Priorities

Today I attended a session for members of  Stockton's Health & Wellbeing Partnership to discuss inequalities in health and how to tackle them.  It's generally accepted that on average healthier people live longer, more independent lives than unhealthy people.  Which means that the life expectancy of people in a town or a district gives a reasonable idea of how healthy they are likely to be.  The shocking fact about Stockton is that the difference in life expectancy between the best and the worst end of the spectrum is bigger than almost everywhere else in England!  In general it's the people in the more affluent areas of the borough who live the longest and the difference is around 15 years between the best and the worst.  I don't think that anyone in the room was happy with that statistic.
The difficult question is how to make the gap smaller.  All sorts of things have been tried and some things have shown a good effect - early deaths from coronary heart disease are decreasing.  But smoking in pregnancy is still far too common, as is drug and alcohol abuse.  Most people today were convinced that improvements need to start young, and carry on.  So encouraging more mothers to breastfeed their babies for at least a few weeks would lead to a significant improvment in health later.  But today we were asking whether more radical intervention was needed - should children who are born to drug or alcohol abusing parents be taken into care at birth?  Should women who continue to smoke pregnancy be charged with child abuse?  There's not a simple yes or no answer to these questions - where would the necessary foster and adoptive parents be found for example?  But the questions certainly focused the minds of those present on the need to make every penny of funding and every scrap of intervention count.  A happy healthy child who attends school regularly is more likely to benefit from education, get a job, live a fulfilled and healthy life on average than a child without that start in life.
So the question for us all is - how much is that good start in life worth and where do we get the resources from to give it?

The Week's round-up

No chance of doing daily posts this week I'm afraid.  Apart from the meeting of EARA on Monday, there were meetings of Stockton Council committees and partnerships looking into the problem of long-term empty properties, fuel poverty and conserving the environment while providing housing which people are willing and able to live in; meetings of the Parish Council and its Recreation Committee, partly to consider the problem of waterlogging at Amberley Way play area; representing the Liberal Democrat Group at the royal opening of the White Water course; a public meeting organised by Alan Lewis and me, helped by Lesley, to explain and discuss the planning system and how plans for development are submitted and handled at Stockton Council; a full meeting of Stockton Council on Wednesday evening; a meeting with our MEP, Fiona Hall,  about the skills gap causing problems for the manufacturing industry here in the North East including Eaglescliffe.
At Wednesday evening's council meeting there was a debate on a motion put forward by the Conservative group advocating taking a look at whether to reduce the number of councillors in the borough.  It wasn't a very clearly worded motion and didn't offer any reason for doing so other than that it might save some money.  The Labour leadership had evidently known it was coming up and had done their homework by having discussions with the Boundary Commission at the LGA conference.  It turns out that Stockton councillors represent significantly more residents per head than those of neighbouring boroughs despite the latter having recently had boundary reviews.  The whole debate prompted me to look at the hours I'd spent this week on council work - over 37 formal hours and then I hadn't logged the hours spent responding to letters and phone calls, chasing up answers on casework for residents, reading papers in advance of meetings in order to understand the issues being discussed, and so on.  It was a busy week, but not a unique week, and I wasn't the only person to be putting in long hours I'm sure.  So yes, having fewer councillors would save a few thousand pounds a year in allowances, but at what cost to the representation of the people of the borough?  Would the lady who wrote to us on Tuesday have had a visit in response to her problem on Wednesday if Alan and I had also been representing a further thousand residents?  Would we have had time on Tuesday to spend explaining the system and encouraging people to get involved and have their say?  How many little corners of the ward wouldn't get a regular visit from us if we also had to look after part of the present Parkfield & Oxbridge ward for example?  Local democracy isn't perfect by any means but I don't think that reducing the number of councillors is necessarily the best way to improve it, despite what some people think.

Egglescliffe Area Residents' Association

Following a hastily arranged meeting in the Pot & Glass side room last week the inaugural meeting of EARA was held on Monday in the Parish Hall.  A committee was formed from among the hundred or more who packed into the room, and agreement was reached that although the priority at the moment is to fight the proposals for development in the green wedge next to the village there will be a wider remit for the future including positive developments like developing Egglescliffe in Bloom activities.  Working in partnership with the Parish Council was also seen as a positive move.
For now, the committee will be looking in detail at the planning proposal being put forward by Yarm School and at the policies in Stockton Council's development plans so that suitable arguments can be framed. I look forward to seeing the Association develop.
It's membership is open to those who live in or have any interest in the area round Butts Lane, St Margarets estate and the village.  People came to the meeting from a wider geographic area because they care about the village and its surroundings.  Of course if other areas want to set up such groups Alan Lewis and I will be happy to help.

Durham Lane Primary School

I am so lucky to be a governor at one of the primary schools in our ward.  I was first appointed in the days when Parish Councils appointed one governor at each of the primaries in the parish and I've been lucky to be able to continue when the law changed.
Today the older children in the school delivered the history of the Olympic movement in music - Olympic Odyssey, directed by their head teacher.  To see so many children enjoying singing was truly thrilling.  At the end I had the opportunity to say thank you to all involved, as the chair and deputy chair will be at today's performance.  I told them, honestly, that I really miss seeing my own grandchildren perform in their school and so they were my proxy grandchildren for this afternoon.  I could then tell them that I was really proud of them.
When I went to primary school there was a tendency to tell pupils like me, not quite sure how to pitch a note, just to mime and no-one would notice.  Thank goodness those days have gone.  Every child at Durham Lane will have a go, and none of them will be told to just mime.  With care, every child gets to take part and show off their talents.  Whether they're the child with the wonderful facial expressions or the ability to hit high notes or the confidence to launch into a list of long words at speed - whatever their talent it's on show on that stage.
Thank you Durham Lane pupils, staff and families - you produced a very special afternoon.
No photos this time, just lots of lovely memories.

Preston Hall & Park

Toys for sale in Museum Shop

On Sunday I had the privelege of being a guest at a behind the scenes preview of the refurbished museum.  The word refurbishment really doesn't do it justice.  This isn't simply a lick of paint and a reshuffle of exhibits.  This is a complete rethink about what the museum is there to do and how it should be done.  So it will tell the story of Stockton in a new and more interesting way.  There will be a natural route through the exhibits and plenty of space to stand and stare.  The museum shop is stocked with lots of fun and beautiful goodies. The Victorian street will be alive with a tea room serving real tea, a sweet shop selling real sweets and so on, as well as the blacksmith, the violin maker and others showing off their skills.  The walled kitchen garden is already flourishing with veg and herbs growing there.  And there's much more to come with craft workshops and all manner of interesting events over the year. 

The museum is scheduled to open for the public on July 27th but the recent deluge has penetrated part of the roof so it's to be hoped that the damage won't delay the opening.  Also on that day is the Tristar Fun Day in the park.  Let's hope the rain has eased off by then to allow it to go ahead.
Despite the weather the sculpture beside the path to the river is taking shape.  It's a very laborious process and is a genuine labour of love for the sculptor.

Meanwhile the Friends of Preston Park continue to plan for the Picnic in the Park on August 18th, hoping for fine weather to encourage everyone to come and join in a huge picnic with children's crafts, games, and more.

Yarm School Plans update

The developer & agent, Bellway Homes & Nathaniel Lichfield, have set up a website with the proposal on it, along with the questionnaire in electronic form.  Sadly, they still haven't provided a printable version so that people can write their comments after seeing printouts of the webpages, but I've asked them for one.
I hope lots of people will look at it and register their views.
I've had a number of people ask about affordable housing and what it means.  "Affordable" refers to a percentage of the average house price in an area (currently about 80%).  As a result a house in Yarm or Eaglescliffe can be labelled as affordable even though it costs several thousand pounds more than a "top of the range" house in a cheaper area of the borough.  Developers will sometimes suggest that they will contribute an amount of money equivalent to making 15% of their housing affordable so that the affordable housing can be built elsewhere.  There are some advantages to that - the borough gains more affordable housing than it otherwise would and the developer makes more profit by selling full price housing on all of the development.  However there are disadvantages too - the development ends up being less diverse than it otherwise would be and the young people who want to buy their first house or older people wanting to move into something smaller and more easily maintained can only do so by moving away from their friends, family, church and other communities.  I'm not suggesting that either way is right - just pointing out that it's a dilemma every time an application comes in for our area.

There's also lots of speculation about the remaining farmland between the application site and the footpath to Dinsdale way beside the golf course.  At the moment there are no applications for that area and I've had no word of pre-application discussions though they could be going on in confidence - commercial considerations mean that most developers speak to planning officers first to see what they might be able to do with a site before going public on the ideas.  All I can say at the moment is that if I hear about such applications Alan Lewis or I would send out a ward e-news as soon as humanly possible.

The plans for Yarm School's extension onto the Egglescliffe side of the Tees were worse than I had anticipated.  Not only the flood plain area is to be covered by rugby pitches, cricket pitches, rounders courts and athletics tracks but the upper field near the village will also house several rugby pitches of varying sizes for different age groups.  Between the two will be a cricket pavilion.  All this would be fenced off from the public by a wooden post and rail fence with high hedging, closing the Teesdale way off from views over the plain.   A swathe of land which slopes too steeply to be converted into sports pitches would become public parkland/open space.  A 36 space car park would be provided in the "wagon yard" at the foot of Stony Bank behind the new flats.  We were told that this would help to ease the problems of parking in Yarm High St, though why people would choose to park there when currently there is no shortage of space in front of those flats during the day is beyond me.
The link to Yarm would be via a truss & girder bridge which would be accessed from Atlas Wynd and from the school via a secure gate.
The whole would be financed from the sale of 500 large family houses on the current playing field and land beyond it towards Kirklevington.
Unfortunately our Focus leaflet had gone to press and was on the way to deliverers when we got this information so the only way we could let people know was by email.  Anyone who isn't on our email update list and would like to be can be added by contacting me.  Luckily a combination of email, facebook, twitter and word of mouth meant lots of people could get there and make their voices heard.
For those who couldn't be there, the developer's agent has promised to look into the possibility of setting up a website but meanwhile the website of the Protect Yarm - Leven Valley has some pictures of the display boards from the consultation.  If you want to let your Lib Dem councillors know what you think - just email.  We'll respond to all relevant comments.  At the moment all of our correspondence has been from people who object to the proposals.  It may be that there are some people in favour - we need to know so that we can truly represent the residents of Eaglescliffe ward.

I started the week with a visit to Wolviston Primary School to talk to the whole school about Fairtrade as an introduction to the topic before the School Council Eco team run a Global Cafe later in the term. What a great way to start the week.  Though I did feel for the little ones doing their phonics test today - I'm not sure they really knew what to make of it when they were presented with "made up" words alongside real ones.
Tomorrow ward councillors have the first opportunity to look at the plans proposed by Yarm School and I'll be particularly interested in the parts relating to the North side of the river.  After that it's off to Preston Hall for a meeting of the Friends of Preston Park.  Ward surgery and then a meeting of Churches Together in Yarm & Eaglescliffe completes a busy day.  At some point I need to make space to eat, but I'm not sure where that's going to fit!

Yarm School plans consultation

We now have the official invitation to the community consultation on the plans for Yarm School's latest development.
The plans consist of about 500 houses on the current playing fields at Green Lane, Yarm and various measures to compensate for building on there.  On the Egglescliffe bank of the river they propose to put playing fields, a boating pavilion, a park and a footbridge to link them to Yarm and the school.  Also on the Egglescliffe side of Yarm Bridge they propose a 40 space car park, described as long stay parking for Yarm, behind the Blue Bell.
Councillors haven't yet seen any detail of the plans but even without detail we can see some impact on the Teesdale Way and some changes to the character of the river bank in that area.
The consultation event is taking place in Conyers school, Yarm (the Big Cook Canteen), between 4.30 and 8.30pm on Thursday 21st June.  Alan, Lesley and I hope that lots of Eaglescliffe people will make the effort to get there and give their opinions.  We will try to get copies of the plans so that people who can't get to the event can see them later.  Get in touch if you live in Eaglescliffe and need to see them after Thursday.

Down to earth with a bang on Tuesday morning with a message that Yarm School were holding a pre-application consultation on Friday for a proposal that had me checking the calendar.  No, it wasn't April 1st so this was serious.  Unfortunately it was also impossible to cross-check as the relevant people were on holiday for the Jubilee Bank Holiday.  It came from a usually reliable source and so I decided to let people know about it on our e-news.  Predictably, people were not happy.  The proposal is for car parking and sports facilities on the Egglescliffe side of the Tees and a footbridge to link it to the school.
On Wednesday came the information that although the consultation had originally been planned for Friday it was now going to take place at some time in the next few weeks.  A second e-news had to go out rapidly.  Fortunately our constituents are very understanding people on these occasions.
Lib Dem councillors understand that the pre-application discussions with planning officers are confidential but questions to Stockton Council officers about whether the applicants had been strongly recommended to involve ward councillors at an earlier stage have so far fallen on deaf ears.  So have questions about whether the applicants were told strongly enough that the area concerned is part of Tees Heritage Park and afforded some protection in the Core Strategy and the Green infrastructure strategy of SBC.  There's a sense of deja vu here - Preston Park and BSF funded school proposals spring to mind.
As soon as we know the date for the consultation we'll be letting people know - again!

The Beacon is Lit

When Egglescliffe & Eaglescliffe council decided to have a jubilee beacon and organise a little party round the lighting of it we didn't know that there would be 2 more within walking distance.  When it became obvious that there would be one in Yarm with much more elaborate celebrations round it and one in Preston Park with lots of activities for families leading up to it I began to doubt whether many people would turn up to ours.  How wrong could I be - the grass of Memorial Garden was packed, people were standing round the memorial to get a better view, up on the church yard and along the path.  Hot dogs disappeared as fast as they could be prepared.  The hot chocolate was a huge hit, though cold drinks were less popular (could have been something to do with the air temperature).  50s music played out from the "ghetto blaster".

A few moments before 10:15 the music went off and the countdown began.  Up on the church tower the wardens were listening and watching so that the beacon flared into life at exactly the right moment.  Cheers and applause gave way to singing of the National Anthem with great gusto and then more cheers, applause, flag waving and a joyful playing of the church carillon.  Soon we could see another beacon, probably towards Leyburn, flaring up on the horizon.

As the bells subsided the fireworks display organised by Yarm Town Council started up and we were treated to a spectacular display from a little further along the river bank.  Thank goodness I'd been at the garden earlier in the day when the company arrived to set up the display or we'd have had it right beside where we were standing, with all the attendant health and safety problems of smoke and debris.  Luckily I could point out the problem to the company and they arranged an alternative site.

Day 2

Wow, what a party!  We'd advertised the Big Picnic Lunch to start at noon.  The first party arrived at 1145 and there was a steady stream after that.  Never mind the weather - the Big Picnic was on!  Entertainers turned up as promised; we had music, magic, puppets, stilt walking, juggling, sack races, welly throwing, fancy dress, and more - 4 solid hours of fun.  The afternoon drew to a close with the Salvation Army band playing then a short ecumenical service to round off the day.
A second day of the community pulling together to put on a celebration and I hope that the press publish a good story about it, having rung me for an interview part way through judging the fancy dress competiton!

Day 1 of Jubilee Weekend

Saturday dawned rather colder than we'd hoped but undaunted the Parish Council and community volunteers were up and out on the grass at Orchard shops by 8a.m.  For some that was a previously undiscovered time on a Saturday morning and I'm enormously grateful to them all.  By 10 the fencing was adorned with bunting and flags, the grass was fenced off as a safety measure to deter children from running into the road, the community centre was buzzing with activity as the exhibition, quiz and cafe were set up and a large tent was taking shape on the grass, surrounded by tables with fun crafts to try.
Sadly, just as the first Punch & Judy show got underway, the sky decided to weep.  Rapid removal of craft tables to the tent followed.
Undeterred by the weather a steady stream of people made their way to one end of the parade or the other, mainly determined by age. The exhibition in the community centre proved very popular and the afternoon talk "Was it really 60 Years Ago?" drew a  food audience of people most of whom had their own memories of the period and were happy to share them.
While older people reminisced about life in the 50s in the Community Centre the very young cheered and laughed and booed at Mr Punch and his goings-on.  Between shows crowns were made, dozens of biscuits decorated and eaten, paper plates became ornate plaques and pictures were coloured.  Outside there were fierce quoits battles and some entertaining attempts with hoola hoops.
By 4pm  when it was time to clear away that phase of the celebrations we all felt it had been worth getting up early on Saturday morning to set it up.
In the evening, local theatre group, Cliffe Theatre, performed a murder mystery evening to a packed house in the Community Centre.  Performed without benefit of stage lights (electricity problem caused by the fire a fortnight ago at the shops), stage space (occupied by the partially prepared set for the next performance by Centre Stage, our musical theatre group) or heating (no gas because of the fire) and using the scripts (because they hadn't had the rehearsal time they would normally have) it was nevertheless a thoroughly enjoyable evening and a great tribute to a community theatre group who pulled out all the stops to do their bit for the Jubilee celebrations.

Plans for Jubilee Celebrations

Egglescliffe & Eaglescliffe council have planned a weekend of events to celebrate the Jubilee.  The weekend kicks off with an exhibition in Egglescliffe community centre on Durham Lane on Saturday morning while crafts, games, puppet shows, music and face painting goes on outside on the grass near the library.
The council aims to celebrate in style after the horror of last weekend, so bring out your flags and bunting and let's have the security fencing covered in red, white and blue for the day.
At 2pm there's an illustrated talk on life in the early 1950s (I've heard a preview and it's fascinating).
Then at 7.30 there's a murder mystery evening also in the community centre.

On Sunday the action moves to the Village Green for a Big picnic lunch followed by games and entertainment all afternoon, ending with a service of thanksgiving at 4.30.
On Monday the ward has two jubilee beacons to light - Friends of Preston Park are hosting an event in Preston Park starting at 8.30pm near the aviary with family fun activities, followed by a short service at 9.50 leading up to the lighting of the beacon down on the jetty at 1015.
Egglescliffe memorial garden, next to the war memorial, has an evening of quieter music and refreshments leading up to the lighting of the beacon on St John's church tower, also at 1015.  This is hosted jointly by St John's and Egglescliffe & Eaglescliffe council.
As chair this year of the parish council I shall be at that event, but I  hope lots of people go to the Preston Park one too.  Eaglescliffe is very fortunate to have 2 events out of the 8 taking place in the borough, so let's get out there and enjoy ourselves.

Arson Confirmed

Yesterday morning Cleveland Police confirmed that the fire at Orchard shops was caused deliberately and the focus of investigation has now shifted to finding the culprit.  Ward councillors and the local MP, James Wharton, have worked together on the impact of the fire since Saturday morning and yesterday James issued a media release on behalf of us all.  The text is reproduced below:

Arson Suspected, Community Calls on witnesses to inform police

Joint Press Release from Local Councillors and MP

The fire at the Orchard Shopping Parade in Eaglescliffe early Saturday morning may have been caused by arson, Police suspect.

The site was visited on Saturday by James Wharton MP along with local Conservative Councillor Phil Dennis and Liberal Democrat Councillor Maureen Rigg.

The local Councillors and MP have now released a joint statement and called for any witnesses to come forward:

James said:

“This has been a huge blow to our community, with people’s jobs and local independent businesses put at risk. Along with Phil and Maureen I was on site on Saturday and I spoke to the landlords then, we all hope the shopping parade will be rebuilt but in the meantime whoever did this, especially if it was a deliberate act, must be brought to justice.”

Cllr Rigg said:

"This makes it even worse - the thought that someone could wilfully endanger the lives of those in the flats and the livelihood of dozens of people is too horrific to contemplate. Alan Lewis and I will work with Phil Dennis and James Wharton to get the shops back into use as fast as possible and to encourage anyone with any information that might help the police to come forward quickly."

Cllr Dennis said:

“We are working together to keep the community updated and will be doing everything we can to see the shopping parade rebuilt. If anyone saw anything they should certainly come forward, this could easily have put lives at risk and the damage to independent businesses and their employees has been huge.”

Shops update

Today I spoke with the owner of the shopping parade who stressed again that he wants to see the shops rebuilt but it will take time to assess the damage and decide on what needs to be done and what can be done.  I've emphasised that one thing everyone I've had contact with agrees on is the need to have the shops back.  There's no interest at all in having anything else on the site, but a lot of interest in having a modernised shopping parade.  Although it's too early to say exactly what will happen it's clear that some demolition is needed - the sagging roofs need to be removed at the very least.  The owners are hoping that a start can be made on the demolition work within the next 2 weeks.  That could make it a bit difficult for the Jubilee celebrations but Eaglescliffe can rise above those problems - we'll decorate the area and enjoy ourselves no matter what!
Meanwhile, we have Sainsbury's open along with the library and the community centre.   The Hairdresser is trying to set up a mobile service for some of her less mobile customers and trying to accomodate others at her Yarm salon.  The chemist is working with the Sunningdale pharmacy to offer a prescription service until he can establish something more.  The Bengal Lancer is setting up in temporary premises at Sunningdale shops.  The Chinese takeaway is reminding people they can order from Yarm.  And the dry cleaner is asking for details so that they can start the long process of insurance claims.  If you haven't had all the phone numbers etc in an email news and would like it - do ask.

Shops update

At the request of ward councillors Stockton Council's officers are trying to meet with the owners of the businesses and find out what help they need.  As soon as that's known we'll know what's possible.  Meanwhile I met the owner of the shopping parade this morning and stressed again how keen we all are to have the shops up and running again, although I recognise that insurance investigations take time.  Rome wasn't built in a day and all that.
Sainsbury's should be open mid-morning but people will need to be very careful when approaching and stick to the designated paths as there is a lot of security fencing and still barriers round the excavations needed to sort out the gas leak on Saturday.  Security staff will be on hand to help keep on the right track.
The community centre now has power so it will be back to normal.
The library was getting a steady trickle of people so word will spread that it's operational I'm sure.
We might yet need to organise a clean up of the path in front of the library in time for the Jubilee celebrations but we'll see whether any rain comes and does the job for us!
Don't forget that if you live in Eaglescliffe and want to get regular email updates you can arrange it by contacting me at the address on the left.

Orchard Shops

Following yesterday's devastating fire the latest news is:
1. Sainsbury's is being cleaned of smoke damage, all food etc has been removed and the shop will be restocked for opening on Tuesday all being well
2. Egglescliffe Community Centre has escaped with just loss of power.  They hope to get power back some time tomorrow and to open for normal service on Tuesday.
3. The pharmacy has been cleared of all controlled substances and sensitive paperwork.  The chemist hopes to start a prescription collection service from other premises soon.
4. Lib Dem and Conservative councillors are working together with the local MP to help get things sorted out for our community.  If we find that there is any way in which the community can help we will be calling for help.  Meanwhile we are keeping people informed by e-mails to our mailing lists.  If you know of anyone who'd like to receive those emails just get in touch via the contact e-mail on the left of the page.
5.  Until structural engineers, insurance assessors etc have done their work no plans can be made for the future of the damaged buildings.  Many rumours have been circulating but no decisions have been taken

Meanwhile, the parish council's jubilee celebrations will go ahead as planned on the grass and in the community centre.  I hope everyone will turn out and enjoy the Saturday festivities, then join in Sunday at the Green and Monday on Memorial Garden - make it a weekend to remember pleasurably, unlike this one!

Urlay Nook Plans

This afternoon was the "community consultation" on the proposal by Taylor Wimpey for houses on the field at Urlay Nook Rd opposite Hunters' Green.  The developers invited ward and Parish Councillors for  a private briefing before the public dropin session and all 3 ward councillors duly turned up, along with 2 representatives of the Parish Council.
There is no doubt that the developers have put some careful thought into the proposal but that doesn't alter the fact that this is a further creeping development westwards over green fields.  I know that the green field is within the limits of development as laid down in Stockton's planning documents over the years but the fact remains that it hasn't been developed so far and people have grown to expect that it wouldn't be.  Now a  combination of factors looks set to change all that.  Up to 160 houses is a lot less than would have been applied for a few years ago, but it's still a lot of houses.  It still would generate more traffic on the roads and more children needing school places, more demand for community facilities and more pedestrians crossing busy roads.
The developers did make notes of some of the things we pointed out, and might make some small changes but an application will almost certainly go in and the planning committee will again have the job of deciding it on its planning merits.

Fly Tipping

Fly tipping used to be a problem of verges on the outskirts of the borough.  Recently for some reason it's started to be a problem in streets across the ward.  Black bags dumped on the grass on estate roads, in alleys behind older terraces, in the road behind shops - no apparent pattern, no apparent reason.  I spent time on Friday morning with the cleansing manager and Care For Your Area technician working out a course of action for one area.  Alan spent time on Friday afternoon doing the same for another patch.  Action will be taken but it's a use of council resources which shouldn't be needed.
One ray of (virtual) sunshine in the morning's rain was seeing that the Carnoustie Drive subway is clear of flooding, showing that all the work done last year has paid off and the drains finally work!