County to create five new local councils
BUT CRITICS SAY PLANS FAVOUR TORY AREAS
PLANS have been unveiled to create five local area councils in Northumberland to give communities more power.
Northumberland County Council will consider proposals to create the bodies in North Northumberland, Ashington and Blyth, Castle Morpeth, Tynedale and Cramlington and Bedlington.
They will replace the current four area committees and will meet bi-monthly to consider planning applications, road spending and petitions.
Conservative leader Peter Jackson said the changes would bring decision making back to communities in the county.
He said: “Our Conservative group has been honoured to receive enthusiastic support from all corners of our county.
“Now that we are by far the largest group on the county council, it is our responsibility to deliver on our manifesto promises.
“People told us that they wanted a council which works with them rather than impose unpopular plans in the autocratic way of the last four years under Labour.
“Not only will we work closer with communities but we will save taxpayers £250,000 over the next four years, which the council can put back into essential daily services.”
Councillors will also consider plans to reduce the current seven overview and scrutiny committees to four.
They would be family and children’s services, health and wellbeing, corporate services and economic growth and communities and place.
The council report said: “It is anticipated that the new proposals will save around £62,000 in allowances compared with the present system.”
But the proposed changes have been criticised by the North East Party, who claim it will isolate parts of the county.
David Cockburn, acting chairman of the North East Party’s Northumberland and Tyne and Wear branch, said: “Geographically these plans for South East Northumberland are nonsensical.
“Elsewhere in Northumberland these planning committees are largely based on the old district council boundaries, however South East Northumberland has been split into Conservative areas and non-Conservative areas rather than Blyth Valley District and Wansbeck District.
“Peter Jackson has previously said that too much money is spent in Blyth and Ashington and he seems now to be building a model to cut funding to those areas.”
The plans will go before the county council on Wednesday.