Malcolm Robinson

http://www.freshwansbeck.com/

They seem to have similar complaints as many on this forum, albeit with a slight Ashington bias. Lack of facilities, things for the kids to and a surfeit of dog poo figure highly on both agendas.

Thanks for the link ck, after looking through their pages it does seem they are saying the same sort of things as the other parties, maybe they thought they have to? I would have thought a more aggressive radicle manifesto might have produced better results as with only 3 councillors they are by and large impotent. Full marks for trying though!

With all the changes to the local gov scene coming soon it may be the begginings of more small parties standing on local issues. Roll on the BIP, (not BNP Pete!) Bedlington Independence Party!

Getting back to topic, what was this Fresh party about?

I believe the "developer" for the flats was M.M.

There was also another set put in to turn it into a kind of youth hostel.

As already mentioned the actual owner was always an enigma with no one really sure? The Church was trying to claim it and do some sort of Social developement, eg youth centre with accomadation.

I believe flats have been given the go ahead but the quality of the work and the materials used to date have upset the planners! Much the same as the old Ford garage!

I can understand the high wastage but what puzzels me is, how can that bread be fresh when it arrives in England considering that it had to be loaded onto vans sailed across the sea, traveled from the south of England, probably arived in Bedlington the day before or the night before the market.

It would be impossible to make a French bagguete in France and drive it back to sell in Bedlington, they are almost unedible if you buy in the mornings and try to eat them that same evening! Every French boulangerie sells sacks of day old bread for 1 euro for chickens, ducks etc. And by the way I made a mistake with the price it should have been 40 cents, about 25p. So the only conculsion I can draw is that what was being sold was "speciality" foodstuffs which not only last longer but also command a high price.

It is very noticable that the continentals, French Germans etc, buy up to a quality whereas the UK food industry is driven by price so that expensive sausage most poeple are complaining about would probably be a staple in a continental shopping trolly!

Maybe Bedlington was the wrong venue for a scheme such as this but at least people got a choice and a chance to sample different wares? The French markets I have been to are loaded with shellfish and fish off the boats that morning, vegetables pulled that morning, and fruit picked that day as well so there is no comparsion with the multi nationals where most of the foodstuffs have been irradiated and travelled half way around the world! Until people realise you really do get what you pay for Beldington will continue with a car boot sale instead of a local farmers market!

Pete,

The price of bread in France is regulated by the Gov! (Shades of let them eat cake!) The price for a normal baggette is around 40p, the parrot dropping ones obviousely dearer. Because of what is used in the making (or not used!) it cannot be kept so there is a high wastage which is in the price.

So how much were they on sale for in Bedders and were they the basic type? (Probably not it wouldn't be worth the effort!)

The councillor showing his grasp of local Gov funding by wanting all the shops closed, the shops actually pay a dispropotionate amount of rates which comes back to the district as central Gov funding and is based on the amount of shops and trade premisis in the district, is now no longer a councillor and I believe is drinking his pints with the Almighty!

shouldnt this be in the sports section?

england is so crap, its like watching the toon... we need a big shake up...

some secondary school players i know could do better, and with more heart!

Got to agree!

It is certainly looking that way Pete. The trouble is that all the apathy is playing right into the hands of the autocrats!

Come on now Malcolm.!

Do you really expect even a respectable minority of the population to forgo the pleasures of complaining about things, for the irksome task of actually helping fix the problem.

To quote a prior post: "Whats the point"!

Joe.

Joe,

What I cannot understand is the people who say that but offer nothing as alternatives. I admire anyone who challenges the status quo but only if they can do so creatively with some constructive criticism! The only logical conclusion is that people want the “Nanny State”, in the worst sense of the wording, so they are led nose first from birth to death. That scares me!

I AM NOT A NUMBER………………………

The bus stop on Glebe Road, on the same side as the library?

Denzel,

This has taken quite a bit of digging but here is the answer.

The top blew off this shelter so it had to be demolished as it was unsafe. It will be replaced but that takes months? Adshel not WDC say when, again? However it should be replaced with something in keeping with the rest of the "street furniture" as will be the one on Ncl Bank. It should also be paid by the community group which got the grant for the rest of the steet package, PROVIDING some cash is left!

I know there are a lot of people on this board knocking the present upgrades to the street furniture in Bedlington and to them only a few words: lets see what you can do! By and large the only reason this is getting done is because some people got off their arses and actually applied themselves!

Of course I have to say that bus shelters are needed NOW not so much in the summer months and why on earth people have to wait in the rain for a service which they pay for, and which provides some commercial return, I do not understand. You would think someone would be getting their fingers out now during the winter months!

Exactly - the site wont be decided untill its clear what facilities the new center will provide. Theres no point buying a plot then realising its too big / too small later on:

With the "sale" of the golf course and the community centre there should be enough to build something! Location, my guess would be the Gap Site they have been talking about it for years!

Also I believe WDC have unlocked/found some cash to inject into the community, might as well come to Bedlington! Far be it from me to suggest the immenent election as being in any way related to this sudden bonanza!!!!!!!!

So why dont we all get in touch with WDC and let them know what we would all like to see?

You will be seeing prospective candidates very soon on your doorsteps maybe they should listen to what people say rather than just go through the usual lip service in search of your vote!

Whenever Monsta leaves me wondering "What was that he said", I just wait until I have read the next four or five posts, and then I find that I can roughly translate the meaning of his comments!

Patience, and a little blind guessing. That is all that you need.

Joe

I am the same Joe maybe it was our education that was lacking!

Monsta,

The art of conversation is using a language common to all participants (do the spell check for me swal) so everyone understands what is being relayed. I am not being patronising only practical as you have some valid points to make but half of what you are writing is unfathomable to me. The only other recourse is to have a simultaneous translation done?

ps I'm in no doubt I'm not the only one who thinks like this, and that it's views like this that should be making our councillors squirm in their beds that they are not serving us right!

hear hear Viv,

but remember you will soon have an election................course if there ain't anyone worth giving your cross to, but that is a different matter!

I vote for viv!

Maxi-freeze is located in the building to the right of where the old top club used to be, the one that burned down 50-60 years ago. Was a Netto before it moved down the bank (to where the newer top club was situated before it was demolished due to subsidence!) and i believe was once laws stores...

Mr Darn, I am old enough thanks! The old Club on Front Street exploded around 78-79 so about 30 yrs ago! The Maxi Freeze building was a Laws Stores when I first came to Bedlington then eventually Netto. The Club moved to a new site opposite Glebe road which is now Netto. I believe the Club had to be demolished because of faulty concrete, it was only a few years old, and they claimed against the contractor who almost immeadiatly went into receivership!

One other point to make is did anyone notice the glass shear strips applied to the side of the new flats and the Maxi Freeze building? One of them ( the buildings) is on the move, or was when I last looked!

That Maxi Freeze building was going to be a gastro pub before it became a freezer shop but at the last minute they couldn't getting the required planning because of emergency access to the rear?

It needs to be something as it gives a bad impression of the commercial heart of the town as you drive through.

i hear a 'park and ride' is proposed at 'the swan' between bedlington and choppington too. anyone heared anything?

Mr Darn,

I was told, years ago now, the that line was just an old freight line going down to the power station?

i hear a 'park and ride' is proposed at 'the swan' between bedlington and choppington too. anyone heared anything?

Mr Darn,

I was told, years ago now, the that line was just an old freight line going down to the power station?

has just been in newspaper about golf course, it is still council owned, they on about getting rid of it and selling the community centre to make way for better things, so they say anyway

I don't think ideas, or lets even say grand plans, are the problem as Bedlington has had a lot of "proposed WDC development" over the years. The problem comes when they have to be realised and actually built that is where it all falls down! The reasons..........make your own minds up!

A few years back I was reading on this site about plans to create a Light Rapid Transit sytem, circling down the Tyne from Newcastle Through North Shields, Bedlington and Ashington and back to Newcastle. It would presumably use existing rail lines, and provide a faster way for people to get to work, Etc.

That was before the site went into limbo for a couple oy years, so I never heard whether it ever actually happened.

Did it? or was it just another useful scheme that evaporated like too many others before it.

Joe

Joe,

I presume you are talking about the Metro extension which had been promised years ago. In the end it couldn't be financed but it is now back on the cards. One good point is that the original scheme would not have stopped at Bedlington Station only Ashington, it has to go through the Station on it's way??????????, but now a stop in Bedlington Station is included in the proposal. Somebody must have listened!

They don't have a golf course like what we has..... lol

swalnalla,

Don't know if it is still WDC owned? There was an option given to the club and its members to take over the golf course a few years ago (when the "councils" Hartford Hall development fell through) but I do not know what happened? At the time every ratepayer in the district subsidised it the tune of about £11! There was also one planned for between Ashington and Lynmouth but I believe that never got off the ground?

Didn't mean to cause offence Brian it was just I was talking to someone who lived in Aussie for many years and he said it was Australian day when I spoke to him, so I asked if it wasn't in Feb going off your posting.

PS. If you use Firefox 2 browser it has a built in spell check......

Thanks Swalnalla didn't know they made a sequal to Firefox

derrrr.....

Hi everyone just thought i would tell you to-day is Australia Day (26th Feb ) and its a holiday, most Aussies are at the beach or just enjoying a bar-b-que at home but i had to bloody work and spoil it all...........BC

This time difference must really be something or should that be 26th Jan?

Mr Darn,

There seems to be nothing wrong with your rationale about promoting this site and the businesses in the town but when this site was first opened all local busiesess were given FREE space and only a very few had the forsight to take the offer up.

It should also have been the first town in the country to have it's web address underneath all road direction signs but WDC/NCC would not allow that for some reason even though other towns adopted the idea!

One further point which might be worth considering, if the pubs are clamping because cars are parked on their private spaces does that mean they are responsible for any damage etc done to the cars when parked whilst owners are imbibing in their establishments?

It'll go ahead. All councils are meant to hand their housing stock over to a council dunded ALMO in order to receive grants to improve housing.

Don't know about false promises missdarn but the roport I read said WDC would be the majority shareholder in the new company which is to take over their housing stock? Looks like Denzel has hit the nail on the head as it must be the handover which enables them to apply for grant funding.

Would a rose by any other name.........

Leicester City has pedestrianised zones except for buses, one of these areas being the clock tower. I catch the park and ride bus when I leave work at night, the bus stop is oppisit the clock tower in the pedestrianised zones. The fact that it is a pedestrianised zones means nothing to some car drivers as they still travel through the area as thought it is a public highway. I have even seen police park their car near the clock tower and thay do nothing when cars travel through the zone, so its a waste of time in Leicester. If they do it at Bedlington I hope that it works for you.

Pete,

I can understand why some cities have pedestrian only roads but Bedlington is not one of them. It needs to retain a commercial heart to survive and as most people use their cars when shopping, and will not walk the few yards from very adaquet parking at the back of the buildings, there has to be some recognition of these shopping habits. It did seem a pretty straightforward solution to put in some chevron parking on one side of the street.

The trouble with Front Street development seems to be the ad hoc way it has been assessed over the years. Each trench of improvements has been done by itself as a stand alone excersise and not as some intigrated plan for the whole area. This will always present its own problems as the Front Street is so long.

pedestrianize the front street?!

there was civil unrest when the first double yellow lines went down (in the 70s?) it's not worth the risk of it happening again!

Point of order missvic,

WDC have always wanted to pedestrianise Front Steet at least from the Market place up over but it meant cars having to drive though the likes of Windsor Gardens etc. One epic plan was to put a new road in adjacent to the golf course on the grassy area until it was realsied that was not allowed by the covernents on that land!

As for the double yellows on Front Street, they were painted in over the course of a Sunday night! Shopkeepers arrived back at their shops on Monday morning to find they had no access or parking facilities. When WDC were tackled about the underhand way this had occured their responce was that 50 people, supposedly members of the public, had requested the double yellows over a course of time and that was all that was needed to make it happen?

Some form of temporary parking needs to be brought in to breath some life into the street but all the cries from the COT went unheard even though a petition was raised with 10 TIMES that amount of people signing it! WDC blamed the County and the County said it was down to WDC!