Ingleby Barwick Free school

Stockton Council's planning committee today had the unenviable task of determining the planning application for the Free school for Ingleby Barwick.  It's a very strange process, completely contradicting the principles of the Localism Act.
Local people want more school places in Ingleby Barwick - fact.  Many councillors across a range of parties agree with them.  Ingleby started with a wonderful master plan but for whatever reasons, long before I became involved, the master plan fell into disarray and disuse.  Hundreds upon hundreds of houses were built, but the infrastructure for education and recreation wasn't there.  Over the years primary schools were built but it's less than a decade since the first secondary was built and even before it was built it was under size and over budget.
Campaigners had hopes for the Building Schools for the Future programme, but it was never planned to deliver for Ingleby and its withdrawal left them no better but no worse off.  When Michael Gove announced his "Free School" initiative they jumped at it and started to prepare their bid.  As the bid progressed through its various stages the divergence of this policy from those of the localism act became apparent.
The government has said that Ingleby Barwick should have a Free school.  It doesn't provide the land on which to build it, but if the land is made available then the capital for the actual building will be made available.  Who has the necessary amount of land going spare?  A landowner on the edge of the town who also wants to build houses on his land which is in the green wedge.  He sees a golden opportunity - donate the land for the school in return for permission to build houses in the green wedge.
So a planning application goes in, not for a school but for a school with 350 houses.  Those 350 houses will contain children.  Recent experience in Ingleby Barwick indicates that they will produce about 90 extra primary age children.  There aren't 90 extra places in the whole of Ingleby.  So the campaigners say, never mind - we'll apply to build a primary school as well if that's what's needed!
In theory the local council is the local planning authority and can decide on its own policies and then see if the application fits into them or not.  But here we have the government minister saying that the school is needed and will be allowed, though not commenting on whether the site is suitable.  Of course the education minister doesn't have any say on the housing element.  The planning committee is told that they must look at the matter in light of planning policies, regardless of the need for the school.
On the day, everyone on the committee seemed to feel that if the school application had come alone it would probably have been approved - a school building surrounded by playing fields and with suitable landscaping could be accommodated in the green wedge because the need for the school places is so strong.  But only one person felt it was acceptable to have 350 houses in the green wedge as the price for that land and she represents one of the Ingleby Barwick wards.
Interestingly, the Tory councillor for Eaglescliffe couldn't make his mind up and didn't vote. There's not a lot of point in sitting on that committee and then not casting a vote and not explaining why.
Now the application will go to appeal and be decided by an inspector or even the secretary of state, but Stockton Council has stuck to its policy on Green Wedges and I'm pleased.  I just wish the houses hadn't been the price for the school.  If Michael Gove really believes that Ingleby Barwick deserves a school he should have allocated funding for the land on which to build it.  It's cheating the people who've worked so hard to tell them that they can have a school but they have to provide the land.

Investing in Tobacco

On Wednesday 23rd January Cllr Julia Cherrett proposed a Lib Dem motion calling for the Council to encourage the trustees of the Teesside Pension Fund to look at their investments in tobacco companies.  This is the fund which carries the pension investment of thousands of public sector workers and councillors - generally not big investments for each individual but a significant sum in total.

As Julia pointed out, the responsibility for public health becomes the council's in April this year.  It seems somewhat hypocritical to invest millions in the tobacco companies to enable them to continue to expand and encourage even more people across this borough and the rest of the world to take up a life-threatening and addictive habit.

So what did the Labour group do?  They decided that they would send the matter to the committee which is looking at tobacco control in the borough, conveniently forgetting that it was a senior Labour member of that committee who'd suggested it needed to be a motion to council in the first place!  Julia chairs that committee and had brought the subject up during a committee meeting.  It seems that Labour councillors have very short memories when it suits.

Unfortunately for them, they seem to have forgotten to check with the MP for Stockton North whether he was doing anything that might be affected by their partisan politics.  So the MP is seen calling for a rethink of the investments on local TV and pointing out in the local paper that the work on improving public health is in conflict with investing in tobacco companies.

Lib Dems agree with him, on this and on other campaigning messages about cutting down on smoking and its bad effects.  We have supported votes at council calling for plain packaging on cigarettes, moves to make taxis smoke-free and more.  We didn't mind who proposed them - if they're good policy we'll support them.  What a pity his own party couldn't be open-minded enough to support a move started by another.  And what a pity that so many of the Independent councillors followed Labour in voting to delay action while a committee debates the matter, takes evidence and brings a recommendation to cabinet.

Julia has written an open letter to the Stockton North MP, expressing our support for the campaigns to reduce the harm done by tobacco.

Teesside Air Show to restart?

A group of enthusiasts is trying to resurrect the air show which used to delight thousands of visitors when I first lived in Eaglescliffe, and annoy those who didn't enjoy it.  The noise of low-flying aircraft, the train being full of people heading to the airport rather than to Darlington or Middlesbrough (yes, the train did stop at the airport several times a day!), the cars parked on the A67 verges with people more interested in their binoculars or picnic than in the traffic trying to drive along the road - these all irritated some.  But thousands enjoyed the spectacle and some would like to restart it.
If you're interested there's an appeal for help in today's Northern Echo.
As the wintry weather continues remember that Stockton Council's updates on gritting, road problems, school closures etc are on Facebook and Twitter

There are more sensible ways to spend an afternoon than travelling around in the weather we've had today.  We haven't had anything like as bad as some parts of the country, even locally, but it's been tricky enough at times.
This afternoon we had a briefing for members of planning committee along with Ingleby Barwick, Thornaby, Eaglescliffe and Yarm councillors and planning officers on the latest developments in the traffic modelling for the areas of new housing development.  Three Eaglescliffe councillors duly travelled to Norton to find out what was being predicted as a result of the developments taking place in the area.  None of the Yarm councillors was there.  Only one of the Ingleby Barwick councillors attended and none of the Thornaby members.  Three members of planning committee and the cabinet member for regeneration and transport made up the remainder of the attendees.  8 councillors out of the 25 invited.  Granted that some are at work during the day it was still a poor attendance for what sounded like a pretty useful and important session.
As it turned out, the work that's been done so far was of least interest to the ward that was best represented!  The concentration of effort so far, understandably, has been on the traffic which would be generated by building an extra 735 houses on Green Lane.  The answer seems to be "Too much".  The developer there is probably going to have to scale back significantly on what they're planning if they want to get permission.  However, who knows the vagaries of the planning committee.  We'll have to wait until the February meeting to see what happens.
The work on the Eaglescliffe traffic will have to wait until later in the process because the Urlay Nook development isn't coming to committee just yet.

None of which helps in fighting the application for Yarm Independent School's extension into the river bank land below Egglescliffe village.  That one won't be won or lost on traffic generation but on the environmental impact of the development - is Tees Heritage Park sufficiently important to the borough or no?  Tomorrow afternoon will bring the answer.

Budget Highs and Lows

The time is approaching when Stockton council, along with every other council in the country, has to set its budget for the next 12 months.  The story being told by the officers who are expert on such calculations is that the budget gap is going to get wider each year for the next few years and that it's going to be increasingly difficult to find ways to cut costs.  More services will have to be trimmed or cut out completely, and the only questions are about how to do it smoothly.  For this year the reserves can be used to soften the blow but there won't be reserves left to do that in future.
I'm not so pessimistic as that.  I don't believe that even Mr Pickles can imagine that people don't need services like street cleaning.  He's going to have to come to his senses and leave local authorities the ability to do what local people need them to do.  The difficulty is knowing when he'll come to that conclusion.
Meanwhile there's some really good news.  Before the general election the Liberal Democrats did some deep thinking about how to improve the life chances of children whose backgrounds don't give them the opportunities which most can benefit from.  The conclusion was that the best way to break the cycle of deprivation was to concentrate efforts on their education and especially in the early years.  One of our flagship policies in the general election campaign was the "Pupil Premium" - extra money to go direct to schools where children most in need were on the register.  The school could decide how best to spend that money as long as it made a difference to the children most needing that help.
When the coalition agreement was negotiated that policy was included - extra money for the schools to make a difference.   Despite severe pressures on the budget across the country schools have seen that money increase each year.  In 2013/14 schools in Stockton will receive almost £4.8m extra to give children that chance - to make the opportunities fairer.  Some will employ extra staff, some will buy new equipment.  Some schools get only a few thousand pounds because they don't have serious levels of deprivation to cope with.  Others will get over £100k because they have a lot of children from poor homes.
In Eaglescliffe, as we reported in Focus before Christmas, the primary schools will share £45000 and the comprehensive school will get over £60,000.  We need to make sure that it's being sensibly spent and that the young people are seeing the benefit!

Good news - bad news

Despite all the wet weather over the last few months the play equipment at Kingsmead has been successfully installed and the grass is managing to grow back.  There are some horribly squelchy patches but nothing that a few days of wind and sun won't solve.  The equipment is obviously very attractive because despite the safety fencing being erected round some of it still to let the grass recover further people have removed the fencing and obviously been playing with enthusiasm.  At the moment it's not very attractive except at the weekends because there's not enough light when the young people come home from school, but by the Easter holiday the grass should be established and the young people of the estate should get the play value they've waited for.
The shrubs will be trimmed back and the shrub beds tidied.
Well done Egglescliffe & Eaglescliffe Council - another successful investment in play.
Later in the day came the bad news - Stockton Council's planning officer has recommended approval of the extension of Yarm Independent school onto the banks of the Tees below Egglescliffe Village.  That tranquil zone of the Tees Heritage Park will be changed forever if this goes ahead, and the evening was spent with the committee of the Egglescliffe Area Residents Association agreeing the way forward in order to put the arguments as clearly as possible at Planning committee.  It's not going to be easy to persuade the committee to go against the officer recommendation but we'll give it our best shot.

This coming week sees a number of interesting meetings on the timetable.  Tomorrow Alan and I concentrate on being Parish Councillors looking at the positioning of traditional toddler swings on St Margaret's Play Area as well as looking at the issues around flooding on that ground.  The excessively wet weather last year has exacerbated problems all over the ward, but we are thankful that our flooding is relatively small scale and only affects the open spaces - no-one had to evacuate their house in Eaglescliffe as becks broke their banks!

On Tuesday Stockton Council's Local Development Framework Steering Group meets.  This group looks at proposals for planning and development in the borough and offers comment as well as political steer on the proposals.  On Tuesday we'll be looking at the preliminary results of the consultation that was undertaken last year on where new housing developments should go.  Unsurprisingly perhaps some land owners and developers have re-submitted land which was discounted after the first consultation.  Some have even submitted new pieces of green space.  Sadly, no-one seems to want to submit brownfield sites.  Should we be surprised?  Sadly, no.

Later in the week I'm heading to London to meet with a couple of government ministers to discuss some issues of importance to us in the region.  More on that after the event.

Meanwhile, don't forget - Christmas cards can be recycled in the cardboard & plastic collection if you've no better use for them.  Real Christmas trees will be collected on the same day as waste this week, and will be shredded and composted for use on the flower beds in our parks and public spaces.

Life is gradually getting back to normal after the Christmas and New Year holiday period.  The email inbox is filling up again and the phone ringing with queries of one kind and another.
Having had it confirmed that the last 12 months have been extremely wet in this part of the country, it's no wonder that there are complaints about potholes, water-logging, standing water and so on.  Alan Lewis and I follow up on each and every complaint but it sometimes takes quite a time to get answers and then they're not always what we want to hear.  Cuts in the roads maintenance budget across the borough don't make it any easier to get things done quickly.
In no time at all there will be meetings within the council to decide on the budget for the year 2013/14.  Stockton Council has for many years worked on a rolling 3 year financial plan, thus doing away with the old system of suddenly spending up money in February and March so that it wasn't lost when April came.  That's enabled the council under whichever leadership prevailed at the time to have a planned approach to the budget.
That approach is being made more difficult at the moment by the heavy cuts that have been needed to cope with the national deficit - a deficit which the local Labour party seem to forget was racked up during their party's 13 years in government and which was described in the famous note from their Treasury Secretary to the incoming one "Sorry, there's no money left".
There are going to be some tough decisions to make over the next couple of months, but I'll be in there with the other Lib Dems fighting to keep the best of what we've got and to stop any silly party politics causing problems for residents like are happening in some parts of the country.  At least Stockton's Labour party hasn't followed Derby's in proposing a charge for the collection of recyling!  To be fair to them I don't think it would enter their thinking in any serious way.  Nor do I think they're going to follow Newcastle's Labour group in suggesting that the Arts aren't worth supporting.
On a more cheerful note, we should see the official re-opening of Preston Hall Museum in the next couple of months.  Although visitors have been enjoying it for almost 6 months now it hasn't had its formal opening, so now that the Olympics and royal jubilee are over it could be Preston Hall's turn for a moment of glory - watch this space for details!

New Year

2013 dawns bright, sunny and cold in Eaglescliffe.
My hope for individuals is that good health prevails over bad, and that friendship and love triumph over prejudice and hatred.
My hopes for Eaglescliffe
- that the planning officers and committee of Stockton Council will see the value of the tranquil stretch of the river bank that winds along the edge of Egglescliffe and not approve the planning application which threatens to change its character for ever.
- that the residents' organisations which have sprung up recently will prosper and work closely with elected members of the Parish and Borough Councils to develop the community spirit which is undoubtedly present.
- that our children and young people have the safe access to play and school which they deserve and need.
- that all our residents are respected, regardless of age or any other part of their life.
My hopes for the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees are that regeneration continues to show results, that businesses continue to start up and to succeed, and that employment opportunities are seized upon for the good of all.  I'd like to hope that the parties in control at the Council would stop trying to score points on national issues and concentrate instead on how to get the best results locally, which could sometimes be better achieved by working with the opposition, but that might be a hope too far.  We shall see.

Nationally, I hope that the government and particularly Mr Pickles, start to listen to the Local Government Association which is a cross party organisation and let local councils have the time and resources to do the job they do best - listen to local people and provide the services they need.  There's no way that Westminster based politicians can frame rules and laws to cover every tiny detail of what goes on locally and they shouldn't be wasting their time trying.

So a happy, healthy and hopeful 2013 to one and all.

Mount Leven Farm

The planning application for a retirement village to be built in the Tees Heritage Park at Mount Leven Farm in Yarm was rejected today by Stockton Council's planning committee.  It was of interest to people in Eaglescliffe because the application for Yarm School's new sports pitches is also in the Heritage Park, albeit a different part.
The decision to approve or reject the village all hinged on whether the policies protecting the Leven Valley as a green wedge between Yarm and Ingleby Barwick were more important than the pressure from central government to build more housing.  There were other issues of course: the jobs that come with a construction project, the opening up of some currently private land for public access being two.  The jobs would be an undeniable temporary bonus.  The opening up of some private land would be a delight to those fit enough to cope with the steep slopes.  There are some people who say they would love to live in such a village, surrounded by people of their own age and with no problems from young, noisy, energetic people.
At the end of an hour and a half or more of statements from residents, mainly against but a handful for, the development followed by debate among members, the decision was made.  Four councillors voted for approval but fortunately the remaining 8 voted against it and the case was lost.
No doubt the developer will appeal to the secretary of state who will pass it to the Planning Inspectorate to look at.  We can only hope that the decision of the planning committee is upheld.  There might be a desire for such a village in the borough, but the Leven Valley green wedge is not the right place.  Perhaps he'd like to speak to the owners of the Allen's West site and plan the development there?

Christmas is drawing near now, as we're reminded every time we turn on a TV or go past a shop window.  For the past 4 days there has been the Christmas market in Stockton centre with music to listen to and all manner of goods to buy - everything from a cup of hot soup to an exquisitely crafted cushion or carefully made holly wreath.  As dusk fell the lights gave an almost magical appearance to the chalet stalls.

Icy Polar Bear

Meanwhile, over in the town centre a variety of activities drew crowds for a few minutes or longer - dramatic acts, ice carving, music groups.  And of course on Saturday the traditional market provided the range of goods it always does.  I must admit that at this time of year I feel a sense of nostalgia for the hiss and smell of paraffin lamps on the stalls and the first appearance of exotic fruit like tangerines - how times change.
This afternoon we made our annual Christmas Tree buying excursion, and came away from the local farm with a splendid specimen that's now standing in our back garden until Christmas Eve when it'll be dressed in all its finery ready for the big day.
In Yarm the tree lights were lit, with carols and prayers reminding people that Christmas isn't all about spending money - a timely and necessary reminder.
In Egglescliffe there will be a Christmas Tree with lights outside the Parish Hall, thanks to hard work by members of the Egglescliffe Area Residents Association and the Egglescliffe Parish Hall committee.  Tuesday evening at 6.30pm is the time to be there and join in a few carols round the tree.  The weather forecast isn't too bad so fingers crossed for a good turnout.

The Latest Idea for Stockton High Street

I went into the Discover Stockton shop on Monday to look at what is on offer - lots of interesting information about the area, the chance to buy souvenirs and postcards, someone to give advice on business start ups and enterprise ideas and point people in the right direction for proper detailed advice and most important perhaps, large scale plans of the proposals for the High St and surrounding area as its regeneration continues.
Now comes another reason to visit the premises (near the corner of Dovecot St and the High St):

PEOPLE visiting Stockton Town Centre are being asked for their views on a new suggestion to celebrate the Borough’s heritage within the newly designed High Street.

As part of the town's multi-million pound regeneration Stockton Council is considering installing a moving artwork, called an Automaton, to entertain and attract visitors.

Automata have been created by engineers and artists since ancient times and now one could feature on Stockton High Street.

Three design models for the playful moving artwork have been developed and are being trialled in the Rediscover Stockton Shop at 134 High Street.

Visitors and shoppers are being urged to pop in and drop a token in one of three big clear boxes to vote for their favourite.

The designs are based around a plinth which would spring into life to promote Stockton's heritage and rich industrial past at a set time, once or twice a day, in keeping with the town's growing reputation as a hub for arts and culture.

  

The three ideas all take reference from the achievements of George Stephenson and John Walker and are inspired by the mechanics and engineering of the shipyards and railways.

Among the designs are:

·    The Stockton Storybook – this design sees a giant fish emerge from the plinth.  The fish then opens up to reveal a series of "pop-up book" style images enhanced with light and sound to tell Stockton's story.  Mixing myth and history, the story unfolds like a giant magician's box to reveal a surprising sequence of tricks.

·    The Walker Clock – a steel plinth frame clad with sandstone panels displaying a panorama of buildings on the High Street is the basis for this design.  A clock surrounded by a moving steel ring showing eight scenes of industrial activity forms this automaton with a figure of John Walker, striking a match, rising above it.

·    The Stockton Flyer – the main focus of this design is the origins of the railways. A playful cartoon version of Stephenson's Locomotion No1 emerges from the plinth with gushing steam.  Flapping wings stretch out over the spectators as the train, made out of industrial scrap, rises.

  

The three automata designs will be exhibited within the Rediscover Stockton Shop between 9am and 5pm, Monday-Saturday until the end of December.

Once a favourite is identified the Council will then develop a programme to identify all costs, suitable locations, external funding as well as help and support from local engineering and manufacturing companies. The most popular design could be installed on the High Street towards the end of next year.

This was a week of briefings from senior officers in the council - as the setting of the budget for next year, and hence the Council Tax level, comes ever closer they are concerned to make sure that the councillors don't make decisions that can't be implemented.  For many years now Stockton Borough Council has made rolling 3 year budget arrangements, looking ahead to be able to plan more effectively.  Occasionally central government steps in and makes a decision which throws those arrangements out of kilter.  Unfortunately this government is more prone to that kind of behaviour than expected.  On the one hand Localism is the mantra, and Stockton has benefitted from some of those decisions, but on the other the Secretary of state claws decision making back to the centre.  For 2011/12 we had a council tax freeze imposed, with a grant equivalent to a 2.5% rise coming from central government.  That was about 0.5% less than SBC would have spent but it was possible to find more efficient ways of doing things and save that money.  That of course was on top of the cuts in funding already made.
In 2012/13 we were offered the equivalent of a 2.5% rise if the tax were frozen again.  This was another cut in the predicted budget for Stockton and the council decided it was too much of a cut - too many services would have to be cut.  Stockton took almost 3% rise.
For next year we are being offered 1% to freeze the rate, and told that we can't increase above 2% without a referendum.  Holding a referendum is a very costly exercise, with ballot papers to print, postal ballot envelopes to print and pay for the postage on, polling booths to run etc.  A 2% rise will mean further cuts in services, starting to hit now the front line services that we all see and many of us use.  There will be a big debate in the coming months over which are the most important services and how they can be preserved.  How much of a cut can other services take and still be there?  Some hard decisions ahead and Lib Dems will be trying  to engage with residents as much as possible to explain the options and to come up with ideas that are acceptable.

As expected, Yarm Independent School has put in its reduced application for school playing fields on the Egglescliffe bank of the Tees.  Gone are the all weather pitches, which would have seriously improved their provision for sport all the year round but are accepted by the Planning officer as being completely out of keeping with the surrounding area.  Gone are the pitches on the doorstep of Egglescliffe village.  No doubt the school hopes that opposition will die away.  How wrong can they be?
A recent meeting of the Egglescliffe Area Residents' Association committee confirmed that though this is an improvement it is still 11 pitches and a pavilion too many on the river bank.  The school are proud of the fact that half of their pupils are involved in sport on Saturdays during term time.  Allowing for approximately half of them being involved in away matches, this means about 500 pupils, parents and teachers - maybe more if the parents are enthusiastic.  This is an unimaginable intrusion into the peace and tranquility of the flood zone on the river bank.  What hope for humans to enjoy the area, let alone the wild life?
The discussions with the planning officer have changed the architecture of the pavilion to a wooden chalet style, reminiscent of the Swiss Alps.  Gone is the hospitality label - now it's entirely for padding up, toilet and first aid provision.  That's certainly an improvement but the pavilion could be built on their present playing fields for much the same cost one would imagine.
The access to the bridge on the Yarm side of the river is being moved away from  Minerva Mews but is still closer than those residents would like.  The thought of 30 or more boys and girls walking over the bridge every hour or so past their front windows is not pleasant.  The thought of hundreds on Saturdays is worse.  Add to that the idea that the general public can use it any hour of the day or night and amenity becomes significantly impaired for those residents whose windows are closest to the bridge.  Having observed the behaviour of a large group of the senior boys of the school when we did the walk on the river bank to protest against the development I dread to think what they'd be like when walking past windows unsupervised.
This is a development too far on the Tees Heritage Park, near to the Egglescliffe Conservation Area and needs to be stopped in its tracks.  I hope that all who sent in objections to the initial proposal will be sending them in for this one.

Rays of Sunshine

I am by nature fairly optimistic and in the present climate, both economic and natural, that's probably a good thing.  There was really good news a few days ago that Nifco had been granted funding from Regional Growth fund for their expansion.  A small research facility with 9 staff, and a much bigger expansion to their manufacturing base will protect the existing jobs and allow for more staff to be employed over the coming years.  One of the good things about that is that Nifco employ and train apprentices - they don't just expect fully trained and qualified people to turn up on the doorstep.   The young men we met when Alan Lewis and I toured the factory earlier in the year were enthusiastic about their work and their study, and looking at their faces on the Gazette photos this week that enthusiasm is still there.
There's a ray of hope for Durham Tees Valley Airport too.  Although it didn't get the funding this time, it seems that the Business Secretary, Vince Cable, is willing to look at a re-worked bid.  Credit where it's due - Alex Cunningham MP did raise the issue quickly in Parliament and met with the minister to discuss it.  Let's hope that the revised bid is successful in due course and the land around the airport can begin to offer some employment opportunities with the right kind of infrastructure to ensure the heavy traffic goes along the correct routes.
On Friday the agents for Yarm School's planning applications held a briefing meeting for the Parish and borough councils affected as well as the various residents' groups in the area.  Unsurprisingly they presented a smaller scheme, but equally unsurprisingly in my opinion it's still far too intrusive in the Tees Heritage Park. There would be fewer pitches but no fewer children playing on them, so the noise and disturbance would all be concentrated in one area.  A marginal improvement for the residents of Egglescliffe village but still not acceptable to most.  The old applications are now withdrawn and we await the new ones so that comments can be lodged all over again.
Now the traffic surveys are being carried out around the area in order to build the new computer model for yarm and Eaglescliffe.  That will be interesting to see.

Orchard Shops

At long last another step forward.  Today Stockton Council issued the necessary notice, granting permission to demolish the burnt out shops.  I've spent a lot of time in recent weeks working with council officers to try to find a way to speed matters up and finally this announcement came today.  Of course it's only the next stage.  Getting rid of the burned and charred remains will make a huge difference to the appearance of the site and might mean that we can have some movement on the blocking off of car parking spaces at the front.  Disabled people are not finding it easy to access the Library at present, having to park at the side and negotiate the cobbled paving.
The next question of course is, what's going to replace them?  The owner has said all along that he wants to see shops there, and so do the people of Eaglescliffe.  But not just any shops.  The shops need to be affordable so that the services people want can come back - the pharmacy which provides much more than a prescription service, the hairdresser, the dry cleaner, the fish & chip shop, the Indian and Chinese takeaways, perhaps even the betting shop!  We don't want the shops to be so expensive that they are never occupied.  That parade, with the library at one end and the community centre at the other, is the heart of the area and needs to be full of life again.
No doubt there'll be changes.  Perhaps there'll be flats over all the shops rather than just at the end.  They'll surely have good secure rear yards, learning the lesson from recent events.  The front paving probably won't be quite as attractive to bmx and scooter fans.  We hope it'll be easily accessible from the car park and easy to walk along.
I hope that the owner is going to work with the community to come up with a design that will be the best for the area and good for him by being profitable too.

A good Brownfield Development

A couple of years ago Stockton Council held a design competition for the housing to be built on the North Shore site - at that stage still a very uninspiring dirty area.  The architects all produced futuristic designs and one was duly declared the winner.  Some months later the plans came to planning committee for the first phase of the housing, now looking a bit more traditional and constrained by what was sensible to expect from that site.  There were promises of housing that would be easy to maintain and low in energy demand.

Yesterday I went to look at what was actually being built, now that the second phase has just received planning consent.  The houses are varied - 2, 3 or 4 bedrooms, some with 2 floors while others have 3 floors.  Some have windows that are really enclosed balconies on the first floor with views across to the Cleveland Hills and the Infinity Bridge.  Others have roof terrraces with similar views.  The roofs incorporate PV tiles, there's rainwater harvesting, there's really good insulation.  I wouldn't mind betting that with care it's possible to use very little electricity for heating and lighting.  Unsurprisingly, when I've looked round them, they are selling well.  With a 10 minute walk into Stockton Town Centre or along to the barrage or the gym, 5 minutes up the road to the bus stop, cars aren't as necessary for every day use as they are in other places.

Developers are telling us that they can't afford to clean up and build on brown field sites because people won't buy them.  Yet here's a developer with people buying the houses before they're built, because they're well designed, well built, with low power costs to run and within easy reach of many amenities.  Talking to people there it seems that there's a bit of community spirit already, and children are actually playing out of doors!  I suspect that this will be a more sustainable development than any of the ones being proposed around Eaglescliffe and Yarm, and longterm a more desirable one too.

Would you develop here?

This was the view on the approach to the proposed sports development for Yarm School around mid-day yesterday.  Would anyone seriously want to put their sports pitches and pavilion there?  I wonder if the design calculations for the pedestrian bridge have taken into account the impact of this sort of flood on the foundations, or is it written off as a "one in a hundred year event" and ignored because it happened this week.
Others have shared photos of flooded fields where housing proposals are awaiting consideration.  There isn't a stream running through "Urlay View" or the Green Lane playing fields but they still had a significant amount of water standing on them earlier in the week.  Is it right to build houses where there's such a lack of natural drainage?  How much more pressure would that put on the ecosystem in the area?  And will the planning officers even take this kind of weather event into account, or will it be written off?  Only time will tell.

September storms

Struggling to walk along the pavement safely between one meeting and the next over the last couple of days I was well and truly aware of the worst September storm for many years.  However, I don't think we had anything compared to the amount of rain that fell in parts of the North East.  Residents in Yarm and Eaglescliffe have sent me photos of the river, Yarm High Street, flooded fields where developers want to put hundreds of houses, streams where a day before it was a road.  It certainly isn't making the case for the developers any easier!
Meanwhile I could take every opportunity to make the point to ministers, advisers, members of the house of Lords, members of industry bodies and so on that we need proper ways of ensuring that if a builder has planning permission for a site and wants to renegotiate the Section 106 responsibilities they should be made to do it openly and transparently.  If it goes to appeal, the inspector can require the production of the costs for the site etc, so why can't the planning department do that at the beginning?  Why does the local council have to work with one hand behind its back?  Today, Lib Dem policy was made to include that transparency.  Now all that has to happen is to get it agreed in government!!  That won't be easy, but it'll be a great success if it can be achieved.
Add it to the idea of an additional tax on the land if the developer doesn't make a meaningful start on the development for which they've got planning permission and we'd have something really helpful.
And right up there in the policy, alongside these relatively small sections, were some big sections on making sure that tenants will have more protection against bad landlords, ensuring that local authorities are the arbiters of what's good in the area, and improving the ability of local authorities to act on the blight of empty homes.  A good motion, putting in place a good policy after an informed and passionate debate - that's conference at its best.

Conference roundup

This morning saw an unusual event for Lib Dems at the moment - a public Thank You!  Over two years ago Lib Dems committed to do our very best to stop the iniquitous practice of locking up children in detention centres like Yarls Wood which are just like prisons, when their only "crime" was to have parents whose application for asylum here had not succeeded.  The pledge was made in response to a very brave campaign by people who didn't have the advantages and privileges of  the parliamentary candidates who were being asked to support them.  This year, thanks to a huge amount of work by Sarah Teather and her in government and Citizens UK outside of government, there are no children in that kind of detention.  The new family detention centre gives them humane surroundings while all the necessary proceedings go on above their heads.  Today, Citzens UK came to say thank you.  But they also told the very moving story of the campaign and reminded us that although that campaign is over there are other problems yet to be resolved with regard to asylum seekers and immigration controls.  The next steps will be just as challenging if not more so.
At the other end of the day was a challenging debate on the UK power infrastructure - the need for renewal, the opportunities that brings but also the challenges.  With speakers from CPRE, the National Grid and the Distribution network as well as Ed Davey it proved to be interesting, challenging and hopeful.  It was one of those debates which could have gone on a lot longer if only the main protaganists hadn't had other appointments and the room hadn't been needed for another meeting.