SEATON VALLEY FUTURES

SPRING EDITION 2015

IN THIS ISSUE: VILLAGE PLANS

VILLAGE PLANS Over the next few months, Council will be working with PAGE 1 residents, community groups, partners and businesses to help plan the future of the five villages and the Valley as a whole. THE COUNCIL PARTNERSHIP We will be working with you to prepare a village plan for each village, that PAGES 2-3 will: > Set out the key issues, priorities and opportunities in the village YOUTH ACTIVITIES & > Provide a vision and overall objectives for the village LEISURE SERVICES > Include a prioritised action plan PAGE 4 > Identify how the top priorities can be delivered > Prioritise current SVC services and suggest additional SVC services ALLOTMENT CHANGES > Consider the impact of future development on the village PAGE 5 > Provide evidence to support funding bids

BECOME A CHAMPION We will also combine common issues and ideas from all the villages into a PAGE 5 shared vision for Seaton Valley as a whole.

YOUR COUNCILLORS Please fill in the questionnaire inside this newsletter, and return it in the PAGE 6 envelope provided or at your local community centre. The deadline for this is Friday 13th March. This is the first step in a range of consultations COUNCIL MEETINGS and will identify the issues that are important to you. We will be holding PAGE 7 public consultation events in the spring where you can find out more and share your views. SEATON VALLEY IN BLOOM You can find out more about Seaton Valley Futures on Facebook at: PAGE 8 https://www.facebook.com/seatonvalley

S eaton V alley

PAGE 1 THE PARTNERSHIP

The Seaton Valley Council / County Council Partnership was formulated principally to enhance the level of neighbourhood services provided to residents, making living in Seaton Valley a more pleasurable experience.

The Council is very conscious of the financial pressures © Martin Sharman facing our residents, but it is also aware that the local environment is very important and there are very Welcome to the first issue of Seaton Valley legitimate concerns about our villages that need to be View. We feel it is important to inform all our addressed. SVC are determined to continue bringing residents of the services we provide, report on real improvements to the neighbourhoods, and are progress and give our communities the confident it is being achieved in a cost-effective way. opportunity to get involved and provide feedback. To this end we will be producing The Partnership with this newsletter 4 times per year. Northumberland County Council has allowed us to In this first issue, you can read about the do that and by working partnership that this Council has developed together, we’ve managed to with Northumberland County Council to keep the costs to a enhance the level of neighbourhood services, minimum, whilst providing the services that the Council enables for young the best possible service people in the Valley, and the range of leisure within our budget activities for adults. constraints.

In addition, you can find out about becoming Residents now enjoy the benefits of key improvements involved in Seaton Valley in Bloom, becoming during the year such as increased litter picking, grass an environmental champion and the Council’s cutting, strimming, weed control, regular cleaning of plans for its allotments. bus shelters etc. At present, the team are working hard through a set winter programme. An example of I would also encourage you to read about the this is commencing in , with footpath edging and Village Plan process which will be vital in hedges being cut right back. shaping the future development of our villages and will be key in influencing services. A welcome by-product to creating the Partnership is the creation of five new full-time jobs and two apprentice opportunities. Seaton Valley now has its own dedicated team of workers delivering good quality value for money services.

COUNCILLOR SUSAN DUNGWORTH CHAIR

Seaton Valley Council WHAT THE SVC / NCC PARTNERSHIP DOES

PAGE 2 PRE 1/4/14 POST 1/4/14

Grass Cutting, Litter Picking & Footpath Edging Grass Cutting, Litter Picking & Footpath Edging > Grass cut 10-13 times per calendar year > Grass cut 34 times between 1/3/15 & 31/10/15, > Weed spraying twice a year outside of this period as growing conditions dictate > Strimming around obstacles (as resources allowed) > Weed spraying and strimming increased to > Allotment grass cutting – not done further enhance overall appearance of the area > Footpath edging once every 3 years > Allotment grass cut monthly > Footpath edging annually or as resources allow

Litter Bins & Cleansing (Litter & Dog Foul) Litter Bins & Cleansing (Litter & Dog Foul) > Emptied to schedule > Emptied to agreed new schedule. Damaged bins > Litter picking & bin emptying took place weekly repaired / replaced within 10 working days High amenity / hot spots visited daily > Litter bins emptied minimum weekly and minimum daily in high amenity / hot spots. May be increased seasonally as neccessary

Bus Shelters Bus Shelters > Cleaned twice a year > Cleaned monthly as a minimum. > Maintenance & repairs – as and when required. > Monthly checks & repairs actioned promptly

Horticultural & Arboricultural Horticultural & Arboricultural SVC fund planting & maintenance of floral beds > SVC fund planting & maintenance of floral beds > NCC maintain shrub & rose beds annually > Regular maintenance of shrub & rose beds > Hedges cut back once per year as part of the > Hedges cut back twice per year as part of the winter> works programme routine works programme Trees inspected every 5 years > Tree inspections and increased resources allow > low hanging branches to be removed by the Partnership team

Play Areas Play Areas > Weekly safety inspections > Weekly safety inspections > Maintainance & repairs as and when identified > Maintenance and repairs including emergency Signage not addressed repairs dealt with immediately to ensure equipment > safety > Signage review in year one. Cost of new signs provided and maintained as part of the Agreement

War Memorials War Memorials > Cleaned in advance of Remembrance Day > Cleaned at least twice a year & special care just before Remembrance Day

Winter Services Winter Services > Limited resource used to clear snow & ice from > Increased resources enable an enhanced, priority footpaths and filling of grit bins targeted response to issues

Rapid Response Team Rapid Response Team > Limited ability to respond to adhoc service > Increased resources enable quicker response requests

PAGE 3 Get Seaton Valley Council enables Active Northumberland to deliver enhanced community leisure activities for all ages. Holiday activities including Geocaching, a range of events are provided. Check out the regular activities below.

DAY ACTIVITY TIME VENUE DESCRIPTION AGE £

Monday Just Jhoom! 18.30 This new energetic Bollywood inspired Adult £3.00 19.30 Arts Centre dancercise class is a great way to keep fit!

Tuesday Zumba Gold 12.30 For active older adults looking for Adult £2.00 13.15 Community Centre a lower intensity zumba class.

Tuesday Street Funk 17.00 Seaton Sluice A blend of street dance/hiphop/pop music. 8-14 £1.00 17.45 Coummunity Centre Creative dance will be encouraged yrs

Tuesday Multisports 17.00 Astley High Take part in a variety of sports 8-14 £1.00 18.00 School incl. football, basketball & cricket. yrs

Wednesday Club 6-10 16.00 Seaton Sluice A youth club with a range activities 6-10 £1.00 17.00 Community Centre incl. games, sports arts & more. yrs

Wednesday Archery 17.00 Seaton Sluice A chance for young people to test their 6-10 £1.00 17.45 Community Centre accuracy. A long sleeve top & a certain yrs amount of upper body strength is required.

Thursday Young @ Heart 10.30 Seaton Sluice A fun class that offers lots of Adult £2.00 11.30 Community Centre styles of dance and exercise.

YOUTH SERVICES

Seaton Valley Council helps fund the Youth Service in Youth Service strives for, and whatever the skills of the the Valley, which is based at Astley Community High group they are challenged to learn and develop. School. The Service delivers sessions within the youth block of the High School and also in community centres Youth Clubs are free of charge. They are fun places to in Seaton Sluice, and Seghill. be with game consoles, pool tables and art and crafts available, as well as other activities and the The Service works closely with partner organisations opportunity to take part in projects aimed at to ensure that the young people in Seaton Valley get developing skills. the best possible provision given the resources available. As well as working with the Voluntary Youth (Monday) New Hartley 6.30pm-8.30pm Sector the Seaton Valley Youth Service works in (Tuesday) Seaton Delaval 6.30pm-8.30pm partnership with agencies including schools. (Wednesday) Seaton Sluice 6.30pm-8.30pm (Thursday) Seghill 6.30pm-8.30pm Sessions include drop- ins, tea and toast and issue (Friday) Astley Park Pavillion 7.00pm-8.00pm based workshops. Participation, responsibility and Get progression are some of the key elements the

If you have questions about Youth Services please contact Richard Lawson on 0191 237 1505 or e-mail [email protected]

PAGE 4 ENVIRONMENTAL CHAMPIONS

Are you interested in your local environment? Are you concerned about the environmental issues that affect Seaton Valley? If so, get involved as an Environmental Champion.

What is an Environmental Champion? It is an advocate for good environmental practice. It is someone who is passionate and willing to learn about environmental issues which impact communities. As a Champion, you are part of a network of ALLOTMENTS volunteers who have a keen interest in doing their bit to ensure we are getting it right. Environmental Work took place during 2014 to develop an Champions decide for themselves how much time improvement programme for the allotments that the they spend on the job and which areas to be involved Council provide, encouraging a revival of interest in in. allotments and food growing. The stagnant waiting list has now been reduced by 50%, resulting in the What would you do? reopening of the list. Many of the plots that had been > Help report on environmental issues affecting your vacant for some time have now been taken up. local area i.e. overflowing litter bins and grass cutting standards Seaton Valley Council is committed to developing a > Report any issues, either immediately or through the 5 year Allotment Strategy commencing in 2015, with completion of a monthly questionnaire input from the allotment community. > Work with other Champions to promote good environmental practice i.e. organise or take part in Projects that could be within the Strategy include: clean–ups > Identify and suggest opportunities for > "Access to All "on one of our allotment sites. This environmental improvement in your village would cater not only for the elderly and less mobile > Participate in walkabouts with fellow champions allotment gardeners, but also include all those and SVC staff to identify environmental previously prevented from allotment gardening improvement opportunities because of their disability > Provide feedback from the Council to other residents in your village > Working with plot holders, local Police and the > Attend 6 monthly breakfast meetings and meet community to find effective solutions to minimise staff and Councillors. petty vandalism , theft of crops, fly-tipping, dog fouling etc What are the benefits? As an Environmental Champion you will receive: > The development of an Allotment Representative > Training on what to look for Group > A certificate of recognition > New skills for your CV > Development of a community garden facility as well as benefiting from being outdoors and helping your community

If you are interested in allotments or becoming an Environmental Champion please contact Lorraine Fox on 0191 237 9870 or e-mail [email protected]

PAGE 5 YOUR COUNCIL

SUSAN DUNGWORTH BARBARA SWINHOE DARREN MULLEN CHAIR VICE CHAIR VICE CHAIR Hartley with Seaton Sluice Hartley with Seaton Sluice Seghill with Seaton Delaval T 0191 237 5531 T 0191 237 2712 T 0191 237 0805 E susan.dungworth@ E [email protected] E [email protected] northumberland.gov.uk

MARGARET RICHARDS LES BOWMAN BOBBY NIXON Seghill with Seaton Delaval Holywell Holywell T 0191 237 0596 T 0191 237 7032 T 0191 237 0976 E [email protected] E [email protected] E [email protected]

KAREN COLLIER DAVID SWINHOE ANN STANNERS Hartley with Seaton Sluice Seghill with Seaton Delaval Holywell T 0191 237 0954 T 0191 237 2712 T 0191 237 0248 E [email protected] E [email protected] E ann.stanners@seatonvalley communitycouncil.gov.uk PAGE 6 DATE TYPE TIME VENUE

12/03/2015 Planning Sub Committee 6pm SVC offices - Seaton Delaval

25/03/2015 Full Council 7pm Seaton Sluice Community Centre

9/04/2015 Planning Sub Committee 6pm SVC offices - Seaton Delaval

29/04/2015 Full Council 7pm Holywell First School

14/05/2015 Planning Sub Committee 6pm SVC offices - Seaton Delaval

20/05/2015 Annual Meeting 6.30pm New Hartley Memorial Hall

11/06/2015 Planning Sub Committee 6pm SVC offices - Seaton Delaval

Finance & General Purposes 24/06/2015 6pm SVC offices - Seaton Delaval Sub Committee

9/07/2015 Planning Sub Committee 6pm SVC offices - Seaton Delaval

29/07/2015 Full Council 7pm Seaton Delaval

13/08/2015 Planning Sub Committee 6pm SVC offices - Seaton Delaval

10/09/2015 Planning Sub Committee 6pm SVC offices - Seaton Delaval

30/09/2015 Full Council 7pm Seghill Institute

8/10/2015 Planning Sub Committee 6pm SVC offices - Seaton Delaval

Finance & General Purposes 28/10/2015 6pm SVC offices - Seaton Delaval Sub Committee

12/11/2015 Planning Sub Committee 6pm SVC offices - Seaton Delaval

25/11/2015 Full Council 7pm Seaton Sluice Community Centre

10/12/2015 Planning Sub Committee 6pm SVC offices - Seaton Delaval

Finance & General Purposes 16/12/2015 6pm SVC offices - Seaton Delaval Sub Committee

Seaton Valley 20-22 Astley Road, Seaton Delaval, T: 0191 237 9870 Council Northumberland, NE25 0DG seatonvalleycommunitycouncil.gov.uk

PAGE 7 Seaton Valley in Bloom is a voluntary group of like-minded people who manage the delivery of Seaton Valley’s entries in the Northumbria in Bloom competition. Being involved in this group is both rewarding and satisfying.

The group has helped improve the appearance of many areas within our villages, and this is appreciated by residents and visitors alike. Best Residential The Seaton Valley in Bloom Committee has run for a number of years Garden / Yard with local residents Margaret Rochester and Paul Smith at the helm. 1st – John Douds 2nd - Jean Bainbridge They have both recently stood down from the committee and we 3rd – Alison Thomas would like to take this opportunity to both thank them and recognise their achievements. Best Hanging Seaton Valley In Bloom Competition Basket / Container 2014 was another successful year for the Seaton Valley in Bloom 1st – Jean Bainbridge Competition, with a very high standard of entries throughout the 2nd - Ronald Hill Valley.

1st place winner Jean Bainbridge from Special Award For Seaton Sluice being presented her Creativity In A Small Area award for Best Hanging Basket / Container Julie Bovingdon from committee member Karen Collier.

We are looking to recruit new members for the Seaton Valley In Bloom Committee. If you are interested, please contact Lorraine Fox on 0191 237 9870 or e-mail [email protected]

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