News from East Tynedale

Wylam, Ovingham, Ovington, Horsley, Newton, Bywell

STILL HERE TO HELP

As Tynedale Council is replaced by Northumberland County Council. Liberal Democrats Tom Appleby (left) and Nick Appleby (right) vow to continue working hard for the Bywell communities.

Tom and Nick Appleby

Former Lib Dem Councillor Nick Appleby said "I can look back on the things we've achieved with content such as campaigning to keep the Library open, help improving the Falcon Centre and campaigning for some form of road safety through Wylam" and fellow Lib Dem Councillor Tom Appleby followed on by saying "Yes, but there is still a lot that can be done to help improve our quality of life and as such we will not be retiring from campaigning." If there is anything you think they can help you with please contact them. Tynedale council came to an end on 1st April and as such cousins Nick & Tom Appleby will cease to be councillors. However, They will still be here to help.

Wylam Bridge re-opens but traffic problems remain

The claims by County Council that Wylam Bridge was in dire need of safety improvements saw the closure of the bridge resulting in a campaign first started by Cllr. Nick Appleby and then later adopted by the local businesses of Wylam. From the very start there was a serious lack of public consultation about the bridge and when the County did speak with the public there was a strong case that the public were deceived on several issues, not least, the resurfacing of the main street up to the Ship Inn.

After a lot of criticism and campaigning by LibDem district councillor Nick Appleby in the local media, the County Council promised to give £20,000 to the provision of road safety measures. However, Nick still feels that there is a lot more needed to improve both pedestrian and road safety in not only Wylam but also in Ovingham, Ovington, and Horsley. Nick commented that, "The Labour controlled County Council have shown extreme arrogance and lack of genuine concern about improving pedestrian safety in the Bywell district. While the South of the river has several pelican crossings, the North has none."

Cllr. Tom Appleby was concerned about the lack of public consultation and consideration by County Council. "The County bulldozed plans for Wylam Bridge through and completely dismissed public opinion on road safety plans." said Tom. Both councillors agree that there seems to be a culture that County Council's idea of road safety is how to make the road safer for cars to drive fast rather than looking at ways of slowing traffic down and improving pedestrian safety, "This culture of speed safety rather than pedestrian safety has been, from the start, the cornerstone and purpose for my entering politics," Nick added, "my greatest concern was that the initial Wylam Bridge plans included nothing that would slow traffic on the bridge but rather encouraged vehicles to travel faster." Both councillors also accused County Council of ignoring resident concerns about speeding traffic in other areas of the district including residential areas.

No new bridge

After the dismissal of plans for a new bridge across the Tyne because of costs, District Councillors Nick and Tom Appleby decided to create a proposal for cash heavy Tynedale District Council to approach Central Government with the money required in order to take the cost out of the equation. However, they were advised by officers that the bid was unlikely to meet with approval from the Conservative led Council nor likely to be given the green light from Central Government. After a meeting with Tynedale officers it was decided that it would be more effective to give support to the follow-up study and explore alternative solutions to reducing traffic and improving pedestrian safety north of the Tyne. Cllr. Nick Appleby has since changed the proposal set for vote in January to one that will require Tynedale to support measures for improving pedestrian and road safety in the Bywell area and to improve the traffic flow on the A695 Ryton/Prudhoe bypass. It was voted down in full council in January.

Green Conservatives? Don't make us laugh!!

Conservative Party leader, David Cameron is keen to push the green agenda at every opportunity. So why is it that the local Hexham Conservative Party is the complete anti-thesis of their central party when it comes to the green agenda? This is no longer simply a political dig at the opposition by the LibDems but has recently become public with Conservative councillors making public excuses as to why Tynedale cannot even attempt to increase recycling and now we are to learn that the amount of recyclable waste we were once allowed to place in our grey bins is to be reduced. It is becoming increasingly confusing to the public what can and cannot be recycled and the majority of people are starting to think that the only thing left are newspapers. We are told that the reason is one of cost but Tynedale remains one of the richest councils in the country but it would appear that it is no longer even trying to meet recycling targets. LibDem suggestions for improved recycling and extending the scheme to local businesses are always blocked and attacked by the Tory party and this is only the tip of the iceberg.

Renewable energy schemes are constantly being blocked at planning by the Conservative councillors. LibDem councillors are not even allowed to discuss alternative suggestions for schemes by setting conditions such as size, type or colour without being quickly silenced although we are allowed to discuss similar issues when the plan is for housing or extensions. Cllr. Nick Appleby commented, "We even had to threaten legal action to gain seats on the climate change working group after political manoeuvrings by the local Tory party tried to ensure that there would be no LibDem questioning to anti-green policies."

LibDem councillors, Tom and Nick Appleby would like to know if David Cameron is aware of the anti-green agenda being implemented by the local Hexham Conservative party and whether other members of the local party are aware of this divergence from their own central party's green agenda. Tom had this to say, "The environment is of cross party concern, beyond politics and it is astounding that the local Hexham Conservative party should be failing in its duty to implement policies that all central parties, including their own, support." Nick added, "It is unbelievable that the Tory cabinet, of one of the richest councils in the country, is putting profitability above recycling items such as plastics, glass, and cardboard as well as blocking applications for renewable energy sources."

Not looking forward to another 'trip'

The state of roads west of the A1 and north of Alnwick are in the majority poor, and the County is in dire need of a resurfacing program to address this issue. However, the state of our pavements is diabolical. There are increasing numbers of pedestrians tripping and falling on poor surfaced pavements and action is needed immediately to address the failing infrastructure of rural Northumberland. There are several pavements in the Bywell district that are no more than strips of rubble and some of these pavements are in residential areas too. Councillors Nick and Tom Appleby are campaigning for the resurfacing of our pavements and urge the public to write letters and send e-mails of complaint to the County Council reporting areas that they feel are a problem. Nick Appleby commented, "We praise the County's recent efforts at providing an increased number of dropped curbs but these are useless if you can't actually navigate the pavement because of poor surfacing." Tom added, "There is also an increasing issue with regards to repairing street lighting that is merely increasing the likelihood of people falling and injuring themselves on poor pavement surfaces."

Affordable Housing? What about us?

Tynedale has recently approved a host of small development schemes for affordable housing in the West and North of the district. Despite reservations at times about what constitutes 'affordable' housing, the LibDems have strongly supported such schemes but there has been a serious lack of action towards providing affordable housing east of the A68. The Bywell districts of Ovingham, Horsley, Newton, Ovington, Bywell and Wylam have a serious shortage of existing social housing while property prices have increased beyond first time buyers. Many residents with strong family ties to the area are being forced to relocate breaking up traditionally close-knit communities. Councillors Nick and Tom Appleby have been campaigning in Wylam for the compulsory purchase of land and empty properties in the village and are very keen to learn of any other empty properties or suitable sites in other communities that can be put forward for purchase consideration. Nick said, "We have a desperate need for increased social housing in our villages but this should not be on large scale housing estate proportions but scattered, smaller development opportunities. These must also include very stringent safe guards that only people who have a genuine connection to the community are considered first."