Amble Town Council Report #138
UPCOMING MEETINGS
Town: 6pm at Fourways 2 Top Floor 9th March
Amenities: 6pm at Fourways 2 Top Floor 30th March
LINKS AVENUE BUS SHELTER
The roof and ceiling here have been affected by the rain. As Travelsure and Arriva no longer operate a service on this route the Council have decided to demolish the shelter. The property boundaries will be retained for their privacy. This is considerably cheaper than a repair, should a service be reinstated on the route. then a new shelter will be considered.
WEST CULVERT
The culvert, which carries surface water from the west of Amble and joins with the system near the bottom of the Wynd, runs through the West Cemetery, near the entrance, and the West Allotment site. In order for the new estate on Acklington Road to use this system, a survey was needed to determine its ability to cope. It was found to be very robust despite its age; however a small section needs to be diverted to ensure future reliability. Work is planned for mid- February so please do not be alarmed if you see large machinery going into the allotment area. The diversion will mainly be near and within the redundant raised bed section and every attempt will be made to minimise disruption to tenants. Notices will be displayed when a date is confirmed.WEST CULVERT
The culvert, which carries surface water from the west of Amble and joins with the system near the bottom of the Wynd, runs through the West Cemetery, near the entrance, and the West Allotment site. In order for the new estate on Acklington Road to use this system, a survey was needed to determine its ability to cope. It was found to be very robust despite its age; however a small section needs to be diverted to ensure future reliability. Work is planned for mid- February so please do not be alarmed if you see large machinery going into the allotment area. The diversion will mainly be near and within the redundant raised bed section and every attempt will be made to minimise disruption to tenants. Notices will be displayed when a date is confirmed.
GRITTING
Whilst NCC Highways and Neighbourhood Services will place grit bins at some locations i.e. where there are steep hills, sharp bends or steps, the policy does not finance them to be placed around town nor for use on all footpaths. Once the footpaths in the centre of a town is completed, if time permits, operatives will move towards schools and elderly residential areas before tackling other streets. In the recent icy spell, we did contact NCC to ask for more gritting of streets to be carried out. Residents can apply to NCC for a grit bin but the same criteria needs to be applied before this will be agreed. NCC will not supply private residences but will treat adopted footpaths as soon as they can.
QUEEN ELIZABETH II MEMORIAL PLANTER
This proposed tribute will go ahead as a joint project with NCC and will be in the Gibson Street area where the shrubs have been removed. The bed facing the Wynd will be raised at the rear to enhance the effect; the border will be a variety of seasonal heathers with the letters E and R in box hedging and the II in various flowering plants including Lily of the Valley. To complete the area, the rear bed will have 4 planters placed onto it with seasonal bedding throughout the year.
CEMETERIES
The western boundary of the West Cemetery is soon to have more trees planted from the County’s Treescape Fund. If you would like to help with this, please give your contact details to the Clerk. The tarmac path here between the upper turning circle and section M is to be removed and grass installed instead. Remember the water is turned off until early April. Although the drive is gritted in frosty weather, care still needs to be taken there and more especially on the side paths. The East Cemetery gates are back in place after refurbishment and painting- please remember the handle turns anti-clockwise to open them!
CCTV
Council have engaged a new contractor for the CCTV network. You will see work being carried out as all the cameras are being assessed and realigned or replaced where needed to ensure an effective system continues to be in place.
SAFE CROSSING
We are assured that plans are progressing to install a safe crossing on Percy Drive – at the end of Fontburn, across to the Allotment path to the Industrial Estate. We are still lobbying hard for another crossing from Priory Park.
A CHAIRMAN’S PLEA
Who am I? I am a Councillor- an unpaid volunteer, who happily attends meetings, sometimes late into winter evenings. I deal daily with complaints about the state of Amble. I try to understand quite complicated legislation and Government Policies. There are very few of us compared with the population of Amble – seven to be exact.
There have been many changes in Amble since I arrived here 13 years ago. Some say Amble has improved and that it is more economically sound, but others have the opposite view in that change has been bad for the town. The old Amble is fading with time. Both views are of course important. Progress will always create this conflict, but I believe that without improvements Amble could have become just another fading old fishing port where the younger generation could move away as no work prospects exist. Yes, undoubtedly there is a problem with progress in that housing becomes difficult to get but this is a country wide problem and not just specific to Amble.
“So, you are a Councillor on the useless Council who should all resign, especially with the negative vibes coming out of the office ” quoted from a person I met recently. Their impression seems to be that a Councillor does not look after the interests of the Community but we all do try our best to do that. The Town Council are also victims of those known as “Keyboard Social Justice Warriors.” Thankfully many people don’t let their fingers do the talking but feel more comfortable contacting us directly to get a better response to their query.
Come along to a Council meeting to see just what is involved and gain a greater understanding of what actually happens. You may be surprised and feel you’d like to help. We are not experts, we are not trained in what we do but we do try to apply local knowledge. We can get it wrong sometimes but we have to be transparent in every aspect of our discussions.
I do believe that my efforts and my time are well spent for the benefit of Amble and the Community. I believe that as a Town Councillor I can make a difference. Can you? Come forward, come out of the shadows. There are vacancies on the Council which wants to reflect all of the community including those new to the area. If you feel that you care about Amble then contact the Town Clerk 01665 714695 for details on how to join. Go on- I dare you give it a go!
{Views expressed are those of the individual and not necessarily those of the council}
TOWN COUNCIL OFFICES, FOURWAYS 2, AMBLE. NE65 0DT Tel: 01665 714 695 www.amble.gov.uk
Email ask@amble.gov.uk Twitter: @AmbleTC Facebook: www.facebook.com/AmbleTownCouncil
Office hours: 10.30am-12noon & 1.30-3p.m. Monday to Friday Vicki Smith, Town Clerk Minutes available to view in Office or online
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