Northumberland Conservatives Circling Around Blowing Trumpets before a Decision is made.

This week has seen Northumberland Conservatives spinning their plates as usual, attempting to steal the limelight and turn a ‘Take a Break’ style competition into a win-win for the Town of Blyth.

On the back of what is a simple ask by the homes and communities agency to develop a business case and enter into phase two of a competition in an attempt to harvest cash from the ‘Governments future high street fund’ we find the Head of the Decision Making body for the County of Northumberland, Councillor Peter Jackson, a Conservative from Ponteland claiming a deceitful victory on social media.



The Council have simply received a very small amount in the production of Government business case terms of £150,000 to be used by the County Councils Business programming team to work with the Blyth Town Forum, a group made up of Town and Local County Councillors along with agents from the larger group of landlords and companies working in the Town.
The problem with this fund is the history of the Conservative Party when it comes to progressing the work required and the investment needed to bring life back into Blyth’s Town Centre.

Peter Jacksons one party cabinet none of whom live or even have connections with the Town have not began to invest in the highway network expansion required to link up with the Blyth Relief Road. They proclaimed the fact that they put a bid in for the Construction of the link road itself, a usual Tory publicity stunt, but have not even began to set aside the borrowing requirement to develop the work the people of Blyth need to lower pollution across the Towns most populated areas and ease the traffic problems of Cowpen Road and Laverock Hall Road through opening up the network.

The heralding in of the next step in the reopening of the AB&T Line also takes the biscuit with the announcement of no new transport hub at Blyth Bebside, no new station in the first phase and ensuring that in the area of Blyth with the highest number of people sitting in negative equity no rise in house prices to brighten their future hopes, leaving thousands living in fear of monetary problems carrying on for many years to come.

They have dropped off the planned building of a new Leisure Centre and Swimming Baths sited in the Town Centre to increase the economy through a greater footfall, instead they are conning the public with a refurb. of Blyth’s sixty year old facility on the edge of town

They have stopped the planned development of a new Phoenix Theatre on the Dun Cow Quay site which would have enriched the night time economy of the Town Centre.

We have reproduced Labour’s ideas below along with the letter out to the press from the Government, Labours manifesto plans were well developed and did not include an increase in bail hostels across Blyth, as it was centred around a Core Strategy that protected Towns from shabby development but the Tory decision makers removed that from inspection by Government in order that the Developers had to work hand in glove with the Council.




Future High Streets Fund – Northumberland

I am delighted to inform you that this local authority, within your constituency, (Blyth Valley) has been selected to go forward into the next phase of the Future High Streets Fund (FHSF). Blyth has a desire to energise its town centre through the integration of historical, industrial and natural assets with a mix of uses. This would be achieved by creating a new, sustainable environment for residents, businesses and visitors, with investment in commercial and residential infrastructure and spaces. We will now be inviting the authority to submit a full business case to the FHSF, and plan to announce the list of authorities that are successful in obtaining capital funding for their transformational schemes by spring 2020. The FHSF will provide capital funding to places to invest in infrastructure, housing and work spaces. These projects will transform our high streets and town centres, bringing long-term economic benefits.

Last month, we were delighted to set out this Government’s plan to unite and level up across our country, turbo-charging our cities, our towns, our coastal communities and rural areas. We committed to a £3.6 billion Towns Fund demonstrating our commitment to prosperity in towns across the country, which included increasing the FHSF to £1 billion. As such, we will be able to extend the shortlist of places progressing to the next stage of assessment for the FHSF.

 There was a very high degree of interest in the FHSF, which received more than 300 expressions of interest and was heavily oversubscribed. It is a great achievement for the authority to have made it into the business case development phase of the FHSF and demonstrates that its expression of interest document was one of the very best that my department received.

To help the authority to develop a compelling business case around its ambitious plans to renew and reshape its high street and town centre we will be awarding a revenue grant of up to £150,000; this will be paid shortly and will enable the authority to commission expert advice or commit internal resources to assist in the development of its business case.

In addition, we are setting up a High Streets Task Force as part of our wider offer to high streets and town centres. The Task Force will provide hands-on support to local areas to develop data-driven, innovative strategies, provide training and connect local areas to relevant experts. This will include providing support to some authorities in development of their business cases.

I know that you will want to congratulate the authority team for getting this far and wish them every success in the next phase of assessment. I will write to you again if the authority is successful in obtaining funding for its scheme.

RT Hon. Robert Jennick MP


Labours Manifesto Plans for Blyth
Blyth
1. A new Blyth relief road will be constructed leading to the creation of 600 jobs in the wider economy through the additional employment that will be created in the Port of Blyth through easier traffic movements.

2. A New Town Centre Plan will regenerate the town, it will include shops, a new theatre to improve the night time economy and offices and homes increasing the number of people living and working in the town.

3. A new Leisure Centre will be built as close to the Town Centre as possible to replace the existing one and will include modern facilities that are being heavily used at our other sites.

4. Two new stations will be built on the AB&T Line to increase the use of public transport for those working in the conurbation and beyond.

5. We will work with partners like Blyth Town Council and the National Market Traders Federation to improve Blyth market contributing to increasing commerce to the town.

6. Energy Central is a 218 Hectare site nestled around the river Blyth estuary, a deep water port the project to refresh the renewable energy sector, training for the sector and expand the catapult program. This will be locked in through the arrival of the 430Ml long 1.400KvA cable from Norway bringing green energy ashore in the estuary. Energy Central will create an estimated 3000 over the lifetime of this administration.


What did Peter Jackson’s Conservative Manifesto offer the people of Blyth?

Read the link: they promised NOTHING and their delivering everything they promised.
https://www.northumberlandconservatives.org.uk/sites/www.northumberlandconservatives.org.uk/files/2017-03/Northumberland%20Manifesto.pdf



 

Historic Repeat of the ‘Bedlington Cheat’

SOCIAL Media has been running red hot in the Town of Blyth in Northumberland against a planning application for a home of multiple occupancy being sited right beside the centre of the Towns most historic area, its Market Place.

The Town which includes many of the poorest and most deprived wards in the County of Northumberland already has a large number of Homes of Multiple Occupancy (HMO’s) many being used by those awaiting sentencing by the Courts, local people use the term ‘Bail Hostel’ when referring to them and accuse the Unitary County Council for allowing as many HMO’s to be developed as the majority of people living in these properties are NOT from the Town of Blyth.

A local facebook page has been running a campaign for a number of weeks and an electronic petition was run to show opposition to the latest development. It is to be heard at the Unitary Councils area committee meeting, called the ‘Ashington and Blyth Area Council’ at 17:00hrs on 11 Sept. to be held at Newbiggin by the Sea, Leisure Centre. and the Councils announcement that it has been chosen to put a second stage bid into the Future High Streets fund has led to messages being posted by known local Tories and ex-UKIP members whipping up an ad-hoc public meeting on the back of the public interest in this matter on Saturday 7^th Sept. 2019. five days before their petition is to be heard.

This is not new ground for Northumberland Conservatives about whom its said pulled the same scam on the people of the nearest Town to Blyth, Bedlington, during  2016 when the then Labour administration for Northumberland County Council were busy putting a land package together to build a new Town centre for Bedlington. Grief was whipped up by local Tories and a march and wild public meeting held to demand change.
Labour put together the land package and plans then through the massive amount of false news put out lost the seats to ‘Secret’ Independents who immediately took the ‘shilling from the Conservatives.
The Conservatives have not delivered for the people of Bedlington and won’t deliver in time for the next election in May 2021.

The same tactics are now being used in Blyth, even though the subject is really a planning matter over an HMO, its expected the Northumberland Conservatives and their allies will run this as an attack against Labour and the way the Town has run down in the last decade. They wont mention that the Tories have been in Governmental power for 90% of that decade and that none of the Tories in power at County Hall live in the Town of Blyth.

The matter is quite complex, to stop a planning application going through, because planning is a quasi-judicial function of a unitary Council a planning reason has to be given.

Is that planning reason available? It was, the Labour Party when in power had developed a planning document known as a Core Strategy and it was under examination by Government. The Core Strategy, which discussed within it the development of unsuitable domestic dwellings in certain areas was removed from inspection by the Tories as soon as they got into power at County Hall.

In place of the Core Strategy which looked at all aspects of planning and development and ensured they aligned with the needs and wishes of Communities the Tories have developed a ‘Local Plan’ its a simple planning only document that can be challenged by developers who don’t get their way.

The costs of running a ‘Local Plan’ are enormous and challenges cost the Council Taxpayer a fortune for lost planning appeals. Northumberland loses the majority of its appeals as their plan is not robust and simply unsuitable for communities.

Its expected that the hearing of the petition will swing the way of the Community on 11^th Sept. But the Councillors who will hear the appeal are not the same ones who will hear the planning application as the ‘Strategic Planning Committee’ of the Unitary Council does not contain a single elected member from Blyth, Northumberland’s largest Town, and normally simply accepts the views and recommendations of Council Officers, but does seem weak when farmers want to develop buildings in greenbelt areas.

This is one to watch as the Tories exploit both the people and their allies to grasp hold and cling to power even if its through ‘fringe benefits' to so called false ‘independent Councillors’.
 

 

 

Strategy without ambition is not enough to aid recovery or assist families suffering housing insecurity.

Northumberland’s new affordable homes strategy, heralded in this month for delivery, is in reality, another spinning plate from Councillor Peter Jackson’s Tories.

Trumpeting in their supposed 1000 increase in affordable homes; ‘Which is a major cut in both the Counties ambition and its planned timeline for delivery while lowering expectations and ambition by two-thirds’, Councillor Jackson said  “Delivering quality affordable housing is one of the key priorities for this council and will further enhance the county’s ever-growing reputation as a great place to live and work. Our population is dispersed over a  large geographical area and they have varying housing needs.  The new housing will reflect this with homes designed for families, the elderly, single people and our most vulnerable residents.”

When Councillor Jackson removed the County Councils core strategy planning document from inspection by Government he also stopped a garden village project from proceeding at Dissington in mid-Northumberland. The Garden Village project would have delivered 2000 affordable homes at no cost to the Council. When coupling the fantastic vision to develop such a scheme in the County with the ambition of the last Labour administration at County Hall who developed 1000 social houses and planned 1500 more by 2021 it shows how dire and small minded the new hailed strategy is; it’s a strategy that lines up with Councillor Jacksons ambition to not develop affordable or social housing in much needed rural Northumberland and shows the chasm between Jacksons ‘Local Plan’ and the former visionary Core Strategy.

The numbers of affordable and social homes in Labour’s plans would have been able to help those with the financial ability to get on the foot of the ladder the opportunity to purchase a new affordable home, whilst aiding those who are currently suffering housing insecurity to answer their dreams and relieve the constant pressure of becoming a statistic labelled by the Tories as the ‘working homeless’ and the design of delivery within the 'core strategy' would have benefitted those people who find themselves cut off from housing through the growth of second homes in the North and rural West of the County.

The current ‘strategy' issued by Councillor Jackson, to deliver 1000 affordable homes by 2021 supports our view as laymen that his administration shows a zero level of ambition and that his latest false promise is top of the charts for spin.

When developers ask the Council for planning permission they have to comply with certain aspects of planning legislation, part of which is the development at their cost of a certain level of affordable homes. Planners attempt to talk up high numbers usually about a third of the homes developed should be classed as truly ‘affordable’. Developers of course try every trick in the book to reduce that number and often succeed, but with over 19,000 planning permissions in train across Northumberland questions need to be asked regarding the Tories utter lack of ambition in only expecting to deliver 1000 affordable homes by 2021 and as explained this will be at no cost to the Council at all.  When amalgamated with the fact that six times the number of social homes have been sold under the Tories than developed with 62% of those homes falling into the hands of private landlords who hide behind the dreaded section 21 of the Housing Act shows that thousands of people now live with the curse of housing insecurity and why the handle of ‘Working Homeless’ has been pushed by the Tory press in an attempt to blind the public from the atrocities of developing an underclass right below our noses.


https://www.northumberland.gov.uk/News/2019/Aug/Council-s-bold-plans-for-1-000-affordable-homes.aspx

 

 

Northumberland’s poor paying for failure of energy competition.

Although Gordon Brown has proven to be possibly the best chancellor of the exchequer the U.K. ever had, during his reign as Prime Minister his Innate ability to keep the nation blanketed in a cloak of safety and security slipped as he tackled the maelstrom of oncoming world recession. The Competition regulators in which he trusted, failed to advise him on change in the energy markets and the cracks that illustrated the end of competition being the panacea that kept the cry for renationalisation at bay were widened greatly following Labours slip from office as the LibDems/Tory alliance let profit flourish before the need to protect the poor from the effects of underlying inflation as Gordon did so well for many years and let the failure of competition eat into the money supply of the poor and low paid leading to the definite have and have-not position the nation holds today.   

The Clegg-Cameron Government took full advantage of the weakening situation for those deemed energy poor, ignoring the increase in poverty in general and politicised the regulatory services promoting the ridiculous blind of ‘switching’ to mask the money making scheme they had inherited due to the extent of the world wide recession.

 

The highly talented George Osborne used his knowledge of whipping up the media to develop an ever profitable machine to keep the city enthralled whilst developing austerity as a cult ensuring that those who had, got more of the nations wealth ignoring that democratic countries all across the world were growing at a faster rate than Britain and were developing better lives for their poor as U.K. residents slipped into the second tier faster than at any time since Victoria’s reign, the Tories had consigned millions who strove to achieve to the scrap heap whilst countries who once relied on Britain to employ their workforce, Poland being an example, grew their structures in order to help equalise their society in many ways.

 

In Northumberland the last Labour administration were forced out by the Tories massive use of the advertising tool of false news via social media. Labour had decided to invest heavily in a very futuristic plan to both increase jobs in their most populated areas and ensure that the plans from politicised commerce to profit further by playing up energy shortages were kept at bay in their area by developing the conceptual ‘energy central’ scheme in the river Blyth basin. 

 

The scheme which was beginning to roll out prior to the 2017 election brings in hydro electricity via a long sea cable from Norway in DC format to ensure it survives the travel at times of need and converts it to AC for the UK and then Norway takes wind sourced energy in return.

 

The problems of shortages may be resolved but the Governments profiteering from energy will be still felt in Northumberlands homes by anyone who can't afford to deal with their supplier by Direct Debit. The politicisation of the regulators who now have a role to build up the coffers of the Government by fining energy companies at will instead of seeking to ensure competition in the energy markes favours the consumer, will lead to the poor picking up the bill when the energy companies put up charges to recoup their profits. Nationalisation of those markets looks like a good deal considering the percentage of home income that is paid for domestic energy is now higher than before Thatcher brought in the sid advert and sold off the nations assets.

Where’s OFCOM on increasing safety across the ‘Borderlands’

On 13th May 2019 a unique commercial agreement was reached that could increase safety and certainly boost the rural coverage of our national mobile telephone and data network.

The agreement which  includes the formation of a new joint company to erect

and manage rural telephone masts will allow a joint use of 2G, 3G, 4G and the
forthcoming 5G networks whilst facilitating the much needed Rural Roaming required in areas where coverage has slipped due to perceived low commercial use. The agreement simply requires consent from OFCOM who can resolve any issues regarding the investment shares for new infrastructure as BT/EE have voiced concerns about improving other companies reputations and coverage at their expense.

The Borderlands combined authority made up of Carlisle City Council, Cumbria County Council, Dumfries & Galloway Council, Northumberland County Council and Scottish Borders Council to promote economic growth and competitiveness of an area that straddles the Scotland-England border have been offered huge sums of money from Government to improve communication links across the rural areas they cover, which makes up 10% of the geographical mass of the United Kingdom.

This week, North Yorkshire County Council and representatives from their second tier district councils spoke to the EU regarding Rural Roaming. Explaining that they had identified sites for new masts that would increase safeguarding for the public through better communications and talked about the fact that visitors from the EU had access to roaming under the European roaming regulations and could pick up signals across networks while residents of rural areas in North Yorkshire sit without the ability to  make the most basic calls from their well quoted rural ‘blackspots’.

We have spoken with Labour in Northumberland who have been promoting greater rural

network coverage since 2009 and have been extremely keen on aiding the
resolution of problems that would allow rural roaming to flourish.

Labour representatives are very keen on an alternative proposal put forward by the industry itself which may allow operators to share masts / mast space more

easily (reciprocal sharing) in order to install new radio kit so as to improve rural coverage. The idea of mutually beneficial infrastructure could, if priced and regulated fairly, prove to be useful over the longer-term. Indeed it may even result in fewer masts being needed to cover the same area
(i.e. saving operators money).

Most of this would be overseen by a new company, which will be responsible for managing the build of new masts and supplying them with the necessary power and fibre optic data capacity links. The agreed proposal would see Ofcom acting as the referee for the legally-binding measures, so as to ensure fairness.

Northumberland Labour said to us, “ between the Borderlands and North Yorkshire 12.5% of the whole of the U.K. makes for a very strong lobby group and urge the Councils involved to ensure they bring their MP’s on board to assist the improvements in communication needed to support and increase rural business in a world dominated by e-trade ensuring that the safety of residents and U.K. based visitors is covered in the bargain”.

Tories Affordable Housing Strategy? “No help whatsoever to builders outside the South East of the County”

More than two years into a four year administration, Northumberland Conservatives gave the electorate its first glance at its affordable housing policy today, 06/08/2019. 

The Leader of Council, Peter Jackson who has been crowing about developing social housing for the last two years gave an interview to a local business publicity group. His interview has caused even more mayhem among the building trade across the County than the release of his ‘Local Plan’ the replacement for the removed core strategy that gave him the opportunity to get the Council to pay for his legal protection of almost £1M and halt all development outside of South East Northumberland.

Councillor Jackson statement was commented on by a well known builder from the West of the County who wishes to remain anonymous, believes as many of his cohorts do that the Councils Local Plan is politically driven and lacks the economic energy required for growth County-wide that builders and developers require to carry the Counties building trade workforce forward into the future.

He told us “the big statement in this interview from Councillor Farmer Jackson are the few words, ‘as part of the planning process' for builders outside the South East of Northumberland they are weasel words indeed“.

“What his statement means is most dwellings which are to be built are not going to be the much needed social housing and all the affordable homes will be built in the south east corner of the County as a percentage of new homes built. Councillor Jacksons local plan is designed around his belief there’s to be no building in the Countryside”.

“His local plan and now his affordable housing policy is politically designed to ensure projects like Dissington Garden Village, a massive infrastructure project that would have kept hundreds of tradesmen and women working for a decade and delivered twice as many affordable homes than his less than ambitious current plan would, can not raise its head again”.

“It’s another Jackson con that will shrink the rural economy and deliver Japanese levels of housing densities into Cramlington, Blyth and Bedlington yet his Local Plan doesn’t contain the infrastructure vision to manage such a population growth in a small geographical area ”.


Reference: https://bdaily.co.uk/articles/2019/08/06/first-glance-at-northumberland-county-councils-new-plans-for-affordable-housing-strategy


 

 

 

Council taxpayers complain about cost of propaganda.

Council taxpayers from the west of the County have been taking to their keyboards in droves to complain on social media about the six page wraparound issued on last weeks Hexham Courant christening it ‘base propaganda’.

With the Tories losing their grip on the West of the County primarily through the wishy washy publicity clustered around their MP Guy Opperman, his attitude towards the WASPI women and his inability to appeal to the populous of the Tyne Valley at a time when the Tories have changed their PM and have the national media in their pockets while Labour has sat on the fence over BREXIT trying to coax a better deal from Ms May and her team.

The wraparound, centered on the Czar and Czarina of spin, Peter Jackson and Cath Homer who had their painted smiles on show whilst their disciples of dizziness stood rigid as their fairy tale distortion on what they are supposed to have delivered with Council taxpayers cash over the last two years was being exposed to scrutiny by an extremely doubtful public.

The expenditure, however much it cost did nothing to increase MP Opperman’s popularity. Our phone around showed that among women, (almost two thirds of the voting public in the Tyne Valley), Labours mildly eccentric Penny Grennan appealed much more than Guy, as she has shown great courage in talking up women’s issues and the family problems facing those who live in rural areas.

People also told us that the Tory popularity is being questioned in the West of the County, not through their national political position but through the hugely conflicted policies of Czar Peters Council. We were asked why is the Council proposing to invest £millions into developing new schools in the Tyne Valley for academy trusts at a time when we have the lowest birth rate down to 11.1 births per 1000 population from a high of 20.3, since 1947 and the west of the County receiving the highest level of care funding as it houses a extraordinarily large by national standards level of elderly people?.

Many of those responding pointed to the new Northumberland local plan which is geared towards no development in rural areas and asked, ‘as Peter Jackson has designed this conflicting policy and its is linked with the lack of younger families living in the Tynedale area along with the definite shortage of school age children’, when will these new schools be facing closure?.

Probably much sooner than we all think!.