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Sleekburn’s summer open day

By Bot, in News,

A sizzling BBQ, fresh organic vegetables, and a live jazz band are all on offer at the Sleekburn Horticultural Training Unit’s August  open day.

The busy horticultural training unit is opening its doors on Saturday 19 August  between 11am and 2pm,  

Visitors can pop in, enjoy a BBQ and live music and take a tour around the purpose built training facility including the several acres of vegetable and soft fruit patches, greenhouses, potting shed, secret gardens and the stable building and paddock which is home to the centre’s resident horses.

The  BBQ will be running from 12.30 for which there will be a  charge of £5 per person.

Northumberland County Councillor Veronica Jones, cabinet member for adult well being and health, said:

“This  project gives people with all levels of learning disabilities the opportunity to work as part of a team to plant, grow and harvest crops while also selling to and engaging with members of the local community.

“The adults have been working hard throughout the spring and summer tending to a fantastic array of fruit and vegetables which  have been grown without the use of chemicals or pesticides.

“If you are able to support their work by  coming along, having a look around the site, seeing what we do, and perhaps making a purchase  please do.”

Produce on sale at the opening day will all be freshly picked and all money from the sales will be reinvested back into the service.

The centre is used by adults with learning disabilities and is managed by Northumbria Healthcare Foundation Trust on behalf of Northumberland County Council.

The unit supports 18 adults each day, providing the opportunity to  work as part of a team to plant, grow and harvest a number of crops and to learn how to look after horses and hens.

Food will be served from 12pm .There is a charge of £5 per person for the barbecue.

Sleekburn Horticultural Training Unit can be found at West Sleekburn Farm Cottages in Bedlington, NE22 7AD, just follow the brown sign to Sleekburn Kitchen Gardens.   
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Sitting behind her kitchen table at her Bedlington home, screen writer Rebecca Innes got hard at work to produce her first feature film.
Now her masterpiece has been released in Malaysia and she hopes it will be screened in Britain in the near future.
And the former St Benet Biscop Catholic High School pupil has told how she was so proud of her work when she travelled to the Asian country to see the premier last week.
Now the 29-year-old is planning on rubbing shoulders with the rich and famous when the film is entered into the big film festivals, including Cannes, Raindance, Sundance.
“I was really proud when I saw it on screen, it was really nice for me,” said Rebecca. “It is rare to get a feature film before a short film and to hear the actors speak the lines I wrote was so special. They did an excellent job too.”
Rebecca was the lead writer for the film titled ‘Hijabsta Ballet’, which hit the cinemas in Malaysia on August 3.
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Parking studies will be taking place in the county’s market towns over the summer which will help develop options for future parking needs in Northumberland.

Concerns about parking capacity are regularly raised with the County Council and the new administration are working to get a clearer picture of capacity and usage of carparks.

A study is already underway in Berwick and further studies will be carried out over the next two months in the market towns of Hexham, Morpeth and Alnwick, with the final reports being received by the Council in November.

Motorists and car park users may see traffic surveys taking place but there won’t be any disruption for drivers.  The people undertaking the studies will be carrying appropriate identification.

Councillor Glen Sanderson, Cabinet member for Environment and Local Services, said: “Despite the introduction of free parking some years ago, communities are often telling us that a lack of parking capacity is having a negative effect on their local economy and the sustainability of their towns.

“We’re listening to these concerns and as a first step have commissioned a study to investigate the current car parking situation within each of the four main market towns where parking capacity has been identified as a key issue.

“This will establish current patterns of use and enable us to factor in the future demand for car parking spaces so that we can fully understand what improvements are required now and in the future and look at what’s needed in terms of any new car parking sites.”

“Ultimately we want all our communities to prosper and have the right balance of sustainable parking for residents, visitors and businesses and this is the first step in making that happen.”  
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A teenager with a crooked spine that resembles an ‘S’ is heading to Germany for life-changing surgery in the next few hours - and it’s all thanks to you.
Lucy Huddleston suffers from adolescent idiopathic scoliosis, which is an abnormal twisting and curvature of the spine.
With the help of people from across the North East and beyond, more than £53,000 has been raised to send Lucy abroad.
The 16-year-old is travelling overseas on Friday for surgery which her family pray will correct the spine’s curves, without the need for fusion treatment.
Mum Lisa, 45, said: “We’ve been blown away by the fundraising and we’re so grateful.
“I fill up every time I look at the fundraising page at how nice people are, and a lot of them are complete strangers. The support has been amazing.”
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Northumberland County Council's Community Chest grant scheme is now open for applications for 2017/2018. One off grants of up to £60,000 for county wide projects, £5,000 for local area projects and a new £200 young persons grant for achieving a particular ambition are available.
Applications will be decided by a Grant Panel established by each of the five new Local Area Councils and the first deadline for applications is Friday 29th September.
The aim of the Community Chest Scheme is to support community groups and organisations to deliver activities which contribute to achieving the Council’s ambition for Northumberland. In addition, a new small grant scheme, Help For You, has been included specifically to help young people under 18 to achieve an ambition (see below).The fund will support one-off initiatives that are:
seen as valuable to the area are not able to secure mainstream funding from the council or other sources They do this by giving one-off grants of up to £5,000, but not exceeding 75% of the actual costs, i.e. you will need to find at least 25% from your own or other sources.You are advised to read the guidelines carefully before applying.
To help the council decide between different applications, there are higher and lower priorities for the scheme. Higher priority will be given to:
Projects submitted by small community groups, defined as having an income of less than £10,000 per year and no paid staff Initiatives that will help community groups to become sustainable in the longer term Groups who have not received a grant from the community chest in the past Lower priority will be given to groups who have received a community chest grant in the past two years and those that apply for projects similar to previous years. If your group or organisation does not meet the priorities, then an application can still be made but is less likely to be successful. 
If your project seeks to benefit the County as a whole, then it may be considered as a Countywide project, for which £60,000 per annum is set aside. Such projects are considered by a separate panel of Area Chairs that meets more regularly. Although the maximum grant remains 75% of the actual costs, the upper cap of £5,000 does not apply.
Help For You 
Grants of up to £200 are available for young people aged under 18 to support them in pursuing a particular ambition. A maximum of £2,000 has been ring-fenced for each local area council.
For further information visit the Northumberland County Council website or contact: 
Community Regeneration Team
Ecomony and Inclusion Policy Team
Planning and Economy Directorate
Northumberland County Council
County Hall
Morpeth
NE61 2EF
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Crowds flocked to Bedlington on Saturday to enjoy the second Northumberland Live of the year.
The family-friendly festival took place in the town’s Gallagher Park, with headline act The Commitments performing soul classics such as Mustang Sally, Destination Anywhere and In the Midnight Hour.
Other musical entertainment on the bill included the West End 80’s Mania Show, UB40 tribute band Ultimate 40, Pacific, The Sleeze Sisters, The Understudies, Just So and Unplugged.
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Routine Water Mains Works

By Bot, in News,

Northumbrian Water will be carrying out routine water mains cleaning until August 11th between the hours of 8am and 6pm in the area shown below.
Residents are advised that water discolouration may occur during this time but remains safe. It is not necessary to contact Northumbrian water if discoloured water is noticed and running the first mains fed tap in your home (typically the cold water tap in the kitchen) for up to 30 minutes is advised. 
It is not recommended that washing machines and dish washers be used until water is running clear.

If you have a metered supply and you receive discoloured water during the course of this work, please call Northumbrian water on 0845 717 1100 as you can claim an allowance on your bill.
More info at https://www.nwl.co.uk/your-home/your-account/in-your-area/mains-cleaning.aspx
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Northumberland County Council has secured £5m in national funding for major road improvements.

The authority successfully bid for its share of £75 million from the government’s national Highway Maintenance Challenge Fund.

Local authorities were challenged to put forward schemes which could make a real difference to road users.

Glen Sanderson, the County Council’s Cabinet member for Environment and Local Services: “This is absolutely fantastic news for the council,the people of Northumberland and all those who use our road network.

“We’re delighted to have secured this level of funding which, combined with a further £1.5m input from ourselves, will see improvements to 24km of highway along three key routes in the more rural parts of the county.

“These are crucial routes for the timber industry, quarrying and tourism and of course the residents who use these roads each day. The money, which will be spent this financial year, will fund a range of improvements, from strengthening the roads through to drainage work and resurfacing.

“The bid had widespread support from a range of partners as well as local MPs and is a further demonstration of this administration’s commitment to making long term improvements and investment on our county’s roads.

“We’re also pleased to be the only local authority in the region to have secured successive back to back awards from the national Highway Maintenance Challenge Fund.

“It is also testament to all the hard work put in by our highways team to have submitted such a persuasive and comprehensive bid and I’m extremely proud of them.”  


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