Alisdair Gibbs-Barton

The Blyth Parish Council met last night.

Having expected fireworks it was quite a low key affair, but certain forward steps were taken.

We took the decision to have town council status, which makes the position of Mayor available. So formally it is now Blyth Town Council. Apparrently it is the second largest parish / town council in the country, behind Yeovil.

Ian Tomkins was elected Mayor, and I was elected Deputy Mayor (!)

The council agreed to meet in a month or so, to further discuss options for the council, financial regulations and standing orders etc.

Tomorrow (Thursday) sees the first meeting of the new Town (Parish) Council.

It’s an exciting prospect, but it raises as many questions as it answers. I am used to the workings of a Borough Council, as I’m sure are many of the new councillors.

But this is not Blyth Valley Mark II. We currently have no responsibilities, we have a very small budget, and as yet we do not know how it will be organised.

Tomorrow we vote on a Chairman and Vice-Chairman, and as we take on the Civic duties we’ll discuss the election of a Mayor for Blyth. We don’t yet know if the Chairman will be the Mayor, or whether the two positions will remain separate.

 I’ll keep you informed of any develoments

The new parishes that cover the former District councils of Blyth Valley and Wansbeck have thrown up some interesting results.

In Blyth, Lib Dems won 8 out of 16 (see elsewhere), in Cramlington it was 5 Lib Dem, 4 Labour and 3 Conservative, and in Seaton Valley it was 6 Labour and 3 Lib Dem.

In the former Wansbeck area, Newbiggin went 6 Lib Dem and 2 Independents (no Labour!), in Ashington elected 14 Lib Dem and 7 Labour . Bedlington is now two parish councils, in East Bedlington it is Lib Dem 5 Labour 6, and in North Bedlington it is Labour 6 Lib Dem 3.

 As I said, interesting!

Just a quick update on the Blyth Town Council election.

The Lib Dems have won 8 of the 16 seats available. The winners are:-

Wensleydale                          Penny Reid and Daniel Lovatt

South Blyth                            Lesley Rickerby and Ian Tompkins

Newsham                               Peter Lovatt and Cilla Isles

Plessey                                    Fiona Wilson and Alisdair Gibbs-Barton

With the election of one Independent councillor in Croft , it means Labour cannot win control of the council.

There were some notavle losers:- Dave Stephens (former leader of Blyth Valley Borough Council) lost in Croft, Deirdre Campbell (wife of the MP) lost in Plessey, and Gordon Knox (the last Mayor of Blyth Valley) lost in Wensleydale.

A note of congraatulation to Daniel Lovatt, one of our winning candidates in Wensleydale , he won at the grand old age of 18! He is surely one of the youngest councillors in the county.

The full results are at:- http://www.northumberland.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=4625

Fiona Hall, currently LibDem MEP for the North East, and Number 1 on the LD list in tomorrow’s election has written.

“Hello

It’s polling day on Thursday. Some places have important local elections, and for everywhere in Britain it’s polling day for the European Parliament.

Can I ask you to please make sure you vote. Hopefully for the Liberal Democrats, but whoever you vote for, please do take the time to vote.

I know the European Parliament can seem a long way away but over the last five years I’ve learnt that as an MEP I really can make a difference on lots of issues for lots of people. Jobs, the environment, international co-operation on catching criminals, reducing CO2 and getting more done on home insulation to reduce fuel bills, are all issues where I think I have been able to help make a difference.

Also, whatever your views on the EU and ‘ Europe ’, I’m sure you will agree it is really important that the region has MEPs who will speak up and fight for the needs of the region.

As an MEP I have worked with small one-man businesses up to billion pound companies, from Redcar to Berwick, to help get the right rules that let them keep investing and creating jobs here in the North East.

That is why I have been so angry with the British Government about their refusal to allow the North East to bid for millions of pounds of regional development funds which Scotland , Wales and other countries are using. Many people have already signed my petition to try and get the Government to think again – but if you haven’t yet done so please visit http://www.fairdeal4thenortheast.org.uk

I believe it is very important for MPs and MEPs to keep in touch with as many people as possible, so I have made a point of producing an annual report every year, and with the help of lots of volunteers we have gradually increased the areas this goes to, so that nearly one home in three in the region now gets this – if you aren’t in one of the areas where it is delivered, but could help, please let me know.

Do visit my website http://www.fionahall.org.uk to see more about what I have been doing, or to contact me. For some time now I’ve also published all my expenses on the website, if you are interested to look at those too.

It’s been a tremendous privilege and pleasure to represent you and the whole of the North East for the last five years. I hope to continue to do so, but the decision on that is up you and all the other voters – so please do vote. Polling stations are open from 7am to 10pm on Thursday. If you have a postal vote but haven’t returned it yet, you can hand it in (with the declaration and envelope that came with it) to any polling station in your local Council area.

Thank you!

Best wishes,

Fiona Hall”

Work is underway to clear the stream. To quote the BBC (no less):-

Work is under way to clean up a Northumberland stream and reduce the flood risk for people living nearby.

Newsham Burn, in Blyth, passes through South Beach estate, draining surface water, but also picks up debris.

In heavy rainfall the water level rises quickly, and if the stream became blocked it could flood up to 20 houses.

The Environment Agency says it is now working to remove vegetation and silt, and has replaced the trash screen to cope with higher flows.

Trash screens filter out debris and vegetation from watercourses, and although they are essential to prevent blockages, they themselves can sometimes become blocked.

Agency spokesman Les Collingwood said: “The work we’re carrying out should ensure the burn is in the best condition to cope with future sudden storm flows.

“This work can’t prevent flooding, but it should significantly reduce the flood risk for South Beach estate.”

 A welcome move… and a mention on the BBC.

The candidate list for the elections to Blyth Town Council on 4th June have been published.

The Lib Dem candidates are:-

Cowpen                                                    Heather Lovatt,       Sandra Stanger

Croft                                                         Gordon Calvert

Isabella                                                     Sylvia Calvert,         Peter Stanger

Kitty Brewster                                         Bob Harris,               Walter Rickerby

Newsham                                                  Cilla Isles,                 Peter Lovatt

Plessey                                                      Alisdair Gibbs-Barton, Fiona Wilson

South Blyth                                               Lesley Rickerby,      Ian Tompkins

Wensleydale                                              Daniel Lovatt,           Penny Reid

There are 16 seats up for election, and Liberal Democrats are fielding 15 candidates.

I have been selected to fight the Blyth Town Council elections in Plessey Ward. This ward contains most of the old South Beach ward on BVBC as well as parts of the Plessey Ward.

It has the same boundaries as Plessey division of Northumberland council, which is held by Jeff Reid , Lib Dem leader of Northumberland Council.

My running mate is Fiona Wilson, former BVBC councillor for South Beach ward.  South Blyth (which contains South Newsham) is being fought by Ian Tompkins and Lesley Rickerby

If you can offer any help in the run up to the election, please contact me through the usual channels.

I know it has been some time since I last posted, but with the abolition of BVBC I have not been as active.

• Northumberland Council have taken over the running of the departments formerly run by BVBC, and it has gone smoothly so far.

• The traffic lights are working well, and an informal survey of local residents shows support for them.

• The construction work at the school continues apace, and I’m led to believe that the school will open in September.

•  The construction work at the shop(s) is nearly finished, the new shop will be open in less than a month.

Well, it’s the first of April, and the first day of a Unitary Northumberland.

Despite the bad press put out by the local Labour party, the world hasn’t ended and the sun did rise this morning. In fact it has been a rather pleasant day. I had hoped that the new council would be allowed to get on with sorting out the mess, but I heard today of a senior Labour figure in the county getting his knickers in a twist about something and nothing up at County Hall.  More details later.

I asked for the banner at the top of this website to be changed to reflect Blyth Valley’s demise, when / if I’m elected to the new Blyth Town Council I’ll have to ask for it to be changed again. 

I really must take this chance to thank the electorate of firstly South Beach , and then the newly formed South Newsham, ward for their continued support over 16 years. Has it really been that long since I was first elected?

 In time I’ll bore you all with all the changes that have been made in the two wards, and the successes of the council as a whole and your Lib Dem councillors in particular in that period