Bedlingtonian

The concept of 'affordable' homes is great although how many will be bought by wealthy parents investing in property for their children.

General elections appear to bring out the worst in people and at the end of all the bickering nothing changes.... or does it?

Great news about the town centre development. Councillors have also been recommended to approve plans for 500 homes in the town. Is that another 1000+ patients for the GP's to deal with at the health centre and additional class numbers for the local schools to manage?

Perhaps all we can hope for is a fair fight involving all the parties.

Theresa May protest song hits no.1 on itunes although it has been banned on radio stations.

Cavels. Lots. Casting cavels, casting lots is referred to as a Northumberland term in Francis Grose's Provincial Glossary of 1787. The son of Francis Grose was governor of New South Wales 1792-1794.

From the Northumberland Conservatives 2017 manifesto: 'We don’t think the highly-centralised ARCH with its Ashington-only focus is working. That is why we will scrap it' Perhaps the new authority can take a look at Arch and see if there is a can of worms before they scrap it.

Congratulations to the Independents and all the people of Bedlington who voted for them. With Labour not now having overall control of Northumberland perhaps the local government will become more transparent.

Perhaps anyone who is considering stopping smoking should contact the Northumberland stop smoking service who have trained advisors who offer free support and advice and can also recommend the most appropriate medication to help deal with any cravings. Tel: 01670 813135

If you visit the News Post Leader website you will find a large banner headline on each page advertising Arch. I would include a link however I think they get enough publicity without me helping to promote them. Well done to Malcolm for getting his letter published in this weeks Leader.

BBC are reporting that the plan to lend £8.5m of Northumberland County money to the Alnwick Garden has been suspended:- http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-39062421

There are also 3 full page promotional pages for the Development of Morpeth, Active Northumberland and How Arch Works.....I wonder who pays for these as it may woo the undecided Northumberland voters in the run up to an election.

Have Arch now taken over the News Post Leader? Readers Views in this weeks New Post Leader appear to have been loaded with Arch and Labour Party promotional material for the local elections in May. The first letter is from Peter McIntyre chief executive of Arch who praises their work in Bedlington.....The second letter is from Alyson Wallace local Labour councilor who compliments and congratulates Arch. She also mentions that her hope is to be re-elected in May. The third letter is from a retired business woman from Worcestershire who worked in the energy industry. She has been looking to buy a retirement home in the region and praises Northumberland County Council and Arch for their development plans for Cambois…..The woman believes that the local Conservative Party have plans to scrap Arch so she will not now make a decision about moving to the area until after the May elections! The fourth and final letter relates to Sustainability and Transformation Plans (STPs) for the NHS. Northumberland, Tyne Wear Trust have said that they will require capital funding for to deliver such plans and describe how millions of pounds are needed for a backlog of repair work…..Perhaps Arch could assist with this so that Northumberland could use capital funding for Social Care.

Brian O'Neil of Burnley was known as 'The Bedlington Terrier' and played in the late sixties. He went on to play at Southampton in the early 70's. If you played local football in the early 70's there was always a chance you would get picked up by Burnley. Jimmy Anderson from Ashington was manager of the club around that time. Anderson had joined the club around 1947. There was also a Bill Dodd from Bedlington who was one of a number of North East players to go to Turf Moor in the 1950's.

And the final League Table for 1959-1960 courtesy of Non League Matters 1. AMBLE 2. ALNWICK TOWN 3. ASHINGTON RESERVES 4. BEDLINGTON MECHANICS 5. CRAGHEAD COLLIERY WELFARE 6. NEWCASTLE UNITED 'A' 7. NORTH SHIELDS RESERVES 8. CRAWCROOK ALBION 9. BLYTH SPARTANS RESERVES 10. ANNFIELD PLAIN 11. NEWBURN 12. HIGHFIELD 13. MORPETH TOWN 14. WALLSEND RISING SUN 15. SEATON DELAVAL 16. CRAMLINGTON WELFARE Bedlington Mechanics were still in the league in 1962-1963 however in the 1965-1966 season Bedlington Colliery Welfare appear in the league. Bedlington Colliery Welfare win the league in season 1966-1967.

BEDLINGTON MECHANICS F.A. CUP Results courtesy of The Football Club History Database 1959-60 2Q ANNFIELD PLAIN A 1-4 1960-61 1Q BILLINGHAM SYNTHONIA H 5-2 2Q HORDEN COLLIERY WELFARE A 1-3 1961-62 1Q WHITBY TOWN H 4-2 2Q BILLINGHAM SYNTHONIA H 1-0 3Q ASHINGTON A 2-2 3Qr ASHINGTON H 1-4 1962-63 1Q WHITBY TOWN H 3-1 2Q SHILDON A 0-4 BEDLINGTON COLLIERY WELFARE F.A. CUP 1967-68 1Q FERRYHILL ATHLETIC A 1-2 1969-70 1Q WHITBY TOWN H 0-1 1970-71 1Q SPENNYMOOR UNITED A 0-2 1971-72 1Q RYHOPE COLLIERY WELFARE H 5-1 2Q CONSETT H 0-0 2Qr CONSETT A 1-4

I thought 'The Head Cheese' created the moon! That is who I bought my lunar plot off.

Bah humbug!........ or rather no 28 humbugs

Unfortunately I can not help with snow. How about a reindeer from the local garden centre.

Arch is described as being 'Wholly owned by Northumberland County Council and with a board drawn from the public, private and third sectors, Arch brings a distinctive and enterprising approach to promoting economic growth in Northumberland' Arch has had an impact on your town whether you live in Bedlington, Cramlington or Berwick. Not a lot appears to be known about Arch but a starting point might be Companies House. Enter the postcode NE63 8QZ on their website and you will find details going back to 1998 about ARCH (COMMERCIAL ENTERPRISE) LIMITED and other branches of ARCH.

I believe the current operational directors are Paul Littlefair, Duncan Bowman, Paul Czerepok, Jacqui Kell and Peter McIntyre. A Jacqueline Ann Kell and Peter James Mcintyre have had some involvement with Active Northumberland.

I understand that Arch state that the Board Members at Arch are not remunerated for their position however below are what I believe are the remuneration bandings for the Groups Operational Directors (Employees of Arch). Remuneration Band Directors £70,000 to £74,999 - 1 £75,000 to £79,999 - 2 £90,000 to £94,999 - 1 £120,000 to £124,999 - 1

Cheers mercuryg, the responsibilities are listed below: • Allotments • Bus Shelters • Children’s Play Areas • Grit Bins – if the County Council won’t supply the Town Council may supply • Litter Bins • Public Seating • War Memorials • Christmas Lights • Christmas Tree • Notice board Provision • Flower beds and bulb planting • Town gateway features • Additional grass cuts - The County Council does not cut grass in April and October so we may pay for additional grass cuts in those months • Any entry into the Northumbria in Bloom completion • Support of Community Events

I am not one of the disciples however could anyone explain what influence WBTC has in relation to NCC and ARCH.