Hope for the Future.

There were two occasions recently which gave me cause to think that the future of our county is in safe hands.

The first instance was when I attended a meeting of West Bedlington Town Council and heard a young man by the name of Callum Appleby give a short presentation in support of his application to the Council for funding.  This young man spoke to a fairly large gathering and explained why he would like help to visit Ecuador in 2018 in order to assist local communities with various projects ranging from building schools to installing fresh drinking water systems.  I wish him well in his efforts and have added a link to his Just Giving page if you feel you are able to help Callum in his very worthy project.

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/callum-appleby?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Yimbyprojectpage&utm_content=callum-appleby&utm_campaign=projectpage-share-owner&utm_term=dDJ67qR3N

The second occasion was when I was invited to attend the Northumberland’s Finest Awards at East Bedlington Community Centre.  I was asked if I would present the award for Innovation in youth work, which of course I was delighted and privileged to do.  It truly was inspiring to hear what some of these young people have overcome in order to achieve what they have, and when looking at the list of presenters it shows in what high regard these awards are taken.

6.45pm – Introduction – Welcome Her Grace, The Duchess of Northumberland

1. Enterprise Award:  Her Grace, The Duchess of Northumberland.
2. Volunteer Award:  Cllr Anthony Murray Civic Head of Northumberland County Council.
3. Community Impact Award:  Paul Hebron, Partnership Manager, NCS North East.
4. Innovation Award:  Cllr Bill Crosby County Councillor – Bedlington East Ward.
5. Participation Award:  John Dickinson High Sheriff of Northumberland.
6. Tackling Barriers Award: Dame Vera Baird QC Police + Crime Commissioner, Northumbria.
7. Health Promotion Award:  Cllr Wayne Daley Deputy Leader of Northumberland County Council + Cabinet Member for Children’s Services.
8. Youth Project Impact Award:  Mr Ian Lavery MP Member of Parliament, Wansbeck.
9. Special Awards:
Margaret Tench & Patrick Boyle Children’s Services, Northumberland County Council.

Closing Remarks

The staff at the Community Centre should also be congratulated for contributing to what was an excellent event.

On Monday, I attended a flag raising ceremony to commemorate Armed Forces Day and there were representatives there from various branches of our uniformed services.  This event helped to reinforce Northumberland County Council’s commitment to support our armed forces and long may it continue.

On a sadder note, there have been instances of damage caused in Bedlington Town Centre over the last couple of weekends where plants have been ripped out from planters destroying the hard work and effort undertaken by the volunteers involved in Bedlington in Bloom.  Also, on Friday night windows were broken at three premises in the Town Centre; this sort of behaviour is intolerable and my fellow Councillors and I will be having discussions with the relevant agencies to see if we can come up with a solution in order to combat this problem.  Our hard working team of Community Support Officers no longer work past 10.00pm, which is an area of concern, but in the case of the broken windows, which apparently occurred at 3.00am, we have been informed by one of the shop owners that the Police were able to apprehend the culprit at or near the scene of the crime.  Let us hope that there is enough evidence to charge the offender and put him before the Magistrates and see if they can make the punishment fit the crime…..

Other than these highlights, it’s been a case of attending County Hall for various meetings and training sessions as well as trying to help residents who have contacted me regarding various local issues.

 

 

last Weeks Events

On Tuesday I attended the East Bedlington Parish Council meeting at the new Community Centre at Bedlington Station.  It really is a lovely building and I would urge everyone to visit if they haven’t already done so and support the events that the  team are putting on for the benefit of the local community.

I have to say that I approached the meeting with some trepidation as, last month, feelings were running high so soon after the election, but in fairness I received a very warm welcome and was even asked for my opinion and help on a couple of issues.  I am, of course, happy to offer my assistance in any way that I can as, although we may not all be members of the same political party, I firmly believe that we all have the same goal, namely the interests of East Bedlington.  That, to me, is the essence of local politics; Councillors from different parties coming together for a common cause and working together to achieve something that will benefit the community.  To use a well worn phrase; putting Bedlington First.

On Wednesday, I attended my first committee meeting, the Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education (SACRE).  This proved very interesting as there were representatives from all different faiths around the table discussing how religious education can be delivered in schools.

On Friday, I met with the managers of Foundry House to discuss parking issues outside their building at The Oval.  This was  very constructive and I look forward to further meetings where we will be able to involve the wider community and partners to try and resolve this issue.

In between these meetings, I have attended more sessions at ‘Councillor School’ and have dealt with enquiries that I have received via telephone and email.

On Saturday morning I attended the St John’s Church Fayre, which was well supported despite the bad weather.  Even though this is ‘just over the border’ in Sleekburn ward, I am always happy to support these community events wherever possible; indeed, I also caught up with many familiar faces from the local area.  In addition, there was plenty of coffee and cake, which is never a bad thing!

 

 

 

 

In the run up to the election, one of the promises I made was to try and keep the public informed of what I was doing, what was happening within their area and how it might affect them; this blog is one of the ways in which I hope to achieve just that.

 

On Thursday 4th May, I had the honour of being elected by the people of Bedlington East to represent them as their County Councillor for the next four years.  It cannot be over-emphasised what a momentous event took place on that day when the people of Bedlington, who felt that they were not being best served by the current party politics, dispensed with decades of traditional voting habits and put their faith in three people who they felt only had the best interests of their town at heart.

 

Since that day, I have been attending various sessions, (what I have jokingly labelled ‘Councillor School’) in which I have received training in various subjects, to include Safeguarding, Planning, Licensing and Public Protection, and there is much more to come!

 

The training was interrupted on Wednesday 24 May when I had to attend my first full meeting of the Council.  A named vote was called on the issue of local area councils and my first act was to vote against the current administration.  I did this as I felt to split Bedlington into two separate groups was wrong and, in doing so, I voted with the Labour group, hopefully dispelling the myth that I am a ‘closet Tory’ and proving that, being truly independent, I am, as promised, willing to work with anyone for the good of the town.

 

Since this meeting took place, I have now been selected to sit on four committees, which are:

 

• Licensing
• Netherton Park Governing Body
• Safeguarding and Corporate Parenting
• Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education,

 

and I am looking forward to these new challenges.

 

Regarding the issues around the Tesco site, I can confirm that there have been already been discussions with the current administration and things are looking positive.

 

I see part of my role as liaising with the local Town and Parish Councils and to that end I have attended meetings at both venues and I will continue to attend as often as I can.

 

This week, I also attended the Annual Meeting of West Bedlington Town Council, which was dominated by issues around the future of Humford dam; it is clear that there is a massive strength of feeling on this issue as people have fond childhood memories of this beautiful spot and regard it as part of their heritage and are reluctant to lose it, as so much of Bedlington’s history has already been lost.  I will be monitoring this situation closely.

 

Since coming to office, I have received requests from various sections of the community and I have endeavoured to meet those concerned face to face in order to discuss the issues and hopefully arrive at a solution; topics so far have included help with accommodation, parking and traffic calming.

 

I was also honoured this week to be asked to present a ‘Northumberland’s Finest’ award at East Bedlington Community Centre on Friday 16^th June, which I am very much looking forward to, and I will report back on this in my next blog.

 

I will always be approachable and in the near future I will be arranging venues for regular surgeries where you can drop in and discuss things with me in person, but in the meantime there is always the option of contacting me by email at: bill.crosby@northumberland.gov.uk or by telephone on: 07779 – 983656.

 

Finally, thank you for reading my first blog and I hope to keep you updated with information on future events in my next one.