Castle Morpeth Council gets glowing report in final audit

Castle Morpeth Council is bowing out amid glowing praise from town hall watchdogs for making major improvements in its performance.
The independent Audit Commission says the Northumberland rural council has gone from being officially rated as weak in 2003/4 to becoming a good authority with an ambitious programme of further improvement.
In addition, the council responded very well when its capacity and capability were severely tested by September's severe flooding, says the Commission.
In its two final audit reports before the council disappears under local government reorganisation in April, the Commission praises the strides it has made in political, community and managerial leadership since 2005.
It says the arrangements ensure that all councillors from all parties work effectively together to plan and deliver improvements for the borough.
The final inspection letter says: "It is difficult to overstate the complete transformation this has brought about, and the focus it has brought to the improvement agenda."
The Commission says the higher external profile of the council is leading to increased inward investment in Castle Morpeth.

Source: JournalLive

Belsay Shop is one of best in Britain

A VILLAGE shop helped through crisis times by the huge support of its local customers has won a regional award.
Belsay Shop has been named Countryside Alliance North East village shop and post office of the year for 2008 and will vie for the national title against winners from the rest of Britain.
Its post office was one of 81 that network bosses announced they were seeking to close last July.
Belsay Estate, which own the shop and post office, set up a petition opposing the closure which attracted more than 800 signatures, the most for any branch in Northumberland. However, following the six-week consultation period, the move was rubber-stamped and bosses announced they were to replace the post office with a visiting postmistress.
However Belsay Estate rejected this, so it was agreed that subpostmistress Stephanie Jarron would continue to run the post office and be paid to offer services. The Countryside Alliance in giving the award acknowledged, however, that the shop lost a major source of income when the post office salary was lost.
And it considered the fact that the shop now has to fund the limited service it offers given the small payment it receives from the post office.
The alliance’s regional director and head judge Richard Dodd added: “The closure programme by the was a blunt instrument that got it wrong closing places by geographical means.”

Belsay shop also receives daily deliveries of fresh, locally-grown vegetables from two suppliers.
Miss Jarron, 41, who took over the running of the shop and post office two years ago, said it is also a place where villagers come to chat, as Belsay has no pub or other community meeting place. Both factors were acknowledged by the alliance.
Mr Dodd said: “The shop is a happy place that also takes in many local products and is an appreciated community hub for the community.”
Miss Jarron, who lives in Belsay, was last night delighted to have received the award. She was particularly pleased that the alliance recognised the position she has been left in by the post office. “My salary has been taken away and all I get is less than a quarter of what I got. I run a very small business in a tiny shop and I am being used by the government to subsidise the post office in Northumberland.”
Miss Jarron was also pleased that the shop’s value to the community had been highlighted.
Award winners were chosen by Mr Dodd from a shortlist prepared following nominations from members of the public.

Source: JournalLive

Ponteland Wheelbarrow Race 2009

Large Crowds turned out at the annual Ponteland Wheelbarrow Race to watch Andy Pybus and Alan Redman slide across the finishing line in first place for the third year with an excellent time of 7mins 20secs.

In the junior race Daniel Brown and Connor Hayley were victorious, closely followed by Mark and Andrew Richardson and Jack and Sam Long. Daniel and Connor are both also previous winners of the junior race.

For more information about the Wheelbarrow Race visit the Wheelbarrow Race Page at Ponteland Online main Website

Photographs are courtesy of Alastair Ruffman of Ponteland Photographic Society

Milbourne’s Miracle Baby is Thriving

A chance decision to spend a night at the in-laws in Whalton probably saved the lives of Zoë Bell and her unborn daughter Lucy.Zoë, 22, was living at the time with husband Stephen and their baby son Jack in remote Allendale. Stephen, 27, woke to find her lying in bed at his parents’ home in a pool of blood. An ambulance was called and rushed Zoë to Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary, where Lucy was born 14 weeks premature on September 9, 2005. Her due date was Christmas Eve.Lucy weighed just 900g, or 2lb. The picture here shows just how tiny she was. Stephen, a civil engineer, said: “Lucy was about the size of a knife or fork, or a toastie bag – my wedding ring could fit around her shoulder.” She was transferred straight to the special baby care unit, put on a ventilator, and at ten days old was taken to the Freeman Hospital for a heart operation to close up a duct.The couple had been aware there may be problems with the pregnancy, having been told there appeared to be insufficient fluid around the baby in the womb. Doctors thought she may not go full term, but no one was expecting this Christmas present to come quite so early.Zoë said: “Had we been in Allendale that night, neither of us would be here today. And having been diagnosed with bleeding on the brain and lung disease at birth, we were worried Lucy would not survive. We are so, so lucky.”Lucy was kept at the RVI until early November, when she was transferred to Hexham General Hospital, but after just two days she had stopped breathing and had to be rushed back to the special baby care unit in Newcastle.She fortunately made a full recovery and was allowed home for Christmas. Lucy is now 21 months old, and a very active, intelligent and happy girl who lives with her family at Town Farm Cottage in Milbourne.The couple stayed at one of The Sick Children’s Trust’s ‘Homes from Home’ - Crawford House at the RVI during Lucy’s three month stay in hospital. This meant they were just moments away from her bedside, rather than a two hour return drive, with a direct phone to the special baby care unit.Zoë said: “They were absolutely fantastic to us – we received the most amazing care and she wouldn’t be here but for them.”To express their gratitude to the hospital and the Trust for the care and attention they all received, Zoë and Stephen have organised a “Charity Night” at The Highlander pub near Belsay, where Zoë is assistant manager.The event is being held on Friday 3rd August, beginning at 7.30pm. Tickets cost £10 each. There will be a buffet, disco and also an auction and raffle. All proceeds go to the Sick Children’s Trust, and also the Tiny Lives Fund – the RVI’s special baby care unit charity.Prizes already donated include a flight for two around the Northumberland coast, the use of the pub’s head chef for an evening dinner party at your home, and a chauffeured minibus for a day. Zoë wanted to particularly thank her manageress Gillian Kendall for hosting the event and Ponteland Print for producing promotional material free of charge.

By Chris Jennings