pontnews views - pontelandpontelandonline.co.uk/pnv/issue 15 dec 2006.pdfthe south of the richard...

PONTELAND • MILBOURNE • MEDBURN • PRESTWICK • KIRKLEY

FREE monthly magazine for Ponte land and dist r ic t

Issue 15 December 2006

pontnews&views

email: [email protected]

March openingfor newSainsburyFirst school preparesfor Spring move to£6m new home

Full list of Christmaschurch services

Darras school run fury:your letters

Eagle owl mysterysolved

March openingfor newSainsburyFirst School preparesfor Spring move to£6m new home

Full list of Christmaschurch services

Darras school run fury:your letters

Eagle owl mysterysolved

www.pontelandparishcouncil.org.uk

pontnews&views December 2006

Pont News and Views is published by Ponteland Community Partnership in conjunction with Ponteland Parish Council. If you would like to submit an article, feature an event or advertise in the magazine, contact: [email protected] or write to Editor, Pont News and Views, 5 East Boldon Road, Cleadon Village, SR6 7SH or tel. 0191 536 2078.Printed by Printers (Coast) Limited, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

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OPEN 7 DAYS13 Broadway, Darras Hall Tel. (01661) 860206

Give a very special and unique gift this Christmas

Fine Food and Wine Delicatessen

www.deliatdarras.co.uk

Car wash plan gets green lightPlans for a new hand car wash service based at DobbiesGarden Centre have been given the green light by BoroughCouncil planning chiefs.

The retrospective application for the Handy Andy Car Washwas granted at the last meeting of the authority’sdevelopment services committee.

Two letters of objection had been received to the scheme,which is based from a portable office building and canopyadjacent to the Badger public house. Officers said theGreen Belt was not harmed by the operation, which wasscreened by existing structures and trees.

House extension approvedA two storey extension to a house in Ponteland has beenapproved by the Borough Council. The development to thethree bedroomed semi-detached property in Elmwood Drivewill see an existing garage demolished and replaced with anew garage with en suite bedroom above. The loft spacewill be converted into two new bedrooms and a bathroom,with four velux windows.

Latest planningdecisions


news&views

3

Italian restaurant also coming to £4m Bell Villas development

Three red squirrels have beenkilled on Darras Hall roadswithin the last few weeks.

What do you think?Write to Pont News &

Views

March opening for new SainsburyThe opening date forPonteland’s newSainsbury store, picturedhere, will be in March.

Pont News & Views can also revealthat a new Italian brasserie-stylerestaurant will be located on the firstfloor of the new mixed retail and leisuredevelopment at Bell Villas, which will beserved by 72 new car parking spaces.

Duncan McGregor, managing directorof Newcastle-based commercialproperty developer Circle RedProperties, behind the scheme, said:“The first floor has been let to two localoperators who own existing restaurantsin Newcastle.

“It will be an Italian brasserie-stylerestaurant and will open alongsideSainsbury in March. We have stronginterest for the remaining two ground

floor 1,500 sq ft units, with terms outto national and local occupiers.”

The boarded up former BP garage, byPonteland police station, had becomesomething of an eyesore over the pastcouple of years, but it has now beendemolished and building work is nowunderway on site.

The anchor Sainsbury store is 4,500 sqft and will sell a variety of foodstuffsand alcohol from 7.30am to 10pm.

www.pontelandparishcouncil.org.uk


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news&views

5

‘One in amillion’couple’s

remarkablestory told on

£6mfirst school set for Spring opening

hb Opticians opened 2nd February 2006on Broadway, Darras Hall. hb Opticiansis an Independent Opticians offering allthe services available incity centre practiceswith very high qualityservice. hb Opticianswas a northern finalist,after only two monthsof opening, for theHSBC business awardssponsored by SkyNews.

MEET THE TEAM

Hazel Bough Margaret Richardson

Hazel, a former Eye Clinic Optometristgraduated with honours in Optometry.Since then she has worked with wellknown opticians throughout the NorthEast and Yorkshire. Hazel is a memberof the Local Optometric Committee, TheCollege of Optometrists and is alsomember of the Association ofOptometrists. She also writes for localmagazines on eye health issues aimedto help educate the public on theimportance of eye-health examinations.

Margaret has 20 years experienceworking within Opticians. She wasoriginally trained as Frame Stylist andthen progressed into retail managementfor a well known chain of Opticians.Margaret joined hb-Opticians in 2006 asClinical Optical Advisor workingalongside Hazel advising on bothspectacles and contact lenses.

WHAT WE DOWe are Health-Fashion professionalsoffering a warm and friendly service inrelaxed surroundings. We provide first-class tailored eye care combined withfollow up consultations. We are anIndependent Opticians, not part of achain and therefore we can adapt toour patients’ needs.

Health: Glaucoma, diabetic and cataractscreening. Registered DVLA opticians

Fashion: The latest fashion spectacles tosuit all needs and pockets

Contact Lenses: Complete-Care monthlypayment plans

RECOMMENDATIONSAt hb Opticians, most of our patientscome to usthroughrecommendation.Mrs Ramsay fromDarras Hall wasdelighted with hernew designerPrada spectacles.

hb Opticians

Pupils and staff are preparing for their last term at Ponteland’s92-year-old first school before the big move to its £6mreplacement in the Spring.

As you can see from the photo here, building work is at an advanced stage on land tothe south of the Richard Coates Church of England Middle School.

The new school will accommodate around 300 pupils and a 26-place nursery, along witha hard surface games area, new changing rooms and improvements to prevent theflooding which had frequently rendered the playing fields unusable after rain. The new sporting facilities will be open to community use.

The scheme also includes an extension to the middle school, providing a Year 5 block,accommodating an additional four classrooms and associated cloak and toilet facilities.

But plans to relocate the library there have been axed in favour of a new potential homeas part of the proposed town centre redevelopment.

The current first school was built in 1914 with additions from the 1950s of mobile unitsto accommodate increased pupil numbers.

Headteacher Lynn Blain said: “The school will open after the Easter holiday on April 16and will include a state of the art ICT suite, a multi-function hall and a community areawhich will be available for out of hours community use. All of the pupils, staff andparents are looking forward to moving into the new building and providing high qualityeducational provision within a state of the art environment. The opening of the newbuilding should be celebrated by the whole community.”

For more information see the school’s website atwww.pontelandfirst.northumberland.sch.uk

6 www.pontelandparishcouncil.org.uk


Latest NEWS from Ponteland Parish CouncilThis report is based

on the minutes of the meeting of the Council

held on November 9.

Ponteland village masterplan –options

It had been suggested at the lastParish Council meeting that thefour options relating to the VillageMasterplan should be considered.A meeting with the retailers hadbeen held on the 7 November andthe first public meeting wasscheduled to be held on 11December at 7pm in the MemorialHall. The plan was a concept atthis stage and the end result couldlook very different to thatsuggested in the Masterplandocument. Option 4 was theapproved concept by the SteeringGroup and the Borough Council.The County Council had not as yetrecommended an option. Concernwas expressed in relation to theproposal for a new supermarket aspart of the development andtherefore some Councillorspreferred option 3.

There was also concern expressedat the effect on business in MertonWay whilst the development wastaking place. In response it wasstated that it was hoped to providetemporary accommodation for

retailers whilst construction workwas being carried out. The Councilagreed option 4 as their preferredoption for the villageredevelopment.

Report on recent planningdecisionsThe results of the appeal re theconstruction of a lake at Coat HillFarm were reported. The appealwas allowed with stringentconditions. However, the BoroughCouncil had been exonerated inthe Inspector’s report and costshad not been awarded to theappellant.

Northumbria in Bloom entry 2007The Parish Council is to enter theCompetition in 2007.

ENVIRONMENT WORKING PARTYBroadway Shopping CentreThe Council is to write to theDarras Hall Estate Committeerequesting an update on thesituation, as they were involved indecisions relating to the shoppingcentre.

Thornhill Road Traffic ManagementThe Council is to write to the ChiefExecutive of NorthumberlandCounty Council, with a copy to theLeader of the Council, drawing theCounty Council’s attention to themajor problems on both ThornhillRoad and North Road with thenumber and type of vehicles andtheir speed. The Parish Councilrequests urgent steps for shortterm arrangements when the FirstSchool opens and consideration ofa permanent scheme to managethe traffic.

CASTLE MORPETH BOROUGH COUNCIL REPORTThe Borough was currentlyworking with the five other DistrictCouncils in Northumberland toprepare a response to theGovernment White Paper, ‘ Strongand Prosperous Communities’,which had to be submitted by 25January 2007.

NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY COUNCIL REPORTCouncillor Jackson reported thatthe condition of paths onWoodside had been brought to his

attention and he intended to usesome of his allocated allowancefrom the Small Members Schemetowards carrying outimprovements. He also referred tohis involvement with the LibraryConsultation process with thepublic. The indication was thatPonteland was a key library servingthis area although no decision hadbeen made as yet re siting.

CHAIRMAN’S REPORT ONRECENT EVENTSMeeting with Ponteland HighSchool – November 2A meeting had been held at theHigh School with the Chairmanand Vice Chairman and theChairman of Governors,headteacher and children. Localdemocracy and how the pupilscould get involved were discussed,such as a youth forum. It wasagreed that the Parish would placeinformation on the school noticeboard, if space was madeavailable. There was also a briefdiscussion on communityinvolvement for pupils. Thechildren had also mentioned acharity, which they hoped to raisemoney for.

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Front Cover PicturePonteland First Schoolpupil Emily Morris, six,gets excited forChristmas on CoatesGreen

REMEMBRANCE SERVICE - 12 NOVEMBER The Parish Council would like to thankeveryone who participated in this year'sservice. Councillors were delighted at thenumbers who attended, of all ages andfortunately it was a dry bright day.Thank you also to the Diamond Inn whopermitted the Council to hire The Rockfor refreshments at a concessionary rate,and to the Diamond Inn's caterers, whoprovided the excellent buffet. Thehospitality offered was much appreciated.

7email: [email protected]

news&views

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again,Christmas is like a big parcel.

On the outside are all the coloured lights and theexcitement, the food and drink, the Sound of Music onthe television, children with tea towels pretending to beshepherds and trying not to wave at Mum and Dad.

On the inside is a story which is the best known in theworld, but which none of us can completely grasp.

I love the wrapping. Our house will once more descendinto a gaudy display of coloured lights and baubles (‘notanother set of lights Michael’) and figures of angels andSantas bought at craft fairs (all this done for thegrandchildren, you understand).

Christmas Day will see us eating together with the familyand then following those rituals which every family has.We will eat too much because we can’t let the trifle sitthere, and we will drink enough to help us relax after abusy time. We will smile a lot.

But we will remember that all this, great though it is, isjust the outside of Christmas, on the inside is a stable anda baby and angels telling that this baby in this stable is theone who is born to bring us home to God. We will hearthe story and tell the story, and we will smile a lot becausethis story and this promise is true.

I know that we are very fortunate, we will be surroundedby our family this Christmas, and I know that for some thisChristmas will be a sad, not a happy, time. For some tearsare more appropriate this Christmas than smiles. But theinside of the parcel is the same for us all. The Saviour bornin Bethlehem meets us in our tears as well as in our smiles.

Christmas parcels which are all wrapping and no presentare disappointing, it’s what’s inside that is what matters.It’s the inside of the Christmas parcel that makesChristmas what it is.

May God bless you and yours as you enjoy the wrapping.May God bless you and yours as you see again what’sinside.

Canon Michael Jackson - Vicar of Ponteland

Christmas services St. Mary’s Church, PontelandSunday 17th December5pm - Nativity Play and Carols

Sunday 24th December4pm and 5pm - Children’s Carol Services7pm - Ecumenical Carol Service - the PontelandChurches together11.30pm - Midnight Communion

Christmas Day8am - Holy Communion10am - Family Communion

Holy Saviour, MilbourneSunday 17th December11.15am - Carol Service

Christmas Day 11.15am - Holy Communion

Ponteland Methodist ChurchSunday 17th December 10am - The Nativity Service with Stepping Stones,YNOT and the Youth Group 6.30pm - The Carol Service, with special music bythe Church Choir

St Matthew’s RC ChurchSunday 24th December11.30pm - Midnight mass

Christmas Day8.45am - Mass (Cheeseburn Grange) 10am - Mass

Ponteland United Reformed ChurchSunday 17th December10am - Nativity Service6.30pm - Carols by Candlelight

Sunday 24th December 10.30am - Worship with Communion11.30pm - Christmas Eve Service

Christmas Day10am - Christmas Day Service

A Christmas Messagefrom the Vicar of Ponteland



Yourletters…

Letters on all issues are welcomed by Pont News & Views. The Editor reservesthe right to amend any submitted letters published, for legal or other reasons.

Combine regenerationvision with new bypassto save heart of villageAs a resident of Ponteland formany years I read with greatinterest the proposed“regeneration vision” for thefuture of Ponteland.

But I fail to see a balance betweendestruction and regeneration - whatwe gain and what we lose, i.e.profit and loss.

Upon studying the proposed“Vision Document” I note that weare to lose two local landmarks,namely the old council offices andthe old school on the North Road.Please note that I choose the words“old” in both instances for it isthese buildings which give thevillage character.

As we can’t replace old with old, oreven old with character, what arewe to get in return for the loss ofthese two great landmarks?Flats/town houses? Has anyconsideration been given to theincreases of vehicle movementswithin the village as a result of allthese new dwellings?

The term “regeneration” can’t beapplied to this portion of the“vision document” as this is purelya new development and as far as Iam concerned is a great loss to thevillage.

Is it not time to face the facts? Theproblem with Ponteland is not theshortage of flats and town housesor even supermarkets; everybodyagrees that the Merton retail unitscould benefit from a well thoughtout refurbishment programme, notreplacing them with a supermarket,for this would exasperate the mainproblem.

Has any consideration been given toaddressing the main problem,traffic? As a fact of life, every yearthe volume of traffic increases andwe are now experiencing gridlock inthe village centre, which will onlyworsen until such times we canhave a bypass for the throughtraffic.

I realise the costs involved in such ascheme are astronomical and willcontinue to rise each year we putoff such a scheme, so why can’t wecombine the regeneration visionand bypass and utilise a parcel ofland adjacent to the new road tocreate a shopping mall completewith retail outlets and a muchneeded petrol station. Such adevelopment could be sited faroutside the village boundary and agreen belt between would maintainthe existing village boundary lines.

I’m not suggesting we competewith Kingston Park, but with thecorrect infrastructure, existingbusinesses could benefit from thepossibility of purpose-built sites inwhich to expand their business,more room could be allotted for adecent size supermarket and wewould definitely benefit if heavytraffic were not using the centre ofthe village. Another advantagewould be the release of morebrownfield sites for sympatheticresidential development, or eventhe new library location.

To conclude: the proposedRegeneration Vision is a short termfix in which we lose more than wegain, to rip the heart out of thevillage and replace it with asupermarket and to lose the schooland old council offices for flats andtown houses is a retrograde stepand will be met with massiveobjections from Ponteland residents.So much money has been wastedon this Regeneration Vision and

objections will only add to thecosts. The proposal will only benefitdevelopers and no thought hasbeen given to the residents ofPonteland, who will be subjected tomore traffic congestion.

Please stop this ridiculous Visionand concentrate some time andwhat little money remains on thelong term future of the village.Forget the £100,000 wasted to dateand concentrate on the majorissues.

Concerned resident,D Kinghorn

Middle Drive mayhem!The recent opening of the gateleading to Darras Hall FirstSchool on Middle Drive hasresulted in mayhem on MiddleDrive from 8.45am to 9.15am and3pm to 4.45pm on school days.

Even out of hours activities (a verycommendable venture) duringwhich the car park is empty, haveresulted in parents still parking onMiddle Drive when collecting theirchildren.

The traffic is gridlocked in alldirections, with tempers flaring andirritable drivers trying to get downthe road. Anyone with any sense atall can see an accident waiting tohappen. Do the people who devisedthis scheme want this on theirconsciences? We would like tothink not.

Where did people park their carsbefore this? Why have so manyparents lost the use of theirs andtheir children’s legs?

The extra parking of lorries andvans due to building work does notenhance the situation. We wouldurge the devisors of this scheme toreconsider the options and leaveMiddle Drive free of parked cars asit used to be - for everyone’s safety.

Worried Middle Drive Residents

What is being doneabout speeding driversin Darras?I have been a resident of MiddleDrive, Ponteland, for about tenyears and during that time Ihave replied to numeroussurveys and questions aboutroad safety/speeding in the area.

In ten years nothing has apparentlybeen accepted as a solution. Thelatest suggestion was that a LCDindicating the speed of vehiclesshould be sited in an appropriateplace, especially on Middle Drive,which should appeal to somedrivers that in the interest ofpedestrians and the school children,SLOW DOWN!

Can anyone advise me of who, ifanyone, is the responsible body forpursuing this matter and when canwe expect something to be done?

Sid StephensonMiddle Drive, Darras Hall

JANUARY EDITION DEADLINESAll copy/adverts for the January magazine, beingdistributed the week beginning Monday January 22,need to be in by Friday January 5 to the email/homeaddresses on page 2.

Pont News & Views is now distributed by Trinity MirrorMarketing Direct and goes out with the Herald & Post inPonteland and Darras Hall, and is delivered separately inthe villages.

What do you think?Write to Pont News &

Views

The village centre regeneration plan and problems with theschool run in Darras Hall feature in this month’s letters.

News in brief…THANKS FROM LIONS FOR GENEROUS DONATIONSFrank Harrington, from Ponteland Lions Club, has asked for histhanks to be given to helpers and all the generous people whodonated cash at the Flag Day held on Saturday, December 2.More than £800 was raised for the Lions charity fund.

ST. MARY'S CHURCH, PONTELANDSaturday 16th December - 7.30pm. St. Mary's SingersChristmas concert. Tickets £7 from June Reed, Gillian in theoffice (01661) 824470 or members of the choir.


news&viewsPlea for help fromfestival organisersBy June Colvin

Since 1983 St Mary’s Church, Ponteland, has helda very popular art exhibition, which in 1989became the Festival of Pictures, Flowers andMusic.

The event, which also boasts a refreshment tent, is a greatcommunity week enjoyed by many people and is held everytwo years. The proceeds all go to charity.

We now have a major problem. For many years about halfthe screens used to hang the pictures were kindly loaned byPonteland High School. The school no longer has thesescreens due to deterioration over the years and raindamage.

We are urgently trying to find a new source! We need thetype of screens which will take the weight of framedpaintings with glass not the ones only used for paperdisplays.

Can anyone please help? Please telephone June Colvin on (01661) 824938.

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We are at the cutting edge of home building, incorporating low impact, sustainablemethods of construction.

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PontelandWelcomeEventBy Joanne LutherSenior Projects Officer, Castle Morpeth Borough Council

Ponteland Community Partnership will behosting a ‘Welcome Event’ for people whoare interested in becoming members. ThePartnership is open to residents or peoplewho work in Ponteland.

Interested parties will be able to meet currentmembers and learn of the successes of thepartnership and what it hopes to achieve in2007.

The event will take place at Ponteland LeisureCentre on Monday December 18 at 7pm.

If you are interested in coming alongplease contact Joanne Luther on (01670) 794763.


Forthcoming Events~ Carvery Sunday Lunches ~

3 Course meal, coffee and mints, £12.95 per person.

21st January, 11th & 25th February, 11th & 25th March

~ Sunday Tea Dances ~Tickets are £5 per person

to include Tea and Biscuits.7th January, 4th February, 4th March

3pm – 6pm

Kirkley Hall is set in picturesque tranquil grounds with four mainfunction rooms available for hire forany type of corporate or social eventincluding weddings, conferences,and private functions.

Booking is essential for the above events For more information or to make a reservation please contact our Operations Team on: Tel: 01670 841235 Email:[email protected]

Kirkley Hall

news&views

A look at the crimesreported throughNovember show aslight reduction incomparison with thesame month last year.

Two house burglaries werereported, (up until the time ofwriting), one on Darras Road,and one to the west ofPonteland in the Dissingtonarea. The Darras Road offencetook place over a period of twodays, the other happeningduring the daytime. In bothinstances the owners were out.

As last year it looks as thoughthe thieves are takingadvantage of the early darknessand are operating during thelate afternoon and earlyevening, when there is a lot oftraffic cover, with people beingstill at work, picking up childrenand shopping. If you have timedhouse lights it may be worthswitching them forward toaround 3pm.

Other offences have includedtwo thefts of equipment frombuilding sites, a cement mixerand a stone saw being takenfrom a site at Medburn.

Three teenagers are on bail,under investigation for allegedassaults on other teenagers thattook place on a Friday night inMerton Way during November.

Two horse trailers were takenfrom the area, both overnight. Ifyou have trailers, try and makethem as secure as possible.Contact our crime preventionofficers for advice. We haven’thad a horse trailer taken fromthe area for some time -obviously someone has becomeactive and is looking aroundPonteland and the surroundingrural area.

Some stone ornaments werestolen from a garden inRunnymede Road, with copingstones being stolen from a wallnear Belsay, again overnight.Damage was caused to a carparked on North Road,Ponteland, hopefully an isolatedincident.

Don’t drink drive At this time of year, thewarning about drink driving isalways emphasised. Please don’tdo this. A number of peoplefrom this area have beendetained over the last six weeksfor drink driving.

Complaints have been madeabout people parking on theschool crossing point areas. Themajority of parents willappreciate that these areas aresupposed to remain sterile,completely free of traffic. Carsstopping in these areas, evenfor a short time, will obstructthe view of the crossing.

Mind that child!Small children (and some oftheir parents) will not wait tosee if the cars have stoppedwhen the “lollipop” person is inthe roadway, or they may stepout before he or she hasstopped the traffic. It’s notmuch to ask, to expect peopleto keep off the yellow zig-zaglines. It would be advisable toslow down, say to 20mph,when the school crossing areasare in use. Again, most driversdo, but not all.

Someone reported a mandriving what was only describedas a blue coloured saloon caralong the Broadway, around4pm on Thursday November 29,going at what was obviouslyover 30mph. Not a particularlyclever thing to do at mosttimes, but especially when theschools are finishing. If bychance this particular driver is

reading this column, thinkabout it - try and not let whatsome would suspect to be aslightly frustrated ego get in theway of common sense.

If a small child - and there werea lot of them around at thattime - had run in front of you,your impact speed would havehad devastating consequences.

Rare owl returns homeThe eagle owl that has beensighted around Darras, hasmoved back to his/her owner’sgarden, so it should not be longbefore it is back in the aviary.The story of its escape certainlytook off in the local media, andruffled the feathers amongst

some falconers who live in thisarea. Hopefully, the fact that ithas returned to its home gardenwill send a signal amongst smallmammal owners that theirrabbits, guinea pigs etc. arenow relatively safe from anairborne attack-flap over.

I’m not sure if this magazine issupposed to have a seasonal“flavour“ to it. Obviously thenext one will be after Christmas,so I suppose it would beacceptable to comment on it -after all, there are lights up bothin Ponteland and Darras. Fromall the officers who work in thisarea, have an enjoyable and asafe holiday, and a good newyear.

The Eagle has landed

By PC Jon Gray, Community Beat Officer, Ponteland

Rare bird returns home but eagle eye now onspeeding drivers


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£34.50 per person.A special price of £19.95 for children under 10.

Served on Sunday 17th December.

Visit the team at Sanderson Young’sPonteland office or call 01661 823951 to findout more about our flexible fee package and

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Ponteland OfficeCoates Institute, Main Street, Ponteland

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pontnews views - pontelandpontelandonline.co.uk/pnv/issue 15 dec 2006.pdfthe south of the richard...

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