Tyneside Committee
Rosemary Dodd reports
The two main areas for concern for the Committee are the redevelopment of Tynemouth Station and the increased level of street clutter in the City.
Photo by Chris McKenna
(from Wikipedia)
Tynemouth Station
Dr. Mike Casselden is working with North Tyneside planners to discover what is actually being proposed, and will make comment on the scheme. Tynemouth Village Association is concerned about the proposals especially the ‘food outlet’. It is an extremely sensitive site; a Listed building of historic importance to the railway heritage of Tyneside.
East Pilgrim Street
The East Pilgrim Street regeneration plans appear to have moved into the ‘slow lane’ due to the credit crunch. However, this makes the future conservation of the Odeon Cinema even more urgent. There is still no official response to the relisting. The Committee will continue to monitor the situation.
Cut The Clutter
By Douglas Hoblyn
After two years of fruitless correspondence, I have managed to make some progress with the City Council. In May Councillor Shipley, the Council Leader and one of our members, arranged a meeting so that I could explain our policy on “Street Scene” and “Sign Clutter”. He was supportive of our initiative and last month I had a very positive meeting with Mr. Murphy, the Director of Technical Services.
He took on board my observations relating to the old A1 from Gosforth Park to the City Centre and has agreed to thoroughly investigate the section between the By Pass and the Great Park junction. It would appear that, if the 470 yards of unrestricted road were to become 40 mph, a considerable number of signs could be removed.
Now that new lighting columns have been erected across Town Moor he will also examine the need for the U-turn signs and others in that area.
In due course, I hope to be able to establish a procedure whereby other items of clutter can be directed for action to the appropriate officer.
City and County
November 2009
