Cllr Cook My News

Councillors will represent you regardless of political persuasion. This site has been provided to the Councillor by the Local Authority. It has been provided subject to an Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) that this Councillor has agreed to. If you think that this site is not being used according to the AUP, please inform the Local Authority.

Planning Issues
Planning Application 12/0619/Ful erection of 2 no bungalows on land at the rear of 21 Cross Street Norton as been formally withdrawn by the applicant/agent and there is no longer a planning application for consideration or determination by the council. But this does not mean a future application will not be submitted.

Colchester Road Speed
After the missing 30 mph sign at the entrance to Colchester Road was replaced, residents were concerned that the speed on this road (at 30mph) was too fast, and requested the road be considered as a 20mph zone. So Eileen and I asked for a speed survey be carried out. This was carried out from 11th January to 17th January. The information collected showed that the average speed was 14.1mph and all but two vehicles per day travelled below 21mph each way every day of the survey.

News in Brief
• Stockton Council has agreed to fund 321 new apprenticeships in 2012/13 and to expand the range of training opportunities for young people.
• A review of the administration of housing benefit has begun with the aim of saving around £280,000.
• The new contact centre at the central library has helped more than 10,000 customers since it opened. Nine out of ten queries have been resolved at first contact and the maximum waiting time has been four and a half minutes.

Community First Panel
Norton South Ward are in the process of setting up a Community First Panel, they have held their first meeting to agree the Norton South priorities for the ward. We are looking for residents who might be interested in being part of this panel, up to eight residents can be members. They could have access to £33,000 funding over the next four years to give to local groups.

If you are interested in being part of this panel please contact Eileen or myself for more details. Our contact details are on the left of this page.

North Shore Academy Update
Carillion are the main contractors for constructing the new academy. Northshore As you will have noticed they moved onto the site at the old Tilery Sports Centre in February 2012. The academy is expected to be open by April of 2013. It will also incorporate My Place, a new youth centre for North Stockton which will have services for young people. You can see from the artist’s impression that the building will be magnificent.

Disappointed to hear about the Ofsted report, but myself and Eileen have spoken to the council and they have offered the Academy help to turn the school around.

www.nshacademy.org.uk/

Swainby Road Regeneration Scheme
Since the scheme was announced in October 2009, over 100 residents have been relocated and 72 properties have been demolished. The master planning exercise which was completed in July 2011 was well attended by local residents and key principles were established. Housing and Communities Agency funding was secured for site assembly and for affordable housing by Tristar Homes.

The next steps are to demolish a further 60 properties which started on site in February 2012, commence relocation of residents from the final decant phase, the procurement of a developer partner and to link the scheme into plans for North Shore Academy. Through the Doorstep newsletter we will keep you informed.

Cash, Cuts and Council Tax
Stockton Council is putting up its council tax by just under 3.5%. Most properties in Norton South are in Bands A to C so this means that most households will pay less than 75 pence per week extra for their council services. Stockton Council has been praised recently by the Audit Commission for the way it handles its finances and has delivered on planned savings and efficiencies.

Despite a £30 million reduction in government grant between 2010 and 2013, the council has managed to protect frontline services. This has not been easy, 600 jobs have gone, wages are frozen for the third year and every service must be delivered at a reduced cost. The council has made savings of £20 million and has to save another £11 million—nearly a quarter of its total budget. This is at a time when pressures on services for the elderly and children are increasing and energy and waste disposal costs are rising. Quite simply, if the council tax did not rise this year, the choice would be to increase it even more in future years or cut even more money ( £14million) from jobs and services. We believe the correct decision was made to avoid drastic cuts in future years.

Antisocial behaviour and crime going down in Norton South
Our Neighbourhood Police team are pleased to report a steady ASB Officer decrease over the last 12 months in both antisocial behaviour and crime in our area. In particular incidents of antisocial behaviour are 50% lower than they were a year ago. Officers attribute these reductions to proactive patrols at core times, acting on intelligence received from the community, working with partners and good interaction with young people.

As councillors we know how valuable our Neighbourhood Police team is to residents in the ward and we appreciate them attending our regular surgeries. They also hold fortnightly ‘drop ins’ , meeting dates, times and venues can be found on the Norton South page on the Cleveland Police website.

Any resident wanting to discuss any problems with officers can contact them on 302930, calls will be transferred directly to them if on duty, if not details will be taken for them to contact you.

Renew Your Postal Vote
All postal votes must be renewed after 5 years. If yours needs renewing, you will receive a form and clear instructions on what to do. Its an easy process but you must return the completed renewal form or you will lose your postal vote.

If you haven't already got a postal vote but would like one or you wish to register to vote, please contact the Council's Electoral Services on (01642) 526196, or by emailing electoral@stockton.gov.uk, or by printing off an application form from www.stockton.gov.uk/yourcouncil/electoralregistration

Police Update Norton South

The new PC for Norton South is PC Steve Thacker and if you want to speak to him he can be contacted on 302930, but this is not an emergency number, and if you need the police urgently then either ring 326326 or 999.

I represent all of the residents living in the Norton South Ward whatever their political allegiance. Local issues are considered on merit and nothing else.

For Parliamentary elections we are part of Stockton North constituency currently represented by Alex Cunningham MP