Changes in Newport soon

The next newsletter from the councillors should arrive in January. In the meantime here is a summary of news which affects all citizens; (news from Councillor Carter)

1) The Newport branch of Woolworths is due to close at the end of this week, - a sad day for many of us. (Councillor Carter has been in touch with the liquidators, who have told him that there are a number of parties interested in the site. He will try to contact some or all of the parties in January, in an effort to encourage a new and prompt usage of the building.

2) The former Taylor's Bakery shop will be re-opening at the end of January as Jaspers Bakery. They have a shop in Penkridge, and promise to be an asset on our High Street.

3) Telford & Wrekin Progress. A number of projects have been in the pipeline but are now coming towards final decision:

i) McCarthy & Stone will be submitting a planning application to T & W, which we hope will clear up what is something of an eyesore on the road in from Stafford. If agreement for their development on Stafford Street can be reached, there should be a new asset for Newport, a visual improvement and some jobs created.

ii) The Care village proposal, for the junction of Stafford Road and the eastern by-pass, is well progressed and approaching final decision.

iii) The design guide for the High Street and also the Central Square should be completed in January and be available for public consultation in February. If all goes well, we should not have long to wait for complaints about the High Street to be met, while meeting requirements for pedestrian safety and traffic management.

iii) Schemes for Victoria Park and Canal Corner are also at an advanced stage of preparation. It is hoped that these will be available for public consultation in February before going to final decision and approval at the Borough Council.

It is important that any interested people use the opportunity to consult and comment on what is proposed. We would like like to think that general agreement could lead to early implementation after such a long process of preparation, but financial considerations and availability of resources could still cause further delay.

Quiz evening

The next quiz evening will be

on Monday, 1st December

at 7.30 p.m. at the (newly refurbished) Royal Victoria Hotel

The cost will be £2 per head, but participation is in teams of four

There will be a cash prize for the winning team

Newport Farmer's Market

Readers will be disappointed to learn that the monthly market, which was due to start in late October, will be delayed until some time early next year.

It is not for want of trying by local people, especially by Councillor Roy Scammell. Agreement had been obtained with local retailers who might have had fears, a coordinator/organiser had been found and interested "farmers" were evident.

There was however, considerable delay caused by confusion and a lack of understanding by staff at the Borough Council, although recently they have become more focussed and proactive. In the meantime, the lady who had agreed to be coordinator has decided that she can wait no longer, and has pulled out.

On the assumption that any remaining legal problems ought to be resolved quickly, and in the belief that another organiser can be found, the plan is to have a launch fairly early in 2009.

The High Street traffic measures - not long to wait

I have been told that all being well, that is that the plans are accepted by the various parts of the Borough Council and then by the Council itself and no hitches or problems have been discovered late in the day, that we the public should have the proposals before us before the end of October.

What will be proposed is still a closely guarded secret, but it will be very much open to discussion and comment.

We shall try to let you know as early as possible when and how the proposals may be consulted.

Interactive - a new facility on this site

New online Forum is created at www.4newport.org

Since the Newport Rural Conservative Branch was formed in 2006, the website (www.4newport.org) has gone from strength to strength, providing local news and views to the people of Newport and the Surrounding rural area. To celebrate its 2 year anniversary we have launched a new online forum to discuss local issues with local Councillors in the hope that it can be debated in an open and constructive format.

Councillor Dan Ashley co-creator of www.4newport.org, discusses the importance of the forum and bringing the community together over the internet.

“Do you have any question on the Newport Canal, Newport Regeneration, Tourism in the Town, Town play parks, Borough Towns Initiative, What is Telford and Wrekin doing for Newport? These are just a few questions that I have come across in my time as a local Borough and Town Councillor, and to be honest I didn’t have the answers to a lot of questions. So I used to make a few phone calls to colleagues and then they would make phone calls (and so on) and then finally I would get back to person who contacted me to relay that message, cut a long story short, it took a long time! With the open forum at www.4newport.org the local people can address their concerns and it can be answered by any of the six local councillors or members of the public! How easy is that?”

“It’s all and well good that newsletters get issued every now and again from various political parties, but with the internet and this forum, news, views and debates are almost instantaneous and address important local issues to the rural community of Newport”

Local people need to get involved with local matters and voice their opinions & concerns! With the power of the internet this can be done in comfort of your own home or the Newport Library.

Telford setting the pace

It was announced to day that in little over 3 months an Enterprise Headquarters will open in Coalport, in factin the old John Rose Building. This has been planned with consultations over many months with many organisations, and the capital cost of £760,000 will be met by the Borough Council, The European Regional Development Fund, and Advantage West Midlands via the Rural Regeneration Zone and Shropshire Enterprise Partnership.

The centre will include up-to-date meeting studios and boardroom, front desk services, a wireless connected enterprise lounge and latest ICT equipment. Small home-based businesses which lack meeting space or support systems will be able to benefit, from fees as little as £5 per month.

The concept has evolved from a pilot unit in Shrewsbury, and the centre is expected to provide both regional and national facilities eventually.

The valley which was at the forefront of technology in the 18th and 19th centuries will thus become a facilitator for technology in the 21st century.

The significance for Newport and its district is partly that Councillor Eric Carter (Newport East), in his capacity as cabinet member for regeneration, has been a leading figure in the planning process, but there will be even more contact. The centre will have a network of smaller hubs in outlying towns such as Newport and Wellington and villages, as home working becomes become more common.

All in all the centre will provide vital support for home workers and small entrepreneurs throughout the region. It will be the first full-sized scheme and should add to wealth and job creation over the coming years.

For se leetle grey cells

On Tuesday we held the second of a series of Quiz evenings. As before, it urned out to be highly enjoyable, with the soon-to-be-Mayor Adam Stanton question master.

These will continue every two months or so, at Adams House Hotel, 7.30 p.m.

The dates for future quiz evenings are:

July 7th
September 22nnd
November 24th

Newport - new Mayor and Deputy

Last evening at the Council Meeting Councillor Adam Stanton was elected Mayor for the next year and Councillor Roy Scammell Deputy Mayor.

We offer our congratulations to Adam and Roy, and our best wishes as they represent Newport.

Norbroom Park

Councillor Carter informs us that the final elements in the scheme will be complete tomorrow (May 9th).

The weather should be fine, so why not come along and see what is available for the young people of Newport?

Rural Branch Garden Party

There will be more details later, but please try to come to our Garden Party,


On Sunday, June 29th,

at the home of Richard and Sandra Hotchkiss,

38 The Broadway, Newport.



We are grateful to them for inviting us . Weather permitting, it should be a very enjoyable afternoon. Please book it in your diary.

Broomfield Play Area

A message from Councillor Ashley, for the North Ward

Broomfield Play Park

Since last May I have had concerned local residents contact me with regards to the state of Broomfield play area

Following a meeting this morning with John Stevens, who is the Play Area Management & Development Officer at Telford and Wrekin, we have discussed possible improvements and additions to the play area with £7000 of Section 106 money to improve the area.

The reason behind using Section 106 money is because normal funding for renovating or adding play equipment in the Borough’s play areas are prioritised under child density and how deprived the area is, as Newport is not classed as a deprived area it is not high on the list for funding.

Although £7000 doesn’t sound a lot of money it will add much needed maintenance and additional play equipment for Broomfield play area.

What we discussed this morning was that the existing play equipment needs a coat of paint / renovating, there is one wooden seat in a bad state of repair which needs to be replaced and additional seating maybe required, moving the goal posts to a different location so the grass can recover on the existing pitch and the possibility of adding a couple of extra play equipment.

We are still looking at feasibility of what can be done to this area, so if any local residents have any suggestions or comments, then please do not hesitate to contact me on either by phone: 07800671789 or email: Daniel.Ashley@telford.gov.uk

There have been reports of vandalism in the play area where perimeter fencing panels have been damaged by passing cars, fencing panels being stolen and dog fouling! The play area is for the enjoyment of the local children and residents and vandalism only decreases its enjoyment and costs money to put right, so please show some consideration.

Let’s keep our Borough play areas looking good and free of vandalism for the enjoyment of our children and future generations to come.

Man's best friend but....

Residents of the Deer Park Estate are now keeping a regular check on dog fouling on the footpath behind St.Peter's and St. Paul's School.

Such fouling is not only unpleasant in many ways, it can also be dangerous. Up to 16,000 people each year are affected by toxocariasis, caused by a round worm living in animal faeces, and which can cause eye trouble and even blindness.

The seriousness of the problem has been recognised by the Government, who have set significant fines on owners who do not clean up after their pets, although in the first instance a warning is usually given.

If you wish to remind an owner,whom you observe has not complied, by reporting a failure to your local Ward Councillor or directly to the Borough Council, please record details:

Date, time and place of the offence
The name and address of the person in charge, if possible
A description of the Dog

Report from Councillor Ashley

Islington Close - the fight starts again

A year or two back a planning application for development at Islington Close was passed by the planners, but defeated after local action and reference to the plans board at Telford. The grounds were disruption to local residents, access for emergency vehicles and problems with flooding by the Strine Brook, among others.

It seems that another application in the area has been made. If residents feel the same objections, then it will require action by them and Dan Ashley. He feels that although much of the "brown field" land has now been used or earmarked for development, and we have to meet the Local Development Framework laid down by the Government, we must still resist developments which are inimical to local housing and residents.


Message from Councillor Ashley

The buses, the buses

Residents of Granville Avenue, especially, and others, will be pleased that the "bus barriers" at last seem to be working.

There were initial problems - a saboteur ripped out wiring, and "boy racers" have driven through at high speed and noise, but things have settled down now.

The result is that coaches taking pupils to Burton Borough School no longer use the Granville Avenue. They reach the school via the industrial estate, and return from the school via Audley Avenue, and Audley Road to Stafford Street.

The only remaining problem seems to be lorry drivers attempting deliveries to units on the estate at all hours of the day and night, and who seek to find it by a wrong instruction from a sat-nav. It is hoped that our highways section will erect direction signs to the estate emphasising the correct route.

Message from Councillor Meredith.

The LDF again

Planning permission to create a flat within an existing building has been turned down on the sole ground that it cannot be divided.

On the blog page for today, Councillor Meredith details a case where the LDF rules again make a nonsense.

So if you would like to sell part of your large garden, or convert within your large house, to increase the housing stock, then you must propose at least two new dwellings, so that at least 35% of them may be built as affordable (i.e. cheap) homes. If you have space for only one, then you must somehow acquire more land, and suggest that scattered developments are really one scheme.

It should be added that, should you succeed, your development will count as part of the LDF maximum numbers permitted over the next 9 years, of some 300 dwellings.

Report on Planning Meeting, 16th January, 2008

Residents in the area of Granville Avenue may like to know of one decision and one further consideration which arose from the meeting.

1) Fencing the school playing fields. The internal application, considerably changed to meet requests and objections of residents, was granted. The scheme now excludes the fencing along the western boundary, including houses in Pen-y-Bryn Way, and the fencing behind houses on Granville Avenue.

Thus what the scheme now entails is high fencing along two sides of the cricket ground, plus a fence running from the cricket ground westwards along the side of the tarmac area.

2) Developments at woodyard and Handyman House. The decision on this application has been deferred until February 6th, when there will be a site meeting 3.30. (Residents may smile at the timing - a traffic peak when planning officers will see how busy the road is and what extra traffic and parking could produce!)

It should be said that while Councillor Meredith has been very busy in listening to electors and consulting officers, by virtue of the fact that he is a member of the Planning Board and according to the (ridiculous) rules laid down, he could not speak on the issues. We are grateful that Councillor Stanton spoke very persuasively and effectively on behalf of local residents.

As the result of tireless work, including frequent contacts with officers, the two councillors with colleagues have met electors' concerns on the school fencing, and there is the prospect that the building application may yet come to reflect local wishes more completely.

Erection of Speed Activated Signs in Newport

Telford and Wrekin have announced that they will be installing road signs which illuminate to warn motorists when they are exceeding the speed limit. The present plans are to install 30 m.p.h. signs as follows:

Immediately
Station Road
Salters Lane
(In part these will be to evaluate installation and use)

Within one month
Boughey Road
Stafford Road

Hopefully afterwards
Chetwynd Road
Longford Road

In each case there will be one sign for each direction. If you are anxious to know the precise locations, a telephone call to the relevant department will give you the up to date details. we shall endeavour to give the details as soon as we receive them.

THE SOCIAL EVENT OF THE YEAR?

Perhaps a slight exaggeration, but we are holding a

Quiz Evening, at the Adams House Hotel, Newport, on Wednesday 20th February, at 7.30 p.m.

It will be a team event - four persons to a team, - come as a team if you wish (- you will be asked to provide a name for the team). If you and any companions are fewer than four, there will others to join when you arrive. Entrance price - £2 per person.

Come and have some fun, meet some new people perhaps, and test your knowledge.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

The AGM of the Newport Rural Branch will be held on Tuesday, February 19th , at The Three Horseshoes, Sambrook, at 7.30 p.m.

If you are a member, please make every effort to be there. After our election success in 2007, we have to consolidate and build for the future. We must increase our influence.

If you are not a member, why don't you come along and join? You will be very welcome.

Councillor Meredith answers the critics

Mrs Flower’s letter about the Newport swimming pool, published in the Newport Advertiser on Friday on the 28th of Dec last, has absolutely no foundation. Clearly this former Borough Councillor knows full well that the present swimming pool has for years been in need of urgent refurbishment. It is old fashioned, out of date and beyond economic repair.

It would seem that Mrs Flowers is so out of touch and set in her ways that she is no longer able to recognise the fact that times are changing, that the town is growing and that a new and modern swimming pool is urgently needed by the majority of the town’s residents. The new pool will form part of a fabulous new and exciting sports complex to be built at a cost of millions of pounds on the Burton Borough site over the next five years. I well remember Mrs Flowers and her Lib Dem counterparts going into raptures when the new sports hall was built on the school site a couple of years ago. They said it was the obvious site which was easily accessible with plenty of car parking, so why then is it any different for the swimming pool?

Mrs Flowers knows better than most that two pools in a town the size of Newport could never be recognised as a viable proposition. It seems that she and her Lib-Dem colleagues are quite prepared to turn her back on the youngsters of Newport in order to keep an old out of date facility running just because decades ago it was funded in part by public donation. The Borough Council would not be justified in funding the hundreds of thousands of pounds it will cost to bring up to scratch what can only be described as a very third rate and out of date facility.

One has to ask the following questions:1)Do the Lib –Dems think they know better than all the experts employed by the Borough Council?, 2) Are the Lib-Dems prepared to fund the modernisation of the old pool and fund the upkeep from there on? The Borough Council KNOW that a new pool with modern facilities offers best value for public funds. My third question is what do the Lib Dems know about the swim times which will be made available to the general public ? The answer can only be as usual NOTHING AT ALL, the pool isn’t even on the drawing board yet. I would suggest that the Lib-Dems stand behind Newport’s four Conservative Borough Councillors in their attempt to bring to Newport the first major public facility since Labour took control some 35 years ago. The present swimming currently caters for all age groups including schools. Why would the new swimming pool be any different?

Cllr Adrian Meredith/

A statement by the four Borough Councillors

An anonymous correspondent to the Newport Advertiser claims that Newport’s borough councillors cannot be trusted (Can We Trust Them - Letters Dec 28).

As we each represent thousands of people and a very broad range of opinions, it is inevitable that some people will disagree with our decisions. This, like not ducking the difficult decisions, is part of what being a councillor is about.

However, being branded untrustworthy is a claim that cannot go unchallenged, particularly given the correspondent’s very political tone and disregard for the facts.

As councillors, after listening very carefully to the wider interests of Newport, we backed the Local Development Framework because we believe that it is right to do so.

We speak with one voice on this, because it’s an issue on which we agree. This does not mean we have said nothing – in fact, it makes it abundantly clear what, together, we stand for.

Our backing for the revised LDF came only after we had assurances this would limit development in Newport to around 40 new homes for each of the next nine years – a limit which, after considering the town’s broad interests, we feel is acceptable while supporting Newport’s future.

This new level is significantly lower than the housing figures originally proposed – which we set out to reduce and have succeeded in doing so.

As borough councillors, we have to consider many broader interests such as the future of Newport’s economy, regenerating our town, sustaining our population and providing housing that helps ensure our young people can afford stay in their town. These are not our own interests, but those of the whole town for the future.

Trust is something that is earned and in the six months we have held power, we have made some considerable changes to help Newport. These include setting up the town’s first ever Task Force to spearhead regeneration; reviewing the High St traffic scheme; outlining plans to create improved sports and swimming facilities.

We look forward to continuing to repay the trust that the people of Newport put in us and to continue representing the very broad interests and delivering for the town.

*Cllrs Dan Ashley, Eric Carter, Adrian Meredith and Adam Stanton*