Waiting for the Phoenix

In the week that the NHS celebrates its 60th birthday Eaglescliffe Health Centre bit the dust. The demolition squad moved in and the building is no more. Councillor Suzanne Fletcher took these photographs when out with her trusty camera looking for something else entirely.
Residents haven't been deserted by the doctors, nurses, physiotherapist, health visitor and countless other professionals who work in the centre - the temporary one is actually so nice and modern that it made the old permanent one look even more tatty! The designs for the new centre looked great on paper so I look forward to the Phoenix arising from the ashes of the old one later in the year.

Meanwhile, at a meeting of Durham Lane Primary School governors we heard a report on the progress being made in setting up integrated services for children and young people in this area which should help with ensuring that the risk of children "falling through the net" is minimised, that families in need get all the help they need when they need it and that schools get the support they need to support their pupils. It was an encouraging report even though everyone admits that there's a long road to be travelled. Meanwhile it was good to be able to offer congratulations to the school on winning the First Annual Tennis Challenge Trophy of the Tony Blair Sports Foundation. For young people who've only been playing for such a short time it was a fantastic achievement. For the community it's a great indication of what happens when a school is open enough to let in outside help to encourage a new sport. Let's hope these young people are the first of many in Eaglescliffe to take up active sport and continue to enjoy it into adult life.

Planning Committee

The agenda for today's meeting was particularly heavy, containing as it did the draft Strategic Housing Land Allocation Assessment. This document, 2cm thick, contains an assessment of every conceivable plot of land in the Borough capable of having more than 10 dwellings put on it in. It then tries to assess whether they're likely to become available and if it might be possible to develop in the next 15 years. It's been a mammoth task to produce and of course it contained plots which some of us would rather not see developed. There's no guarantee that they will end up with housing but there's a feeling of unease when the possibility is there on the page in black and white.
It includes the sites of the schools which may be moving or closing under the proposals for Building Schools for the Future, something which we in this ward were assured would not happen when we had early discussions on the subject. However much council officers protest that it's prudent and necessary to put the sites in there because they might become available but that nothing's decided, one can't help but feel that there's been some economy with the truth along the way.

Two difficult planning applications helped to prolong the meeting. One in Ingleby Barwick had several of us wishing we could do something to teach wayward developers a lesson but unfortunately planning committee doesn't have that in its remit! As a result the developer will be selling a house which has some quite severe changes in level in the garden and has less daylight in the kitchen than most people would want. The neighbours have to put up with a house which is higher than it should be and has an imposing gable wall facing their properties. All because the builder didn't comply with a basic requirement at the outset - to get the levels agreed before building. It's not rocket science, but some of these companies just think they can ride roughshod over the council and the neighbours.
The second tricky one was in our ward. 502-506 Yarm Rd is better known to long-standing residents as MPG. We were told today by the chairman of Preston Parish Council that it has been there for 70 years. I can vouch for the last 30 of them! Today it serves not just as a filling station but as a corner shop for local people. Sadly the economics of life today mean that the owners want to demolish it and build flats. Because I've been tied up with personal things over the last few weeks I hadn't spent as long studying it as I might have done. When I came to study the report on the agenda for today I was saddened to see that, despite lots of things which were obviously wrong on it, the planning officer had recommended it for approval. Eventually we agreed to defer it to see if a better design can be achieved. I'd like a lower density but I don't know whether that will be possible. I'm just not sure how popular 1 bedroomed flats will be, and I know that local people are worried that if they don't sell it will become a derelict eyesore. The garage isn't a thing of beauty but perhaps better the devil you know? I did permit myself a wry smile at the thought that the flats would be considered sustainable because shops are accessible by bus, but in order to build them the local convenience store would be demolished. Such is life in the planning world these days.

Escape To Safety

This morning I was invited to visit The Norton School for the opening of the exhibition “Escape to Safety”. This is a multi-media exhibition demonstrating the experience of people seeking asylum in the UK. It takes students on a journey from a war-torn part of the world to Heathrow and eventually to a detention centre. Using an MP3 player and headphones each person moves through the exhibition which is set up in a large trailer. Hearing the stories and seeing the pictures and other items in such confined spaces really brings home some of the desperation which drives people to put up with such terrible deprivation in order to seek freedom and basic human rights.
A story from Afghanistan reminded me of the students I taught who’d fled that same regime for those same reasons. Nowrooz, whose house was flattened in a bombing raid while he was at work and who had to leave, assuming that his wife was buried under the ruins. And then I started to think of others and wonder where they are now. The Kosovan whose name I won’t print here who just wanted to be able to go back and help rebuild his country but couldn’t because his village wasn’t there any more and his friends and family had scattered to the four winds. The young man from Sierra Leone who couldn’t go to school because of the fighting but whose friend risked his life to teach him what he had learned before the school closed. The very first refugee I met from Afghanistan who’d paid a fortune to be transported to London with his family only to be deposited in Kiev and told that he was in London. The Turkish Kurd whose wife was killed in a bombing raid on their village and who was shot as he tried to locate her body.
I could go on and on, each story an individual tale of pain and suffering, but each person sustained by a belief that England is the land of the free, the land of safety where people are kind and tolerant. And then there’s the fresh pain when it becomes obvious that the truth isn’t quite as rosy as that. When immigration officers don’t or won’t make allowances for the trauma someone has suffered. When newspapers print untrue “facts” and people read and believe them.
Today’s exhibition reminded me of why I enjoyed teaching those refugees and asylum seekers English language and culture. It reminded me that there are times when I don’t do enough to support now that I’m not teaching and meeting them every day. And it made me determined to do more to support those who do have the time and the skills to give practical help.
Thank you Hilaire and RAPT for inviting me. Well done Norton School for spending the time to help students to understand the issues. Egglescliffe school did the same in the spring. Two different schools serving very different communities but both trying to help their young people to be better global citizens.

Pathways to Healthcare again

Tonight's meeting of the Western Area Partnership Board was taken up to a large extent with a discussion on the Momentum project. This had been mentioned last month but this month we had a presentation and debate which could have gone on for a lot longer. People have real concerns about concentrating services in too few locations, about how the villages will be served when they can't have a GP service, let alone any of the wonderful new services being proposed. There were worries about private sector involvement and some confusion over the difference between the health centres being proposed and privately operated polyclinics being talked about in some parts of the media.
There was a glimmer of hope for Long Newton Post Office, when we heard that the leader of the council has asked council officers to look into the possibility of the council keeping it open. It doesn't seem like a lot to ask - a part-time worker for a few hours a week, purchase the second hand redundant equipment from the Post Office and pay a bit towards the upkeep of the Wilson Institute. We shall see. I'll keep reminding him that it's important to the village community of the Western Area and we don't ask for much from the council.

A Day Off

A rare opportunity this afternoon to just drop everything and go out. The initial intention was to walk along to Preston Park and see something of the Fire Engine and Vintage Vehicle rally, but a sudden downpour changed our minds. We drove out to the moors and enjoyed the scenery even though it was grey and rather more wintry looking than we might have hoped for this time of year. Our walk was a very short one along the river bank in Great Ayton, catching a brief spell of sun, and enjoying an ice-cream. We're very lucky to have such beauty on our doorstep and don't always appreciate it. One of the oldest hostelries in the village was looking particularly beautiful and just for those few minutes the colours looked quite summery.

Another Threat to the Post Office

The Government still hasn't made up its mind about who will run the Post Office Card Account after the present contract expires in 2010. This is the account which replaced the Pension book for many over 60s, allowing them to go to the Post Office as they always had and draw the money out each week. For people like my mother who can't get into her bank branch it's a godsend, helping her to maintain her independence. It's also used for benefit payments and often is the only sensible way for someone on a very low income to manage their money. Because the account doesn't allow overdrafts it's impossible to spend more than you have in the account. But this Labour Government, elected because so many people thought it would look after them better than the previous Conservative one, is failing the people who need it most. They've made it really difficult to find out that such a card is an option, assuming instead that everyone will want to use a bank account. And yet many people, even though they use a bank for other things, value the social networking that goes on in the Post Office. Even those of us who can't imagine needing it at the moment don't know what's going to happen to us in 10 or 20 years time. We might be glad of an account which someone else can draw from and do our shopping but we can ensure that it only gives access to a certain amount of money.

The National Federation of Sub-Postmasters is running a postcard campaign to try to ensure that the Post Office keeps the contract. All you need to do it ask in the Post Office for a card, fill in your name and address and give it back to them. They will send them to the right MP. If you think the card account is important, please do ask. Liberal Democrats strongly believe that only the Post Office can do this job. It's the only body with a wide enough network to support all the people who want to use the card. So please do support the campaign and write to your MP or ask for a card at the Post Office.

Retirement Living

The McCarthy and Stone development on The Avenue which was so unpopular as it went through the planning process last year is nearing completion. Timothy Hackworth Court sales office is open for business and today a range of people from local businesses and the community were invited to see for themselves what is on offer. John Fletcher and I went along as ward councillors because we will represent the residents once they move in. It was useful to see the building and the kind of flats which are being constructed. More helpful was to meet the House Manager and discuss some of the possible ways of helping new residents to fit into the community in Eaglescliffe and Preston. The new vicar of All Saints church was there with some members of the church, as was the Methodist minister so I'm sure the churches will be helping those who wish to become involved to settle into new congregations quickly.
Looking at the amount of work going on around the grounds and in the building it was hard to envisage the first residents being in there in July.
Sadly, now that we've got them, the prices mean that they're not affordable for a lot of the Eaglescliffe residents who would like to move to something smaller and more manageable. We'll just have to keep trying to get more affordable housing for all ages when other developers come wth applications for our area.
Tonight the democratic accountability of the planning system took another blow with the passage of the Planning bill through Parliament. 16 Labour rebels weren't enough to defeat the government and so yet another quango will come into being - The Independent Planning Commission will decide on applications for big infrastructure projects, not the councils elected to represent the people of the area. I know that the planning system needs some reform, but it doesn't need to be taken out of the hands of local people. And this same government wonders why people lose the will to vote in local elections!

A day without meetings - a rarity indeed. So what does a councillor do on such a day? Well, we do have a life other than council of course but multi-tasking is common place for us. Thus a walk to do some shopping, rather than a quick call in the car en route to somewhere else, was a chance to check up on the state of some little problems reported earlier in the year. Some things never seem to change - the amount of litter which is deposited on the grass along the route taken by pupils to and from Egglescliffe school never ceases to amaze me. I'm not suggesting that the young people are responsible for all of it, but the preponderance of soft drink cans and sweet wrappers does seem to implicate at least some of them. Yet these same young people can be incredibly concerned about pollution, deforestation and other global issues. There's a connection missing somewhere. The Care for Your Area team were busy picking up litter from the grass near the railway bridge, but it's slow work when there's so much.
Then a trip to Municipal Buildings so that I could print off copies of the plans for the Tesco roundabout along with letters to tell those residents who aren't on our e-news list and live near to the roundabout.
A few personal and family matters to deal with and then time to catch up on e-mails, preparing Focus and all the other jobs which have slipped behind in the last couple of weeks.

Allen's West & Urlay Nook Road Update

Stockton Council's engineers asked the people applying to develop these two sites to calculate the effect of not only their own traffic but each other's, especially on the roundabout near Tesco. Those calculations are done using standard computer programmes that are accepted right across the country and it's very difficult to argue to a Planning Inspector on appeal that they are wrong, even when local knowledge suggests strongly that they are.
The calculations have shown that the approach to the roundabout would need to be modified to accommodate the extra traffic. A senior council officer has described the proposal thus:
Both developers have combined a proposal for an improvement scheme on the Tesco roundabout to mitigate their impact from development. In summary, the improvement scheme includes local widening to the approaches on the Durham Lane and two A67 legs of the roundabout. This will allow two formal lanes for traffic queue and therefore more traffic through the roundabout more efficiently. There is of course a complication to this, as we are aware the wider highway network (Yarm High St) is the bottle neck. Under the legislation, the developer must mitigate their own impact on the affected junctions and existing problems on the wider highway network remain the responsibility of the Authority.
We know that car drivers now tend to form two lanes close to the roundabout but the width of the road from the north and the west indicates that this can't happen, hence the requirement for widening. What this means is that if the planning applications are approved on July 2nd these changes to the roads will go ahead without any further consultation, so as ward councillors we're busy trying to consult with the people who live nearest to the roundabout to see what their views are. Street letters will go out in the next few days as well as an email news. If readers know anyone who might be affected please let us know.

Magnificat - The Challenge to Women Today

That was the title of a conference I attended this weekend. I'd been asked to speak at the annual conference of the National Board of Catholic Women about being a Borough Councillor and a woman of faith. The other speaker was Prof. Tina Beattie (photographed with the NBCW president, Mrs Yogi Sutton), a wonderful theologian with the gift of being able to express deep thological concepts in language which ordinary people can understand. It may not seem at first glance that a Stockton Borough Councillor and an eminent Catholic lay theologian have a lot in common, but as our talks unfolded it became obvious that what she was saying was as relevant to the challenges facing women today as it had been in the times described in the Christian Gospels. We still face the issue of ensuring that women have the self esteem and self confidence to do what they believe is right, even in the face of pressure to do otherwise. The review which I chaired two years ago on Teenage Pregnancy showed how much that is needed. And that's just one small example. I'm sure there are men who need the same support, but this was a conference about women so I make no apologies for concentrating on us, just for a weekend.

The rest of the conference was taken up with workshops and discussions on a number of topics. I was very interested in London Citizens, a strong alliance of people in London who seem to be succeeding in making sure that the Mayor of London does implement some policies for the real benefit of the citizens. The London Living Wage is one example, and they're now campaigning for community land ownership as a way of helping to tackle the shortage of really affordable housing in the city for ordinary workers. I was told that Birmingham now has a similar organisation starting up and I wondered why other big cities didn't follow suit. It seems to be a way of bringing together a huge number of disparate communities to work for things which affect them all. We talk a lot about Community Cohesion, building sustainable communities and so on. Here is a group which is actually doing it, not just talking about it - widely different groups working together. Where else do we see real partnership working of faith groups, trades unions, schools, residents' groups and more on practical actions, not high level strategies?
So, much to think about and some new ideas to ponder and share with colleagues.

Declaration of Human Rights

This year is the 60th anniversary of the declaration of human rights and a group of eminent people including Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu have launched a campaign to celebrate and strengthen the declaration by getting a billion people to sign a personal commitment to uphold the Declaration. When I signed there were over 21,000 signatories so there's a long way to go to get the billion. Please think about signing and spreading the word.
The personal declaration reads as follows:

I choose to sign this declaration because:

I wish to take responsibility for upholding the goals of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in my daily life and in my community. I will do my best to speak out to protect the freedom and rights of others in my community.

I affirm the following principle: “Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.”

I believe Every Human Has Rights.

Larch Crescent

Residents of Larch Crescent have been plagued for a number of years by teenagers playing football on the patch of grass in front of their bungalows, kicking the ball into their gardens and causing damage. It's the age old story of the patch of grass available being too small for what the young people need. Quite why they won't go over the road to Preston Park I don't know.
Tristar have done the consultation for us and we're prepared to spend some of our Environmental Improvement Budget on doing some planting in the area, but it's proving tricky to work out which department can do the design. We'll get there in the end!
Meanwhile we've chased up a request that was made 3 years ago by the then councillor for Preston Ward to have some goal posts erected in Preston Park with the aim of encouraging teenagers to go there rather than these small patches of grass. The goal posts never appeared but we'll see what's said this time.
Stockton Council's engineers told us today that the developers of Allen's West and Urlay Nook Rd warehousing proposal have agreed on a package of road widening measures at the Tesco roundabout to mitigate the impact of their developments. According to the wonderful computer programme which calculates these things for local authorities if they widen the splay at the roundabout everything will be fine, except for the bottleneck caused by Yarm High Street which isn't their problem. So the engineers have no option now but to accept that these developments can be accommodated, despite the fact that we all know that the Yarm High St issue is the biggest problem for this area and won't be relieved at all by any of these measures.
Planning committee on July 2nd will be a difficult one. Decision day for both of these developments, both the subject of serious objections by residents but both looking increasingly as though they're proving able to answer the material planning objections.

Grrrr!

A complete waste of time was my reaction to the morning's event. I went to a workshop which I'd been led to expect would be useful in my role as Chair of Western Area Board. Unfortunately this was one of those rare occasions when I found absolutely no value at all in the session. In fact I don't think I've ever been to something where I've come away feeling quite so cross about wasting time. To add insult to injury, the lunch which was on offer consisted of sandwiches and chips! That's twice in three days that I've had that sort of offer. So much for healthy eating. So I left and went home to make a salad!
A visit to an elderly relative in hospital showed up some of the poor communications that are all too prevalent there. The doctor had said "you can go home" so the patient had packed her bag and was expecting me to take her home. What hadn't been said to her was that a number of other things needed to happen first including work by other staff than doctors to make sure her return was safe, comfortable and with the right medication. You can imagine how upset we all were at that muddle. Just a bit of thought and careful choice of words would have made such a difference.
The bright note of the day came in a pre-meeting for the Environment committee meeting next week. It looks possible now that we'll complete our work on Customer First comfortably by September and be able to start on something with a bit more relevance to our residents. Hooray!

Tuesday

A breakdown in "the system" meant that I realised this morning that minutes of a previous Fairtrade meeting hadn't been sent out, nor the agenda for today's. Consequently no-one but the two of us responsible for doing that had remembered the meeting! We took the opportunity to sort out some things which we've been meaning to do and not done because of pressure of other work, so it was a very productive 45 minutes but not what we'd intended when we set the date a month ago.
My second appointment of the day was to discuss the agenda for the next Western Area Partnership meeting on 30th June. We're trying out a new venue, using Challoner House in Yarm, so it'll be interesting to see how it works. One of the items on the agenda is the Momentum consultation and as part of the proposal is to extend services in Yarm it should provoke an interesting discussion.
I had a quick meeting with my two ward colleagues, John Fletcher and Alan Lewis, before our ward surgery, to discuss the proposals for Larch Crescent green space. We need to try to stop the older children playing football and kicking the ball into the pensioners' gardens but still leave a pleasant place to look out onto and perhaps some space for any young children to play. Not easy but we're arranging a meeting with the Tristar staff involved to come up with some designs.
Ward surgery brought another intractable problem - the poorer bus service which now operates up Durham Lane past Orchard estate, compared to what it used to be. Sadly, the council has no power to make the bus companies provide a better service and can only encourage. In our experience encouragement doesn't produce results and our residents continue to be frustrated.

Pathways to Healthcare

As residents know, the health service in this area has been looking at changes to hospital provision for several years. The latest scheme involves building one new hospital to serve Hartlepool, Stockton and parts of Easington and Sedgefield, closing both North Tees and Hartlepool hospitals and having a lot more services available "in the community". Of course that phrase means different things to different people and in different circumstances so there's much debate about what sort of clinics, health centres or hospitals are needed and where.
Over the last couple of weeks leaflets have been distributed in doctors' surgeries, with free papers, in dentists' waiting rooms, hospitals, council buildings and everywhere anyone could think of leaving them. There's a questionnaire included but if yours has been chewed up by the dog or coloured in by the toddler there are plenty more available! It's a way of having your say about where you think services should be located, what you think is important about the new services and where you think the new hospital should be built.
Today there was a "summit" consultation and I was there as a representative of the Western Area Partnership Board. The discussion was very animated and well informed because everyone there was involved in some way or another - patients, doctors, nurses, NHS support and managerial staff, carers, councillors and others. We were all passionate about trying to ensure that what we have in 5 or 10 years time is better than what we have now, not just in terms of the buildings but in terms of how patients are treated. What was really interesting to me on a personal level was just how much agreement there was when people could discuss general principles. Clinicians were able to admit that things don't always run smoothly, that care isn't as good as it could be at times, that people are discharged or admitted too soon sometimes. If what was said today really is listened to then the service will improve, but we shall see.
It was particularly appropriate for me today, following my recent experience of hospital care and discharge procedures for my mother-in-law. And it was very interesting to have professionals telling me what should have happened!
So, if you haven't already had your say do go to the Momentum website and complete the questionnaire or e-mail them if you've got comments that don't fit on the form. Don't say in 10 years time that it should have been done differently (unless of course you've had your suggestions ignored!)

Two Very Intensive Days

Liberal Democrats have always been the party which most values local government and our local government conferences are always well attended. This weekend was no exception. Councillors from all shapes and sizes of local authorities gathered in Birmingham, along with MPs with a special interest in local government.
Although not of direct and detailed interest to the residents I mention these things because some of what was discussed will help us to be better able to do our jobs as councillors.
I spent Friday afternoon in discussions with other group leaders about what is happening in the towns and cities around the country in terms of economy and quality of life, and what can be done to ensure that everyone benefits from improvements. That intense discussion was followed by a very pleasant dinner in the opulent surroundings of Birmingham Council Banqueting Chamber, a legacy of Birmingham's enlightened Victorian entrepreneurs and councillors. The photo shows the outside of the Council building because I forgot to take my camera to the dinner!
Saturday was the conference proper, held in one of Birmingham's prestigious venues, the ICC. I was a little thrown as I walked towards the door, following behind a group of very elegantly dressed people who looked more likely to be attending a wedding than a Lib Dem conference. All was revealed when I stepped inside to find that the Open University Graduation ceremony was also taking place that day.
Speeches from Andrew Stunnell MP and Simon Hughes MP set the tone for the day. The rest of the day flew past before it was time to walk back down to the railway station for the trip home. On the way I passed the "Celebrating Sanctuary" events in Victoria Square and the surrounding areas. I confess I'd forgotten that Refugee Week started this weekend but Birmingham certainly were celebrating in a big way. The photograph shows a Latin American group performing on the specially erected stage. Sadly I didn't have time to visit the mock-up of a refugee camp set up by Islamic relief and based on the ones they set up for crises around the world. Maybe next year.

A Day of Shame

So Brown and his cronies have done it - 6 weeks without charge, just for being suspected of terrorist involvement. 40 Labour MPs can hold their heads high tonight, but not the member for Stockton South. Ms Taylor showed again that she meekly follows wherever her leader goes. It's been proved over long bloody conflicts that interment doesn't work. In my lifetime Northern Ireland proved the point. Yet here we go again - lock them up just in case.
And somehow, Parliament is going to be able to decide whether to give the police permission to extend beyond 28 days (which shouldn't have been introduced anyway). Quite how is this going to work? Debate in camera with everyone sworn to secrecy? Debate with no evidence? Vote with no debate? Heaven help the mother of Parliaments. Senility seems to be taking its toll.

The Good, The Bad & The Boring

Monday brought some good news following on from the Wastes Management review carried out earlier this year. The officers concerned have worked so enthusiastically on ways to implement the recommendations that the action plan is ready ahead of schedule so the recommendations will begin to be implemented sooner than we'd thought. Watch this space!
It seems also that the plans for Billingham Town Centre are coming on nicely so I look forward to seeing some detail in them. It seems likely to include a new medical centre and perhaps a customer contact centre for Stockton Council.
The insulation of Municipal Buildings cavity walls was cracking on, noisily but efficiently. However, the sun was so hot that I suspect staff working in some of the rooms had ventilation on their minds rather than insulation. It's a difficult building to improve with its lovely big windows - hot in sunny weather and cold in winter though the insulation should help with the latter. One day perhaps we'll get a nice energy efficient office building, but not yet!
Less good is all the public consultation starting about the new hospital for North of the Tees. The idea is that there's to be a lot more care in the community including some procedures that are done at hospital at present. This means that new medical centres need to be built and old ones refurbished but there's no clarity from the PCT about where these facilities will be nor what exactly will be available in each one. But without knowing this people are being asked to say which site they prefer for the hospital! Both sites are out of town, not readily accessible by public transport and no guarantee that they ever will be. The NHS seems to have decided that they can't please everyone so they're better to please no-one. There doesn't seem to be any sense to their choice of sites other than the fact that the land is likely to be cheaper and more readily available than some of the other sites which have been suggested.
The afternoon saw a further meeting of the Environment Select committee to review the Customer First Programme of Stockton council. Whilst I agree that it's important to give customers the best possible service I still am utterly unconvinced that there's going to be any useful outcome of this scrutiny. Maybe I'll be proved wrong?

Greener Living

Stockton council held a Greener Living Roadshow today at Preston Park. There were exhibitors showing all manner of renewable heating systems, public transport, recycling, real nappies, plans for the regeneration of the Park, cycling, lower emission cars and even an electric motor bike which produces no emissions at the time of use (because they're all produced at the power station making the electricity). I hope that others will have written more about what they saw because I didn't get much chance to look round as I was helping to man the Fairtrade stall. By showcasing the huge variety of Fairtrade products available we hoped to encourage people to ask their local shops to stokc more. A number of people did take a postcard to do just that so we hope it will have an impact. We also had a lot of interest in the Fairtrade group, in converting local businesses and in giving talks to schools and other places. Definitely worth going and giving up a Sunday afternoon and a huge thank you to those who covered Sunday morning while the councillors among us were at the Civic service.
The civic service is the opportunity each year for the people of the Borough to share with the new mayor in prayer for the borough and to hear the new mayor commit to serving the people of the borough during the year. This year's mayor, John Fletcher, is well known to the people of Eaglescliffe and they were strongly represented in the congregation and in the choir. But John hasn't been a councillor for over 20 years without forging links in other parts of the Borough and of course there were representatives from neighbouring authorities whose links with Stockton extend long past the tenure of any particular Mayor. We were blessed with a sunny day and very little wind for the traditional parade up the High Street to the Parish Church and back again after the service. Sadly, the number of young people from the different organisations in the Borough has decreased over the years, no doubt for complex reasons, but those who do march, old and young, are a credit to their peers and to the Borough.
The Civic service has a number of common elements year by year but each Mayor and chaplain choose some parts to reflect their particular feelings for the role. John's readings and hymns gave a deep sense of the vocation involved in public service, of being a servant to all across the Borough regardless of their background and of trying to work with all the different groups in the Borough. His chaplain spoke of part of his role being to give pastoral care to someone in a very exposed public position - not something which is discussed around council chambers but very important none the less.

Who can help?

I haven't commented on the Mugabe/Zimbabwe situation this week, mainly because words failed me. But reading this morning's newspaper I just felt so sick, physically ill, at what's going on there. I'm not qualified to say whether Mugabe is mentally ill or something else but what he and his henchmen are causing to happen in that country should be cause for shame to all around who might be able to help and don't. Diplomats and Politicians in power around the world surely must be able to do more than our esteemed Foreign Secretary this week (Comment on the illegal treatment of UK and US diplomats this week: This gives us a window into the lives of ordinary Zimbabweans). Where are the powerful who have the courage to stand up to Mugabe? The words of Christ seem quite apt here: Whatever you do to the least of my little ones, you do to me. The efforts of ordinary people in Zimbabwe to have a free and fair election are being battered and beaten out of existence and the so-called democratic governments that could surely band together and make a difference turn a blind eye. God help us all.

A grey morning started with our quarterly estate walkabout - councillors, Tristar patch manager, Enforcement officer and a Highways officer walking round the streets to check on problems and giving residents a chance to chat to us about anything they want to raise. Today's walk gave us the chance to talk in situ about the possibilities for work on Larch Crescent and Cedar Crescent. One needs something to stop football being played too vigorously and causing problems for the residents and the other needs something done to provide more parking spaces. We had a good discussion and look forward to seeing some suggested plans drawn up.
It was a pleasant experience on the second part of our walkabout to have residents of the Millfield estate telling us how pleasant it is to live there, how little trouble they have and what a good neighbourly spirit there is.

The afternoon was spent at a seminar for members on the partnership working between Stockton and Darlington on providing "back room services". These are the things like IT services which keep the work of the council ticking over but which don't impact directly on members of the public. Stockton and Darlington councils took a very brave step a few years ago of looking into the possibility of working together to work more efficiently. The partnership took over 2 years to bring to birth but it's working well so far and the managers believe it will go from strength to strength.

From there, via a quick sick visit and a trolley dash round the supermarket, to ward surgery. No customers, other than someone needing a witness to a signature, but a chance to have a brief look at the plans for the refurbishment of Preston Hall. We got 8 envelopes of plans today so it's too early to say much about them but we'll certainly study them carefully and comment as appropriate. One good thing, at first sight, is the idea to demolish the sheds and replace them with proper storage buildings designed to fit in with the surroundings.

World Environment Day

If you're one of those who's not sure about climate change or not sure what to do next, have a look at this site, and be prepared to laugh. There's a drawback of course - you've got to sign up to do something first, but that's painless and they do offer advice on how to keep your pledge.
On the other hand, if you really want to see how much Carbon Dioxide your home and lifestyle is responsible for, there's a very handy and easy to use calculator here. Just make sure you've got your gas and electricity consumption figures handy before you start. Like all these things it's a rather blunt tool. For example, it doesn't allow the chance to say that one door has draught-proofing but the other doesn't. It suggests that I should install underfloor insulation, which might be a tad difficult in a house with a concrete floor. But at least it gives some idea of where I stand in relation to the national average and some sensible ideas on what to do next to lower my emissions. I have to confess that the biggest single contributor to my carbon footprint is visiting my daughter on the other side of the world and since I'm not going to give that up if I can help it, I'll just have to carry on with contributing to carbon offsetting programmes which sound as if they'll help. Not a cure, but a treatment which delays matters until the cure is implemented.
One of the things I'd really like is someone to work out and publish in an easily understood form, the relative costs in carbon and money of keeping a fairly elderly but still functional appliance or scrapping it and buying a new energy efficient one. It goes against the grain to scrap something that still works but if I could be absolutely sure that the carbon footprint of scrap and replace is really less than that of keep going till it drops then perhaps I'd do it.
I know that these calculations have been done on housing stock - demolition and disposal of the debris from our old housing stock followed by rebuilding with more energy efficient stock means that the new houses have to last over 50 years before they start saving carbon! That's something which I'll be factoring in to my considerations of planning applications in future.

Maps, Governance and Young People

What do they all have in common? Mainly the fact that they were the topics of my three "council activities" today. I actually started with an early session to arrange some dates to make progress on getting a report through the relevant stages in the right order. Then a brief session to ask a couple of officers for help with practical issues arising out of yesterday's climate change event. Then to the first "proper" session of the day, a training on using the council's Geographic Information Service. This is a really useful tool for finding out all sorts of information about the borough based on the geographic location. Things like how big a plot of land is, who's responsible for land in council ownership (education or leisure or any number of other departments), the location and ID number of streetlights are all there if we know how to find them. I already use the system quite a bit but this was a session to explore the more advanced tools within it. I found it interesting, and I learned what a few of the tools are which I haven't yet used but very well might in the future. There's a public version on Stockton's website which readers might find useful or interesting, or even both.
From there it was back to Eaglescliffe for a meeting of colleagues to discuss some issues around future governance in Stockton. Central government is pressing for change although with no clear reason as to why we should change something which works well enough to have Stockton assessed as Excellent for a number of years running. There's also no clear indication of how changing governance would improve on this excellence. Change for change's sake it seems. Nevertheless I'm not and never have been a King Canute caricature, nor am I the little boy with my finger in the dyke. If change is inevitably going to be pushed upon us it behoves us to be as well prepared as possible and to have taken note of all the information and suggestions coming out on the subject, hence our meeting today.
And so to youth! Unfortunately the Youth Worker we were expecting didn't arrive but it was a constructive meeting with the local beat bobby and as ward councillors we're better informed than we were. We could also alert him to things we'd been told by residents and decide on some small things we can try to do while the longer term plans for improved play areas which are being made by the Parish Council are brought to fruition. Nothing very comforting for residents who're being plagued by the few bad apples but at least we know we've done what we can.

Inspiring our communities...

...to act on Climate Change.
That was the title of a regional conference today which I attended with Stockton Council's Environmental Policy Manager. There were some very interesting presentations and some very challenging facts from public opinion surveys. There's a great deal of confusion in people's minds about whether climate change is important or even real. Even amongst people who think it's important there's confusion over what to do about it. "Saving the planet" has become a catch-all phrase and people don't distinguish between what they can do to save precious resources (like recycling glass and metals and paper) and what they can do to prevent serious climate change (like using low energy light bulbs and driving the car less frequently). People really don't trust the idea of environmental taxes because they think the government is just making an excuse to get more money out of motorists or whoever is being targetted. All the studies show that people look for fairmess -they want to feel that whatever is being asked of them everyone else is going to be asked to make the same sacrifices.
The big challenge for us as councillors is how we lead our community forward to combat climate change in Stockton, given this desire for fairness and this lack of understanding of all the complex issues. Real food for thought and we hadn't come to any conclusions at the end of the journey home. We did agree that, difficult though the problems are, Stockton has already made a good start by doing the relatively easy things and that the biggest challenges are left to meet. Watch this space!
From South Shields and climate change to Kirklevington and Renaissance. Stockton's Local Strategic Partnership had a unique session this evening to consider itself, how it works and how it can improve. There was a lot of discussion about the fact that most people outside the partnership probably don't know it exists or what it does, and yet it's a very important part of life in the borough. It brings together the council, big voluntary sector organisations, small community groups, major bodies like police, fire and NHS alongside business links to try to join up the way services are delivered to people. Possibly the fact that people don't know about it means it's working extremely well? Whatever the reason, there's to be a lot more thought put into exactly how it operates and how it tells people about its work.
And finally, almost 12 hours after leaving home this morning, time to return to domestic matters!

Raising Expectations

A few months ago the Environment Select committee which I chair produced its report on managing cemeteries and memorials. While carrying out the scrutiny we asked lots of people visiting the cemeteries for their opinion of what we currently do and how it should change. At the end of the review we wrote to everyone who'd given us their address telling them what had been decided. Unfortunately we didn't put in the letter that it would take months to draw up an action plan and then a long time to implement it because so much needed doing! As a result I've had a lady contact me now, complaining that she'd read the letter and the article in the press and acted accordingly, removing things from her husband's grave but the family with the next grave along haven't. As a result her husband's grave is suffering from the effects of some of the artefacts on this over-embellished plot. Why haven't we done what we said we were going to do and enforced our new policy? The explanation that it takes so much time to set the enforcement in place sounded like a feeble excuse to her, and I can't blame her. At times the council is like a huge tanker at sea - it takes an awful long time between deciding to change course and seeing it happen. Meanwhile people get frustrated and think we've forgotten or they're being mis-led. Fortunately the officers who worked with us on producing the new policy are among the best in the council and one of them is going to speak to the lady concerned and see what can be done in the short term until we've got the enforcement system up and running.
On a much brighter note a happy coincidence of timing of a visit and weather meant that instead of just collecting some Fairtrade goodies from a friend and dashing off again we sat out in the garden and had coffee (before dashing off to our respective next jobs). The birds were singing, the flowers were beautiful and just for half an hour the world seemed to be at peace.

Young People in Need

One of those humbling days today, when people who have a lot of needs also prove to have a lot to offer the rest of us. I had a meeting as Chair of the Western Area Partnership with a young man who doesn't let severe dyslexia hold him back. He's currently doing a degree but in his spare time is working on a number of projects as a volunteer. The one we were officially meeting to discuss is "Twisted Headlines", a project led by the YMCA to overturn the perceptions that young people are all knife-toting, anti social, badly behaved, loud mouthed etc etc. At present the project can't expand at all because there's a lack of funding, but the young people involved aren't deterred. They're busy collecting good news stories from the local press so that they can eventually use them in the creative ways they have in mind. He was hoping that members of the Partnership Board would join in collecting stories so that they gather a huge library of cuttings. I was able to say that we'd put it on the agenda of the next meeting. It seemed like a very small thing to do.
He also told me about work he's doing with Community Campus on homelessness. Again a very creative project is being planned if only they can get funding to carry it out. From what he told me it would involve some discomfort for those of us wh agreed to take part, but should give us an insight into the causes and consequences of homelessness for young people in the Borough. Because of his enthusiasm to tell me about the various things he's involved in the meeting lasted longer than we'd planned but it was worth every minute. He was pleased too that I could get the Cabinet decision from last week about using the Parkfield Hall site to put a purpose-built unit for homeless young people on, something which was news to him.
So a very productive hour in which we shared information on a number of issues of interest to us both. I hope it's going to be the start of a productive relationship.
Then this afternoon it was the bi-monthly meeting of the MALAP, the partnership which tries to ensure that children being looked after by the local authority get as many life chances as children being looked after by their birth or adoptive parents. The council is known as Corporate parent to these children and it's a role that some councillors and many officers take very seriously. We meet every two months to check on what is happening to "our" children, though we don't know them by name and this is not a meeting about individuals. Today we heard the alarming news that the number of young people in our care being placed outside the Borough has risen significantly in the last few months - lots of issues around the accommodation we can provide and lots of questions to be asked. The next meeting is going to focus completely on this topic with the aim of deciding some actions to take to improve the situation. The lighter moment was provided by the news that one of our children has won through the introductory stage of The X Factor, so who knows - we may have a budding star in our corporate family.

Farmers Come to Town

There was a mini Farmers' market in Stockton High Street today, organised entirely by the town centre manager rather than by a commercial organisation. She'd only invited a small number of people who fulfilled rather tight criteria and it seemed to have worked. There was a lovely array of meats, Yorkshire cheeses, pickles, preserves and an almost empty cake stall whose occupants said they'd bring twice as much next month! Everyone seemed to have had a reasonably successful day and were looking forward to coming back next month. One more small step in the regeneration of Stockton High Street.
I concluded yesterday that something was definitely needed. I'd made a long overdue appointment to have my hair cut but the stylist was busy and running late so I sat in front of a mirror which reflected a view of Stockton High Street. Alarmingly, no-one who walked across my field of vision over a period of 10 minutes looked happy! At first I thought it was just coincidence, but after a while I started watching continuously, actively seeking the happy people. They didn't exist! I saw sad faces, weary faces and angry faces but no smiling faces. Regeneration of Stockton needs to regenerate the people, based on my very unscientific survey on one warm Wednesday afternoon. There's a challenge for the Town Centre manager.

Cluster Bomb success

OK, it's not a perfect agreement. America and China aren't part of it yet. But campaigners, including those of us who signed on-line petitions and wrote to the Foreign Office, can feel a sense of relief today that the UK is going to stop using all versions of this horrendous weapon. Gordon Brown and his Cabinet stood up to the military chiefs and said NO! Well done Gordon. That's the kind of thing which makes me proud to be British. Let's have more of it, and quickly.

The importance of play

I spent some time today at a meeting about Play in the borough. Last year the council put together a Play Strategy, describing how we would try to make sure that children and young people will have access to suitable play areas and opportunities, including the chance to enjoy adventurous play and learn to manage risks. Nothing is ever easy of course, with many play areas being described as boring by the children who use them. A bid went in to the Big Lottery for funding to start expanding the opportunities and fortunately we've been successful. Some of it will go to Romano Park at Ingleby Barwick to help provide much needed play facilities on that play-deprived estate. Other money will help with two small projects in Thornaby and in Thorpe Thewles. The biggest chunk of money is going to an exciting scheme to provide a mobile play facility which can tour parts of the borough lacking in facilities and have a play leader to encourage the children to enjoy the equipment. I hope it will also encourage communities to take some responsibility to ensure that the project continues beyond its 3 year funding.
We also had confirmation of an award of Play Builder funding which is designed to enhance play areas. The detail of exactly what it can be used for hasn't been published yet but I hope that we can have some help towards enhancing St Margaret's Play area from it. No chance to make an application yet though!
I also managed to get across my point that someone from the Planning Department should be on the Play Partnership so that they're aware of what's needed in new housing developments. It remains to be seen whether they act on the information when they've got it or whether they say it's not covered by a planning policy!!!

Gordon doesn't get it

Listening to the on-going debate on whether fuel tax should be increased this year as planned, now that fuel is expensive, and whether the VED on older cars should be increased as planned, now that Labour isn't popular, I do wonder whether Gordon and his troops will ever get it where Green Taxes are concerned. (Mixing green and red produces the colour of mud - is that relevant?)
The whole point of raising fuel tax was to make people think about whether to use the car for every journey. It's meant to put the price of motoring up - get it? OK, there's been a shift of balance in the price of petrol and diesel and perhaps the Treasury needs to do some adjustment in the balance of the taxes so that buses and lorries aren't unduly disadvantaged, but that's not the same as changing direction totally. Flexibility is good, backtracking is not!
As for VED on older cars - since when was taxation in this country introduced retrospectively? Most people don't own older cars because they dislike new ones. They own them because that's what they can afford. People on lower incomes who can't get to work on public transport often want/need to be able to get to work in wet weather clean and dry enough to start work. Maybe they need to drop the kids at school on the way! If they could afford a shiny new, less polluting vehicle they'd probably jump at the chance. So what does the "labour" party do - penalise them. What happened to Gordon's favourite "hard working families"? How can it be fair to introduce this tax increase without providing the infrastructure to allow choice?
When it comes to public transport and sustainable development language takes on a whole new meaning. A bus service every half hour to one of the two centres near a proposed new development becomes "good public transport links". A walk of 1km along a busy road which only has a footway along part of it becomes "easily accessible". When will central government put its money where its mouth is, stop wasting money on ridiculous projects like ID cards and going to war in countries we've no right to be in, and start funding high quality rail and bus links as well as research and development funding for newer forms of transport. Sadly, not in my lifetime if the present regime continues, and as for the chances of my grand-children enjoying a decent quality of life .....
Come the revolution!

Caravans & Camping

Bank Holiday weekends often bring caravans out on to the roads in large numbers as people decide to enjoy their break away from home. This weekend has brought caravans to us, as Travellers have set up camp on the grass verge near Hunters' Green. For the moment it's not a problem - 5 caravans only. Certainly I don't think it's worth taking any action over a holiday weekend, especially as we're woefully short of transit sites in the Tees Valley, including Stockton. However, if they're still there next week we will have to start the proceedings for moving them on. We're fortunate in Eaglescliffe that we don't get the large encampments which occur regularly in Thornaby and cause such problems with litter and worse.

Bits and Pieces

Today was a day for catching up on some of the bits which had been left behind - emails unanswered, phone calls unmade etc. Very often on such days the end result is not very satisfying, but today several things fell into place. A meeting of ward councillors, police and youth workers to discuss ways in which we might help both the residents and the young people who plague them by playing football in the "wrong" place is finally in the calendar. Having two lots of people who work different shift patterns makes it difficult to match their diaries but at last we've succeeded. It remains to be seen of course whether more pressing police business arises at the last minute.
The last empty slot for looking after the Fairtrade stall at the Greener Living Roadshow was filled by a volunteer (better than 10 pressed men!). I managed to gather the necessary information together to be able to make a reasonable response to a strong complaint from a resident about the Just 10 event in Preston Park. Add to that sorting a time for a meeting of the Lib Dem group on the council to discuss an issue on which we need to take a view, some filing and a few personal jobs like the shopping and washing, and a relatively productive day emerges!
I was pleased to be able to spend 5 minutes of the day signing a grant application for the Wilson Institute in Long Newton - not in our ward but within the area covered by the Western Area Partnership Board which I chair. The board has met in the Institute and so I know how good it would be to get funding to upgrade the heating, access and other things. I do hope their application is successful.

Crewe and Nantwich

Well, the by-election is over and the predictable result is in. People were cross with Gordon Brown's Labour party and decided to give them a bloody nose. How to do that? Change and vote for the party which came second last time. As a result they now have a Tory MP. Will life change for the people of that constituency? Not a lot! To parody an old saying, one MP does not a government make.
Well done Elizabeth Shenton and team. Keeping going in the face of such relentless yah boo, first past the post, negative campaigning takes a lot of guts. And to those who think it's not worth the effort, just remember - to get to a parliamentary majority you've got to start somewhere. The real losers are going to be the electorate of the UK next year or the year after. Until we get a fair voting system in this country the government is going to be chosen by about 8000 voters in swing seats. What kind of a mandate does that give anyone?
And speaking of democracy, what an excellent article by Nick Clegg in the Independent this week. For various reasons I didn't read it until 2 days after it was published but I was impressed and wished that more of that reasoned debate could be heard around the country. What are the other two parties afraid of? What have they got to lose, apart from their "majority"?

Road Safety Improvements

One of the successes of Stockton Council's mini-devolution of budgets has been the Area Transport Strategy budget. £25,000 goes annually to each of the Area Partnerships to spend on transport related matters which otherwise wouldn't make it onto the priority lists. Tonight was the 3rd annual meeting in the Western Area to agree our spending priorities and hear a progress report on last year's spending.
The dropped kerbs in Station Road, Eaglescliffe, are in place so it's now possible to go with a wheelchair or pram from Yarm Road to the station and to the shops en route. The bus stop on Durham Lane near Cleasby Way is finished and in use. The gateway feature for Long Newton to improve safety through the village now that the A66 junction is functioning is almost complete and the link road to Elton is almost open. One small issue is proving difficult - what kind of speed hump to have on it! The bus companies can't accept a hump right across the road because of the jarring on the spine of their drivers crossing it. A local farmer says he can't accept a cushion because of the stress it places on some of the wheels on one of his pieces of equipment, despite the NFU not objecting. Stockton Council's appeals and complaints committee heard evidence from both sides and decided to ask the community engineer to review the situation again. If tonight is anything to go by he'll be reporting no change to the next meeting of the committee!
Last year we spent part of our money on two studies in Eaglescliffe - one on Urlay Nook Road to look at safety for pedestrians crossing especially young people going to and from school, and one on Durham Lane to see whether there had been any improvements as a result of the actions taken a few years ago on advisory speed limits and other markings.
Urlay Nook Road turned out to be interesting, with young people being observed walking along the length of it until they spot a safe gap in the traffic and then crossing. There have been no injury accidents on that stretch of road but parents perceive it as unsafe. As a result of the study we decided last night to use some of the fund along with some from the ward councillor community improvement fund to pay for some extra signage to remind motorists to be careful and some dropped kerbs at the point with the best visibility to encourage people to cross there. Everyone agreed that it seemed to be a good compromise so I hope the young people who first asked for a safer crossing point agree with us.
The Durham Lane study was also instructive but left us feeling disappointed. There has actually been a slight increase in accidents on that stretch of road, although the seriousness has slightly decreased on average. However, the one fatality was one too many and we were all very keen to reduce the likelihood of a repeat. After a lot of discussion of other factors and taking into account the planning application for Allen's West which will be determined in the next few months, we agreed that the way forward was to formalise the speed limit so that police can enforce it and to reinforce it with solid white lines to deter the overtaking which has been a feature of some of the injury accidents along there. Mindful that the biggest increase in accidents has been in people losing control at night we also decided to put reflective posts along the road edge on the bends so that the angle of the bends is more obvious. That means that the total budget for this year is being spent in Eaglescliffe ward.
Sadly, no representatives from Yarm or Kirklevington councils were present, nor any of the Conservative ward councillors representing those people, so if there are new concerns in those areas they were not raised. The issues already raised for those areas couldn't be properly discussed because there was no-one with the local background knowledge to facilitate the discussion.
We also had a discussion on the bus service for Long Newton and Elton, with a frank response from the Arriva representative present. It didn't bring much comfort to the representatives of those two villages but at least he was honest about their thinking and didn't hold out false hopes to them.

The Youth of Today!

How often when we hear that phrase it's a sign of exasperation because the young people haven't behaved in the way which an older person expects. Last night was rather different, and a few preconceived ideas were shaken away.
Some weeks ago young people from local secondary schools were consulted about what they thought of the Western Area (Preston, Eaglescliffe, Yarm, Kirklevington, Long Newton, Elton and surroundings). A graffiti artist produced a canvas of their thoughts and last night I had the privilege of presenting it to the Board. Some things on it really hit home: these young people wanted more help for parents of children with problems, more activities to do as a family rather than split into teenagers, adults, toddlers etc. They saw some of the problems of the area as being the drug dealers who hang around certain places, the play areas which flood so that they can't be used after heavy rain, the lack of places to have exciting rides on their bikes and the lack of places to safely leave their bikes when they arrive at their destination like the swimming pool or the museum.
These were ordinary children, aged from 11 to 16, from ordinary homes in our area. Some of them probably wear hoodies. Some of them probably swear from time to time. Some of them probably don't look very tidy to many adults. But they certainly cared as passionately for their area and their fellow citizens as any of the adults I know.
A group of slightly older young people came along to the meeting, not knowing that this was on the agenda, but wanting to experience a Western Area Partnership meeting for themselves. They had the chance to speak up about what they thought of the ideas on the canvas and what we might do for youngsters in the area.
At the end of the agenda item all the board agreed that we needed to have a way of moving forward on these things. That it isn't good enough to come back again next year and say the same things. We are now committed to trying to get some things moving and to report back on progress. I'm sure that the young people will hold us to account.

Making a Difference

The day started with a seminar on possible future arrangements for Local Government. Most people aren't too bothered about how the council works as long as it does. But the Labour government seems obsessed with the idea of changing it - should we have an elected mayor like some of our neighbours or would the risk of a single-issue candidate capturing the imagination for a day be too great? Or maybe a Council leader in place for 4 years instead of 1? But then what if he or she started doing things which the rest of us felt were wrong? Or perhaps there's some other form of governance that we haven't thought of yet? Over the next 2 years Stockton council has to decide what it would like and then consult with people to see if they agree - slightly back to front perhaps? On the other hand, if we had an open consultation would anyone know what it was about? Meanwhile, as councillors, we'll continue to do our best for the people whom we represent, trying to get things done for our residents in the best way possible.
This evening was about making a difference in another way. I went with my husband to St Nic's in Durham where we enjoyed an international buffet supper followed by a concert by Gareth Davies-Jones, who despite his Welsh name, hails from Bangor in Co Down and now lives on Tyneside. He's a wonderful guitarist who uses his talents as a player and a singer to encourage people to think about trade justice. One thing he said struck me as worth sharing with a wider audience: "If you think that what you can do is too small to make a difference, you've never shared a bed with a mosquito!". It's not an original quote but I'm afraid I can't remember to whom he attributed it.
The buffet used Fairtrade products where possible and the proceeds went to support Uhuru, a Kenyan charity working with Street Children. So, good food with good music for a good cause - what a fantastic way to spend a Friday evening. Sadly, I left my camera at home and so have to make do with a photo taken on a phone - I'll learn one day!

The Maths of Government

In the midst of news programmes on radio trying to make sense of the "draft Queen's speech" and the 10p tax cut compensation package I heard the following comment from a certain minister: "Repossessions are increasing but they're still at a record low". Which school did she go to? And this is the government that lectures teachers about not getting children to the "right" level of numeracy. I'm old enough to remember when being able to point out the error in such statements was part of our arithmetic lessons.
I was interested tonight to be able to visit Thornaby Methodist Church which is bucking the trend seen in many churches and actually increasing the number of families involved in the life of the church. The minister and the congregation are reaching out to the local community in very imaginative ways and everyone is benefitting. Unfortunately I had worn a skirt rather than trousers so didn't feel brave enough to go in and sample the amazing soft play area which has just been installed. Add to that a cyber cafe in construction and an assortment of training, drop-in sessions and meetings already available and I could see that here was a church truly putting itself at the heart of its community. It was heartening to see that here was a minister with vision and passion who had inspired his church members to be brave in doing what they knew was right for the people of the area.

Whoops!

I listened to a phone message left yesterday for me, pointing out the grammatical error in a Focus article on the new Mayor! Mea culpa. I wrote that particular article and did indeed slip into a common error, so I hope readers will forgive me. The lady who so politely pointed it out to me didn't leave a contact number or name so I can't apologise to her personally.
I had an unusual experience this morning in having everyone else in a committee meeting sympathise with me! The sympathy was too late because they should have spoken up at a previous forum when their views would have changed what happened. As it is, the Environment Select committee is stuck with reviewing something which none of us want to review and which won't help the people of the borough one little bit, all because not one other group would agree with us at the crucial moment. Yet again the Liberal Democrats are proved right, but it's not much consolation.
The Fairtrade group meeting at lunch time was much more positive, with some good ideas on how to move forward. Possible links with the embryo multi-faith forum and with the Local Strategic Partnership were suggested, as well as a way of approaching one of the big businesses in the borough. Really positive results from a relatively brief meeting. Of course, if any Stockton resident reading this is interested in being part of the group, do get in touch.
Then it was another change of hat to go to a meeting with the new Integrated Service Area Manager for the south of the borough. This is someone who's going to oversee all the services for children and young people in Thornaby, Ingleby Barwick, Yarm, Eaglescliffe and the villages surrounding them. We discussed the main issues for the Western Area (Eaglescliffe, Yarm, Kirklevington, Long Newton etc), including the difficulty of finding premises for a Childrens' centre in Eaglescliffe and of finding suitable places for young people to kick a ball about without upsetting the neighbours. Both are huge challenges and won't be solved overnight but at least we're talking about them and trying to find a way round. The one thing which might happen more easily is developing some way of allowing young people to have a voice in the area. We had a very successful day in Norton with some youngsters from Egglescliffe and Conyers schools but we need to be able to have regular communication with youngsters from all round the area. One or two ideas were floated and will be discussed further. It's all so painfully slow though. I've been trying to do this kind of thing for about 4 years and it's still only at the discussion stage.

These things pale into insignificance when viewed against the news from China and Burma of people trying desperately to help those who are suffering from two huge natural disasters. It was very humbling to catch a snippet on the TV news of a business which had collected what sounded like a paltry sum to western ears, but had bought water and cake and taken it to the disaster zone to distribute. Ordinary people doing what they can - that's what makes a difference.

I had a meeting this morning to discuss the agenda for the Western Area Partnership Board meeting next week. The most important item on the agenda is the feedback from young people who went to a consultation event earlier in the year about what they want to see happen in the area. Just before the meeting started I checked my council emails to make sure there wasn't anything I needed to deal with quickly. I was slightly amused to see, flagged as important, a message telling me that this is National Condom Week. It did go on to give some useful facts about where to get more information if any young people I was working with needed it and I was very pleased that the council and its partners in the health service were taking the topic seriously.
I was also pleased that a week after I first reported the issue, something seems to be being done about the generator at the new medical centre site on Muirfield Rd. This is running all night, keeping residents awake, even though no work was going on and there is good street lighting around the area. It seems that the Environmental Health officer has been in discussion with the site manager to see how the noise can be reduced. Sadly, what they propose will take until later this week to implement!

A Proud Mum

I know this is primarily a political blog but it's also about me and in this case my wonderful daughters who both completed sponsored races to raise funds for Breast Cancer research this weekend.
One, expecting our second grandchild, walked in unseasonably hot weather in the Midlands on Saturday and the other, not having done any running for some time, ran in rather colder weather in the Southern Hemisphere on Sunday.
Well done both of you. I'm truly proud of you.

Candidate chosen

At a constituency meeting in Stockton at the weekend a new Parliamentary candidate for Stockton South was chosen. Jacquie Bell has a long association with this area and we're looking forward to working with her on the things which have to be changed at national level - there's only so much that the local council can do as those of you who want us to stop certain types of planning applications are well aware.
Jacquie knows only too well the issues that really concern people on a day to day basis, including health, education and having the right kind of support available at difficult times in our lives. I'm sure she'll be an excellent advocate for the people of Stockton South.
The only downside of the meeting was that I realised I'd picked up my camera and left its memory cards in various other places so I'm waiting for colleagues to share photos so that I can post one here. Watch this space as they say!

Fairtrade Challenges

The highlight of today was a meeting of representatives of towns & cities across the North East at Durham to hear from George Alagiah, patron of the Fairtrade Foundation. He's probably better known for his day job as a news presenter and war correspondent on TV, but George is passionate about Fairtrade as a way out of conflict for the world. He pointed out that most conflict ultimately boils down to arguments about the distribution of resources and if that's done fairly then the reason for conflict disappears! Put like that it sounds simple but of course it isn't. Fairtrade helps about 7 million farmers and producers at present but there are still a couple of billion who need help. He also answered the criticism that Fairtrade stops people developing and expanding their range of produce because they're guaranteed a minimum price for what they're already producing. He went and asked Nicaraguan producers what they thought of that idea and they told him in no uncertain terms that the Fairtrade guarantee allows them to innovate and try new products, knowing that they've got a guaranteed income from the basic crop they produce. Those growers have diversified because of Fairtrade, not in spite of it.
George laid before us the challenges facing us over the next few years as activists and campaigners and left us feeling reinvigorated to do more.
The afternoon also gave us a chance to meet up with campaigners from around the Tees Valley and decide on our next move together, so a very worthwhile afternoon.
I know that other people went to listen to George speak at Hartlepool and no doubt will write about it in due course so I'll look forward to hearing what he said to motivate those who were not already involved.
Add to that a bit of filing done and some other jobs completed, and it was a very successful day.

Faith & Belief

The day's meetings started with a good discussion with the Town Centre manager and one of her staff about what might be done in terms of Fairtrade promotion in the Borough over the next year. It was very useful to be able to exchange thoughts about what could have gone better this year and to realise what a gulf of understanding there'd been between us on what each had capacity to do. It should mean that next year is much better organised.
We chose our meeting place so that Suzanne Fletcher and I could leave to go upstairs at 3 to the Faith & Belief in Stockton event. For some years now, ever since the Western Area Partnership Board came into being, I've argued that the churches in the Western Area were as much a part of the community as the community groups and residents groups and so they should have a place on the Board. I've been told, usually politely, that this wasn't what the local strategic partnership was about! Today, we finally had a meeting with all faiths & belief systems invited, to hear about what happens regionally and in our neighbouring borough. Out of that we hope to have a group which will be much more part of the thinking in the borough, including the LSP. So not yet a miracle but perhaps a little seedling and I like to think that my harping on about it has played a little part.
A bonus was the fact that one of the very interesting stalls was run by the Muslim community in Thornaby and I was given a copy of an English Translation of the Koran as well as some other literature about Islam. I had such a long and interesting conversation with the gentleman running the stall that I didn't get to all of the others!
The bad thing of the event was that Stockton council was giving away plastic carrier bags to hold your goodies! Plastic - I ask you! The Arc had good recycling boxes but they would have needed bigger ones to hold what was given away this afternoon.
And then it was on to council - lots of questions, some interesting and some less so. Suzanne Fletcher asked about the Area Bus Forums which had been promised and we were told that they would be discussed at the Area Transport Strategy meetings, but I hadn't been told that when I had my briefing as chair!
We had a debate about some possible corrections to the minutes of one of the committees, as well as some quite lengthy questions on other minutes. John handled it all very well in his first meeting as mayor, but it must have been a real headache for him. I'm just glad it wasn't me in the chair.

Despondency, Challenges and Hope

I spent the morning in a meeting with colleagues, catching up on progress, or lack of it, in a number of fields. Problems with the planning process in Stockton don't go away and in fact seem to grow. Meeting venues are no more accessible than a year ago. The Bus Users' Forum was a flash in the pan because the council needed to tick a box in order to put in a bid for something. And so it goes on. We've had a year now of the new Tory leadership in Stockton and nothing much seems to have improved - still too much bureaucracy and not enough action for people.
We decided on what we needed to do next to move things forward and left to get on with being councillors.
The afternoon was taken up by a routine hospital appointment for my mother, over a bit sooner than anticipated so there was time for an unplanned visit to a supermarket with her to stock up on a few extra bits of shopping. Another accessibility issue here - the disabled parking bays are wider than normal parking bays but not separated by hatching as in most places now. Consequently if someone parks right over near the line it's difficult to get out into a wheelchair in the adjacent space.
The early evening was taken up with a meeting of Stockton Renaissance, the local strategic partnership. The agenda didn't look terribly interesting - several things which I'd already seen in other places, but there was a very interesting presentation on the Environment and Regeneration partnership of the LSP. They are extremely busy working out how best to spend the latest round of government money which is coming to help combat unemployment in the borough. The chairman also gave us some upbeat statistics on unemployment and business start ups in the borough - both significantly better than the national trend. Sadly, the rate of business failure is still too high, but there was a real ray of hope in his presentation. Of course, having got all the people who are relatively easily employable into work, we still have a big skills shortage and the people left out of work don't have the skills, nor in some cases the ability to aquire them. That's the big challenge of the future, along with how to retain the graduates from the two universities on our doorstep.
How we cope with these challenges in the next year or two will make or mar our borough for the next generation. Frightening thought!
And so home, to emails and phone calls that had been stacking up during the day. Some of them tricky, some straightforward, all worth while. The best of all was from a young person wanting to get more young people involved in the democratic decision making processes in this area! Hallelujah!! While there are people like that around there's hope for the world.

Healthy Eating?

I discovered something today which others may have known for a long time - such foods as frozen pizza, frozen chips and milkshakes are zero rated for VAT, while fruit juice and fruit smoothies are rated at 17.5%. This is because apparently the former count as food while the latter count as luxury! I don't very often buy any of them, but for a government to be wringing its hands and weeping crocodile tears over obesity rates to perpetuate a system put in place years ago is just another example of the hypocrisy which surrounds successive Labour and Tory governments.
So, if you think that fruit juice should be moved down into a 5% rate go and sign the petition and lets see if Gordon Brown really does listen! Interestingly, the supermarket chain which is backing this move is ASDA, not always known for its sense of responsibility for the nation's well being. Well done them!

I did. Did you?

Well, 24 hours without a computer (or Blackberry) wasn't a bad experience at all. In fact it was a fun day of family activities. A trip to visit our daughter and her family, work in the garden and playing with our lovely granddaughter. What more could a computer have brought?
Of course, I'm not naive enough to be unaware of the benefits I gained from other people's computers - the traffic lights that worked, the shops that were open and well stocked, the radio programmes I enjoyed, the clean water that flowed from the tap when I needed it to name but a few. But it was good to be able to enjoy the time without one myself.