Celebrations

Last night's council meeting started with a series of award presentations. We try to do these at full council in recognition of the fact that the whole Borough celebrates the achievements, even though sometimes people have already had the presentation somewhere else.
First up was St Michael's RC school from Billingham. Yet again they won the Youth Parliament Debate award. For this they have to establish a mini parliament with government and opposition, then hold a debate and a vote. The whole thing is filmed and sent off for judging. St Michael's consistently produces quality debates for this competition and this year they added to their trophy collection. The cabinet member for Children and Young People had double reason to be happy, as the school is in the ward he represents.
The next group was the Care for Your Area team who won the Northumbria in Bloom and the Britain in Bloom trophies for the borough. Unlike many such things elsewhere, it's a small number of operatives who come along and receive the accolade from the council rather than just the managers. A huge round of applause for them as they carried off the vase and the glass lily.
Just occasionally someone serves as a councillor for a very long time, and this year Joan Wade retired after 24 years on Stockton Council. She came back last night to receive the award of Honorary Alderman of the Borough - well deserved.
The final award was to my very good friend and former leader of our group, Suzanne Fletcher. When Suzanne was mayor last year she worked very hard but we didn't know that there was something called "Mayor of the Year", run by the Co-operative Bank. Suzanne was entered in the competition and came second - a huge achievement. Her certificate was presented last night also, to much applause all round.
After all that, the normal council business of receiving minutes from committees and answering questions on them seemed even more mundane than usual.
Back home, the problems of connecting to the internet had still not resolved themselves so we have our intermittent access and have to make the most of it until we can get it sorted. As the helpline isn't working that could take some time.

This morning started with a meeting of all the chairs of scrutiny committees along with some other members to ensure a political balance, discussing the topics which are being scrutinised at present and how they're progressing. It was an opportunity to get home the message to all political groups that some of the recommendations of the Environment committee will not be universally popular and that officers will need support in implementing them.

Then on to an important but very different meeting - the Fairtrade Borough Group. This was the first meeting since we had our celebrations of achieving Fairtrade status and it was good to see a number of new people come along, all with different skills and interests to bring to the pot. We decided that we will have enough help to be able to man a stall at two events in November and to serve refreshments at one in early December, so great progress there. We also decided to organise a Fairtrade Winetasting event in January next year, so those people interested in wine tasting should watch out for tickets going on sale. I felt as though we made lots of progress and it was a very worthwhile meeting.

Once home, I had the task of recording a brief interview for the local BBC radio station on the subject of the leadership - inevitably wanting me to say where my preference would lie but I hope I answered honestly and clearly - I'm not going to try to influence other members by having my preference broadcast across the whole of the Tees Valley.

Blog Action Day

Two posts in one day can only mean one thing - two important things on one day. Today is Blog Action Day, on which bloggers across the world write about one issue. As the website says: One issue. One day. Thousands of voices.
So, what should I say about the environment? Well, I can't say anything profound that hasn't been said better by someone else somewhere else. But it so happens that today I spent almost 4 hours in meetings related to the Stockton Council Environment Select Committee. We weren't discussing global warming or saving the polar ice caps or anything huge like that. We were discussing the management of cemeteries in the Borough, and more precisely the management of the memorials within those cemeteries. So what's that to do with the environment you may ask? Well, not all memorials are the traditional stone headstone type - some are plastic flowers, or windmills or solar lights or conifer trees or miniature fencing or almost anything else. When these items are on the graves the grass cutting becomes very difficult and then other people's graves can suffer because they look untidy and ill kept. So the problem of how to allow people to erect memorials to their loved ones' memories but at the same time keep a pleasant environment for all to go and remember in peace and relative comfort is a difficult one to solve. Add to that the desire to make the cemetery a pleasant and peaceful place to visit, the need to use land as efficiently as possible but not to make people feel that there's no space, even when there isn't very much, and we have a big problem which is not easy to resolve. Should the environment of our cemeteries be uniform, with neat rows of headstones and nothing else? Should there be a free for all with anything allowed? Or should there be something in the middle, probably pleasing no-one fully?
After almost 4 hours of discussions we have some proposals to put to the cabinet member and corporate director on Wednesday, and if they approve then to publicise and hope that all councillors will give support.
So, not the environment on the grand scale but an environment nevertheless, and an important one for many, many people.

The End of a (very short) Era

This evening Ming Campbell resigned as party leader. He's suffered an awful lot of ageism over the two years of his leadership, particularly from some elements of the media but also it's true from some elements of this party. During our conference last month I had the interesting experience of being in the hall while Ming answered questions from delegates and supplementaries from Sandi Toksvig and then of being in the radio studio while the political editor of one of the tabloid press was interviewed on what his paper would be saying the following day. I did not recognise the conference he had attended! I saw a leader who could answer the set questions as well as one would expect, but who also answered the supplementaries with clarity and confidence, as well as relaxing into a little light-hearted repartee with Ms Toksvig. I then heard it said that the day had been a disaster for Ming Campbell who'd admitted to being a failure! I think it was at that point that I realised just how little chance he stood against the tabloid pack, and how soon we were likely to have a new leader.
As a party we didn't cover our collective self with glory in the course of the last leadership election and I hope sincerely that this one will be a better reflection of the quality of our party.

A Weekend Off

I confess to having taken the weekend almost entirely away from Council work or politics - a fairly rare event. But it was high time we caught up with our rapidly growing young grand-daughter and her parents, as well as being time to celebrate a family birthday. So Friday found us heading down the motorway towards the midlands. A thoroughly relaxing weekend was topped off today by a pleasant meal and then a walk in the unseasonal weather, enjoying Wollaton Park. A little way into the grounds we spotted a deer, placidly cropping the grass. Further round, our attention was drawn by the sound of magnificent stag telling the world where he was. In no time we were near enough to photograph him and watch him rubbing his antlers in the grass before lying down for a while. An amazing experience.

Wainstones & South View

Planning committee this afternoon, with huge public interest. Yesterday afternoon several members of the committee had been on a site visit to Wainstones in Leven Road in our neighbouring ward of Yarm. The owners want to demolish the house and build 5 detached houses in the grounds. It became clear on the site visit that, yes - 5 houses will fit, but with such tiny gardens that children will have insufficient space to play and let off steam, that there'd be a temptation to chop down hedges and trees in years to come because they would cast huge shadows over the gardens and that generally it wouldn't be within the character of the area. Reading the inspector's report on the previous failed appeal it was obvious that the developer, and sadly our planning officers, thought the objections had been overcome but actually they hadn't. When the objectors spoke, clearly and concisely, they won over almost the whole committee.
The latest in a series of applications relating to 1 South View in Eaglescliffe was later on the agenda. This site already has 2 permissions granted, both involving demolition - one for a huge 6 bedroomed house and one in outline for 2 houses. Now they wanted to build 7 apartments. The only thing to be said in its favour was that the design wasn't the bog-standard apparently mass-produced design of many applications. It had some character. Sadly it was far too big and involved losing almost all of the amenity space in the garden. We were told by officers that because there wasn't enough amenity space a sum of money would be paid towards improvement of amenity space elsewhere. As I pointed out, this wouldn't help the people living in the flats. The agent had said that the flats weren't designed for families but for upwardly mobile young singles or perhaps mature couples. I couldn't see them walking up Butts Lane to St Margaret's to enjoy a barbecue for Saturday evening, or a pre-dinner drink on a summer Sunday. I'm getting really fed up with applications like this where flats are built which mean people don't have anywhere to enjoy a bit of green space. In a city centre they may be acceptable because it's a different life style. But in a suburb bordering on a village - enough's enough in my opinion.
More importantly, road safety issues are present. Calculations based on the available data and using the software recommended for these things say that the access would be safe. But a resident of the new houses behind the site described how he and his family have been involved in one accident and numerous near misses coming out of their access. This one would be even nearer the junction. I don't know how we convince the powers that be that the software doesn't work in these cases. Part of the problem is that the hedge would need to be removed to give the correct visibility splay and it is still there. What's more, the residents don't want it removed.
No doubt there'll be an appeal or another application for something else, but everyone will remain vigilant.

Spending Your Money

How difficult is it to spend £10K of tax-payers' money? Easy do I hear you say? You'd be wrong, so wrong. This evening I chaired a meeting of the Western Area Transport Strategy Steering Group which met to discuss allocation of £25000 to projects in the Western Area which would improve road safety or traffic flow or otherwise improve highways. At the last meeting 4 items had been identified as worthy of further investigation. Tonight we heard the results of those investigations:
Changes to the sequencing of pelican crossing lights in Yarm High Street probably wouldn't achieve any improvement so no money to be spent there.
Dropped kerbs in Station Rd, Eaglescliffe to facilitate the route from Yarm Road to the station and the shops - cheaper than expected at £2300
Improvements to the bus stop and footpath on Durham Lane - £9000
Gateway improvements on Long Newton Lane - cheaper than expected because no vehicle activated signs are allowed on there.
Result - we can have the three schemes but we still have £10500 to spend. Three further ideas had been suggested but two of them weren't supported by evidence of need or by the ward councillor! So, still £6500 to spend. Eventually we'd exhausted all the ideas in the room and still not spent it so as a result the engineers have 3 pages of questions to investigate before e-mailing round the answers for us to decide whether to spend more on Station Road to make a real gateway to the station or to have a study done of the possibility of fitting in a pedestrian crossing on Urlay Nook Road or to replace a bus shelter if anyone knows of one that's needed. Almost 2 hours spent and at the end still not a final decision. It's sad that land ownership issues stop us doing some of the things we know residents would really like and that earmarking for transport issues means we can't spend it on facilities for getting young people away from areas where they cause a problem with their footballs.
Still, can't have everything and at least we'll get the new bus stop on Durham Lane at last.

Family Matters

Just a week after we heard of his death, and a fortnight before what would have been his 80th birthday we buried my last remaining uncle today. He'd enjoyed his life on the whole, and his children, grandchildren and other relatives and friends were out in force to remember him and celebrate his life. Until the Pastor mentioned his service in the Navy in Malta I'd forgotten about the cuddly dog he brought back from there. At a time of shortage in this country it was a rather exotic thing - pale yellow and as soft as could be. It survived until eventually, in the hands of my youngest brother its neck split open and the stuffing began to come out. Strange how memories come back when the person concerned dies. As the Pastor said - that's how they live on our memory.
It was a very calm, mild morning and we were able to spend some time outside afterwards talking to cousins and exchanging phone numbers and e-mail addresses, along with promises not to lose touch.
After lunch and spending time with my mother, now the last of her generation on either side of our family, the world of council e-mails intruded. A message to say that my mailbox was full needed to be dealt with as soon as I got home. Two messages with 3MB of photographs on them were the culprits and soon deleted.
Unfortunately I could then read that after all the work, we're still no nearer getting anything done on the Butts Lane Triangle (the patch outside the gates of Egglescliffe Church Yard and the footpath leading to Stoney Bank). Because it's not adopted highway it's not going to be easy but we won't give up yet. A happier message suggested that 2 out of the 3 dog waste bin sites we'd suggested had been approved, so people on Hunters Green should soon have one and also one near All Saints Church on Dunnottar Avenue. Success for some!

So, No Election then

It seems that Gordon Brown has decided not to risk losing his parliamentary majority just yet. I'm sure that I'm not alone in my distaste for the posturing of the last few weeks. If he genuinely wanted the chance to show the British people that he's developing policies that are going to make a difference in the country he should have said that a month or more ago. Instead, he's caused council staff up and down the country to be taken off jobs that need doing for the local people in order to get ready in case an election was called, working out which things had to be finished and which could be put on one side. A total waste of their time and tax-payers' money. The sooner we get a proper constitution with a fixed parliamentary term the better.

Stand with the Burmese Protesters

I don't usually make time for blogging in the middle of the day but this is so important, here goes. There's a huge on-line petition to try to get the Chinese government to exercise whatever influence they have over the Burmese dictators to stop the violent oppression and exploitation of that country and its people. The petition reads:
To Chinese President Hu Jintao and the UN Security Council:

We stand alongside the citizens of Burma in their peaceful protests. We urge you to oppose a violent crackdown on the demonstrators, and to support genuine reconciliation and democracy in Burma. We pledge to hold you accountable for any further bloodshed.

You can read more and sign by going to the link above so please, please go there and read it even if you don't feel for some reason you should sign. At least make it an informed decision.
Thank you.

Railway Terrace

Last night's ward surgery brought residents to raise yet again the question of how we can get a road surface and street lights onto the oldest street in the ward. When the rail company built the houses for their workers over 100 years ago they didn't provide for motor cars. Now of course, most residents have a car and would like to be able to park outside their house. Unfortunately for them the road can't be adopted because the access to it lies over the Railway Car Park and an adopted road has to be connected to other adopted roads in the network. I'm going to continue with investigations into whether anything at all can be done to the road surface but as it's taxed better brains than mine over the years I don't promise miracles.

Graves, Trees and other things

A visit to Carlisle cemetery occupied most of yesterday - morbid some of you may think but actually very important as I lead the review of Stockton's policy on such things. Carlisle has some of the same problems which we have, but has dealt with them more firmly than we have so they are smaller scale now. They also have a wonderful selection of memorials available to people who don't want a traditional grave - burial with a tree as your "headstone", growing a great wood for future generations to enjoy; memorial plaques on walls or in a mock sheepfold or on a sculpted feature; casket type mini-catacombs for cremated remains and other ideas too. We gained a huge amount from the visit and will try to incorporate at least some of the ideas into Stockton's cemeteries in the future.
One of the more unusual things is that when trees die back they aren't removed, but the dangerous bits are taken off and the top of the remainder is carved into something fitting for that area. So amongst some mature trees we saw The Owl. I'm not sure whether we'll start that in Stockton but you never know.
Nearer to home there was some good news for those who hope to see the triangle outside Egglescliffe Churchyard gate on Butts Lane improved so that it doesn't become a paddling pool every time there's heavy rain. Engineers have looked into what needs doing and are preparing an estimate of costs. If it can be covered by our Small Environmental Improvements Budget we'll be delighted.
The spring bulbs for planting along Yarm Road and Durham Lane are ordered so we look forward to seeing them planted soon.
Possible locations for 3 new dog waste bins are being investigated on Urlay Nook Rd near Egglescliffe School, near All Saints Church and near Hunters Green. More news on them when locations are finalised, but at last things are moving ahead.

Election Fever still haunts the press and media, though I suspect that most of the electorate of this country would rather just get on with their lives. The sooner we have a written constitution with a fixed Parliamentary term the better. This "will they, won't they" business does no good to the economy or the blood pressure. One thing is sure - if the general election is called for November many people will be disenfranchised because they'll have filled in the forms to be included on the new electoral roll but won't be on the old one which will still be in operation in November (because they've moved house perhaps). I don't see the need for an election - Gordon Brown along with other Labour MPs were elected on a manifesto for 5 years, not as followers of Tony Blair. We don't have a Presidential system in this country despite some recent PMs trying to make it otherwise.
In the meantime I've tried to catch up on some work while waiting in for a parcel which I missed on Friday. It was a lovely crisp autumn day and I should have been outside but it couldn't be helped. I did manage to fill in the form to get some more dog waste bins in the ward so perhaps it wasn't all time wasted. Also, courtesy of the internet, I had a conversation with our daughter in Australia and heard what she'd been doing. So definitely not all wasted. We edged a little closer to arranging our holiday out there next year.
For most of the day I seemed to be doing things which don't really seem to have an impact on the everyday life of Eaglescliffe - completing a form for the Audit Commission about partnership working in Stockton for instance. These are things which have to be done but do seem to take up an inordinate amount of time for the good they do.

Burma - You're in our prayers

I've been following the protests in Burma with increasing concern over the course of the week and spent time over breakfast reading the coverage in yesterday morning's newspaper. I was almost in tears as I read it. We take voting and free speech so much for granted that many of us don't even bother to vote. In Burma young and old alike were out on the streets, peacefully protesting against not having those rights. What was the reaction of the military leaders? To send out the guns, shooting indiscriminately and killing goodness knows how many people. I have a particular interest in Burma, having taught a student from there many years ago. When she was preparing to return she was very worried and insisted that if we wrote to her we put Myanmar rather than Burma on the address because she said that if a letter arrived with Burma on it would indicate that they were not "loyal" and would cause trouble and possible imprisonment. I wrote to her, and so did several others but none of us ever heard from her again. Every so often I wonder if she's OK, but when there's news like this week's I fear for her and others like her.
I just hope and pray that the visit from the UN special envoy does some good, but it seems that nothing affects the military junta for the good.

Networking

I spent Friday morning in a meeting of North East Liberal Democrats, discussing various political issues. Part way through the morning I received an e-mail from Stockton Council's PR department with the result of the Darlington referendum on having an elected mayor. A pretty comprehensive victory for the No campaign was greeted with relief - such votes on the whole are a distraction from the main job of councillors to represent the people who elected them.
The afternoon was taken up with a meeting to examine the issues and possible solutions so far in the scrutiny of policy and practice on memorials in our cemeteries. There are new issues every time we take evidence from someone. Now the problem is - if we allow some extra memorialisation on lawned graves who is going to be responsible for removing them if the grave needs to be reopened for a second or third burial is to take place in the plot. We still have the problem of who should "police" any rules - there doesn't seem to be an obvious person or service at the moment. And of course there are budget implications for any changes.
Time for a quick tidy up at home before a really enjoyable network was re-established in the flesh. My husband grew up with a cousin living very near in both age and housing. They were almost inseparable until his cousin's family moved away to the south of England in the days before internet, phones in almost every house or family holidays to further away than Whitby. As a result contact became much more spasmodic so this was the first time in many years they'd actually met up. It's amazing to me how some relationships survive this sort of distance and others disappear under much less stress. Seeing them together it was as though they'd never been separated. The jokes flew, the laughter, the conversation were all as they had been years ago. We eventually managed to load ourselves into the car to go and meet the rest of the family for a meal. It was an opportunity also to catch up with our nephew and his plans for his career. It seems no time since he was a toddler getting into trouble for examining things too closely for their and his safety - switching things on and off, pulling bits out to see if they would go back in! Now he's planning to be a civil engineer.
So, different sorts of networking during the day, all worthwhile but only one producing side-aching laughter. Perhaps just as well otherwise I might not have survived.

Thursday already?

On the home front we now have our lovely wooden floor but have yet to choose and fit new skirting boards so some of the furniture is still in other places. However, we have brought back our comfy seating so at least we don't have to try to relax sitting round the dining table! I even managed to catch up on some reading and filing while the work was being done.
Around the ward we've made decisions on where to have spring bulbs planted this autumn so we should have swathes of crocus, hosts of golden daffodils and mixed tulips appearing next spring. I'm sure residents will let us know what they think of them at the time.
We've had some discussions about the playing of inappropriate ball games on some of the medium sized plots of green in the area, especially at the moment on Hindhead, but without reaching any solutions. It's a real tragedy that the handful of young people who misuse the school playing fields and vandalise the buildings have led to all youngsters being deterred from using them to kick a ball about. We'll keep working on it but I don't hold out a lot of hope at present.
I spent a sizeable part of Tuesday evening and yesterday as part of a panel of members selecting a manager for the Stockton Darlington Partnership. This is one of those obviously sensible ideas which has only just become appropriate - the two boroughs are neighbours and both need to upgrade their ICT systems, make even more cost savings to keep within government targets and keep costs down for the Council Tax payers, and at the same time improve the services which the people of the two Boroughs get. The answer is to share some of the services which no-one sees but which keep the front-line services working - things like ICT, Design & Print, HR services. Work has been going on in the background for a couple of years, trying to see whether two different authorities could work together like this and earlier this year it was agreed that we could. Yesterday a Partnership Manager was appointed to take the vision into reality. It was a very difficult decision to make with some very good candidates and we're all left feeling that we'll only know for sure whether we chose the right one after a couple of years. For the sake of all the residents and staff I hope we did.
Later in the day, catching up on the e-mails which needed dealing with, I spent an interesting half hour chatting with the leader of the Labour Group about the regeneration projects in the borough and especially about the delays being caused by the local Urban Regeneration Company. I'm not au fait with all the details but it sounded to me as though the sooner ministers make a decision about funding channels to the city region the better.
The really good news of the day came late in the evening. An e-mail from the director of Neighbourhood Services told me that Stockton had won Best City in the Britain in Bloom awards. Yippee and congratulations all round! However, the results aren't on the RHS website yet so I can't get hold of any details except that I know we were awarded Silver Gilt, ahead of London Borough of Brent and Dundee who both got silver awards.

The weekend flew by in a haze of housework and furniture removal in readiness for the twin joys of seeing relatives we haven't seen for years and having a new floor laid in our main living room. The house is now reasonably presentable apart from the rooms which are storing the furniture we moved!
This afternoon started with the kick-off meeting for the Environment Select committee's next scrutiny, trying to work out what the scope of the review should be and what information we need gathered together. We'll be looking at the Borough Waste and Recycling strategy, trying to determine the best way of moving forward over the next 5 years or so. Which of the kerbside recycling collections are worth carrying on; which if any should be dropped or increased; should we move to fortnightly collections of residual waste; what's the total environmental impact of the strategy we have at present and how can it be reduced? Lots of interesting and challenging questions which the review will attempt to answer in order to come up with a policy fit for purpose. There'll be a need for a lot of engagement with press and public to keep everyone informed of any proposed changes and also to try to gather evidence of any problems people are having.
Three of us went straight from that to the meeting of the Select Committee to hear evidence from the memorial masons and the Funeral Directors on what memorials they think are suitable for our cemeteries and any problems they've had with the present arrangements. They are certainly outspoken on what they want to be allowed and what Stockton Council should be doing but some of their evidence raised questions rather than answered them and didn't always ring true with other evidence we have had from other sources. However, they did raise one good point - that if anything other than the headstone is to be allowed we need to be clear about how it's going to be removed when a grave is needing to be reopened to add a body and also whose responsibility it is to remove it.
The third meeting of the day was the Western Area Partnership Board which has agreed to move to monthly meetings now that our agendas seem to be of increasing length. Tonight's meeting had very little opportunity for discussion but still lasted over 2 hours. We agreed that in October we'll put in an extra meeting to discuss the Building Schools for the Future programme especially as it applies in the Western Area. We also heard from our young representative, Alice, that the youth club in Yarm has moved premises and is now at Layfield Primary rather than Conyers. The Crime Reduction Partnership reported that crime in the Western Area is significantly lower than elsewhere in the borough which is lower than in similar boroughs in the country so we ought to feel much more secure than perhaps we do. Maybe we need to spend some more effort on improving perceptions as the perception seems to be that crime is getting worse.

Back to Normal

Back to council business with a vengeance today, with a seminar on the various changes to local government which will come in the next couple of years. The Westminster government wants to revitalise our democracy but they seem incapable of realising that the only way to do that is to allow local people to elect councillors who decide on how to spend the money and deliver the services locally instead of having to fulfill central government targets all the time. It seems to be almost impossible to set a vision for the area in case we fail to deliver it in the required time frame - utterly stupid in my opinion. The result is that many people don't see any point in voting or getting involved because they find that it doesn't actually make much difference.
Once the new local government bill is enacted we'll be faced with making a choice between having a directly elected mayor who then takes all the important decisions and appoints his/her own cabinet to help in that, or a directly elected leader and cabinet as a slate so very little chance of a coalition ever again, or a leader elected by the council as at present who would then appoint his/her own cabinet and be in post for 4 years instead of the current one year. We know that the Independent groups on the council favour the elected mayor scenario because they seem to think that anyone who's not a member of a mainstream political party has more democratic credibility than someone who is. They're also convinced that people would reject the offerings of the main parties. They could be right on the latter point but they could be very wrong. Interesting times ahead.
An hour spent chasing up bits of work which hadn't been resolved while I was away was followed by a trip to the shops to restock the depleted fridge and cupboards. Then it was time to sort out Fairtrade goods to take to one of the local churches in time for their harvest festival stall on Sunday before going to celebrate my mother-in-law's 85th birthday with the other half of her family. It was exciting to hear our nephew's plans for going to university next year and to realise that he's also planning to be an engineer - the family tradition continues despite his father's departure from it!

Homeward Bound

The last day of the conference dawned grey and wet, so no regrets at leaving the seaside this time. We'd decided on a morning train because the later ones were prohibitively expensive so we weren't around for Ming's speech. We did have time to hear the debates on the two Emergency Motions of the day, neither of which should have been needed in a civilised society. The first called for the government to grant asylum to those Iraqis who've been working for the British forces as interpreters. These people have been working in very dangerous circumstances which now mean they are marked men. Once our forces don't need them they're expected to go home and live a normal life as though they never had anything to do with the occupying army. Absolutely disgusting and yet again made me ashamed of this government.
The second was on Darfur, led by Liberal Democrat Youth and Students, and included a moving speech by a Darfuri asylum seeker who described life in Darfur and then in England. He was given a standing ovation at the end and not one person complained that his speech had slightly over-run its allotted time.
Our train journey was uneventful but irritating in that there is still no apparent will in the London Underground to help people who are not actually disabled but do have problems negotiating stairs with suitcases. Victoria station not only didn't have an escalator or lift but didn't have any interested staff. It made me question the requirements of the DDA to take reasonable steps to accommodate people with disabilities. I couldn't see any changes since the first time I'd used the underground twenty years ago.
Once back home there was just time to go through the post for any urgent items before going out to Parish Council where the most exciting item turned out to be the possibility of a new office for the Council. For many years the clerk has used a room in her house as the office and the Council has paid what is now a paltry sum for the electricity and inconvenience. A few years ago we had looked for other premises but anything reasonable was too expensive to consider so the idea was shelved. This week a happy coincidence had led the clerk and chairman to a real possibility. The Council decided to go ahead and to establish a small sub-committee with delegated powers to spend the necessary money for removal of furniture and equipment, purchase of any necessary new furniture or equipment and installation of the telephone. A real sense of achievement pervaded the rest of the meeting.

Buy it Naked!

A slightly ambiguous and tongue-in-cheek title for a very serious campaign to reduce packaging.
This morning's first debate was on Action to Tackle Excess Packaging, something which has also been highlighted in the past few months by the newspaper which drops through our letter box most mornings (delivered by the most charming and polite young man anyone could wish to meet - daily proof that not all young people are rude, thoughtless and badly behaved.) One of the most telling facts produced in the whole debate is that packaging accounts for around 17% of the average household food budget. That's an awful lot of cardboard, plastic and paper. I know that some of it is necessary to protect the goods from damage, but a huge amount isn't. We heard one person describe how he spent considerable time at work designing a toothpaste tube which doesn't need to be in a cardboard box. Every other country in Europe sells it without its box but in the UK it still goes into a cardboard box. Why??
I always have fabric bags in the boot of the car so that I can use them when I shop, ever since I got my first one in a German supermarket years ago. I try to pop one into the bottom of my handbag too so that I'm never without. If everyone did that we'd not need any plastic carrier bags - just think how much oil that would save as well as the rubbish not going to landfill or incineration.
Quote of the day came in the debate on the governance of the UK: From a speech by Pericles of Athens in 431/430BC "Our form of government does not imitate the laws of neighbouring states. On the contrary, we are rather a model to others. Our form of government is called a democracy because its administration is in the hands, not of a few, but of the whole people."
Long may that continue to be true of this country, though I fear that the present government is working hard to change it.
After a morning of debate it was time to head off to a nearby hotel for a training session but I couldn't resist a detour down to the beach. The wind was so strong it was difficult to walk upright and the sea was lashing the beach and the remains of the old pier.

God Bless you Chris

A break from most of conference today for the funeral of our friend, Chris Bard. Chris was a Church of England priest, a very active member of the Association of Interchurch Families and a radio broadcaster. I first met him in 1978 and came to know and respect him enormously. He's sorely missed both in his public life and by his family and friends. I hadn't known that he was so involved with the local horticultural college and had been part of the team responsible for their multi-faith garden at Chelsea. It seemed entirely fitting that the recreated garden in the college grounds will be dedicated to Chris' memory. Chris had just completed a term as co-chair of AIF at the AGM in late August and the association will decide later how to commemorate him. For now it was good to see so many members at the funeral and to be able to read tributes from young people round the world whose faith lives were touched by Chris' combination of humour, intelligence and lateral thinking.
Some years ago I realised that we shared mutual friends in John and Suzanne, so it was fortunate that Suzanne and I were in Brighton this week and able to make the train journey to Chelmsford for the funeral. It meant missing the debates on Immigration and Poverty but that seemed a price worth paying in the circumstances.

Drivetime Fame

Today's agenda had lots of really good, solid policies to be debated and voted on:
Dentistry - calling for changes to the NHS dental contracts to encourage preventative work as well as treatment.
Climate Change - radical plans to take Britain towards a carbon-neutral future. This includes helping developing countries to mitigate and adapt to climate change, just as important as making sure that we in developed countries do our bit.
Women in Prison - calling for an urgent implementation of Baroness Corston's findings in her review published in March 2007. Women in prison are often much more vulnerable than men and are most often convicted of non-violent crimes for which prison is not an appropriate punishment.
Tourism - policies to improve the tourist offer in Britain and encourage sustainable tourism.
Action on Bullying - because I'd chaired the scrutiny review of anti-bullying policy and practice in Stockton earlier this year I was very keen to take part in this debate so put in a speaker card during the morning. Imagine my surprise and delight when I was called to speak second in the debate! Butterflies soon gave way to calm as I put into practice the things I'd learned on the Leadership Academy about breathing and so on. I talked about Stockton's new accreditation scheme for schools and youth clubs and mentioned Buddy schemes and Peer Massage. Radio 5 rang to ask me to go to their temporary studio for an interview on Drive Time - first time I've ever given a live radio interview. It was a fascinating experience from a techie point of view, and good to be able to give Stockton some national publicity for a good activity. Funnily enough I was perfectly calm in the studio but when I got outside the butterflies took over and I needed a long walk to recover before going to a fringe meeting.
It was a surprise to realise when going out of the hotel that according to a plaque on the wall Gladstone often stayed there - a good place to stay for a Liberal Democrat Conference.

Brighton Beach

The annual Liberal Democrat Conference has started at Brighton. I arrived last night after a problem free train journey - well done all 3 companies. We even had time for a walk along the beach and to watch people younger and more energetic than us playing volleyball and other active games.
My night was disturbed by the return of a rather raucous stag party, but Suzanne managed to sleep right through it!
So far today I've managed to be part of a consultation on housing with our Front Bench spokesmen on the subject and lots of other councillors and party members from around the country. It was good to get agreement from them that VAT needs changing on house building and refurbishment so that there's less incentive to knock down those lovely houses on Yarm Road in Eaglescliffe, Leven Road in Yarm and similar parts of Fairfield, Norton and Hartburn. We also had agreement that planning for the new homes needed in an area should be the prerogative of the local authority and not diktats from on high.
Then on to a fringe meeting about breaking the vicious cycle of offending, prison, release, re-offend. Lots of good ideas there which make good economic sense as well as being right from a social justice standpoint.
Now I've located the internet cafe I can do this quick catchup before going into the debate on whether to support an academic boycott of Israel, a subject which I've read a fair bit about and fear is being treated far too simplistically.

Overview and Scrutiny

Today was the sort of day I most dislike about being a councillor. Normally I try to keep Thursday for visiting my mother and mother-in-law, both severely disabled and elderly, doing shopping with them and generally helping out. However, I'd been persuaded against my better judgement to go to the first annual Scrutiny Conference in NE England. A car-sharing arrangement was worked out so that we didn't all drive to Sunderland in separate cars so I was picked up at 8 this morning. By 9 we'd arrived at the Stadium of Light. By 11 I had a raging headache, partly caused by the noise of the air conditioning unit in the ceiling above my head. Having decided to use my new handbag I hadn't transferred my usual paraphenalia into it so didn't have any paracetamol. Football stadium doubling as conference centre doesn't have useful shops so it was a case of soldiering on without.
The talks for the first half of the morning told me nothing I hadn't heard half a dozen times before and the second half confirmed my early impression of the government's bright idea for Community Calls for Action - any councillor worth their salt is doing that sort of thing anyway! Lunch was uninspiring but at least there was the option of some nice fresh fruit for pudding. Then the afternoon session could have been condensed into one half hour slot - yawn, yawn I'm afraid. It was all the more frustrating because I knew that others were at the Fairtrade Town Conference which would have been a lot more interesting and useful. I just hope they come back with loads of good ideas.
One minor bright spot is that the local paper seems to want to run a story about the change in the hospital phone number which Julia highlighted to them last week. I did a phone interview with the reporter in the lunch break, though thanks to my head I'm not sure it was the best I've ever done.
Meanwhile lots of work to do in the ward, including more on our Small Environmental Improvements budget, more on inappropriate ball games especially this time on Hindhead and more on planning including the new application to convert the Riverside Lounge into flats. Hey ho!

Town and Gown

Yesterday morning the engineer came bright and early to fix the phone line so I was back to normal very quickly. I also managed to get the tree people to come and trim back the shrubbery in our front garden so we now can see much more of the individual plants and also the path round them. Flushed with success I followed it up with some filing of papers and disposal of long out of date ones.
Yesterday evening was the Civic Dinner for the 175th anniversary of the founding of Durham University. Because the University now has a thriving campus at Stockton (Queens Campus) we have been very much part of this year of celebration. I was privileged to attend the University Dinner in March deputising for the Mayor's Consort, but I was invited to this one as leader of the Liberal Democrat Group. The evening started with a formal welcome from the present Mayor and then members of the University School of Medicine talked about their approach to medicine which involves understanding how chronic illnesses affect the daily life of the sufferer and their family and friends, how the local community works and how deprivation of one sort or another affects people. There's a lot of emphasis on getting involved in the community by doing voluntary work and in depth studies of particular patients. It was extremely interesting and is quite different from the traditional approach to medical courses. As a result they attract students who believe that doctors should be part of the community they serve. There were some leaflets put out but unfortunately by the end of the evening we were having coffee in a different room and I forgot to go back and collect one.
The dinner itself was excellent and was followed by a speech from the Leader of Stockton Council, Ken Lupton. Ken didn't try to follow on with a lecture about Stockton Council - wisely deciding that the University team would be a hard act to follow. He chose instead to entertain us with tales of his life as a Football Referee. Although I'm not a football fan he was entertaining and it's always good to see another side to someone. From the laughs around the room I think everyone enjoyed listening.

Phone Problems

If anyone is trying to leave me a phone message on my council number I'm sorry to say it won't reach me at present. When I tried to log on to the council laptop this morning it wouldn't connect through despite the modem having all the right lights on it. So I decided to ring the IT Helpdesk, only to find that the phone didn't work either - dead as a dodo seems an appropriate expression. An e-mail via Web Outlook brought a call from one of the helpdesk staff who promised to ask BT to check the line, but there's been no result and no further contact. The computer problem isn't too difficult to overcome with the aid of the Blackberry, Web Outlook and visits to Municipal Buildings but the lack of the phone means that I've no idea whether residents are trying to contact me. Technology's wonderful when it works but when it doesn't it's rubbish!
I just hope it's not our fault that it's gone and disappeared - yesterday afternoon we were continuing the preparation of the living room before the new wooden floor is installed in a fortnight. Part of this involved removing some extraneous cables which didn't seem to be fulfilling a useful purpose. We did keep checking the phones to make sure they still worked but it's still a niggling worry until BT respond.
I just hope the floor is worth the effort after all this.

Sustainable Energy

Preston Park hosted a small but extremely useful exhibition yesterday - The Sustainable Energy Roadshow. I was determined to fit in a visit, even though lots of work needed doing at home. I'm keen to see if we can install solar thermal heating in the house and want to have the information in plenty of time before our current combination boiler gives up. I was told that I should only expect 7 years from it, so the 10 that it's already given is quite superb. I had discussions with a number of suppliers and with the man from the Energy Saving Trust which supplies impartial advice. Much more research needed now, as there are special problems associated with dormer bungalows not having as much roof area as other houses nor as much loft space!
Sadly, in walking to and from church in the morning and to and from the Park in the afternoon I saw more evidence of vandalism to bus shelters than I've seen in a long time. They've been reported now and the glass will be cleared and the shelters repaired, but it's infuriating that some people find their pleasure in wrecking things. Broken glass is dangerous, even when it's the safer variety used in such shelters. I felt for cyclists trying to negotiate between scattered glass and the 4+ wheeled vehicles on the road. Even the pavement wasn't free of glass but at least pedestrians didn't also have cars and lorries to contend with.

R & R

After a frantic week of meetings, some very interesting but confidential at the moment, I headed off yesterday morning to the 4th module of a training course I've been doing over the last 7 months. The idea of the course is to help councillors do a better job for the borough and it's been interesting, useful and hard work at times. However, this module was a little different - it covered some of the things we'd identified as areas on which we wanted more help, rather than being part of a set "curriculum". So yesterday we spent a couple of hours on voice production and diaphragmatic breathing with someone from RADA in business. This is a wonderful organisation which helps fund talented drama students who can't access other funds through charging organisations and individuals for training in communication skills, especially voice production skills. It was a fun way to learn and to be reminded of things which it's easy to forget in the heat of a meeting.
The remaining sessions were more intense but also very valuable and then we adjourned for dinner together before a well deserved early night - bed before 11.30 for the first time this week.
Today was warm and sunny so after breakfast I took the opportunity of a brisk walk down towards the racecourse before the morning session. No races, but lots of people walking dogs and enjoying the sunshine.
The morning session was about dealing with the media so very useful for me as the scrutiny of the management of cemeteries reaches its most sensitive stage. Two and a half hours flew by and all too soon it was time to pack up, and say our goodbyes. Over 4 modules we've become friends and I now have colleagues all over the country to whom I can turn for advice if I want to.
This evening's ward surgery brought yet another problem of inappropriate ball games on a piece of open space just too small to accommodate them. I don't think we'll ever solve that issue but we did have some ideas to try out so we'll see how they go.
Because I'd not had chance to do any shopping we decided to eat out tonight, so our local Fairtrade vegetarian restaurant was the venue for tonight's meal - an excellent lasagne with olive salad. And despite it being September the evening was still warm enough to walk home comfortably with no coat!

Feeling Mortal

On Saturday came a phone call I'd been half expecting but hoping not to get, telling me that a friend of my mother-in-law had died. This is someone I've known for almost as long as I've known my husband - he partly rewired our first home before we moved in. A genius at growing leeks as well as many other vegetables in his garden, always cheerful - he'll be sorely missed in their neighbourhood. Although some years older than me, I never thought of him as elderly, and he often seemed to have more energy than I had until very recently. God bless you, George.
Today's shopping therefore included sympathy cards. I was somewhat taken aback to find that fully a quarter of the display in the shop was of Christmas cards - a little early I felt. I did succeed in finding two suitable cards and fitted in a quick visit to my mother to let her sign hers before I delivered them and spent some time with my mother-in-law who's naturally very upset.
The rest of the day was taken up with two contrasting meetings: one on cemetery and memorial management followed by one to finalise a bid to Big Lottery for funds for play equipment and activities in the Borough. Both are important in different ways but the former is much more sensitive and difficult to manage.
Home late, and catching up on the 60 or so e-mails which had arrived in my inbox during these meetings and visits when our home phone rang. My husband's gasp of horror brought me dashing into the room, to be told that a friend of ours from Interchurch Families had died suddenly. May he rest in Peace.

Little Boxes.....

Life over the last few days has been full of boxes - little ones to tick so that the council retains its Excellent rating and big ones to fill with books etc so that we can empty our large bookcase and move it to allow a nice new wooden floor to be installed in our living room.
The boxes to tick are by far the most difficult and time consuming. Officers have to work out how the Government's targets fit with the things which residents of the borough say they want and then work out how to satisfy both - not always possible and rarely easy. Councillors then have to try to get the things we know our residents want within all these targets and within the available budget which gets tighter every year. Creative lateral thinking is a councillor's greatest asset! Currently the council is preparing for a series of inspections which will leave everyone worn out by Christmas - the full council gets assessed for its overall performance against government targets, children's services are assessed over an above that - both the ones the council is responsible for and the ones which are the responsibility of the NHS, the Youth Service has its own inspection and so does the Youth Offending Service. As you can imagine, anyone with any connection to youth work is going to be assessed to death.
Meanwhile we need to get on with the work of doing what we were elected to do - make sure that services are delivered to residents in the way they want at the time they want. Miracles take time - please be patient!
This morning, though, a reminder of the wider world. The first Sunday of the month means the Traidcraft stall and Fairtrade coffee morning at church, always hard work but enjoyable and a reminder that whatever the problems and irritations of life here, others have much bigger problems and rely on us to help overcome them.

I Spoke Too Soon

Just because no-one had complained about the music at the Park didn't mean that no-one was going to! Only one complaint though, so I stand by my comment that the Summer Show was an improvement on the previous weekend.
This week we were sent a map at long last of the location of the dog waste bins around the ward so that we can arrange to have some more put in to fill the gaps, using the small environmental improvements budget. Unfortunately the first thing that John noticed was an error in the map! Nothing's ever simple.
Meanwhile we have arranged for the planting of thousands of spring bulbs around the ward so that next spring we should all see a huge difference and have our spirits lifted by the sight of crocuses, daffodils and tulips in the grass verges around.

Bank Holiday Weekend

The Stockton Summer Show opened on Friday in Preston Park under the warmest sun we've had for a while. The weekend so far has stayed fine and warm - most unlike a summer bank holiday weekend! Crowds of people seem to be really enjoying the entertainment on offer. The music from Arc in the Park didn't penetrate to this end of Eaglescliffe, or even to outside the park, so that was a great improvement on last weekend. The only annoyance I found when I went up to check on things this afternoon was that the show has closed off the path to the museum, so people have to pay the show entry fee to get to the Hall. I shall have to take that up on Tuesday because I couldn't do anything to get gates and fences changed at this stage, but I wasn't at all happy about that.
On Friday night I went out on patrol with our neighbourhood policeman, looking for the young people who get into trouble for drinking under age and making a bit of a nuisance of themselves usually round the back of the shops or on the play areas. We wanted to talk about what they'd like in the area and what they'd be prepared to put into the effort to achieve it. Amazingly, on a fine warm night there wasn't one group of them to be found - the only people hanging round the shops were a couple of 20+ year olds and they were already engaged in conversation with a special constable on patrol there. So we're no further forward in knowing if there's anything we can do to provide some alternative "hanging out" place for them.

Embarrassment

This morning was the last stage of the Fairtrade Borough Roadshow - a visit to Thornaby market. The positioning of the trailer had been discussed with the markets manager and the driver on Monday and agreement reached. Imagine how I felt when I got there and found it occupying two disabled parking bays. An e-mail to the events team elicited the response that they couldn't park anywhere else because everywhere else was full! Reluctantly I started erecting the display. I could have saved my energy. The only people willing to engage with us were the people who wanted to protest about us parking there. In the end we packed up early and asked the events team to come and take the trailer away early. I hope they did! I've told the corporate director what happened so that if any of the public complain as they threatened to, to the press or police, he knows what the story is.
Fortunately this afternoon brought better news - the deportations to the Congo have been stopped until the review of country guidance takes place. I just hope the review is an honest one.

It's Official

The second day of the Fairtrade Roadshow coincided with the formal celebration of the Fairtrade Borough achievement. A lovely afternoon, recalling the 30 year journey from the first Fairtrade coffee and tea to the present day. We heard from Jenny Medhurst about the early campaigns and the huge support from individuals and church groups which started things moving. Then we heard from Ayshe Babur about the wonderful work being done at the Newtown Resource Centre to educate people about Fairtrade and give them the chance to taste for themselves, culminating in producing their winning entry to the recipe competition in the spring. Finally I had the chance to thank everyone for the work and commitment they've shown and present the certificate to the Deputy Mayor as representative of the people of the borough. I hadn't actually written a speech so I didn't feel I'd wasted time writing it when the press didn't arrive!
One of the local free papers, The Circuit, had done a lovely photo of the Billingham stall and a great write-up on the front page. Sadly, the rest of the press didn't turn up today! Why can't they write a good news story for once.
After finishing for the day in Stockton market it was time to head back to Eaglescliffe and have a look at the plans for rebuilding our local Health Centre. The building design looks like a pleasing mix of traditional and modern and the people visiting the display sounded happy. The ground floor will be able to be used in part for community activities in the evening, such as ante-natal clinics to fit in with working parents-to-be, healthy living drop-ins and possibly the occasional meeting that's not health related. That could be a big asset to the area. Parking will be no better than it is at present, but the site isn't expandable so there isn't much we can do. At least the centre is staying in the centre of population and near a good bus route - it might have moved to Preston Farm or Allens West and we'd all have had a much more difficult journey to see a doctor.
The building process will give 12-18 months of pain, so I hope the end result really is worth it.

We're a Fairtrade Borough

The Fairtrade Roadshow hit the road this week, kicking off in Billingham Town Centre yesterday. Unfortunately, a little breakdown in communications meant that the trailer arrived late and didn't get into a very good position. The early sunshine gave way to cloud and bitterly cold wind and the balloons and bunting wouldn't stay in place. The display kept threatening to blow off the table! On the plus side, the people were interested and a good number signed pledges to spread the word.
Tomorrow we're in Stockton market and also in the Town House, presenting the certificate to the Deputy Mayor for the people of the Borough. I need to write a short speech, not so that I know what to say but so that the press can have copies!

Catching up

August used to be a quiet time for council work, with very few meetings. Somehow that's changed and everyone seems to try to fit things in before September. Nevertheless, each of us in the Eaglescliffe team has managed to have a holiday away from it all. In my case it was a week in the Peak District, somewhere we hadn't been to for several years.
Back home, decisions need to be made on the spending of our budget for small environmental improvements. One or two of the things we've asked for have been provided from other budgets so we're able to afford to have quite a lot of spring bulbs planted in grass verges around the ward and probably a number of dog waste bins. We're still waiting for information about some more major works which might be achievable.
The music event in Preston Park on Sunday was apparently greatly enjoyed by those who attended, if the local paper can be believed. It was not so enjoyable for the neighbours who felt their houses pounding in time to the music of the DJ sessions and couldn't get the organisers to turn the volume down. It wasn't so pleasant for us, trying in vain to help. We're still trying to ensure that a proper investigation takes place into what went wrong with the organisation and monitoring, especially as there's another event this weekend!

Deportations carry on regardless!

People who know me well will know that I spent some time before becoming a Councillor teaching English to refugees who arrived in Stockton from a variety of trouble spots around the world. In general I found them delightful students, desperate to learn the language and the culture of the country which had taken them in and was providing a temporary refuge from fear, oppression and worse. I occasionally meet some of them around the town, still here, still wishing their country was safe to go home to.
Imagine then my anger when I found that some people seeking asylum here from the Democratic Republic of Congo were being deported back there, told that the country whose government had sanctioned their torture and the killing of members of their family was a safe place to live. I am ashamed to say that our Government, acting supposedly on behalf of the citizens of the United Kingdom, has agreed to have a tribunal look at the evidence about the DRC but then keeps deferring its meetings while still deporting people. I've been shown photographs and heard personal testimony from some of those affected and I'm horrified.
I am a firm supporter of the view that people who are at risk of torture, murder, starvation and other atrocities must be given a safe haven to live in until the problems at home are resolved. This is very different from the view sometimes expressed in the media and elsewhere that all these people are coming for is our health service and benefits. They don't actually qualify for anything but basic support and I believe they need that support. The other side of our responsibility as a comparatively rich and democratic nation is that we work with the UN and other international bodies to encourage the countries concerned down the path of peace and basic human rights. When those things are in place the vast majority of refugees want to go home. The few who have put down roots in their country of refuge can surely be accommodated.

Rant over, but if you agree that deporting people to torture and worse is wrong, please write to your MP and to Kim Howells MP - 0207 219 5813 Fax: 0207 219 5526
Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Whitehall SW1A 2AH
email: raybouldc@parliament.uk

What a Result!

Congratulations to Greg Stone, Liberal Democrat candidate in Sedgefield. He slashed the labour majority and pushed the Tories into 3rd place. The figures can be seen on the Stockton Liberal Democrats website.
Today I go to the 4th consultation this week on the draft Sustainable Community Strategy for Stockton. This will set out the vision of how Stockton should be in 2021 - a bold ambition and one we need to get right if we're to develop in the way people want. Today's event is a joint one with members of the community network and area boards so I'm taking one of our young members along to do her first in depth work as a representative on the Western Area Board.
If you want to read it and comment by the end of the month there's a chance on the website - both the document and the feedback form are linked at the bottom of the page.

Meanwhile, plans for spending our Small Environmental Improvements Budget are speeding up with a request for some extra planting at the Greenfield Drive/Durham Lane junction to improve the appearance at that end of the ward. Any suggestions for the Preston area would be welcomed - no-one from that area has responded to the appeal in Focus. This budget covers not just planting but odd extra streetlights, parking bays, verge repairs and other similar things.

Preston Park Improvements

The work on producing plans for Preston Park and Hall is moving rapidly now. The draft plan went through Cabinet and is approved as the basis for a funding bid to the Lottery. The consultation on detail carries on meanwhile. Anyone wishing to comment (and we urge everyone in the ward and elsewhere who cares about the park to do so) can go to Stockton Council's on-line consultation
There are suggestions about car parking, play facilities, rejuvenating the planting schemes and better access to the river amongst others. One thing missing is any indication of how young people can enjoy their skateboards, bmx and mountain bikes without ruining the Quarry Wood nature reserve or the riverside footpaths, and Eaglescliffe councillors have pushed for that to be included at every possible opportunity.
You have until the end of the month to register your ideas. So if you want a park that you can enjoy - make your voice heard.

Thought for the Day

My daughter, who blogs less regularly but often more interestingly than I do, found this site with some wonderful tips for running a business. I particularly like the instruction not to multitask in a meeting and to have a notebook open in front of you to note down any good suggestions from employees. I think that's something which would apply in many situations outside of business and I'll try to remember it.

Climate Change and other things

Yesterday I had a completely new experience - a visit to Durham county cricket ground, The Riverside. Fabulous building, great facilities, shame about the signage. Tomtom, the faithful GPS, took me to the spot but the gate led to a David Lloyd fitness club. Strange thought I. The signs on the road led to parking further up the road, labelled Delegates. Helpful thought I, I'm a delegate so that's for me. I duly paid the parking fee and tried to find my way into the ground. Five minutes later, in the company of other increasingly frustrated people, we discovered that the gate to David Lloyd was in fact the gate to the ground as well (and to lots of other things). We then had the challenge of finding the Riverside Suite. Spotted Reception so headed there (other end of the building) only to be told "back the way you've come. It's in Tower 3". By the time we'd reached the correct door and correct floor there was a procession of about 20 of us!
Never, mind - once there the meeting was well worth it. The Local Government Association had invited people from all the local authorities in the North East to discuss what could and should be done about climate change - mitigation measures to reduce the change and adaptations to cope with the changes already upon us or inevitable in the next few years. It was stimulating and worthwhile so I hope we can put at least some of the ideas into practice in the very near future.
Once that finished I was on my way back down the motorway to my next meeting - getting towards the final touches on the Play strategy for the Borough and the bid to the Big Lottery fund based on it.
Then a very quick visit to my mother before my next meeting - the regular pre-council group meeting to decide on what needs to be questioned or contested at the council meeting on Wednesday.

Sewers OK??

I had a reply this morning from NWL telling me that the sewers were designed in accordance with Stockton's specifications. I think it's called passing the buck! So next week I need to check with SBC engineers whether they have the design spec from the 1970s. Somehow I think I might know the answer and it won't be affirmative. But the present situation can't continue so I've got to think of another approach.
At least it didn't rain today!
Meanwhile the Sedgefield by-election campaign is under way with 3 local candidates, quite an unusual situation for a parliamentary by-election. Our candidate, Greg Stone, is a very experienced man and would be a great representative for Sedgefield if elected.

The End of a Long Week

Another week draws to a close, not a very productive one. As it followed what was probably the most upsetting week I've had for years on several fronts, none to be written about here, I'm just hoping that July will be better than June.
I was wrong about the rain stopping - it was a temporary abatement. However, we're much better off than some other parts of the country so mustn't grumble too much. The wettest June on record has varied from miserable to catastrophic, depending on which part of the country one lives in.
3 days of this week were spent in Birmingham, city of the visionary mayor Joseph Chamberlain, and home to the first red-brick university in the country. I attended the LGA conference and found it at times stimulating, boring, annoying and fun. I won't say which parts were which in case someone happens to read this and be upset. I was in the company of the Chief Executive of Stockton Council, the Conservative Leader of the Council and the Labour group leader, but actually saw very little of them as we all attended different sessions and networked with different people.
While there I had the strangest e-mail I've had in a long time from one of the councillors in a neighbouring ward, proposing to put some planters bought for his ward on a grass patch in our ward and inviting our comments "out of courtesy"! When I pointed out that we'd have to consult with the parish council, the businesses which front onto the grass and the local residents he rather testily replied that it was too much hassle! It seemed odd the very next day to listen to his party leader telling the conference how they would listen to what people wanted. We haven't had any further suggestions from residents of our ward so we'll go ahead with final consultations on the things that have been suggested and seem practical and then we'll look further into some of the more difficult improvements that residents want.
Today John and I had a meeting with two young men hoping to stage a music festival in Preston Park. If it comes off it'll be very worthwhile - music for all the family, entertainers such as jugglers and face painters and a bar serving only the over 21s as well as food, a climbing wall and other activities for those not too interested in the music. They're working very hard to overcome all the potential problems of parking, traffic, noise and unruly behaviour as well as trying not to restrict access to the park facilities for those who don't want to be at the festival. I wish them well and suggest that people keep 19th August free in their diaries.

By-Election Fun

Well, it's happened - Tony Blair has finally stood aside for Gordon Brown at the top of Government. But he couldn't stay and be just an ordinary MP, could he - not him. So we've now got the Sedgefield by-election coming up in 3 weeks. 19th July is E-day, with by-elections in Ealing South and Sedgefield on the same day. I thought that the most honest comment of all came yesterday from the man in Trimdon Labour club who said that at last Sedgefield would get an MP who had time to do some work in the constituency. Good luck to him or her - there'll be a lot of catching up to do I should think.
Back in the real world the rain has finally stopped but the effect of the flooding is still being felt. NWL hasn't responded to my questions but workers have been down in the field taking rubbish out of the sewer at that end of Seymour Crescent. A help perhaps to the developing nature reserve but not to the residents at the southern end of the road who still suffer problems at their manhole. A longterm campaign is looming I think to get the sewer replaced.
We're lucky to have some expert advice on tap in the form of a family member working in the same sort of field.
We've also got the small environmental improvement budget to sort out so work continues apace.

Anyone got an Ark?

Torrential rain followed by torrential rain has caused even more flooding problems - the bottom of Seymour Crescent looking like a lake on Friday and Saturday, more horrible things coming out of the manhole, and no apparent progress. NWL came, looked and went away again after removing rather a lot of something from the sewer lower down the field. However, nothing could cope with Saturday's storm water so it was as bad as ever. I daren't think about what today's rain has brought.
Surely there can't be much more to fall from the sky?

No Progress

First job was to report a problem with the car park at the local shops - potholes and flooding making it almost impassable to pedestrians last Friday. The owners of the shops are not noted for swift responses so I wasn't surprised to get no response today. Maybe later in the week!
Then an IT problem for a colleague who's been struggling for days with it. I couldn't solve that one either.
Next was a little light relief - the first meeting of the Fair Trade Borough Steering Group since the message that we've achieved the goals. The celebration is roughly mapped out now, and a meeting planned for July to finalise the details. It should be great fun.
The afternoon was more disappointing. NWL still haven't cleared up the mess from Friday and according to the resident who rang me they've claimed there isn't a problem. The Environment Agency is coming tomorrow to look into things. Meanwhile I've had a good look at the developing nature reserve and been given a stack of photos as evidence of the problem.
This evening's ward surgery didn't have any visitors so it was a chance to share the photos and stories from the day with my colleagues. So nothing solved but problems shared.
Tomorrow's a new day.

Another wet and miserably cold June day brought complaints that the combined sewer in Seymour Crescent was overflowing yet again. Residents and councillors have complained in the past to Northumbrian Water, but to no avail. It's going to be expensive to put in new sewage systems, but the number of times sewage spills out is getting beyond a joke. John, Alan and I are going to have a concerted effort to get the Borough Council engineers, Care for your area team and the Environment Agency to put pressure on the Water Company. People shouldn't have to put up with sewage spilling out onto the grass verge near their houses.
After that I went into Stockton for a Personal Development Plan interview. This is a new initiative on the part of the council to help Councillors develop the skills needed for an increasingly complex job. Unfortunately an element of apparent coercion crept into the wording of the programme with training described as "mandatory" when actually there's no sanction that can be applied if councillors opt out of the system. Some of us have been very upset at the use of that word and protested vigorously, but the actual idea of offering training that addresses a person's requirements is a good one.
Yesterday evening was a festive occasion, despite the poor weather. We had a party to thank the army of deliverers who get Focus out to over 4500 homes in the ward year in, year out. Several of them managed to come and enjoy drinks, nibbles and good conversation with us. We also managed to say Thank You to Mike Cherrett who retired as a councillor this year and a huge congratulations to John now in his 21st year as a Councillor for the ward.

Today was the day for a "Tristar Walkabout" - a walk round the areas of the ward with Tristar housing in them, looking for any problems. It's been booked for ages, so of course this was the day the weather broke and reverted to November - cold, grey, wet. Never mind, accompanied by an officer from Tristar Homes and one from Care for Your Area John and I set off. Cracked pavements, wobbly manhole cover, damaged street signs, overhanging hedges, unofficial drop kerbs, potholes - all duly noted and reported for action. I'll choose a rather pleasanter day for the return visit to check on progress I think. Perhaps because the weather was so poor we didn't see many residents around, but normally these occasions are seized on by people to come out and chat about little things they wouldn't bother ringing up about.
Then it was back home to dry out and catch up on the post and numerous e-mails, to say nothing of filing. Changing from Chair of Children and Young People Select committee to Chair of Environment means getting rid of lots of background papers to past work and making space for new papers. The first review by the new committee will be of policies around Cemetery and Churchyard Memorials - a sensitive topic but one which has to be addressed. There are health and safety issues but also issues of what people consider appropriate. Interesting days ahead.

Fair Trade Town - Yippee

It's official - Stockton-on-Tees is a Fair Trade Town. We got the news late yesterday afternoon so well done all of you who buy and use Fair Trade goods whether from the supermarket, the corner shop, the cafe, the church or all the other outlets. Now the steering group will plan the celebration event and draw up an action plan for the next 12 months. We need to embed and extend the use of Fair Trade goods as much as possible, encouraging people who've still never heard of the idea to try them out.
In Eaglescliffe we're lucky to have a super vegetarian restaurant which uses many fairtrade foods in its cooking without making a great fuss about it, so many people will be eating and drinking them without realising. Next time you're in look for the Fairtrade certificate proudly on display.

Let's Play!

Today was D-day for the organisations large and small which had applied to be part of the Borough's bid to BIG lottery for play facilities. There were some really exciting bids - some large scale designed to benefit thousands of children and young people over the course of a year, others much smaller designed to revitalise play in smaller communities. Almost all of them had some potential to improve and extend play for our younger citizens. Unfortunately not all of them could be included in the bid, because we can only have just over £480,00 and some of that has to cover the administration costs of managing and monitoring. 15 of us, aged from teens to sixties, gathered to try to choose between them. We spent over 4 hours reading, discussing, calculating and re-calculating. In the end we had a portfolio of possible bids, which if successful have the potential to improve facilities right across the borough. The next few months will involve hard work on the part of all the bidders to work out the details and submit the final bids. They won't work miracles but there will be little bits of help where there was nothing before.
Here in the ward we're trying to decide how to spend the small environmental improvements budget - who would have thought it so difficult to spend. The trouble is that many of the things people in the ward have said they'd like aren't suitable for this budget for one reason or another. We may come down to a mix of bulb planting for spring colour and dropped kerbs to make life a bit easier for pedestrians with prams, wheeled suitcases and the like as well as people in wheelchairs and motorised scooters. We can't easily consult on extra lights when streets don't get dark until very late at night, so that will have to wait until later in the year.

Golf Courses and Cemeteries

All in a day's work for a councillor! Planning committee approved an outline application for a new golf resort hotel at Wynyard to replace the Golf club there at present - a high quality hotel, golf course, health club and more. There's a lot of detailed design to do now but if all works out we should have the best such facility in the North East of England, right here in Stockton. Not that I can get excited about golf or health clubs but lots of people do and the Seve trophy two years ago proved how true that is of Teesside as much as elsewhere in the country.
At the other end of the borough we also approved the plans for the next stage in the regeneration of Thornaby, with new housing for Mandale. Some sadness of course for people who are losing homes into which they've invested money and/or years of their lives, but the ward councillor was full of praise for how it's been handled and we hope that they will enjoy their new homes and rebuild their communities in them.
Then it was on to my first meeting as chair of the Environment Select Committee for a background briefing on the first topic for discussion - Memorials in Cemeteries. There are some big health and safety issues related to whether modern memorials are properly secured or might topple over and injure someone! Apparently in other parts of the country this has already happened. There are also very sensitive issues over what is appropriate to put onto a grave in memory of the person whose remains are interred there - should we have teddy bears, solar lights, plastic windmills, mini fences to mention but a few? If so should there be a limit to the number or the size? Should we have edges round the plot or lawned graves to make the maintenance easy? If anyone has views on this please let me have them. We'll be collecting evidence from faith communities throughout the borough as well as Funeral Directors and memorial makers, but it's harder to reach people who don't fall into those categories.
Home then, to trawl through a mountain of post and try to sort out the issues arising from it.

At long last the local paper published the letter I wrote over a week ago, putting right a misconception about the Lib Dem reasons for not being part of the Stockton Council Cabinet. Yesterday they published a half page article about the new Leader, but that's news.
Today was the first meeting of the Renaissance Partnership, Stockton's Local Strategic Partnership, since the election. The main agenda item was the start of the consultation on Stockton's Sustainable Community Strategy. It sounds a bit dull and heavy, but is actually very important and interesting. It will set the direction for policies on everything from play areas to keeping elderly infirm people safe in their own homes, from regeneration of town centres to encouraging new businesses. They'll all be in there. So it's really important that we get it right, and then that we set the plans under it to achieve the ambitions we have for the Borough.

A gloriously sunny June day - just right to go out and deliver some leaflets! Well, after sitting in a training session for 6 hours yesterday on Employee Appeals procedures I needed to do some walking today. I followed the Employee Appeals session with a meeting in Stockton hosted by Justice First. An MP from the Democratic Republic of Congo who is in exile here in the UK came to speak to a small group, including our MEP, Fiona Hall, who was an EU observer at the elections there. He told us about atrocities still being committed despite a supposedly democratic government now. Some of what he talked about happened years ago, but one massacre happened just a couple of days ago - horrifying stuff. And yet our government insists that it's a safe country and sends back people whose asylum claims have not been granted.
This morning I had a complaint from a resident about the rubbish in Coatham Stob wood car park, so that was an excuse to take a little excursion up there. It really is disgusting - the car park and open ground next to it are being ruined by bottles, boxes, cartons and goodness knows what. I've sent an e-mail to all the people I think might be able to help sort things out up there, but of course the earliest they'll get it is Monday.
Meanwhile, courtesy of a relative on the other side of the world - here's a site to give you a smile. Type in your name and see how its "dictionary" defines you.