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Cadet Sergeant Esmée Webley of Bedlington Air Cadets has won 35 hours of flying tuition worth £3,000, thanks to the Royal Air Forces Association.
The RAF charity runs an annual Flying Scholarship programme, which makes six awards to outstanding members of the Royal Air Force Air Cadets. The awards attract more than 250 applications every year from across the UK.
Esmée was presented with her prize by the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Hillier, at the Association’s recent Annual Conference.
Speaking after the presentation Esmée said: “It’s been a lot of hard work, I applied last year and wasn’t successful, so I think the message is, don’t give up. The amount you can achieve in one year with the ATC can really push forward your application. Just keep trying.”
Air Vice-Marshal John Cliffe, Chairman of the RAF Association and a former RAF pilot, said: “We are delighted that these young adults who aspire to a life in aviation are going to receive some flying training and so take the first steps. It is how my flying career started and I have always been grateful for the wonderful opportunity given to me at a young age. Because of the costs involved in flying, I know only too well that such opportunities are beyond most families, and so it is really pleasing that the Royal Air Forces Association is able to help make these dreams become reality.”
“These annual awards are made by the RAF Association to thank the Air Cadets for their year-round hard work supporting our fundraising and welfare work”, he continued. “The quality of the entries is always extremely high and the application and interview process is very thorough. So our 2017 winners can be very proud of their achievements.”
The overall winner is rewarded with a course of 35 hours flight training in a light aircraft, which covers all or part of the tuition needed to obtain a National Private Pilot Licence. This would normally cost around £3,000. Five runners-up receive 12 hours training each (worth around £1,000 each).
Applications for the next round of scholarships will open in September/October 2017 and will be announced on www.rafa.org.uk and www.rafayouth.org.uk
Credit: Durham Northumberland Wing Air Cadets
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Archaeologists working for the National Lottery funded Peregrini Lindisfarne Community Archaeology project  have made exciting new discoveries which may well have turned a long held belief about the Holy Island of Lindisfarne on its head.

The remote and beautiful island holds a special place in history. Known as the ‘Cradle of Christianity’ in the North East, it was here that St Aidan established a monastery in AD635 and set out to convert the pagan Northumbrians. The monastery developed into an international centre of learning and craftsmanship and it was during this Golden Age of Northumbria that exquisite items such as the Lindisfarne Gospels were produced. All this came to a crashing end with the arrival of the Vikings in the late 8th Century.

Many in academic and ecclesiastical circles have long maintained that the close linear arrangement of the the Parish Church of St Marys with the Priory church is evidence of the original locations of the two Anglo-Saxon churches on Holy Island. This close linear relation is evidenced at other early Northumbrian monasteries such as Hexham and Jarrow.

Until this summer the assumption has been that the original Anglo-Saxon churches stood down in the shelter a high rocky ridge known as of the Heugh in the area now occupied by the Parish Church and the Priory. But excavations during the last four weeks up on the Heugh suggest a very different configuration. The excavation has revealed the stone foundations of a small rectangular building with a chancel type configuration at the east end. The  crude and unmortared walls, very simple window arches and positioning of a possible alter stone all suggest an early date which has led to speculation that this is a church building which could date from the 7th century.

The Venerable Bede, writing in c.731, records that St Aidan arrived in Northumbria from St. Columba’s monastery on Iona in 635AD at the request of King Oswald and was gifted the Holy Island of Lindisfarne to establish his own monastery.

The parallels between the islands of Iona and Lindisfarne are remarkable and it is easy to understand how this was a suitable location for Aidan to evangelise and convert the Northumbrians, especially given the close visual relationship between the island and the royal court of Oswald at Bamburgh. Contemporary historical sources refer to at least two churches on Lindisfarne, a small timber one built by Aidan and later one built by Finian which was dedicated to St. Peter.

Richard Carlton, the director of The Archaeological Practice running the community archaeology dig on behalf of the Peregrini Lindisfarne HLF Landscape Partnership Scheme said: “This second  year of investigation on the Heugh has exceeded all my expectation. And with work still to be done to revisit the watch tower structure identified last year and work in the Lantern Chapel building there is potential for the Heugh to yield more of its secrets.”

Excavations last year further west on the Heugh revealed a massive foundation wall that archaeologist are now speculating is a foundation for a ‘watch tower’. The Venerable Bede, in his ‘Life of St. Cuthbert’, made reference to a signal from Inner Farne being seen from the watch tower on Holy Island to mark the death of St Cuthbert.

Sara Rushton, Conservation Manager at Northumberland County Council, said: “This latest discovery of a potential church building on the Heugh cements Holy Island as one of the most significant early medieval sites in Britain. It is incredible to think that we have uncovered two very significant buildings associated with the early Christian foundation of the priory that  provide tangible links to both St. Aidan and St. Cuthbert.”

The monastic tradition on Iona, where Aidan came from, was much more dispersed than the patterns that developed at Hexham and Jarrow. The Irish monastic tradition was for small chapels and ‘turas’ type buildings defining the monastic precinct. The scatter configuration of buildings on Heugh certainly seems to have parallels with Iona where there were at least six chapels and this new discovery could be one of a number of chapels within the monastic complex. In addition the close visual relation between the buildings on the Heugh and the castle at Bamburgh, which the priory does not have, is significant and supports the early date.

The Peregrini Lindisfarne project is a Landscape Partnership Project funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) thanks to National Lottery players and has been developed to conserve, enhance and celebrate the natural and cultural heritage of Holy Island and the wider shoreside landscape.

The project is hosted by Northumberland County Council’s planning department.  Cllr John Riddle, portfolio holder for planning at the council said:  “Community participation is at the heart of the Peregrini project and this Community Archaeology has been a brilliant opportunity for people to get hands-on experience of absolutely fantastic archaeology which illustrates how wonderful the cultural heritage of our beautiful county is.”

Ivor Crowther, Head of the Heritage Lottery Fund North East, said: “The North East is full of incredible heritage and this find shows that there is still so many stories left to discover. Thanks to money raised by National Lottery players we’re delighted to support this project which is putting communities at the heart of celebrating the history of their landscape and creating strong partnerships to ensure its bright future.”  
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A family fun day is set to take place this Saturday.
Following the success of the inaugural event last year, the Bedlington Picnic is returning to the town – with organisers promising it is bigger than better.
The event, from 11am to 6pm, will allow local people to showcase their talents.
A variety of foods, stalls, crafts, rides and a dog show will be on offer, as well as free activities for children and a full programme of talented local artists on the stage.
Among those performing on the bandstand will be Bedlington Brass Band, Bedlington Choir, Bedlington Ukulele Band, Callie Griffiths School of Dance, Arrieanne Masters and a battle of the bands from 3pm to 4.30pm.
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Forth Banks. Newcastle City Centre Police Station, Forth Banks: From 24/7 to 8am – 8pm (7 days a week).
Gateshead. High West Street: From 24/7 to 8am – 8pm (seven days a week)
Etal Lane. Etal Lane, Westerhope : From 24/7 to 9am – 5pm (five days a week)
Byker. Clifford Street: From 8am to Midnight to 9am – 5pm (five days a week)
Whickham. Front Street: From 8am to Midnight to 9am – 5pm (five days a week)
Newcastle West End : Westgate Road: From 8am – Midnight to 9am – 5pm (five days a week)
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Northumberland County Council is  about to embark on a major refurbishment within Hexham’s historic Queen’s Hall  to create a fantastic new facility that will provide an integrated library, customer and visitor information centre all under one roof.

The  investment scheme will breathe new life into the library area which has not had any major  refurbishment work done to it  for over 35 years. It has been designed taking  customer needs into account and will create a convenient, modern and accessible service area for residents and visitors.

Unfortunately while this work is taking place there will be some brief disruption to the library and tourist information services.

These services will  be  temporarily relocated into the former Tourist Information Centre in the  Wentworth Car Park for a twelve week period.   A  range of normal tourism and library services will continue to be provided here including  four public access computers. The possibility of  locating additional public computers into the foyer of the Wentworth Leisure Centre  is also  being explored.

To allow for the organisation of this move the library will close at the Queen’s Hall on Saturday 1 July and reopen at Wentworth on Monday 17th July.

Customers are currently being  informed  of the arrangements  through  social media,  posters, fliers and via the  website.

Alison Elsdon, Director of Corporate Resources at Northumberland County Council  said:

“  It is great news that part of this wonderful historic building is to be given a new lease of life and the town will receive enhanced, joined up local services.

“ We appreciate there will be some disruption to these services while the work  is taking place  and  we are working hard to minimise the impact. We sincerely  apologise for any inconvenience caused, but I hope residents bear with us.

“  Families can be reassured that the children’s Summer Reading Challenge will go ahead as planned and we are making arrangements to hold summer library activities in Wentworth Leisure  Centre.”

When the library is closed for two weeks,  members will be able to renew or reserve books, 24/7  on the library website www.mylibrary.co.uk  or through the library customer service  line on 01670 620250. There will also be a book drop-off point at the Queen’s Hall.  Corbridge TIC and Library is open six days a week, Monday - Saturday 10am - 4.30pm  (closed 1-1.30pm) for those who wish to and are able to travel.


A tourist   information  leaflet point will also be present in the foyer of the Queen’s Hall and staff will also be on hand to  answer any enquiries  that come in on the  Hexham Tourist Information phone line.

“ We are reviewing the plans for the layout of the new library  with the aim of giving the best level of service to our customers. No definitive decisions have been made regarding the location of the  local history collection.”  added Cath Homer.
 
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Northumberland County Council has announced steps to take forward a project that will secure new schools and leisure for Ponteland.

The council has carried out a review of previous plans, aimed at to ensuring that investment will provide the best long-term solution for students and the local community.

The original outline planning application for the construction of a new Ponteland High and primary school, alongside a new leisure centre, has been reviewed and the County Council is working hard to address concerns raised by residents.  

The four Ponteland County Councillors asked officers to look at all possible options in detail that will not only provide new schools, but also provide for the long-term interests of the whole community.  

In order to facilitate the design changes, Northumberland County Council is to withdraw the outline planning application originally submitted in December 2016. A detailed planning application will now be developed and will be brought forward as soon as possible.

The submission of a detailed application will also ensure that educational provision for the students on roll at the schools is secured by enabling the construction of the buildings to take place along the shortest achievable timescale.  This will mean any requirement to provide temporary accommodation at the school sites will be kept to a minimum

Cllr Wayne Daley, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Children’s Services at Northumberland County Council said: “While we remain committed to the investment of £57m into local education and leisure in Ponteland, we have to be sure that this is going to deliver the best possible educational environment for pupils across Northumberland.  

“We are working hard to ensure we address all of the of concerns raised by parents and residents in Ponteland to achieve the best possible educational outcome for the young people there.”
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Extra payment options for post-16 transport are being introduced as the new administration looks to make the charge easier for households to manage.

The county council is now looking to carry out a comprehensive review of the policy which sees over 100 students in the county having to pay an annual sum of £600 for travel organised by the authority, and other Post 16 students who are able to use public transport having to pay for their own travel'

While it was not possible for the administration to bring in any changes to its Post 16 Transport Policy ahead of the statutory deadline for the 2017/18 school year, it has implemented a new payment system which allows families to spread payments more evenly.

Over the past year 127 students paid for post 16 transport.  Of these 25 paid the fee as a lump sum and 102 choose to pay in instalments. Previously the £600 charge could be paid as a lump sum or as a payment of £200 followed by eight monthly payments by direct debit of £50.

In a bid to help ease household budgeting, students will now be offered a third payment method from September 2017 -  eight payments of £75 via direct debit.

Deputy Council Leader Wayne Daley, who is also Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, said: “As a council we believe the current post 16 travel charges are unfair and we are committed to overhauling this policy.

“While statutory deadlines meant we couldn’t make any major changes for the coming school year we were keen to find a way of offering increased flexibility for those students and families who have to pay the charges.

“Many people find it easier to spread bills evenly in smaller amounts rather than pay lump-sums or larger initial instalments.

“We hope this new system will make things a little easier for some households while we carry out a root and branch review of the whole policy.”

The £600 travel charge for students attending their nearest educational establishments where public transport is not available was introduced by the previous council administration.  
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At its meeting on 5th July Northumberland County Council will consider a motion to withdraw the Northumberland Local Plan Core Strategy from Government and to carry out a review of some aspects of the document.

Members of the council’s conservative group have submitted the motion which is also asking officers to undertake a full review of the housing and employment numbers, and strategic land use allocations, for the plan period up to 2031.

In the motion members stress their support for economic and housing growth to support communities, as well as their commitment to the ambitions of the North East LEP strategic economic plan and North of Tyne devolution agenda.

They question however whether the housing numbers contained within the current core strategy are required to meet these ambitions, and wish to undertake a review and any required public consultation as soon as possible.  

The proposed level of new housing in the County, at 24,320 by 2031 plus the inclusion of up to an additional 2,000 houses at Dissington Garden Village over and above objectively assessed need, are seen as significant issues.

In response to the motion a report to full council by Geoff Paul, the council’s director of planning and economy, sets out the key issues raised by the motion, and what the process for withdrawing the Core Strategy would be.

It highlights an opportunity to review the housing numbers required for Northumberland to deliver sustainable economic and housing growth through a recent refresh of the North East Strategic Economic Plan,  expected revisions to national planning policy and recent and anticipated national publications on housing and population projections.

Coun Peter Jackson, Leader of Northumberland County Council said:  “Our group has long questioned some of the assumptions which were used by the previous council in drawing up the Core Strategy.

“Information currently available, and anticipated for release by the Government later this year, suggests to us that the requirement for housing in our county may very well not be as high as has been proposed previously. We want to use this information from Government and take into full account the latest regional plan in the form of the NE Strategic Economic Plan, to review the need to build on acres of Green Belt land.

“The new council which we are leading is determined to support and protect our communities and to plan for a sustainable and prosperous future for our county and the wider region and we therefore wanted to propose a review at the first opportunity.

“I can promise that the most up-to-date available evidence will inform our review and that the new plan for our county will be produced as soon as possible."

Cllr John Riddle, cabinet member for planning, housing and resilience at Northumberland County Council added:  “We have listened carefully to our communities and want to implement this review of the core strategy to ensure that it is truly fit to address the future housing and economic needs of Northumberland, whilst respecting the environment and protecting our beautiful county.”

Advice has been sought from the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) and the report states that a local planning authority can withdraw a submitted plan at any time prior to adoption, at which point it would publish a statement about this and send notification to consultation bodies.  

It would also need to determine at which stage in the plan-making process it would need to go back to in order to make any necessary changes, and discussions are currently taking place with DCLG  in an attempt to arrange a Ministerial visit to speak to the council leadership about the potential scenarios relating to the strategy.  

Members have said that they would wish the work to be done as quickly as possible, so that the strategy can be re-submitted to Government as soon as is practicable.

Risks raised within the council report include the possibility of Government intervention in preparation of the plan due to the delayed timescale, and also of speculative or unplanned development in the county whilst changes are made to the plan.  There could also be the increased likelihood of planning appeals where the council has used the draft plan to resist development proposals. Some current applications may also require re-consideration by committee.

The full council will consider the motion and the report at its meeting at 3pm on Wednesday 5th July in County Hall, Morpeth.


More about the Core Strategy

The Northumberland Local Plan Core Strategy sets out the proposed strategic planning policies of the council to guide future development and planning decisions in Northumberland up to 2031.

In line with national planning policy, the council must provide a positive planning policy framework that supports and grows the economy.  One of the main premises of the currently submitted plan is that without positive policy intervention Northumberland will not have the working age population to support delivery of the Council’s Economic Strategy, or the ambitions of the North East LEP Strategic Economic Plan.

A draft plan was submitted to Government on 7th April 2017 for independent examination.  
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Thousands turned out for the fourth Northumberland Live festival at Blyth at the weekend and quite a few left their litter behind them - much to the dismay of one little boy.
Five-year-old Oliver Jackson, of Blyth , immediately set to work collecting the abandoned cans, chip trays and sweet and crisp packets you can see in his grandma’s photographs.
Proud gran Alyson Young said: “On Saturday evening after the Blyth festival was finished and people were leaving, my grandson, Oliver Jackson, aged five, was watched and admired by many people as he started to clear up the filth and debris that other people had left.
“He was so upset by the amount of litter and mess that adults had left lying in ‘his park’ that he took himself off and found a carrier bag and started to clean up. He said ‘It’s not acceptable to have all this rubbish - why have they done this to my park?’
“People looked on in awe of this little boy and started to give him money for his efforts. As if that wasn’t good enough - he then went on to say, ‘I think I’ll give this money to the poor children’ because they don’t have what he has.
“He went and asked for a bag from an organiser and was picking up everything, including a four-pack of lager which had been left behind, and was dragging it along behind him.


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