Amble Town Council
Meetings 6.30p.m. unless stated otherwise
Town: 8th May; 12th June; 10th July Community Committee:
29th May; 31st July Parish Meeting: 19th May Fourways 2 Community Tidy: 21st May
Puffin Festival (26th May – 1st June)WW1 Centenary Service: 2nd August 10am West Cemetery
Meetings
Council have changed their committee structure so as to decrease the amount of administration time spent on agendas and minutes but increase efficiency.
Finance has been merged with the full Council meeting which will continue to meet on the second Thursday of the month. Cemeteries with now become part of the Amenities Committee which includes Allotments, Litter/Dog bins, Seats, Bus Shelters, Play Areas, Rights of Way, Floral Displays and Events; every two months on the last Thursday. The Planning Committee will continue to meet as planning applications demand. Grants will continue to be awarded in January and July.
Changes
Plans are progressing for the installation of a new bus shelter opposite JCSC; this is being sponsored from County Councillor Watson’s Members Small Schemes fund. JCSC students will shortly be working to improve the bus shelter nearest the school by enclosing the openings – part of which will also be used by them for wall art on a supervised basis.
The new coal trucks (made by HMP Northumberland) are in position and will provide more floral displays for us all to enjoy for many months to come; the bed at the bottom of the Wynd is planted up to reflect the centenary of World War 1.
Several attempts have been made to ‘kick start’ the raised bed allotment area at the West site. However whilst waiting for suitable people to come forward to use them, it has begun to look very neglected. Council is reluctant to dismantle the whole site without one last try to see if the idea can succeed.
Therefore Councillors, with some volunteer help, are going to cultivate and tidy the beds over the next 2 – 3 years hoping that a productive site will be more attractive to those who can’t manage a full allotment through poor health or ailment. Please contact us if you would like to help.
Community Tidy Week
Prior to this year’s Puffin Festival, we are hoping everyone will join in a town tidy starting on Monday 19th May. Pick your own area and your own time after collecting your gloves, bags etc. from the Town Council office any week day between 10am and 3pm. Or join in on Wednesday 21st May meeting in the Town Square at 6.30p.m. to tidy around that area for the opening day. We all live here but sadly some aren’t as neat as others and NCC can’t get round everywhere. You may want to do the town centre, you might like to do your own street or your favourite walk- it really doesn’t matter- just let us all get together to improve the look of our town so we can enjoy being anywhere within it.
Parish Meeting
Make a firm date in your diary to come along to the Parish meeting on Monday 19th May at 6.30pm in Fourways 2. Here you will not only find out about the Council’s work over the last year and its plans for the next but also about the activities of community groups in the town. There will also be ideas for the revitalization of the ‘Paddlers’. We hope to make this into a recreational area for the whole family to enjoy, but an area which will not be vastly expensive to maintain in the future, as that money ultimately comes from the ratepayers’ pocket. It is very important that you give your views on the ideas presented as we want community support when the final concept goes forward for grant funding. Despite financial input from our local County Councillors and this Council, grant money is the only way in which anything will be done here. It may well be a lengthy process but we are committed to getting this area improved and looking good again.
‘In Memory of the Fallen’
Work continues towards the publication of a book, the addition to the GPX trail and a short film. We want to show that these were actual people who left families behind and not just carvings on blocks of marble and stone. We are very grateful to all those who have come forward with family photos and momentoes from 1900-1925; not only of Amble places and families but of soldiers serving abroad. Also thanks to all those volunteers who are giving so much time to research and planning. There is still time to bring your memorabilia along – the final date is 19th May. After that all the information etc. has to be collated, to have it published by late July. A short service to commemorate the start of the WW1 Centenary will take place on 2nd August at the West Cemetery, followed by a march to the Town War Memorials.
Around 200 small wooden crosses bearing the names of those who gave their lives in the Great War will be placed in a newly constructed grass area behind the Clock Tower. We hope young descendants of these men will come forward beforehand so that they can carry the appropriate name, but we will also need others; we have contacted our first schools and asked for parents to nominate their children but you can also call us and add your child’s details to the list. As a Member of the Government says, “The centenary is not a cause for celebration, but it’s absolutely right that we take pride in the courage and bravery of our ancestors, their sacrifice and their ultimate victory.”
Councillor’s Corner
I am thinking of Spring: green shoots and the way our town too is developing. Not least the successful Government funding bid for the Harbour Village project which will help to revitalise our town, bringing fresh initiatives, jobs and building on Amble’s sea and fishing links. Looking ahead too, to the second Puffin Festival which I am sure will be as successful and fun-filled as last year
On a less positive note, litter and dog-fouling has been an issue for Northumberland in general. Amble is as much a victim of this as other towns and villages. I would add my voice to ask people to use the bins provided, and take some pride in our town. We are organising a community litter-pick from 19th May to spruce up the town in readiness for the Puffin Festival. All help and support will be much appreciated.
Cllr Jane Dargue
EAST WARD:
Robert Arckless,
37 Anne Crescent, Amble NE65 0QZ
Tel: 01665 711938
Helen Lewis,
5 Meadowburn, Amble
NE65 0PH
Tel: 07762069026
Craig Weir (Chair/Mayor)
76 Priory Park, Amble
NE65 0HY Tel: 01665 712342
WEST WARD:
Ian Hinson,
11 Eastgarth Avenue, Amble. NE65 0LW
Tel: 01665 710583
Jeff Watson
Thimbles, 60 Robsons Way Amble NE65 0GA
Tel 07802 385367
Katherine Bennett
12 Robsons Way, Amble.
NE65 0GA
Tel: 01665 714812
CENTRAL WARD:
Kate Morrison,
3 Island View, Amble
NE65 0SE
Tel: 01665 711191
Jane Dargue
10 Sylvia’s Close, Amble
NE65 0GB
Tel: 07795360513
TOWN COUNCIL OFFICES, THE QUAYSIDE, AMBLE. NE65 0AP Tel: 01665 714 695 ask@amble.gov.uk www.amble.gov.uk
Twitter: @AmbleTC Facebook: www.facebook.com/AmbleTownCouncil Elaine Brown (Town Clerk) Angela Burn (Administration Assistant)
Office hours: 10-11.30a.m. & 1.30-3p.m. Monday to Friday Minutes available to view in Office or online
