Agenda and minutes

Minutes of the meeting of the Ashington & Blyth Local Area Council held on 14 July 2021 as circulated, to be confirmed as a true record and signed by the Chair.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Ashington & Blyth Local Area Council held on Wednesday, 14 July 2021, as circulated, be confirmed as a true record and signed by the Chair. 

Unless already entered in the Council’s Register of Members’ interests, members are required to disclose any personal interest (which includes any disclosable pecuniary interest) they may have in any of the items included on the agenda for the meeting in accordance with the Code of Conduct adopted by the Council on 4 July 2012, and are reminded that if they have any personal interests of a prejudicial nature (as defined under paragraph 17 of the Code Conduct) they must not participate in any discussion or vote on the matter and must leave the room. NB Any member needing clarification must contact Legal Services by email at monitoringofficer@northumberland.gov.uk Please refer to the guidance on disclosures at the rear of this agenda letter.

Councillor L Simpson disclosed an interest in the planning application as she had already expressed her opinion on the application and agreed that she would leave the room during the item. 

To request the committee to decide the planning applications attached to this report using the powers delegated to it.???

Please note that printed letters of objection/support are no longer circulated with the agenda but are available on the Council’s website at???http://www.northumberland.gov.uk/Planning.aspx?

Councillor Cartie raised concerns that letters of objection/support were no longer printed and circulated with the agenda but found on the Council’s website. She requested know who made the decision and when the decision was made to no longer circulate paper copies with the agenda. 

Councillor Cartie wished to move a motion that opposed this decision as she felt paper copies should be circulated. She expressed that the online portal was difficult to navigate through and paper copies gave a better indication of the local opinion to the applications 

M Bulman advised that although a motion couldn’t be put in place concerns could be raised with the Director of Planning.  

Councillor Cartie requested that it be raised with Officers as she felt it should have been a decision made by Council and not just made by Officers. Other members agreed and felt that hard copies should be distributed instead of relying on the online portal. Cllr Gallacher stated that he had raised the concerns with planning. 

RESOLVED  that: 

a) the concerns would be raised with the Director of Planning. 

b) the information be noted 

Change of use of ground floor from retail (use class E) to hot food takeaway (sui generis) with ancillary storage on the first floor. 104 - 106 Front Street, Newbiggin-By-The-Sea, Northumberland, NE64 6AA

R Soulsby, planning officer introduced the planning application to the committee with the aid of a power point presentation. He gave the following updates: 

• The application site was within a designated Town Centre by the Wansbeck Local District Plan where the provision of Town Centre facilities were permitted if they were well located within the community. This was outlined in policy RTC1 which wasn’t clearly referenced in the officer report.  

D Brassell addressed the committee speaking in objection to the application. His comments were as follows: 

• The proximity to residential flats was a concern. There were two residential flats joined to the business. The back bedroom window of the upper flat was approximately 2 metres from where the proposed extraction unit was to be placed where smells and noise would be emitted from.  
• Due to the change of use, there were concerns raised regarding noise from the kitchen and late-night customers, vibrations from the extraction equipment, bins and pest control. 
• The bins were located close to the residential flats and would be filled with waste food which could have encouraged vermin. Mr Brassell stated there had always been a vermin problem in the area but this application would exacerbate the situation. 
• The premises had always been a business, and the residents do not oppose another business but the late-night food license brings a host of concerns.  
• The nearby residents were opposed to the application and feared that it would adversely affect their lives. There was potential that customers would have to queue outside resident’s bedroom window which would make them feel unsafe especially when young children come to stay. The business has applied for a late-night food license until 12am which could have meant people congregating outside the residential flats at this time.  

• There was a possibility that groups of people would congregate outside the business and could encourage anti-social behaviour. 
• Newbiggin was already saturated with takeaways and another one would only be a deficit to other business in the town and could have created unemployment. 

T Carter addressed the committee in support of the application on behalf of the applicant, his comments were as follows: 

• He thanked the Chair, committee for the opportunity to speak on behalf of the applicant. He gave thanks to R Soulsby for giving a professional and balanced appraisal on the application. 
• He highlighted that there were a number of comments opposing the application. Comments were encouraged during the planning application however the objections and comments received were from a small group of people and it was felt that canvassing had taken place. The majority of comments made were regarding perceived competition and not a true reflection of the public’s opinion. 
• Equally a significant number of the public supported the application. The Town Council were in support of the application and stated “Newbiggin Town Council support the application for the change of use and find it encouraging that a business is willing to invest in the local economy and bring employment opportunities when  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

For Members’ information to report the progress of planning appeals.  This is a monthly report and relates to appeals throughout all 5 Local Area Council Planning Committee areas and covers appeals of Strategic Planning Committee.

RESOLVED that the information be noted. 

Members questioned what was meant by the split decision on page 28 of the update. It was clarified that some advertisement notices were allowed to remain, and some were not which was the split decision. 

A short break was held at this point and the meeting reconvened at 6:02 p.m. 

Police and Crime Commissioner Kim McGuinness will be in attendance to give an overview and answer questions about policing and community safety matters in the Ashington and Blyth area. 

Kim McGuinness, Police and Crime Commissioner gave an update on policing in  the Ashington & Blyth area. She gave the following information: - 

• She acknowledged that the pandemic had been challenging for the Police force but highlighted that it had not taken away from the work the force was doing. 

• The new police and crime plan was consulted across the entire region and the PCC highlighted that there was a good representation from the South East are of the County. Public engagement was higher than in previous years despite the pandemic which caused a change in plans. 
• The main concerns raised were common issues such as anti-social behaviour. It was highlighted that there were different levels of anti-social behaviour that ranged from fly-tipping to low level drug dealing. 
• A new system had been introduced to allow a slicker process for Councillors to report grievances. It was hoped that it would help bridge the gap for reporting crimes. 
• County lines was still high on the agenda of the PCC plan and there was a two-pronged approach through prevention tactics and more police presence.   
• She was pleased with the progress of a number of operations including; momentum which led to five people evicted from the area. 

• It was acknowledged that drug crimes lead to other crimes and there was a drug problem in the South East area. It was emphasised that it would not be tolerated. 
• There was ground-breaking work being undertaken in response to violence and women and girls (VAWG). The vast majority of reported violent crimes were domestic violence. The work around VAWG included perpetrator work which was to break the perpetrator cycle to prevent reoffending. 
• The Police Crime and Commissioner highlighted concerns regarding funding into the police. Funding was annual and often a one-off fund. Policing needed more sustainable funding. 
• The communication with residents was highlighted as a success; open surgeries and surveys were done to help those affected by crime.  
• Youth services were working closely with Councillors. A great example of this was work with Councillors to create a motorbike club which helped with motorbike disorder in the area.  

The following comments were made in response to questions: 

• Members echoed the sentiments that the police hard worked hard and done a good job throughout the pandemic.  
• It was agreed that the engagement bus was a great addition to force. It was requested that the engagement bus visit other areas in South East Northumberland. 

• The ANPR (Automatic Number Pate Recognition) cameras across the County were used as a covert police tactic.  
• The handheld speed cameras that Blyth Councillors had invested in were working well. It was agreed that there were would be more updates in relation to crimes reported to Councillors. 
• Post pandemic the community speed-watch voluntary programme was to be relaunched. There was going to be a push on recruitment for the volunteers as there was an acknowledgement that there needed to be more. 
• There were initiatives put in place with the Council as a long-term deterrence for anti-social  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

No questions from the public had been received in advance of the meeting. 

(a) Receive any new petitions – no new petitions had been received. 

(b) Consider reports on petitions previously received - no reports to consider. 

(c)  Receive any updates on petitions for which a report was previously considered  - no updates to consider. 

To receive a verbal update from the Area Managers from Technical Services and Neighbourhood Services in attendance about any key recent, ongoing and/or future planned Local Services work for the attention of members of the Local Area Council, who will also then have the opportunity to raise issues with the Area Managers. 

The Area Managers have principal responsibility for highway services and environmental services, such as refuse collection, street cleansing and grounds maintenance, within the geographic boundaries of the Local Area Council. 

The Local Services Director and Local Services and Neighbourhood Services Divisional Manager were in attendance to provide verbal updates about any key recent, ongoing and/or future planned Local Services work and to respond to issues raised by members. 

Neighbourhood Services 

Mr S Wardle, Neighbourhood Services Divisional Manager provided an update as follows: 

Grass Cutting 

• Grass cutting remains on target and the required standard of between 10 to 13 grass cuts in all areas should be achieved.  
• There were challenging periods with near perfect conditions for grass and weed growth but teams had recovered well. 
• In Blyth they were on cut 10 and cut 9 in Ashington areas. 

• Street sweeping was still on the usual schedule but was expected to move over to leaf hot spots in the near future. 

Winter Works 

• Winter planning was in place which included all routine path edging, shrub bed pruning and hedge/tree work however any suggestions from Councillors were welcomed.  

Weeds 

• Weeds had proved difficult this year throughout the whole County but particularly within Ashington, Blyth and Newbiggin. 
• The third and final round of weed treatment activity to hard surfaces was on-going at the time and details of locations being covered were available if requested.  

• Staff had been deployed with some new weed ripping equipment which seemed to be working well, but was very labour intensive to use and was therefore being deployed to tackle particular problem areas. 

Glyphosate alternative trial 

• The trial was coming to end with one more treatment to be done in the area.  

• All results were being recorded and a note of the outcome of the trial would be produced that could be shared with members. 
   

Waste Collections 
 

• There were some staff shortages due to Covid and some minor vehicle breakdowns had also caused difficulties, however residual recycling and garden waste collections had gone well. 
• Income from garden waste had exceeded target with many residents buying into the scheme. 
• Income from commercial and bulk waste had also exceeded target. 

• Teams were continuing to review current rounds and were to evaluate the effect of new houses on the collections. Also, they were to review the rounds in regards to the increased uptake of garden waste to assist with budget and service planning for next year.  
• Bottle recycling facilities were in high demand and the collections from bottle banks had to be increased to meet this. 
• Bulky waste services were also in high demand and extra time slots had been added in order to reduce waiting times for collections.  The service was also being operated for an additional day per week on overtime to meet the demand.  

In response to questions the following information was provided: 

• A third weed treatment spray was taking place and it was highlighted that specific problem areas could be targeted with mechanical weed rippers if needed. It was always going to be a challenge as the chemical used required the weather to be calm and dry and the weeds to be visible as it is a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

An update to be provided on the rail link corridor and what impact this could have on Town and Parish Councils including the Ashington & Blyth area.

Mr S. McNaughton, Head of Economy and Regeneration, gave an update of the Northumberland Line project. He gave an overview of the proposed Northumberland line which included; six stations with two trains per hour. It was hoped it would be open by 2024.  

Achievements were outlined; public consultation gave a good amount of feedback with 92% of the responses were positive. The final outline had been submitted to Network Rail for approval and planning applications were being submitted for all proposed stations. An application to the secretary of state was submitted and accepted and an enquiry was going to begin in the near future. Funding was received which had accelerated design and negotiations with landowners. They were in the final stages of creating the business case.  

Planning and consent was already received for a number of applications; Chase Meadow Footbridge, Ashington Station and Northumberland Park station. Bedlington, Blyth Bebside and Seaton Deleval stations were still awaiting determination. Other applications were going to be submitted in the near future. 

In response to questions, the following information was provided: 

• Designs of the stations and carparks were based on existing use. The parking strategy would take into consideration the demand predicted upto 2030 so therefore is a long-term strategy. Carparks would be monitored to see when they reached capacity and would inform officers if they needed to implement strategies to control the use of carparks. 
• The trains would initially be diesel due to the current availability of rolling stock. However moving forward new stock would be introduced, hopefully from 2026. The council will be working with the Department for Transport to find out what the options were regarding new stock.  
• Concerns were acknowledged regarding the hospital underpass however it was assured that it would go through the appropriate planning protocol. If the underpass was to be diverted it would delay the programme. 

• It was requested that another survey be done for the level crossing to measure how many people were using it.  

Members thanked Mr S. McNaughton for the detailed update.

As the meeting approached the 3?hour?limit Members were asked if they wished to suspend standing orders in order to continue the meeting.? Upon being put to the vote it was:? 

? 

RESOLVED?that in accordance with the Council's constitution, standing orders be suspended and the meeting continue over the?3 hour?limit.

This report provides an update on the Local Transport Plan (LTP) programme 21/22 and the preparation for the 22/23 programme. 

Mr P. Jones introduced the report of the local transport plan update. The report provided an update on the plan and the process for setting out the next years plan. He outlined the key points as follows:- 

• More funding was received from the Department of Transport than expected which allowed for some approved schemes to be extended and some reserve schemes to be added to the plan.  
• Countywide work was complex and focused on safety and maintenance. As well as work on structures such as bridges. 
• There were some complex and challenging schemes being undertaken, such as a large amount of geotechnical work being carried out on a landslip at Todsteads in the Coquet Valley. 
• Looking forward there was a plan to provide a more detailed and tailored feedback report on LTP scheme progress o the area Councils on a regular basis, the work required to achieve this was on-going.  

• There were 31 integrated transport projects being undertaken in the financial year; 7 of the projects had been completed, including 2 urgent safety schemes requested by the police;  
• A speed reduction scheme was introduced between Lynemouth and Woodhorn; A traffic management scheme in Cottingwood Green was completed; parking signage was improved in Newbiggin. 
• There were 3 schemes integrated transport projects where the works order had been issued and 18 schemes were in design. 
• Works for the slipway at Newbiggin were almost finalised with costings being confirmed in the near future; 
• On carriageway maintenance there were 18 schemes on-going at a range of sites including Bedlington Station, Newsham and Ashington; 10 schemes were completed, including major resurfacing works at a range of sites; 5 microsurfacing works had been completed in Ashington and Blyth. There were 3 schemes in design for resurfacing activity in Swaledale Avenue, Blyth; Simonside Terrace, Newbiggin; Laverock Hall Road, Newsham; 

• Areas were being assessed and prioritized for the next financial year, with submissions from Town and Parish Councils, the deadline for submissions was 8^th October 2021. There was an LTP workshop once the submissions had been ranked and they would be discussed with members. The draft programme was then presented to LACs in February and then signed off in March. 

The following comments were made: 

• Members were pleased the LTP workshop was happening again and new members were urged to attend. 

• It was felt that the report highlighted how little money was invested in Ashington & Blyth compared to other areas within the County.  
• Members approved of the tailored report that would be provided to the Local Areas. 
• Local Area Councils were originally set up with the intention of being a decision making body but it was felt that they had been given limited decision making powers..  
• It was suggested that there was a need for refreshed road markings throughout the South East of the County with Rotary Way, Blyth being mentioned. Additional funding had been allocated to refresh signs and lines but they were being prioritized on a safety basis.  
• Micro-surfacing was a nationally recognized treatment to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.

To make appointments to outside body organisations within the Local Area Council’s remit.? The following volunteers have been received: 

• Blyth Valley Disabled Forum – K Nisbet 
• Briardale Community & Training Centre Community Association -  Margaret Richardson 

• Community and Voluntary Action Blyth Valley - A Wallace

·       Northumberland Community Voluntary Action - TBC

Members considered a list of appointments to outside bodies for 2021/22. 

RESOLVED that the following list of appointments be confirmed: 

• Blyth Valley Disabled Forum – K Nisbet 
• Briardale Community & Training Centre Community Association -  

Margaret Richardson 

• Community and Voluntary Action Blyth Valley - A Watson 

• Northumberland Community Voluntary Action – To be confirmed 

RESOLVED that the information be noted. 

To note the latest version of agreed items for future Local Area Council meetings (any suggestions for new agenda items will require confirmation by the Business Chair after the meeting)   

Members received the latest version of agreed items for future Local Area Council meetings. 

Concerns were raised regarding the amount of business set for the November LAC meeting. 

It was acknowledged that certain items must remain on the agenda but was suggested that the work programme be looked at. 

It was suggested that it would be better if planning was a separate meeting to avoid long meetings.  

RESOLVED that the information be noted. Suggestions would be taken forward. 

The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, 13 October 2021 (Planning only) 

It was noted that the next meeting was for planning items only and, subject to there being any planning business, would take place on Wednesday, 13 October 2021 time to be confirmed.