Reports from our County Councillors #149
The two new schools on South Avenue were opened in September after a short delay as the contractors work was not quite finished on schedule
The facilities are very, very good in both schools and the money that Northumberland County Council spent on them was well worth it. King Edwin School and Barndale by the Sea will I am sure be assets to our community.
I was pleased to see the resurfacing of the road (completed in the half term holiday) that I arranged at South Avenue as it was not included in the original specification. It was obvious to me that the work that had taken place on the schools had damaged the road surface, and I felt it was only right to resurface it.
New arrangements have been made I understand re parking on Acklington Road for visitors to the Welfare Grounds, I am meeting the new head and hoping to continue to work together with him to enhance community involvement with JCSC as facilities change in that area.
NCC have been trying for some time to arrange for the reopening of the closed path in the Harbour that runs behind the Lifeboat House. Legal and structural concerns have continuously delayed the reopening. However, a survey has now been done by divers of the structures concerned and costs are being assessed to enable a decision to be made about reopening.
I personally feel very frustrated by these long delays we have had to deal with but would like to assure readers that I will continue to press for this much-loved route to be reopened and made available for everyone to enjoy.
It was a pleasure to see the new gates at the Dovecote Centre that I sponsored in place. The management of the centre were plagued by inconsiderate and unlawful parking and had difficulty in providing parking for the events taking place there, the gates should prevent that from happening in the future.
In these dark Winter nights, for road safety reasons,please encourage joggers and cyclists( especially children) to wear something reflective at night to improve motorists’ visibility of them.
May I wish you all a Merry Christmas!
Jeff Watson
Jeffrey.Watson@northumberland.gov.uk 07802 385367
A sight loss awareness walk around Amble was arranged through the Thomas Pocklington Trust (Jack Moffat) myself and Amble Town Council members.
We attended a sensory impairment awareness training to develop a understanding and explore ways of creating an accessible environment, raising awareness of sensory impairments looking at areas of the town for those with sight impairments.
The training session giving us a better understanding to help people with vision impairment navigate our town.
We walked the town centre with glasses giving us the experience what it is like to have reduced vision and how to guide a person with sight loss safely in different scenarios and areas.
Sight loss will affect one in four of us during our lifetime, we need to create a welcoming and safe environment for blind and partially sighted people living in Amble or visiting, who will come up against many barriers in life.
Perhaps it’s information not being available in an accessible format such as large print, electronically via email, audio or braille or facing issues when visiting cafés and bar’s, supermarkets and high street shops even just getting about and travelling on public transport can be a challenge.
Jack took us around the High Street to the Town Square and Harbour Village, he talked about his own sensitive and emotive subject with humour and self-depreciation it made us much more aware of the challenges people with sight loss face every day, and a thing that we take for granted every day.
The whole experience was very informative and engaging giving an immensely valuable understanding of visual impairments and of course we’re we can make improvements within the town.
Highlights from our experience, obstructions on pavements, wheelie bins, rubbish bags, containers, street furniture, A-boards pavement signs, table and chairs these can present a trip and collision hazard.
Street furniture must be installed in a practical way, simply thinking how you use your pavement from outside your home to high streets making sure there is room to pass bye, footpaths having the correct dropped kerbing, bollards placed correctly not turning footpaths into a maze we all must help with making our streets more inclusive for everyone.
Sightlosscouncils.org.uk
Cllr Terry Clark Amble, Hauxley and North Broomhill
Terry.Clark@northumberland.gov.uk 07779 983768
