Stephen

It's terrifying. It isn't just the debt, it's the budget deficit - £20 million an hour being spent that we don't have. Or to put it another way I reckon it's about 36p on top of the basic rate of income tax. So if the next government is to achieve the target of halving the deficit in four years, it will have to make huge cuts in public spending and no doubt big tax rises too... and even if successful then the debt will still be going up by £90 billion a year.

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, 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.

The county haven't suggested we take it on or even made any offer, to date anyway. We're making our own enquiries to see what can be done, which might just be coming up with new ideas for the county and lobbying on behalf of Bedlington. Can't be certain until we get the breakdown, but it must be possible to run the centre for less than £78000 a year

First - I'm not necessarily suggesting the town council take it on, really I just want to see what the financial position is and therefore what the options are... that might be the answer but I wouldn't get too carried away with it just yet. Second - not sure what you mean by your question about 'entirely' voluntary? Are you asking if the town councillors would be looking after the rooms and whether they would want some payment for it? I can only speak personally here but I already have one full-time day job and one voluntary job so I wouldn't have time to do it. As for payment, we all stood for election to the council in the full knowledge that it would be unpaid and nobody has ever expressed any desire to change that. We do have some groups that are longstanding users of the community centre and who I think could be trusted to collect the key from somewhere before they use the room, and lock up and hand the key back afterwards (or even have their own copies, assuming that's OK with the insurance company). Perhaps for new groups you could ask for a deposit. So again, I think there are other ways of running the centre.

Arthur has been promised a breakdown of the costs so we should get some hard facts soon. If we found out what the minimum running costs were - maintenance and utilities etc, then it might be possible to run the centre with volunteers to handle the room booking and access, and paying for a daily cleaning service.

Good point. I don't know how the figures break down but as I work for another large organisation (BT, though it's been getting rapidly smaller in the last year) I'd bet there are management overheads included i.e. senior people in the Leisure department whose costs will be divided between all the amenity budgets. I wouldn't want to write a business plan based on my back of an envelope sums but I do think it shows that marketing the community centre to increase its usage isn't going to turn it around by itself, which is why I was trying to think of something that would share the cost.

After some rough calculations, if the Community Centre really costs £78,000 a year to run, then to break even it would have to be earning £30 every hour, for 10 hours a day, every weekday, 52 weeks of the year.

I first posted the line about our claim to fame and I probably shouldn't have used the word claim - as yes, we have better claims to fame. For actual fame around the world though, I think the dog has it. Lack of accommodation shouldn't put anyone off though, Bedlington is an easy day trip from Newcastle though the fact that the only way to get here by public transport is by bus rather than train makes that less obvious to visitors.

There was a story in The Journal saying that the County council would be looking at the least used libraries as part of the budget discussions. According to the Journal Bedlington Station was in the bottom six, and Bedlington was outside this six but in the bottom 12. So we don't know if anything will happen to the library, but can't assume it will be safe either.

How long ago was that? I suppose that means it must be possible unless the old library had any big problems. It could be argued that this would be a step backwards then, but I think it might be a way of keeping what's most useful about the community centre. You can book much better small and medium sized rooms at the Salvation Army, and there are other places to drink if not so many as there used to be. The one facility that doesn't seem to have any substitute is the big room available for public use.

This is my own opinion and not a Town Council suggestion... As there is apparently a question mark over the library too, I wonder how feasible it would be to move the bookshelves from the library to the ground floor of the community centre, with the bar area being the main part of the library (and the librarian working behind the bar), and the children's library in the youth room. Then potentially you could have a library on the Front Street, opposite the new Market Place, guarantee the future of a decent looking building on that side of the street, keep the use of the room on the top floor (I don't think there's any other room of that size available in Bedlington?) and sell the land that the current library building is on.

WEST BEDLINGTON TOWN COUNCIL To: ALL MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL You are hereby requested to attend a meeting of WEST BEDLINGTON TOWN COUNCIL to be held at Bedlington Salvation Army Hall, Hartford Road West Bedlington on Wednesday 16 December at 6 pm The agenda for the meeting is set out below. John Nicholson Town Clerk 14 December 2009 OPEN SESSION The Chair to invite members of the public present to put questions to, or draw relevant matters to the attention of the Council prior to commencement of business. This question time will last for a period of 15 minutes overall (which may be extended if the Chairman deems it necessary) and each question is limited to 3 minutes per person. In order to give every member of the public a fair chance of asking a question, each person will be limited to two questions at each session. The above covers both verbal and written submissions. Any member of the public who asks a question should first state their name and address. AGENDA 1) NEW TOWN CLERK Introduction of new town clerk: Mr John Nicholson 2) APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE 3) MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING To sign as a correct record the minutes of the West Bedlington Town Council meeting held on 12 November 2009 4) MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES 5) CO-OPTION TO THE COUNCIL A "show of hands vote†is required to formally co-opt Councillor Headley to the Council. 6) DISCLOSURE OF INTERESTS To receive from members in respect of any terms included on the agenda for this meeting, disclosure of any personal or prejudicial interests. 7) ANNOUNCEMENTS To receive announcements on any matters which the Chair wishes to bring to the attention of members. 8) CORRESPONDENCE To receive any items of correspondence addressed to the Council 9) VOTE OF THANKS A vote of thanks will be given to Margaret Penny for her help in past years with regard to the remembrance service. 10) WORKING GROUPS To receive reports from working groups: a. Finance (Councillors Aynsley, and Allen) b. Communications and Events (Councillors Barret and Shephard) c. Premises (Councillors Harratt and Pegg) d. Planning (Councillors Major and Todd) 11) ANY OTHER BUSINESS To consider any other items for information only including items to be brought forward to the next meeting. 12) DATE OF NEXT MEETING To agree a date and time for the next meeting of the Council

I agree, if Bedlington has any international claim to fame then it's the Terrier, but so far we have nothing trying to exploit this to attract any visitors.

I don't know any more about it than what's in that press release, but it seems to be saying that the whole marketplace will be the highly attractive public space, and that Tesco will be putting a new facade on their store and extension to fit in with that. The new market place does look very nice, but I think the important thing is having plenty of events taking place in it.

West Bedlington Parish is the Bedlington West and Bedlington Central wards of the County. Gallagher Park is in East Bedlington Parish, Beaufront Park is in West, then the boundary south of Gallagher Park cuts through Rosalind Avenue, Lily Avenue and Cornwell Crescent. All a bit arbitrary. I think Choppington aka North Bedlington is a natural community but splitting Bedlington in two was daft.

Having spent some time 'workshadowing' the lady organising the Remembrance Day Service and Parade (the Town Council will be taking it on as an official duty from next year), I know there was some doubt about the road closure but not the service. I was told by the local police that their events officer said it would be unlawful for a police officer to be involved in traffic management for a pre-planned event. I'm told that it was the county council who stepped in and saved the day, contrary to rumours. Merlin, I've always assumed that Bedlington's service was at 2pm so that the MP and Wansbeck District council officials could go to the Ashington one in the morning and Bedlington in the afternoon. Now that Wansbeck is no more I think it would be worth looking at moving it to the more traditional 11am.

Apparently the ice rink has been booked for the market place for 19th and 20th December, and there may be other Christmas events over the period 3rd-20th December. Hopefully I'll be able to post an update after Monday.

The next meeting of WEST BEDLINGTON TOWN COUNCIL will be held at the SALVATION ARMY HALL, Hartford Road West, Bedlington on Thursday 15 October 2009 at 6 pm The Agenda for the meeting is set out below. David Francis Clerk 9 October 2009 __________________________________________________________________________ OPEN SESSION The Chair to invite members of the public present to put questions to, or draw relevant matters to the attention of, the Council, prior to commencement of business. This question time will last for a period of 15 minutes overall (which may be extended if the Chairman deems it necessary), and each question is limited to 3 minutes per person. In order to give every member of the public a fair chance of asking a question, each person will be limited to two questions at each session. A second supplementary question may be submitted. The above covers both verbal and written submissions. Any member of the public who asks a question should first state their name and address. A G E N D A 1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE 2. MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING To sign as a correct record the minutes of the West Bedlington Parish Council meeting held on 10 September 2009. 3. MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES 4. DISCLOSURE OF INTERESTS To receive from members, in respect of any items included on the agenda for this meeting, disclosure of any personal or prejudicial interests. 5. ANNOUNCEMENTS To receive announcements on any matters which the Chair wishes to bring to the attention of members. 6. NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY COUNCIL To discuss with the Director of Street Scene, Bill Batey, the County Council's plans for working with local councils on environment issues, including allotments. 7. CORRESPONDENCE To receive any items of correspondence addressed to the Council. 8. WORKING GROUPS To receive reports from working groups: • Finance (Councillors Aynsley, Major and Allen) • Communications and Events (Councillors Barrett and Shephard) • Premises (Councillors Harratt and Pegg) • Recruitment (Chair and Vice-Chair) • Planning (Councillors Major and Todd) . 9. FESTIVE LIGHTING To consider proposals for festive lighting (Attachment A). ITEM 10 Att A.doc 10. COUNCILLOR VACANCY To note the progress in filling the casual vacancy on the Parish Council. 11. CODE OF CONDUCT To confirm adoption of the Code of Conduct for Parish and Town Councils (Attachment B ). Item 11 Att B.rtf 12. BOUNDARY COMMITTEE To agree a reponse to the Boundary Committee Review. 13. DATE OF NEXT MEETING To agree a date and time for the next meeting of the Council.

Malcolm, yes I'm that Stephen! The car parking issue is probably the first of many inevitable consequences of a unitary county, with some former districts thinking the rules should be the same for all now there is one council. I think the county needs to nip it in the bud right now and make it clear they won't try to be one size fits all. As for the parishes, it's too early to say. We are still setting up, a bit too slowly for my liking but I hope we can start making a difference from year one. West Bedlington Town Council by the way decided to oppose car parking charges on the folowing grounds: we would have to install ticket machines at great expense it would create a greater problem of illegal and unsafe parking which would require extra policing again at extra expense if the parking charges were high enough to pay for themselves or even make a profit, it would destroy businesses in the town the negative effect of destroying business in the town would far outweigh any revenue the scheme could raise Morpeth Chamber of Trade who suggested this have claimed that the southeast has better public transport, but unlike Morpeth, Berwick and Hexham we have no railway station the rest of the county are also able to generate more car parking income from tourists than we are Since the chairman of the Town Council is also a member of the County leadership team I am optimistic that the charges won't happen, but people should keep up the pressure until the decision has been taken.

The Town Council will be discussing what response to make to the County Council questionnaire on car parking at the next meeting: 6pm on Thursday 10 September at the Salvation Army Hall

There will be ameeting of WEST BEDLINGTON TOWN COUNCIL to be held at the SALVATION ARMY HALL Hartford Road West, Bedlington on Thursday 10 September 2009 at 6 pm The Agenda for the meeting is set out below. __________________________________________________________________________ OPEN SESSION A G E N D A 1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE 2. MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING To sign as a correct record the minutes of the West Bedlington Parish Council meeting held on 15 July 2009 (to follow). 3. MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES 4. DISCLOSURE OF INTERESTS To receive from members, in respect of any items included on the agenda for this meeting, disclosure of any personal or prejudicial interests. 5. ANNOUNCEMENTS by the Chairman a. Bill Ashbridge b. Questions from the Public i) The Chair will invite members of the public present to put questions to the Council, prior to commencement of business. This question time will last for a period of 15 minutes overall (which may be extended if the Chairman deems it necessary), and each question is limited to 3 minutes per person. In order to give every member of the public a fair chance of asking a question, each person will be limited to two questions at each session. A second supplementary question may be submitted. The above covers both verbal and written submissions. 6. CORRESPONDENCE 7. PUBLIC QUESTIONS 8. WORKING GROUP To receive reports from the informal meeting held on 20 July 2009, including: • Premises • Recruitment of Clerk • Publicity and communications. . 8. CHANGE OF NAME To consider the options for possible re-naming of the Parish Council. 9. MEETING WITH DEPUTY CHIEF EXECUTIVE, NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY COUNCIL To receive a report from the Vice Chair of a meeting of all new South East local council chairs with the Deputy Chief Executive of Northumberland County Council. 10. CAR PARKING STRATEGY To agree a response to the County Council questionnaire on car parking issues (Attachment . 11. COUNCILLOR VACANCY To Note the procedures for filling a casual vacancy on the Parish Council. 12. DATE OF NEXT MEETING To agree a date and time for the next meeting of the Council.