To allow for the repairs to Waterloo Road I have been informed that it will be closed from 22nd February.

This will allow a permanent reinstatement of the damage caused by the burst water main, and the repair of the area caused by the bad weather.

I had hoped that the road would be partly opened for bus traffic at least (it is a major bus route) , but I have now received confirmation that it will be closed. Bus routes will be diverted via Union Street and Plessey Road, or via Hodgsons Road, Cowpen Road and Renwick Road. I will check which bus routes will take which diversions.  

I am very disappointed in this, but I have been told that this will shorten the closure allowing the whole work to be done in one tranche.

The closure is effective until 30th April, but will last as long as needed and hopefully the work will be completed long before then.

I know that we cannot account for the weather, or a burst main, but I cannot help thinking that a lot of the remedial work could have been avoided if Blyth Valley Borough Council (as was) had ensured that the work was done to the best standard.

Northumberland County Council have announced that the time restrictions for holders of disabled bus pass holders will be abolished from 1st April.

Currently we disabled pass holders are restricted to between 9 in the morning and 11 at night, but from April we will be able to use the passes at all times.

I’m not sure about the time restrictions in other areas, but for Northumberland residents this is great news.

Someone… (the Council or the Academy contractors..) has been busy at the Fulmar Drive car park.

New bays, repairs to the pavement, and a new parking layout. I’m unsure about the blank space in the middle of the layout, it’s hard to describe, but I’ll get a photo later if I can …..

The Northumberland County Council has made an order making all the roads off Fulmar Drive and Albatross Way a 20mph zone.

The order takes effect on Monday next, 3rd August.

Already I have received mixed views, but most of the residents agree that it is time that speed was limited on this part of the estate.

The dissenting voices are all visitors, who do not agree with it. But residents views are, in this case, the ones that matter.

The demolition of South Beach First School started this week, and it’s nearly finished!

The site will be turned into the playing field of the new Academy.

Speaking of which, the building is nearly finished, and it should be open in September. It looks a nice building, it’s just too close to houses, too large, and will lead to even greater problems with parking. Apart from that, and the loss of what has been one of the finest first schools in Northumberland to a private Academy everythings fine. [/irony]

“Twenty’s Plenty” areas are bounded by green-coloured 20mph advisory signs, which ask drivers to keep to a 20mph limit. There are no enforcement powers, or costs, associated with these signs, they are merely advisory.

They have been trialled successfully in other parts of the region, and have been shown to slow down traffic in what might otherwise be dangerous areas.

The other benefit is that there are no humps or other traffic calming measures. What do you think??

The lights are working!!  After what seems ages the traffic lights at the junction of Fulmar Drive and South Newsham Road are working. Initial comments from residents are very supportive, and at peak times the wait to get off the estate seems limited to about a minute or so. That is a vast improvement!

Despite the lights we had another crash… well more of a bump…. on the day that they were turned on. I understand that the driver didn’t see the red light; but he would have had to slow down or stop before the lights were installed, so driver error. Police are investigating.

Planning permission for the wind turbine at the beach was granted at Development Control Panel, with a few amendments and conditions. The exact location will have to be moved because the planned location is in the scheduled ancient monument. I knew this but couldn’t comment for fear that it would be construed as a comment against the development. What surprised me was that the planning officers weren’t aware of the location being within the ancient monument; luckily the other officers were and so the plans were amended.   The permission was also temporary for 10 years, to allow for a new one once the technology is available.

The county council are currently consulting about a proposed 20 mph zone for much of the area.

Put simply it covers Fulmar Drive and Albatross Way, together with the roads to the south of the ward ( Avocet, Herring Gull, Kittiwake, Mallard, Eider etc)

It is part of a package of traffic calming measures poroposed for the estate.

I welcome the 20 mph zone, but I’m not sure about the “Cushions” that come with it. These are a type of mini hump, about 3 inches high but with room for larger vehicles to pass.

There will be about a dozen or so of these, around the area, together with school warning markings. “H bars” will be marked across drives outside those houses that request them.

Please send your comments to County Hall, either for or against the measures.

Sorry if I haven’t updated the site over the last couple of weeks, but here’s a few updates on various things.

Seaton Delaval Hall. There was a big row at full council when the Lib Dem group voted against giving £100,000 of council tax payers money to the appeal fund to buy Seaton Delaval Hall. The main reasons were that public money should not be given to this, and that other ways should be explored. But it was quite amusing to see several Labour councillors argue that we should contribute to paying the Hastings family’s death duties.  All of us want to see the Hall retained, and used for a public purpose, but surely the easiest way would be for the Hall to be taken in lieu of death duties?

Road works. The traffic light saga continues, still no sign of the work being finished.

Bus services. Firstly the minibus serving Fulmar Drive may be using the new bus stop on South Newsham Rd, making the service no longer “Hail on demand”.   I’ve not had an answer to my letter to Arriva, I’ll keep you informed of progress.

Secondly there are minor amendments to the X services between Blyth and Newcastle. Details can be obtained from Arriva on www.arrivabus.co.uk

The main news though has been the wholesale changes to other services. These don’t directly affect South Beach or South Newsham wards, but may leave parts of Blyth Valley cut off withpout any servce, or without a service to other parts of the District.

Blyth Market Place. The market will be reopening soon, but only for the run up to Christmas. The work isn’t finished, and there are road works that need completing, but at least the market will be in its traditional place. As for the rents charged to the market tradrs, that’s another story.  I stick to my statement of a couple of years ago, that Blyth Market Place is turning into a town centre park, and will in time no longer have a working market! 

As part of the work to install traffic lights the County Council (*) are installing a bus pull-in on South Newsham Road, and will be replacing the old stone bus shelter with a modern one.

The pull-in will mean that traffic won’t be slowed down by the bus stopping, and the shelter replacement will mean no blocking of the sight line.

(*) Yes I know that Blyth Valley are doing the work, but as agents for the County Council.

There will be a meeting at the South Beach Residents Association on Monday 9th June, to discuss the Traffic chaos that is Shearwater Way.

I don’t know who called the meeting, but I imagine residents of Shearwater Way who are most affected by the contractors traffic to the school.  If I had been informed of the meeting earlier I could have helped publicise it.

I should be there, and will be trying to contact other district and county councillors to make them aware of the meeting. However we are there to listen to the views expressed, not to defend the County Council or the Academy.

I was horrified to hear on the radio that the Lib Dems propose to introduce motorway usage charges. What? Don’t we pay enough to use cars?

 So I checked into the full story, and found that the full policy includes:-

• Cutting fuel duty and abolishing VED over the next 10 years and introducing a cost-neutral road user pricing scheme on motorways and trunk roads

• Building a high speed rail network paid for by introducing emissions-linked charges on road freight and internal flights

• Introducing rolling contracts for train operating companies to increase long-term investment and improve services

• Give power to control local bus services back to local authorities

• Introducing a new fund for rural transport

• Giving passengers a stronger voice to improve local transport services through a new passenger watchdog

Overall a balanced and radical group of propsals, but so much for balanced reporting. No mention of the cuts in fuel duty or VED. 

As always, it pays to check on the full story, and not rely on broadcasts!!

That was the headline in the Journal, reporting the crash between a contractor’s wagon on the way to the Academy site and a Vauxhall Astra. The accident was at the already bad junction between Fulmar Drive and South Newsham Road.

The article points out that the lorry driver is not believed to have been at fault, but as one resident is quoted “….. it backs our claim that this new school should never have been built in the middle of a residential estate…..”

 Exactly!!