the residents said it was OK. John was his usual unruffled, factual self - his experience of appearing at tribunals and courts in his former job stood him in good stead.
The appellant's case started and we sat until well after 5 o'clock hearing that.
The site visit was fixed for 8.20 this morning but I didn't feel a need to go to it. I felt sure the inspector knew what he wanted to see.
This morning's evidence continued and I thought that our counsel was very good in his cross-examinations. Unfortunately I had to miss a large part of the afternoon session to be part of planning committee, but at least we didn't have any horribly contentious ones to consider. Some did need a lot of discussion and careful wording of conditions so that (we hope) we get what we want out of them. Then several of us went back over to the Tabernacle to hear the end of the appeal. We were just in time to hear the last few minutes of 3rd party submissions and then it was time for the closing remarks.
At the end of it all we're worn out with the concentration required and have no idea of whether it went well or badly for us. The inspector was non-committal throughout, telling us only that his decision would be published in the week commencing 9th October. So less than a month before we know whether Eaglescliffe will have Category II private sheltered accommodation for the elderly, and if so whether it will be 41 or 42 units.

The good news that came out towards the end of the afternoon is that the bid for funding for Preston Park's winter garden, aka the conservatory on Preston Hall, has been successful so we look forward to the result of the work and a grand reopening.

The weekend again

On Friday John Fletcher and I had a meeting with two members of EPAG committtee to discuss the appeal. It was a useful and interesting session, combining John's practical experience of previous enquiries with EPAG's research into the documents being presented to the inspector. We are all a little better prepared for Tuesday now.
Focus 135 was printed on Friday and is starting to be delivered this weekend, so a flurry of e-mails and phone calls will probably result from that. I now need to complete the survey we want to do at the same time on Hunter's Green.
Last night was the Mayor's Ceilidh, a fund-raiser for her charity funds. The Fettlers were great and about 150 people thoroughly enjoyed themselves. The room beside the river was just right - big enough for dancing but not so big that people couldn't mix and talk to each other. Unfortunately when I got home there was a hand-delivered letter waiting for me which will necessitate some phone calls and enquiries once offices are open on Monday.

Will he, won't he?

Last night's news and this morning's papers are full of stories about when Mr Blair will go - May 31st according to some, after a grand farewell tour of the country according to others. Of course, we've heard this all before - just with different dates. Although at one level it's interesting it's also a big distraction from all the important news, both local and national.
In Eaglescliffe we've news of a planning application for Riverside Lodge, this time for a leisure facility for small (up to 150cc) motorbikes and quad bikes. Having a nephew who races quad bikes means that I've been able to ask some questions about the noise likely to be generated and it seems as though they won't be an improvement on the bikes that have been using the site recently. Residents of nearby estates are already objecting.
Next week the public enquiry into the McCarthy and Stone planning appeal starts, so a large part of 3 days will be taken up by that. The agents for SBC haven't been in touch at all. Apparently they don't feel the need for the ward councillors to be witnesses. The objectors are planning to use at least one of us to give our local knowledge and views to the inspector, however. So there's much time to be spent on preparation over the next few days.

Where did Summer go?

So it's September already - where did the summer go? Partly it went on holidays, partly on baby-sitting my wonderful granddaughter, and partly on work in the ward and the rest of the council.
Now that we're into autumn, the season of conferences is almost on us. That means lots of speeches by politicians of all parties trying to put across their policies to the electorate. But it also means that grass-roots politicians like councillors get a chance to mix with everyone from leaders to local activists from all over the country. A chance to recharge batteries in readiness for the next elections.
Meanwhile, before conference, there are still planning applications to be studied and commented on, casework to deal with, committees to attend and strategies to decide as well as Focus to write and surveys to do.
There is still much to do to try to resolve some of the problems around the conflict between the needs of young people who want somewhere to hang out with their friends talking or playing football and the needs of older residents for peace and undamaged gardens, fences and windows. Unfortunately, the Youth Service don't seem able to respond with the kind of support we think we need. We don't give up easily, though, and will keep on trying.
I can now report that John Hemming MP has joined in the debate on PPG3 on his blog, calling on Ruth Kelly to allow more autonomy for locally elected politicians in these decisions. Momentum for change is building.

Just an ordinary Friday!

Apart from the fact that it 's cold and wet, so May isn't looking very spring-like at the moment. Leaving that aside Friday's often a day for catching up on things around the ward. So this morning saw the 3 ward councillors together in one room, discussing what to do about some of the issues facing the ward. One result is that a letter will soon be winging its way to the new minister in charge of local government (including planning), Ruth Kelly, asking when she's going to start to sort out the mess left by PPG3.
Much more positively we decided to join with IBIS and some of the local groups and residents to work for the River Tees Heritage Park. Coupled with the feasibility study to be done on safe non-car routes between Ingleby Barwick & Thornaby on one bank and Eaglescliffe & Yarm on the other, this is a really positive step.
Now it's time to go and make some phone calls about other issues and see what else can be achieved.

A month later - whoops!

And so another month flies past. I really must get the blog habit. Our mayor is putting me to shame. She dutifully files her copy every day - what a star!
To be fair, in the last month I've had other things on my mind. Brief visit of daughter and son-in-law from Oz means that we now have some of our loft back and a bit more space around the nooks and crannies of the house. 9 big crates of stuff (including nearly 200 paperback books) are now en route to Melbourne, courtesy of Pickfords NE and Beca.
While they were in the country we had a service of blessing and dedication for Emma at St Mary Magdalene in Yarm, so the whole family was together for a short time. Denis and I felt very priveleged.
Meanwhile of course the ward and the borough go on - planning applications and issues of provision for young people in the ward are still major concerns. This week brought some partial good news - the appeal against the Council's refusal of the planning application at the Grange on Urlay Nook Rd was refused. Sadly, only on the grounds of design and mass of the building and not on the sustainability element of the refusal which doesn't bode well for SPG4 in the future.

Regeneration

A day spent with Andrea and Emma on Saturday was just the antidote to all the politics of the week. John Paul had to go to work but the three of us managed the shopping, a little bit of housework and a lot of playing. Being a grandmother is a wonderful thing. Denis' work commitments mean he's not getting the benefit of being a grandfather to the same extent unfortunately.
A meeting of the Local Strategic Partnership on Tuesday included one of the more interesting debates of recent times in response to the White paper on Worklessness strategies. It's a really important matter in Stockton and the North East in general so everyone was keen to see it working well. There was also a really interesting presentation on the work so far that's been carried out on the Saltholme Nature Reserve. If the European funding is forthcoming that's going to be somewhere well worth shouting about from the roof tops - huge, interesting and on our doorstep. The design of the building is futuristic and just about as sustainable as you can get. What's more, after a Europe wide competition to find architects the winners are a Newcastle partnership.

ASB and other things

So, with the Annual Meeting behind us what have I done? Caught up on some case work for the ward and read lots of comments from frustrated residents on the one hand and frustrated planning officers on the other about applications in the ward. Some things never change. The Mayor now has her blog working, with photos of events she's attended. Because it's part of the local authority website it has to be done according to policies and codes of practice, but it's still a real innovation.
Tonight's ward surgery brought some unwelcome news. It all started well enough with a representative of the church in whose premises we meet coming to do a risk assessment and discuss the petition they're organising for a pedestrian refuge in the road outside. That's something we can very happily support. But then came a visit from our neighbourhood police officer to talk about the anti-social behaviour problems in the ward. It seems that we now feature as the second worst ward in the South and West area. Gangs of young people are gathering, drinking alcohol and causing noise and damage as they disperse. If the police disperse them from one area they move on to another. In the end we decided to try to arrange a round table discussion with the young people, the police, the youth service, the parish council, ASB team and other interested parties to look for a way out.
Watch this space - miracles are notoriously difficult so I hope we aren't raising false expectations.

Mayor Suzanne, Part 2

Home again, in a blissful state of blessed relief. Everything went smoothly - 100% attendance by councillors meant that Allison was duly elected as chair of the Housing & Community Safety committee and Andy as Vice Chair of Corporate Policy Review. No hiccups, Suzanne looked radiant, John was proud as could be and their grandchildren were wonderful. The African drummers played up a storm and were applauded enthusiastically. The Fairtrade wine gave me a chance to explain Fairtrade to the representative of the Hindu community on Teesside. All in all a good day!
Now I need to get my act together and be more dedicated to this diary, as our new mayor is planning to have a blog during her year as mayor. I'll definitely have to look to my laurels.

Mayor Suzanne

Well, the day has finally arrived - at approximately 10.45 BST today Suzanne Fletcher will become Mayor of Stockton-on-Tees. It's been a long time coming. Thanks to the selfishness of the biggest party on the council she's been a councillor for 25 years before becoming Mayor whereas some of the recent holders of the post have served less than 10. Still, today's not a day for recriminations but celebration. It's going to be a very different mayoral year from the norm!
For a start the Mayor and civic guests won't enter the reception to a slow handclap but to the sound of African drums provided by a group of refugees from that continent. Drumz use Fairtrade drums imported from Africa. Which will lead nicely to the Fairtrade wine served with the meal! All part of Stockton's effort to become a Fairtrade Borough, something Suzanne has wanted for years now.
Meanwhile I need to go and add the Lord Lieutenant into my speech introduction!

Imaginary Readings

How time flies when you're enjoying yourself (or busy or just forget about the blog!)
It seems that we celebrated too soon the granting of a second reading for the TMR bill on building in gardens. Although apparently granted such a reading in fact it won't get it, because there won't be time made for it. Such is the way of Parliament - Ten Minute Rule bills get imaginary second readings.
Meanwhile we have another two or three applications in for just this kind of building, and no sign of the flood abating. EPAG are getting more and more demanding in their desires to reform the planning system as a whole and Stockton's planning department in particular.

Gardens or Brownfields?

Yesterday afternoon, as Stockton's planning committee debated one application after another for housing to be built in large gardens, Parliament was hearing about exactly the same problem. The MP for Tunbridge Wells sought to introduce a bill removing gardens from PPG3 under the Ten Minute Rule. Normally such bills go nowhere, but lobbying by residents and local councillors from Stockton to Somerset meant that this one has been granted a second reading. It might just be the incentive the ODPM needs to change PPG3.
When introducing it Mr Clark (Greg, not Charles) said he'd had messages of support from Liberal Democrats and Labour so the flurry of e-mails and phone calls from here may have done some good.

This morning is my first meeting with the Chief Exec as Group Leader - oh joy!

Catch up time

I've just realised what a long time it is since I wrote anything in this diary. An eventful six weeks really, in which I passed the significant age of 60, became a grandmother and became Council group leader in that order. No wonder I hadn't time for blogging!
My birthday bash was a really enjoyable Ceilidh at Yarm Fellowship Hall to music by The Cleveland Bays. Friends came from far and wide and the whole family was there. It's a long time since I've enjoyed an evening so much. We also had some of Kirsty's long-standing friends (most of whom had been in Guides or at school with her) so that they could have an evening together before she and Pete jetted off to Australia.
On the actual date of my birthday they flew on the first leg of their journey as far as Dubai where their plane was delayed so they started their wedding anniversary in the transit lounge of the airport - Kirsty curled up asleep and Pete on his laptop with a wireless connection e-mailing photographs of the journey so far to friends and family around the world. Since then things have gone rather more smoothly for them and they are now touring that huge country before she starts work in March.
Between Christmas & New Year Denis and I went to Keswick for a short break to walk in breathtakingly crisp cold scenery. We arrived home to find that all was not running smoothly with Andrea's pregancy and she had spent a night in hospital for tests. The next 3 weeks were punctuated by regular checks with parents anxiously waiting for the results, and the early arrival of Emma Jane on January 18th. She is of course beautiful but small. Their first shopping expedition was to buy some tiny baby clothes - the many first size ones they'd received in advance will have to wait a few weeks to be useful. The proud parents are tired but enjoying her to the full, and proud grandparents couldn't wait to go down and see her.

On the Council there was a lull over Christmas, as usual, but immediately afterwards I presented the last scrutiny report of the Education, Leisure & Cultural Services Select committee first to members of the Youth Assembly and of the youth service and then to cabinet. In both cases it was well received and the department is now looking at ways of implementing the recommendations in it.

Suzanne decided that she needed to step down as group leader very soon in order to give her successor chance to do the necessary negotiations on budget and positions of responsibility before the Annual Meeting when she'll become Mayor. At the group meeting it was decided that I would take over from February 1st, so here I am! A bit like birthdays - it doesn't actually feel any different to yesterday.

The FairTrade Borough campaign rolls on, albeit slowly. Last night was an amazing night, though, with 100 people squeezed into the Newtown Resource centre to hear Bruce Crowther speak about how we could move forward, Simeon Greene talk about the difference FairTrade made to his home island in the Windward Islands and John Lyons talk about the impact on the global awareness in his primary school. We hope now that all those people will go away and promote it even more actively.

A Vote too far?

Certain people within the council have come up with quite the daftest idea yet for increasing voter interest in local elections - they want us to have a directly elected executive. Seven people to be directly elected from across the whole Borough (that's two parliamentary constituencies) to replace the present cabinet elected by the council from its members. Somehow these seven people are going to be able to come together the day after the election, understand how the system works and start sharing out portfolios and buckling down to work. This despite the fact that they might be from a mix of political parties or none, elected on completely different manifestos. Is the world completely mad I ask myself.

For some strange reason the Tories agree that it's a good idea.

One of the suggestions made is that it provides a defined career structure for elected members - what a load of rubbish. Elected members are exactly that - elected. If you decide not to elect us next time that's it - we're out. There's no career structure at all. Some might hope that if they make a good showing at local level they'll get a chance to stand for Parliament in a seat where they have a hope of winning but most people go into local politics to make a difference in their own area.

What it does mean is that ward councillors will be further away from influencing the decision making - Executive members can claim that they were elected on a particular policy platform and they needn't take any notice of other councillors. Do we really want this?

Apparently the Labour Government at Westminster has indicated that more powers could come to local councils if they go along this route. BUT the very powers people want - those over planning, licensing and policing their areas, are being more and more centralised to a regional or national level. Where's the honesty in that?

December Already?

Where did November go? Amongst other things I spent time with my family which was good, had numerous meetings about changes in Children's Services and chased our local water provider about a leak.
The leak in question was not just any old leak - we are talking hundreds of litres a day here. But "it's not a water main - it hasn't any chlorine in it". My simple mind didn't expect it to have chlorine in it when it had bubbled its way up through several feet of clay.
Then: "It's been mended" - this when I am standing watching it flowing freely.
Then: "Its a land drain" - on the highest bit of land around???
Then: "It's a sewer - but not one of ours!"
Finally, when the Borough Engineers started talking about mending it and charging them, behold it was a water main, and it was mended.
Unfortunately they then decided to dig another 2 holes to create a triangle round the road junction.
Watch this space!!

Democracy Week

All sorts of things have been going on in Stockton for Local Democracy Week, but today's the day I make a fool of myself for a good cause. At 5pm the Education, Leisure & Cultural Services Select Committee team take on the Youth Assembly team at Hollywood Bowl. Now I haven't been bowling since my teens and that's more years ago than some of these young people's parents have been around! I do not expect that we will cover ourselves in glory, but I do expect to know the members of the youth assembly a little better at the end of it.

Meanwhile, I shall spend the day trying (in no particular order) to catch up on housework, casework and finding a replacement leader for the Guide unit from which I retire at Christmas.

Listening to Young People

Today was a much more cheerful day. We had an event in ARC for young people from across the borough to respond to the ideas in the Youth Matters Green Paper and for Councillors, Youth Workers and Childrens Services officers to listen to them. Although it started as an idea from an officer it grew into something organised by members of the Youth Assembly who took to the leadership role with relish. We played ice-breaker games, expressed our opinions on a number of topics and then had really good discussion groups on themes from the Green Paper. At the end the common complaint was that we hadn't had long enough! Now given that this was from youngsters on a Saturday morning I think it says a lot about how much they want to contribute to life in the Borough.
So - what did we as elected members get out of it? Loads of challenges, that's for sure. We were challenged to really listen, to do some of the things that young people wanted, to let them have more input into how money is spent and where - they really do want to be involved. Now it's down to us to make sure they are, and that the democratic processes really work for them.

I met a young man, 16 at present, who's winning medals at national level in athletics and expecting to compete in Europe next year - an Olympic hopeful from our town for 2012! We didn't know about him - we didn't know anything about his achievements - what sort of a system have we when we know every last detail about GCSE results but don't know we've got a national champion in our midst?

It's not often I enjoy giving a Saturday morning to Council business but this morning was quite exceptional - those young people were an inspiration. I just hope we don't completely let them down.

End of an era

On Tuesday morning we heard the sad news that Cllr Stephen Smailes, leader of the Conservatives on Stockton Council until recently, had died. He'd suffered for a long time and no doubt for him it was a release but for family and friends it's a huge loss.
I didn't know Stephen well, but he'd been on Stockton Council for 38 years and his name was known to hundreds who never met him. I expect the church to be full today for the funeral service. Much as I disagree with Tory policies I admired the way he always knew how to appeal to the electorate. His calls to preserve the architectural heritage of the "jewels in the crown of Stockton" will be missed. His will be a hard act to follow.
Rest in Peace Stephen. You will not be forgotten.

Grrr!

Way back in the Spring, Egglescliffe Parish Council decided to invest some of the Council Tax in new play equipment for two of the play areas we manage. The recreation committtee duly studied catalogues, relived our own childhood (through rose coloured glass of course!) and chose some wooden adventure equipment which didn't need to have safety surface under it and would appeal to a wide age range.
Last week was installation time - while I was away at Conference. Certain young people declared that we were spoiling their football pitch and they would take the equipment out. Now I admit that the positioning was partly designed to stop them kicking their ball against the fences and walls of adjoining houses, but the grass was never, never designed for football games. It's too small an area for that. Sure enough, some of them had a good try and Stockton Council's Play Area inspection team had to be contacted to go out and make the area safe!
On Sunday evening I had an e-mail from a resident to say that said youths were trying to demolish part of the equipment. Yesterday morning I had a phone call to say that she thought they'd succeeded! The Parish Council Clerk and I paid a hasty visit and concluded that the installation was probably sub-standard. However, we're not experts so we await a written report from those who are.
Meanwhile the area has had to be fenced off so the children who were enjoying the new equipment are now deprived by the selfish revenge action of the few.

What a Week!

Back from conference with a mass of useful ideas and information - thoughts on improving recycling rates; better policies for children and young people; ideas for working towards being a Fair Trade Town; lots of questions to ask about all kinds of things. That's the beauty of Conference - the fringe meetings and the casual chat throw up all manner of ideas that make me want to come back and get on with changing the world!
The debates weren't bad either, not that you'd know it from some of the press coverage. There were some powerful arguments for and against motions, some intense listening and some thoughtful voting. The Urgent Issues debates were particularly good - no arguments over wording to distract attention from the issues under consideration but some really deep thoughtful arguments. Excellent stuff.

Blackpool

My second visit to Blackpool, but my first stay there and my first conference there. First impressions weren't particularly good, arriving after a difficult weekend and driving through some pretty run down areas to reach the hotel.
Subsequent impressions were mixed - the Promenade is beautifully laid out and litter-free, some of the shopping areas new and shiny bright, some super hotels and guest houses, but also lots of flaking paint, shops selling souvenirs that were popular in the fifties, restaurants that close before 9pm.
The Illuminations certainly brightened the night scenery, even though some of the designs were distinctly tacky. I was sorry the trams stopped running when they did, as I'd have liked to have taken a tram ride along the full length of them. Maybe if there's another conference there I'll forgo one of the fringe events and enjoy the Illuminations in all their glory.
I must say how much I appreciated the shuttle bus between the Winter Gardens and the Imperial Hotel which made getting to the majority of the Fringe Venues very easy.

Good News

Amazing U-turn on the part of the Transport Minister means that yesterday it was announced that after all the Grade-separated junction on the A66 at Long Newton will go ahead next April (2006). All the campaigning was worth it.
The announcement was made during the opening of the South Stockton Link Road, so now Ingleby Barwick is linked directly to the centre of Stockton and we in Eaglescliffe have a choice of routes into the town. Unfortunately we have to wait at least another year before the funding is available to do the necessary work on the Surtees Bridge to link the road with Middlesbrough. I haven't tried the new road yet , but I will later today.

Updates (overdue!)

Where does the time go? More than a month since my last post (mental note - must do better).
So what's been happening? Well, the budget is set for better or worse. Thanks to a fairly generous settlement from central government (nothing to do with it being an election year of course) we've got the lowest Council Tax rise in the Tees Valley. We Lib Dems wanted to put an extra £50 000 into youth work but the ruling Labour Group thought it was more important to spend it on the working of reception areas.
Even before we set the Tax level the Local Government Association was warning that rises could be 7.5% next year unless we get another big injection of cash from central government. There's got to be a better way of financing local expenditure than this.
Meanwhile all departments of the Council are looking for more and more efficiency savings so that they can give a good service for less money.
As parish councillors John and I listened to a presentation by developers wanting to demolish The Grange and replace it with 19 flats. A lot of members of the public came, and made their views very clear. As a result John and I as ward councillors were invited to meet the developers and look at their revised plans. They've reduced the number of flats and the mass of the building, but it's still going to be very intrusive into Valley Gardens.
The retrospective application for the motocross circuit has produced more interest than many housing developments. Such a lot of people have been suffering from the noise but not knowing that they could do anything. Dozens of letters have gone in opposing the development. Meanwhile the owner claims that the application is only for what he's been doing for the last 10 years according to a local journalist! We now await the recommendation of the planning officer on that one.