Does The Community Centre Have A Future?

[Malcolm Robinson]

I think I was being sarcastic ..

Yeah I got it Dave, thing is I wasn't being sarcastic I just think we paid in enough into the pot to reasonably expect some half decent facilities! As it stands we paid a lot in to subsidise Ashington and Newbiggin leisure centres over the years, pity that wasn't reciprocated our way!

[Dave]

I thought i was having a funny turn, but thats a snow effect- -yes its strange, we should get a rebait, i mean those facilities arent in walking distance.

[Merlin]

I said this a while ago,but I think Bedlington is suffering because of its past. The Council was at one time based in Bedlington. At this time Ashington and Newbiggin were as we are are now, aggrieved because they got nothing and Bedlington prospered. Then the council transferred to Ashington and low and behold they get everything and we get nothing! This smacks of payback time! Well I don't know about anyone else but I think enough water has passed under the bridge for this to be still true now! But! I honestly do believe that it IS still true! If we want and are to get anything in Bedlington it will be a long hard battle! There are division lines and bias running through this council that need to be addressed and the sooner the better! The River Wansbeck is not a BORDER and neither is the River Blyth but we seem to be in no-mans land,the bit inbetween that nobody cares about. We need to stand together,Ashington, Newbiggin,StakeFord, GuidePost and Bedlington or Bedlington has to stand alone, and make the break and tell the rest that we don't need you!

[michael lown]

We have been forgotten and ignored for years, time to stand alone and fight for our town. F.o.g.p is making a good start.

[Malcolm Robinson]

I said this a while ago,but I think Bedlington is suffering because of its past. The Council was at one time based in Bedlington. At this time Ashington and Newbiggin were as we are are now, aggrieved because they got nothing and Bedlington prospered. Then the council transferred to Ashington and low and behold they get everything and we get nothing! This smacks of payback time! Well I don't know about anyone else but I think enough water has passed under the bridge for this to be still true now! But! I honestly do believe that it IS still true! If we want and are to get anything in Bedlington it will be a long hard battle! There are division lines and bias running through this council that need to be addressed and the sooner the better! The River Wansbeck is not a BORDER and neither is the River Blyth but we seem to be in no-mans land,the bit inbetween that nobody cares about. We need to stand together,Ashington, Newbiggin,StakeFord, GuidePost and Bedlington or Bedlington has to stand alone, and make the break and tell the rest that we don't need you!

I think you are right but I don't agree with your reasoning.

Bedlington Urban District Council was a stand alone entity and 'governed' Bedlingtonshire. It wasn't in bed with either Ashington or Newbiggin until the local gov reorganisation in the 70's then we got Wansbeck District Council. Why they decided to go in with them instead of Cramlington I don't understand as I believe that was one option put forward. WDC then decided to make Ashington the social and economic heart of the district irrespective of what was actually merited. Of the 3 councils Bedlington went into this unholy trinity with a balance sheet written in black ink the other two had red ink all over them! So it could easily be claimed since day 1 we bailed out the other towns and have continued to do so ever since. Certainly true in the area of leisure amenities.

The problem we have now is that we are just a small part of a much bigger entity, Northumberland County Council, and given the decision to have half a dozen parish/town councils instead of one strong voice we now have many weaker ones. You will see this for yourself soon, we are about to get mugged over the community charge! The sensible thing to have done in my view would have been to reinstate BUDC and let it drive itself forward.

[Merlin]

Malcolm I may have my wires twisted over the council status at the time, but the gist of it was, like you say, the feeling of being neglected, the forgotten part of this area!

Is it set in stone that Bedlington have to be part of the larger area? Or could we break away without the troops marching on us to put down the uprising?

[Malcolm Robinson]

[quote name='Merlin' date='03 January 2010 - 10:52

Is it set in stone that Bedlington have to be part of the larger area? Or could we break away without the troops marching on us to put down the uprising?

Merlin I think that is an intriguing question which throws up a multiplicity of answers. On a straight theoretical level we live in a democracy therefore whatever the majority of people want and vote for should be enacted. The fact that the majority of people throughout Northumberland did not vote for a single unitary authority yet we now have one in control speaks volumes! Even allowing for the elected executive to take unpopular decisions on our behalf, (it wasn't the case here because it went to a referendum!) the main focus was on the economic advantage of a single authority. With an annual budget approaching a billion quid and estimated savings of 17m after conversion that is not even a feasible reason economically. Because of the state of finances county now find themselves in we won't get the much heralded savings but will face increases and more and more cuts in services as they try to balance their budget. For my money this whole thing looks like an unmitigated disaster for us living in the South East of the county!

Whatever slim chance we had to get back to something resembling BUDC is probably lost now as we have 3 parish councils imposed on the old shire.

[Stephen]

With an annual budget approaching a billion quid and estimated savings of 17m after conversion that is not even a feasible reason economically. Because of the state of finances county now find themselves in we won't get the much heralded savings but will face increases and more and more cuts in services as they try to balance their budget.

Malcolm, I think you've missed the point. It's central government that will get the promised savings because they've reduced the settlement and once you realise that then you can spot the motive for the government going for the County option, despite the fact that the public, and every district and borough branch of the local political parties (and every group except the ruling group at the time on the County itself) opposed it.

We ought to get that money back in reduced income tax or other national tax breaks (or a VAT reduction as ultimately the central money that was put into local government ever since the poll tax was abolished came from VAT increases). Except of course we won't, due to the massive national budget deficit.

[mobius]

Merlin I think that is an intriguing question which throws up a multiplicity of answers. On a straight theoretical level we live in a democracy therefore whatever the majority of people want and vote for should be enacted. The fact that the majority of people throughout Northumberland did not vote for a single unitary authority yet we now have one in control speaks volumes!

Most people in the Castle Morpeth district voted for a single council, and the vote split in the Wansbeck district was less than 1 per cent.

I voted for a single authority in the 2004 referendum and, for the moment, am glad it has come into being. I thought that by cutting off and amalgamating the poorest parts of the county into one (South East Northumberland) would be a disaster for Bedlington, and I still believe this. If you imagine the town struggles to make its voice heard against Ashington and Newbiggin, how would it fair when joined with Blyth and Cramlington, the two largest towns in the county?

Edited January 3, 2010 by mobius

[Malcolm Robinson]

Stephen,

Reduced the settlement figure? I know the county has always had bad settlement figures in the past but having it reduced because of projected, possible, probable savings would seem to bestow a level of competency on the people involved that the first part of the sentence doesn't? You can't penalise someone for being inefficient then expect them to out perform overnight?

In a time of recession etc I can see why all settlement figures are reduced as less cash flows into treasury so they have less to dish out.

If you are right about VAT returns being the driver for local gov settlements that only works in times of consumer booms, allowing for annual increases to match inflation at least. I understood local authority spends were made up of about 25% domestic rates, 25% business rates and 50% direct taxation, like income tax and VAT. Obviously something like a recession will hit 75% of that income immediately.

Mobius,

Wasn't Morpeth voting for a status quo for themselves? Correct me if I am wrong but didn't Morpeth rate payers pay for their town council and then county rates? That is exactly what they have now so massive change here, no real change there?

51,000 people voted for option A and 66,000 people voted for option B yet we got option A?

Given your stated reason for voting for a single unitary haven't we got exactly that now, as well as perming in Morpeth, Hexham, Berwick, Alnwick etc….. ?

[Stephen]

Stephen,

Reduced the settlement figure? I know the county has always had bad settlement figures in the past but having it reduced because of projected, possible, probable savings would seem to bestow a level of competency on the people involved that the first part of the sentence doesn't? You can't penalise someone for being inefficient then expect them to out perform overnight?

In a time of recession etc I can see why all settlement figures are reduced as less cash flows into treasury so they have less to dish out.

If you are right about VAT returns being the driver for local gov settlements that only works in times of consumer booms, allowing for annual increases to match inflation at least. I understood local authority spends were made up of about 25% domestic rates, 25% business rates and 50% direct taxation, like income tax and VAT. Obviously something like a recession will hit 75% of that income immediately.

Hi Malcolm,

I was being a bit too cynical there about the settlements in implying cause and effect, but if the projected savings were £17 million and the settlement reduction is £20-30 million, then all the savings will go to the UK taxpayer rather than the local taxpayer. Northumberland isn't alone in having a big settlement reduction though, I know Gateshead and South Tyneside are having to make similar cuts.

I didn't explain the VAT issue very well... basically under the poll tax everyone was expected to pay a significant fee to their council. When it was replaced by the council tax then large numbers of people became exempt due to their financial circumstances. So central government had to make up the difference (otherwise the council tax would have been enormous for those who were paying it). To raise the money for the national pot to replace the money now going to councils, the government put VAT on fuel. So if they are now reducing the amount of the national pot that goes to local councils, we ought to see a reduction in national taxation but of course you are right, due to the recession then the government is receiving less income tax and VAT (the effect is probably worse than the unemployment figures would suggest as of course you had a lot of eastern europeans working here and paying income tax who have now gone home). Our councils will also receive less council tax too as more people will have lost their jobs and become eligible for council tax reductions.

[Malcolm Robinson]

Bedlington Community Centre.......31/08/2010.....RIP!

[Malcolm Robinson]

Hmmmmmm,

http://www.journallive.co.uk/northumberland-sites/bedlington-northumberland/bedlington-news/2011/04/08/legal-wrangle-sees-re-opening-of-bedlington-community-centre-delayed-61634-28481240/

[John Fox (foxy)]

Hmmmmmm,

http://www.journallive.co.uk/northumberland-sites/bedlington-northumberland/bedlington-news/2011/04/08/legal-wrangle-sees-re-opening-of-bedlington-community-centre-delayed-61634-28481240/

Another derilect site on its way to the heart of the conservation area, even if the legal issues get sorted will the place be a success? The council run golf club flopped (their admission it was running at a loss) and then became a success when it was sold off to the members,and is now making money. Does this not tell us something, This same council that has c**cked up with the planning permission for Elliots Garage and the Church School (they admit the fact but blame the old Wansbeck District Council) who, to use their well worn phrase "They don't exist any longer" so I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for them to sort this one out. Just to rub salt in the wound,the money for the sale of the golf club ended up with, "They don't exist any longer" so Bedlington got nowt. Not a very good track record, but keep trying.