Andy Millne

Even more interesting Brett

Their coverage checker and my phone says otherwise https://coverage.ee.co.uk/ee/coveragechecker.html

Very interesting Maggie, you could well be right. I've noticed EE's 4G coverage checker is now totally covering bedlington which it wasn't a few weeks ago.

One for threegee

Offline again from 11pm for around 15 minutes

Great stuff canny lass, thanks for sharing. I'm thinking A.N. could well be Anglo Norman influence given the period.

Rumour has it there's a new shop coming imminently to the Front Street that isn't a hairdressers, solicitors, estate agents or florists.

Hi Scorpio,

Good luck with your search whatever you decide.

The conservation area has been a contentious subject ever since it was introduced and I have mixed feelings. It probably has had a detrimental affect on some buildings it was introduced to protect but at the same time I'm very glad that there is not a free for all on replacement of historic features. I recently had to make similar repairs to sash windows in the conservation area and although initially I thought that putting PVC replacements in would have been a good choice to have I now very much prefer having the repaired originals. It is relatively straightforward to add brush pile draught proofing strips at the same time and the cost doesn't have to be as much as you think. A fully sealed uPVC unit is often not suitable with regard to ventilation needed for the design of the building and the insulation value difference once you have draught proofed and added a well fitting heavy curtain perhaps isn't as much as people realise. Well insulated internal shutters are also an option as well as secondary glazing. I can pass on details of the local company that did my repairs on request.if you do decide to go this route.

 

 

* Lairds House has a wonderful view of the Council "concrete box" offices across the road, topped with a big bright green "Jobcenter" sign and more antennaes than any other building in the area (do they really watch that much TV?). How does this fit with their policy?

It's before my time but I'm almost certain the council offices were built before the conservation area was introduced. The historic building it replaced has a few topics on this site although its name escapes me.

 

 

* I agree investment is needed but is this being prevented by the same policy they introduced to protect the area?

Yes this is my main opposition to the conservation area strategy. Common sense is often thrown out of the window and some buildings are starting to fall down as a result. The old school building has been mentioned in this topic and is a good example of where a number of proposals were put forward by a developer. Some of these proposals would still have meant a fairly major change to the character of the building but much of it was to be preserved. In the end because all proposals were rejected by the local planning authority at an early stage it went to appeal. An expensive legal battle eventually led to the plans with the least amount of the original building being preserved being accepted and unfortunately the momentum taken out of the whole process. So now all that is happening is the building is continuing to fall down.

* I saw a reference that there is also a small collapsed outbuilding in the back garden which is "of historical significance" and should not be disturbed. Depending what this is and where it's at, may make it difficult to make full use of the back garden.

 
If this is the building I'm thinking of it is not in the grounds of Laird's House, it is behind 40c and 40d Front Street West (currently the beauty salon and hairdressers).

 

 

* I find it difficult to see how this works as many of the buildings in the conservation area hove been modernised over the last few centuries (and many now have modern - efficient - UPVC double glazing, etc)

Yes, this confuses me too. There are a number of properties that have had uPVC windows fitted inside the conservation area since it was introduced. 

 

 

* I agree it would be a shame to loose the original features, but the alternatives are to let the originals deteriorate or install custom made hardwood sash frames (which will cost many times more than modern UPVC) - I believe cost and restrictions are why many original frames are being left to deteriorate.

When mine were repaired I was surprised by how much is salvageable. The cills are the first to go but often the sashes themselves can be stripped repaired and repainted. A few of the bottom rails of the lower sashes had rotten and were replaced. New cords were fitted and draught seals added.

Rather than focyusing on the fact Bedlington prospered in heavy industry (which is, however we look at it, the past) why not consider that, in fact, the industry prospered on innovation (Birkinshaw and his malleable rails, for example). There is no way forward for this town as an industrial might, nor is there the through traffic for major retail, so where do we go?

This is a great way of looking at it. Everything in the past was once an innovation. It doesn't have to be heavy industry or major retail and speaking as a resident I wouldn't want them anyway. All it needs is a solid foundation of light industry and independent retail. We're not talking about Major shopping centres or huge industrial estates, what is needed are the facilities to serve the town without people having to travel great distances to them. The reason this is not possible in my opinion is due to the one size fits all town and city policies in place that discourage the innovation you alluded to. Things like setting business rates at a national level based on floor area is crazy. It is telling when even a local newsagent providing essential services and with no immediate competition is thinking of selling up because these costs are no longer in touch with reality. Instead of addressing these concerns however, we decide it is OK to subsidise other areas not even within our own borders.

Looking more of a dump every day!

I hope we're back onto discussing the old school now.

Looks like there's been a Hair Raid at head office.    

lmao. 

So that Includes Elliot's Garage Fourgee?

Of course.

It is only an Eyesore because of the current owner Tomtom, it could be something nice if someone invested in it.

The current owner has already invested many thousands only to be met with ever increasing legal costs in the name of conserving something that has little to no real architectural merit. I recognise that it may have sentimental value for some but times move on. The property was vacant for quite some time beforehand and there was plenty of opportunity to conserve it and create "something nice" if it had been viable.

You can certainly object to proposed developments but you can't then complain when the proposed development is stalled. You can't have it both ways.

Happy birthday Merc.

Malcolm,there are lots of community websites all around the UK. There are lots of discussions about politics but it's the first time I've

seen a political party been promoted on a website.By the way I'd never dream of been a censor I just find it strange.

Yes it is rather strange that a political party would want to interact with a community they are supposed to be representing isn't it?

INTRESTING,! What would you do if somebody from the NF or B.N.P put a request in what would you do?? Looking forward to your answer on that one.

The terms for advertising are clearly stated in the site announcements forum. http://www.bedlington.co.uk/community/topic/4415-your-ad-for-free/

The facility is available for all political parties standing in the Bedlington area that have the sense to request it.

Marketing is about getting your point across, about engaging people's attention, about telling them what you are going to do/provide that they want and need. This advert does nothing of the sort. 

It was entirely successful engaging your attention merc, the discussion it engaged also seems to have cemented your decision to vote UKIP. Just saying

Personally I'd be much more inclined to vote for a party where the message comes direct and not filtered by legal and marketing departments (if I agree with the message of course)

The way mobile networking is taking steps, I doubt there will be a need for "to the home" wired connections in the near future.

 

Some people can get a faster connection on their 4G mobile device than they can wired already!

When you're moving large amounts of data there is a need, trust me There will be for quite some time and if anything increasingly so as more devices become internet connected and "over IP" media becomes more common. I can't imagine the trouble/cost I would have had yesterday transferring a 1TB database on a 4g connection.

WHERE'S THE MONEY HONEY?

Could these questions ( not that specific one of course ) be answered via a FOI request? At least then an answer or reasons for refusal must be given 

The example you link to is an interesting one; any idea what the rent hikes up to after year one?

The draft heads of terms as a guide state "A fair market rent" in other words whatever the two parties can agree on based on similar rents paid for other properties.

What is the letter above in relation to please Malcolm? The perceived barriers to entry are certainly a problem for new businesses. Rents, rates, insurance, utility bills, accounting and legal in reality aren't too complex but they are all certainly disincentives to trying stuff and seeing what sticks.

 You're quite right in that anyone with a bit of business nous will negotiate; the problem is, will the landlord?

Yes they will, and do. If you're receiving resistance in negotiation there could be a number of reasons for this. Negotiation on price may not be something the landlord is willing to do, there are other things other than price however. You may also be speaking to the wrong person, agents can be bad at communicating offers. Also, the business or offer may not be a good fit for the owner's long term plans. My main point is the sticker price is very rarely the final price for anything and by making blanket statements such as the rents are extreme or landlords are unwilling to negotiate it's not a very good advert for the town. I'm also not saying there aren't some landlords with unrealistic expectations, clearly from your experience this may have been the case in at least a couple of instances. This is not a universal truth though. It does sound like there are lots of small businesses individuals that need a leg up on their way to high street premises which is part of the reason I raised the idea of small office space units in the other thread. I'll try and get the relevant posts merged.

The rents on the Front Street are exorbitant to the extreme. Local people are to blame for this! 

This is a gross generalisation. Yes, there are some pretty optimistic figures quoted from some as pointed out above but anybody with an ounce of commercial sense would negotiate on these and put forward the business case for a lower rent. If somebody was to offer a full asking rent with no negotiation whatsoever then I suspect any landlord would rather not want this tenant. There are legal fees and other costs associated with all new tenancies after all. A prospective tenant that can't even negotiate on one of their fundamental costs probably won't stay in business longer than 6 months. This seems like a good way of filtering out the non viable businesses to me.

For reasons of balance and after a declaration of interest... http://www.rightmove.co.uk/commercial-property-for-sale/property-44354767.html

The best use for the building imo would be to split it up into a few dozen incubator style offices/meeting spaces with reception services. I expect these would be quite tempting to the likes of Merc working from home, it would create activity in the town centre and some may grow to fill the more visible high street retail premises over time. There would be lots of networking opportunities and a lot of the hassles many start ups face would be eliminated.

There a couple of ways of looking at our location, some see it as a downside but our town is centrally located between 4 larger towns which could be a huge advantage if treated correctly.

It's a DNS issue, might take a couple of hours or so to propagate to your service provider.

This topic was split from http://www.bedlington.co.uk/community/topic/5593-reston-nee-metcalfe/