When first appointed to the Northumberland County Council Cabinet in 2017 a Corbridge resident and a driving force of economic regeneration of Tyneside told me that our biggest priority to boost Northumberland’s economic fortunes should be to re-open the rail line from Ashington into Newcastle.
After decades of talking about it today’s funding announcement confirms that we are delivering. A great achievement by my council colleagues and council officers who worked tirelessly to make it a reality.
It won’t directly be used by Tyne Valley residents but these transformational projects create jobs and make our local economy stronger – benefitting us all.
I attended a briefing this morning with Network Rail and Train Operators working in Northumberland. One of them was the soon to be launched operator East Coast Trains who will operate services up and down the East Coast Main Line. They are based in Newcastle and are recruiting – more information here.
Sometimes it’s the smaller things that give the greatest job satisfaction as a local councillor. I had a number of approaches from local residents and businesses to see if I could get the lamp posts on our historic bridge painted. The bridge is the pedestrian link between the village car park and the village centre and first impressions count.
The street lighting team at Northumberland County Council reacted speedily to have the lights painted whilst the bridge was closed overnight for resurfacing of the south side roundabout. Up a ladder in October painting lights in the middle of the night is great service!
Details of planned road works at Thornbrough from 28th October. Full details here.
U8193 Howden Dene Junction To Aydon Junction Thornbrough
Hatton TM on behalf of Morrison Utilities for poling and overhead cabling works. Road closure order valid 28/10/2019 to 15/11/2019 Expected work dates 28/10/2019 until 08/11/2019 between the hours of 09:00 and 16:00 Access will be maintained for residents and businesses. AWS and letter drop to be installed 1 week prior. 2 operatives will remain on site to assist with access to properties and businesses.