Welcome to Newbiggin Town Council

Next Council Meeting: 9th May 2018 *Annual Meeting of the Council*

Please note: Several of our published meeting dates have been revised. See our list of meeting dates for an up-to-date copy for your diary.

Find details of our next meeting, with agenda and accompanying papers. These meetings start at 7pm. We look forward to seeing you then.

Please contact us if you have issues to raise at the start of the meeting. Agenda and papers are usually uploaded to this website 3-4 days before the meeting.

Latest news

Weed Control - Information from Northumberland County Council

The county has a well-deserved reputation as a green and pleasant place to live and visit and it is important to do all we can to keep it looking its best.

In recent years, most weed spraying treatments on hard landscape areas have been contracted out. However this year, the County Council is employing ten extra staff members across our Local Area Councils to ensure the in house teams have the capacity to undertake the work themselves.

The County Council is investing £125,000 in this improvement programme which includes adding a harmless blue coloured dye to the treatment so the public can see for themselves where has been treated.

The blue dye being added is completely harmless and will allow the teams to see exactly where they have sprayed, potentially reducing wasted or overuse of spray and ensure that any areas that have been missed will be immediately apparent.

While it is not possible to prevent weed growth altogether, County Council staff know their own areas and can be more responsive to local weather conditions, ensuring improvements to the quality and coverage of the spraying operation.

The public will also be able to see where has been sprayed and as the chemical itself can take up to two weeks to kill the weeds, the addition of the blue dye will remove any uncertainty about whether or not an area has been treated. The equipment used to treat weeds in some road channels means that the blue dye cannot be added but in areas where road meets pavement there will be a white residue left instead of a blue one.

The dye itself is water soluble, does not affect the environment and also breaks down in the sun so it will not be visible for more than the 10 to 14 days it takes to kill the weeds.

International Workers' Memorial Day 2018

Every year more people are killed at work than in wars. Most don't die of mystery ailments, or in tragic “accidents”. They die because an employer decided their safety just wasn't that important a priority. Workers' Memorial Day (WMD) commemorates those workers. Held on 28 April every year, all over the world, workers and their representatives conduct events, demonstrations, vigils and a whole host of other activities to mark the day and “to remember the dead: fight for the living”.

In 2018 the theme is “Unionised workplaces are Safer workplaces” and will focus on the difference that unions make in preventing deaths in the workplace.

South East Northumberland Trades Union Council have organised events in Ashington at the Elephant Public House, on Newbiggin Road, and at the Workers' Memorial Garden Garden at North Seaton Cemetery. A public meeting will be held at 11.00am in the upstairs function room of the Elephant, on Newbiggin Road. The speakers will include Liz McKean, campaigns and policy director of War on Want, and Adam Taylor, health and safety campaigner from Unison.

A Northumbrian piper will lead the traditional procession with banners to the Workers' Memorial Garden at North Seaton Ceremony where the wreath-laying ceremony will take place at 12.30pm, led by Ian Lavery MP for the Wansbeck Constituency and Ronnie Campbell MP for Blyth Valley.

Leaders of town and parish councils and Northumberland County Council have also been invited to take part and Trade unions in South East Northumberland are urging the local community to come along.

Rab Stewart, President of South East Northumberland Trades Union Council, said: “Everyone is welcome to join us to commemorate those who have been either killed or suffered injuries in the workplace, and to ensure that such tragedies are not repeated.”

For more information, contact Kathy Taylor on 07929 363520 or email kathyt2114@sky.com

Northumberland Local Plan - Spring Consultation

Northumberland County Council is preparing a new county-wide Local Plan. The new full Local Plan will set out both strategic and detailed policies (including site allocations) which will guide future growth and development across the County up to 2036. The timetable for the preparation of the Plan is set out in the published Local Development Scheme. Consultation on a draft Local Plan will take place later in summer 2018.

To inform the draft Local Plan, the Council is inviting views on your preferred locations for housing and employment development and the key planning issues that the Local Plan should consider. At this stage, we are not seeking views on matters of detail such as the exact boundary of a development site or the detailed wording of a policy but high level views on the strategic location of development.

The consultation is taking the form of an online spatial survey, using an interactive map, where you are asked to mark on it where you feel the most appropriate places for housing and employment development should go. You can access the Online Spatial Survey via Spatial Survey Paper copies of the spatial survey are also available from libraries and customer information centres, however the Council would recommend and encourage you to use the Online Spatial Survey to submit your comments.

The consultation will run from Wednesday 28 March to 5pm on Wednesday 2 May 2018.

Following the consultation, the Council will consider and review all of the information received, which will be used to inform the preparation of the forthcoming draft Local Plan. As stated above, public consultation on the draft Local Plan will take place later in summer 2018.

Plastic Free Coastlines

Newbiggin by the Sea Town Council passed a resolution unanimously at their meeting on Wednesday 14th February, agreeing to:

Support a Plastics Free Coastline project in Newbiggin by the Sea.

Commit to plastic free alternatives and support plastic free initiatives within the Town.

Not use single use plastic items within Town Council premises.

Have a named representative on the local Plastic Free Coastline Steering Group to promote the campaign and support events.

An inaugural meeting for residents and groups to discuss their concerns about the use of plastic in Newbiggin and the way forward with this initiative was held on 20th March 2018

Community Litter Picks

Let's work together to make Newbiggin a cleaner, safer and tidier place to live and enjoy

Previous litter picks

11th February 2018. 10 volunteers, 17 bags of litter collected from Seacrest Road, East Lea, Argyle Terrace, Oakwood Avenue, Memorial Square and the Football field.

24th February 2018. 6 volunteers, 12 bags of litter collected from South and West wards.

Planned litter picks

Sunday 22nd April from 10.00 -11.30am meeting at the Spital Estate Play area.

Sunday 20th May 10.00-11.30 Meeting at Needles Eye

Sunday 24th June 10.00-11.30 Meeting at Atlee Terrace

Sunday 29th July 10.00-11.30 Meeting at Woodlea (temporary car park field)

Sunday 19th August 10.00-11.30 Meeting at Woodhorn Church

Sunday 23rd September 10.00-11.30 Meeting at Sea Crest Road

We've Moved!

Our new town centre office is located at 76 Front Street. We opened on Monday 4th December 2017, initially the office will be open to the public between 11:00 am and noon Monday to Friday.

Image provided by Peter Sinclair.

Spital Point to Cresswell Coastal Path

The Secretary of State has approved the report submitted by Natural England in March 2017 regarding the implementation of the England Coastal Path from South Bents to Amble. It is envisaged that the necessary works will be complete in 2018 which is welcome news for the residents of Newbiggin and should see more visitors coming to the village and South East Northumberland generally. The attached link has maps showing the route through the Newbiggin parish, new signage of the route will also be installed. Route of the Coastal Path; Spital Point to Cresswell

Newbiggin Post Office Temporary Closure

The following correspondence has been received from the Post Office Post Office Letter and Newbiggin Town Council has again made representations to the Post Office to ensure a service is restored to the local community as soon as possible.

Newbiggin Parkrun rushes in!

The Town Council are pleased to support the Newbiggin Parkrun which takes place every Saturday at 9am. The course starts near the Maritime Centre and heads along the whole length of the Promenade, followed by a clockwise loop around Milburn Park (old tennis courts). You then run back along the Promenade and turn just before the Sailing Club to start the second lap. At the end of the second lap the course finishes on the Promenade near Bertorelli's Caffe. It's free to join whether you wish to run, jog or walk the route but you must register in advance in order to get a time for your 5km. More details are available at the Park Run website. If you are interested in volunteering, please email the team directly at newbigginbytheseahelpers@parkrun.com.?

New Town Plan now available

The latest Town Plan 2017 has now been published, after many months of consultation and deliberation. A copy has been distributed to residents and copies are available from the Town Council offices.

Latest events leaflet published

This year's Events Leaflet has been published and distributed. Hope you can join us this year!

© 2015 Newbiggin by the Sea Town Council,
76 Front Street,
Newbiggin by the Sea,
Northumberland NE64 6QD UK.
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