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I see where you are coming from Pauls but before I get into the discussion on Sports and Leisure facilities let me just ask, am I right in thinking that you believe ” there was more scope for parents to take them [children] to facilities that were further afield” because ”few kids in those days grew up in households where both parents worked full time”? My father , like those of my peers, was a miner working 8-9 hour shifts, 6 days a week, 2 weeks holiday and five bank holidays off. My mother on the other hand, also like those of my peers, was a housewife working 16 hour shifts, 7 days a week, no holidays or bankholidays off. In Netherton, and I imagine Bedlington, this seemed to be the rule rather than the exception to it. So my experience was that every child grew up with two parents working MORE than full time compared to today’s standards. OK, we may have had one parent working at home, without a wage of course, but that didn’t give either parent more time than the parents of today. In fact, I would argue to the contrary. My married life and, I suspect, yours became infinitely easier than my mother’s with the availability of: washing machine/tumble dryer instead of red raw hands and a mangle in the back yard vaccuum cleaner instead of brush, shovel and carpet beater late-night supermarkets instead of a bus journey to Bedlington while the kids were at school fridge/freezer instead of almost daily shopping trips sewing machine to mend clothes and household linnen – not that I bothered much with the latter, the era of ’just throw it away and buy new’ was just beginning. no garden/allotment of any necessity (vegetables) to tend to instead of a garden for relaxing pre-fabricated meals and take-away meals, instead of home-cooked, should the need/urge arise gas/electric cooker instead of coal-fired kitchen range requiring endless carrying of coal central heating instead of above-mentioned kitchen range electric food mixer instead of a wooden spoon in-house, running, hot and cold water instead of a cold water street tap – one to every 8 houses. own transport (other than bike, which wasn’t available to my mother either) shorter working hours and 2 days off and, as if all that time saved wasn’t enough, two wages coming in instead of one. Given that, it seems reasonable to believe that time and money ought to be more abundant now than in the 50s and if not, perhaps we should be asking ourselves why not. Perhaps today we have different priorities for the use of our time and money and that certainly is open to comparison. I feel, rightly or wrongly, that if two parents work outside the home then that is their choice and no-one else’s. They alone have made the decision that they have the time to do so without detracting from the quality of the family life they wish for. Likewise it is their choice as to what they spend their earnings on. However, given the above comparison of life in the 50s and life today, it leaves me wondering how my parents could find the time and money, to take their children on an outing involving a bus ride, once a week to the playground park at Beech Grove or to the ’Picnic Field’ as we then called Atlee park, while parents today feel that they can not? For my parents, it most certainly involved making sacrifices to be able to prioritise time and money for that purpose. I’m sure my father would have preferred being at home listening to a football match on the radio on Saturday afternoon and my mother would most certainly have liked to get into bed before 1am the day before instead having to stay up and prepare the dinner for the next day so that we could get out. For us, the children, it involved learning that we couldn’t have everything we asked for and that waiting was part of life.

Back to leisure centres! This will be long! I’ve been in bed three days with the after effects of the third dose of Covid vaccine so I've had time to ponder and even do a little bit of research. With regards to Leisure/sports facilities, let me make it clear, Pauls, that I, like you, am 100% behind the introduction of ANY amenity in Bedlington which will enhance the lives of its residents, children or otherwise. It was, therefore rather disturbing to read that any development in Bedlington while it ”may be of interest to those who may once have lived here but now reside elsewhere it will have little or no impact on their lives”. Speaking as an ex Bedlingtonian I can say to you that residence in another town, city or even another country does not necessarily sever all ties. Several former residents, myself among them, retain some strong, physical ties which include property, family and friends or even a plot in a cemetary alongside other family members. I can also say that some developments do have a big impact even for non residents. If, for example, you own property renting it out or selling it can be very dependent on the amenities offered by the town. But that’s by the by. We were discussing Leisure and sports facilities and their eventual introduction to the town of Bedlington. Good discussion so far, the rest of you guys! As I said initially, I’m 100% behind the introduction of ANY amenity in Bedlington which will enhance the lives of its residents but I would be 200% behind the introduction of any amenity that would enhance the lives of Bedlington residents, even those who do not want or are unable to partake in sporting activities, while at the same time encouraging footfall from visitors, possibly leading to opportunities for further development of, and for, sthe town. Unfortunately, I don’t believe that a Leisure/Sports facility can achieve that footfall. If I understand the situation with such leisure/sports facilities in Northumberland correctly, it is the charitable institution ’Active Northumberland’ who manage ALL leisure facilities (and some other services) on behalf of NCC and looking at their website, I can see that they manage the following leisure/sports facilities (listed here in opening order for the benefit of ex- residents who may not know): Blyth Sports Centre (Opened 1967, extended 1979 and 2006, modernised 2021) Ashington Leisure Centre (Opened 1972 Refurbished 2009, New centre Opened 2016.) Newbiggin Sports and Community Centre (Opened 1973) Concordia Leisure Centre, Cramlington (Opened 1977, refurbished 2016) Wentworth Leisure Centre, Hexham (Opened 1986, new pool 2008, Refurbished 2016) Swan Centre, Berwick ( Opened 1990) (rebuilt 2021) Riverside Leisure Centre, Morpeth (Opened 1991) Sporting Club Cramlington (Opened 2002) Willowburn Sports and Leisure Centre, Alnwick (Opened 2003) Hirst Welfare Centre, Ashington (Opened 2004) Northburn Sports and Community Centre, Cramlington (Opened 2005) Rothbury Pool and Gym (Opened 2008) Sporting Club Bedlington (Opened 2016) Druridge Bay Fitness Centre (Opened 2017) (Temporarily closed) Ponteland Leisure Centre (Opened 2020) Amble facility* * NCC make no mention i of any facility in Amble yet they claim to manage ”all” NCC’s facilities. So, for the purpose of this discussion, I’ll take Pauls’ word for it that NCC do have a facility there, bringing the total to 16. I’ve plotted these, in red, on a Northumberland County Council map dated 2018. Bedlington, I’ve marked in blue. As you would expect, these amenities are located in the 14 most heavily populated areas in NCC’s region and only one amenity is in Bedlington, that’s the small red spot on the upper edge of the blue. I agree, Pauls, that Bedlington today is no longer a small village, but have you considered how it was in the 70s when the leisure centre boom began and local councils all over England were building centres as if their lives depended on it? I have no figures to support it but I believe the population was infinitely smaller. I know that it increased by 2,000 in the decade 2001 -2011 alone and goodness knows how much prior to that. Looking at the development of Leisure/sporting facilities in Northumberland I would guess that local councils got into the groove very quickly with the first centres springing up in Ashington 1972, Newbiggin 1973, Cramlington 1977 and they even extended and modernised the already exixting facility in Blyth, built 1967, in 1979. That’s not a bad achievment given the money, planning and work involved. Clearly someone involved in the decision-making had read the then newly published report of John Birch 1972 Provision for Sport and followed his recommendations of centres with a catchment of approximately ”4 miles or 20 minutes”, because those four centres are very close to each other when compared to similar facilities in the rest of Northumberland. Note here that Birch’s recommendation refers to catchment area size, not town size, or population size. After Blyth in 1979, there seems to have been a considerable break in the building programme as the next centre didn’t see the light of day until 1986 when the Wentworth Centre in Hexham came into being. This must have been a blow to Bedlingtonians whose temperatures were already running high in 1977 when the third centre, Concordia, was built in Cramlington. Unlike its counterparts Concordia didn’t get the town name, instead it was called Concordia Leisure Centre. Being a new Bedlingtonian you may not be aware of the reason for that name. There were long discussions about it. It is based on the word ’concord’, meaning ”harmony between people; lack of quarrelling and unfriendliness” (OED), and was a response to the ongoing disputes about allocation of resources within the district. My brother, a brickie actually had stones thrown at him by people from Bedlington because he was working on Concordia! So why Hexham and not Bedlington for the fifth leisure centre? I personally don’t think Bedlington was forgotten as seems to be the general opinion. I believe it was a conscious decision at council level, possibly from the very early planning stages, as Bedlington does fit nicely into the catchment areas of all four centres (Google measurements from Bedlington Market Place): Newbiggin Sports and Community Centre 5.8 miles /10 minutes Blyth Sports Centre 4.5 – 6.7 miles / 10-12 minutes Concordia Leisure Centre 4.8 – 5.2 miles / 9 -11 minutes Ashington Leisure Centre 5.8 – 7.5 miles /11-12 minutes Alternately, the decision may have come during the building programme when planners had a look at what lay within reach of Bedlington and decided that people within 4 miles/20 minutes of Hexham were entitled to the same opportunities. After all, they pay their taxes too. It’s worth remembering here, that until 1986 Ashington, Blyth, Cramlington and Newbiggin were the ONLY places in the whole of NCC’s region with a leisure centre. Then there is the economical aspect of building a leisure centre. Councils, like families, do not have pockets that are endlessly deep. What self-respecting family would put a swing in their garden when there’s a public play park on the other side of the garden fence? Would it not be better to simply put a gate in the fence and use the existing swings? The money saved could well provide something else, another experience, for the child, or why not something for another child who doesn’t like swings and has no use for them. Of course, there would still be the dilemma faced by all parents: at what age do I let my child go through that gate on his/her own or indeed play on the swings on his/her own? I don’t believe that falls within the remit of council planning at county level or otherwise. It’s a parental responsibility and always has been – even in the 1950s. That said, I do not mean we shouln’t be concerned about safety outside the home, whether the assessed risk be from by traffic, paedophiles or people unable to control their fingers (nicking bikes) or their temper, and if these are our concerns for people of any age travelling to Ashington, Blyth, Cramlington or Newbiggin to enjoy leisure facilities then I personally believe that the problem is being addressed in the wrong way by asking for a costly leisure facility in Bedlington. That is not addressing the real problem. Traffic accidents, assaults, even of a sexual nature are not unique to Ashington, Blyth or Cramlington or to the roads leading to them. Neither are they unique to the twenty first century. They can just as easily occur today in Bedlington, yards from your own front door, as the tragic death of Bethany Fisher on Victoria Terrace in 2017 ought to remind us. I myself was witness to an attempted sexual assault on my own 14 year old sister just 600 yards from home. (@Lilbill, the slipperiness of the bank leading down to the bridge over the Green Letch was not the only cause of my fear for that place), and don’t think I need to remind anybody about the recent incidents involving Bedlington residents Colin Proctor and Robert Edington. hile roads are common places for traffic accidents, Internet and ... I read recently… leisure centres are common places for grooming by paedophiles. Should we stop our children from using any of them to reduce the risk? No we should not. As parents, and grandparents, we have a responsibility to teach awareness, without scaring, road sense and respect for others while at the same time judgingwhen to reduce parental support and let the child enjoy the ”independence” that Pauls had in the 70s ”without the risk of being knocked off her bike or having it nicked. Why not direct efforts and finace to improving safety to, from and at existing leisure centres instead: cycle paths, provision of a (free) bus for school children once a week to Cramlington, better bus service, more crossings, bann mobile phones around pools and in changing rooms (it’s always amazed me the number of parent who sit poolside with mobile in hand and eyes on mobile instead of on their children in the pool). And, as you took up bike theft Pauls, why not bike lockers or two-tier ground anchored bike racks outside the entrance to leisure centres where they would be under continuous surveillance from passers by. They work extremely well in all parts of Amsterdam and Copenhagen and the cost of buying say 1,000, would be infinitely cheaper than yet another multi-million pound leisure centre which, unless it has some mega-super, state of the art, bank-breaking attraction in situ, is not going to attract anyone from Ashington, Blyth, Cramlington, Newbiggin or even the nearby Morpeth, cos they’ve already got one. That money, could then be used to provide another amenity in Bedlington to cater for the needs of other groups than gymgoers who, looking at the map, are in my opinion, already well catered for. Should that amenity be something that Ashington, Blyth, Cramlington, Newbiggin or nearby Morpeth don’t have that would be a bonus. Myself, I could think a larger cultural venue for all types of music or theatre. A spin off could be cafes, restaurants and possibly overnight accomodation so that people could make a weekend of it; have a meal, see a show, stay overnight and maybe even walk the heritage trail next day before returning home. Another spin off, especially for youngsters could be music or drama schools in a corner of the venue. Sport and fitness are extremely important but there are other aspects to a healthy, well-balanced life

Hey @Malcolm Robinson! This small town has several pubs/inns/restaurants, two dress shops, a tantalising shoeshop, butcher, purveyor of fish game and produce, plus many other services, including tourist information. And a railway station. Maybe Bedlington needs to reevaluate it’s status and facilities, particularly with the possible reintroduction of rail links. R🌈xxx

Yoohoo everyone! I’m having a little holiday near Haltwhistle 😁x I saw this and thought of you:-R🌈xxxxxxx

I agree a full blown leisure centre is not necessarily what we need, I was just pointing out that some leisure facilities including a swimming pool seemed to be promised/announced by Advance Northumberland 14 months ago and has now seemingly disappeared. I'm just looking for something other than another small budget supermarket and a row of shops and flats which is all that has been confirmed. No sign of any update on plans to "boost the scale of leisure facilities in the town centre" I'd like to think that the millions from the various national regeneration/levelling up schemes that have been announced will land us something more than an Aldi. I appreciate Malcolm's comments here and in the video clip that suggests that there are plans well underway that haven't been announced to the public yet and his request that there can be an update. I am just pointing out again that its more then 6 years since the council took control of the Tesco site and so far there is is still no confirmed leisure offering. In that time I think we've lost half a library and a swimming pool.

There were many reasons for leaving the area but non were about Bedlington or the area, but I feel it has given me a different/wider perspective, which I respectfully share. Malcolm said, "I personally don’t believe a full blown leisure centre will be seen in Bedlington but I was working on a small multiuse sports centre, at West Lea, and had the financial backing it needed off the then administration," I agree with Malcolm with his realistic vision for multiuse centre, My suggestion would form a group of others who feel strongly about the issue and with the guidance of someone like Malcolm look at the options, Raise awareness, Raise concerns, Raise funds if necessary! then Raise Hell until the appropiate authorities take notice! I personally would be considering approaching the new LARGE company moving into your area for sponsorship, our recreation centre built 1969 when the town was being built and it was named Akasaka after the major Japanese sponsor. Today it is very common for large companies to name facilities (stadiums etc) to get the publicity/ recognition. Bedlington "Britishvolt recreation Centre" BBRC.

Strong arguments all round on this subject. It seems pertinent that those opining what Bedlington doesn’t need left the town a while ago and those advocating for community leisure provision are current residents. I grew up, went to school, made long term friends in Bedlington, but left to train and followed my career far from here, only returning after retirement. Happy to return to a quiet community with access to green spaces, woods, rivers, beaches and limited facilities suits my needs. HOWEVER, it’s been made very obvious in my 3 1/2 years here, mainly from Facebook group reports, that roaming gangs of disaffected youths have no social hub (Bedlington East Community Centre did set aside an evening I believe). In my short time back here I’ve seen a huge increase in housing being built where there used to be fields but no matching growth in what should be the heart of the town. I see facilities for mums and babies/toddlers and then pubs and restaurants but there’s nothing that I’m aware of for a large section of this community who fall in between. It’s not fair to be moaning on Facebook that “ they’re at it again’ ‘the police are moving them’ ‘ they’re heading to the woods!’”. Surely a strong community should provide for ALL of it’s constituent parts @MalcolmRobinson !. Otherwise it’s possible that Bedlington will continue to be a place where people grow up and leave? I see a lot of bricks and mortar but little in the way of the strong foundations that a sturdy community needs. A lot of us are keenly interested in Bedlington’s history but we do need to support those who are striving to create this town’s future.