Town Council | Derek Kennedy

A69 Hexham Bridge End roundabout works to begin

Aug 20, 2019

Highways England are starting their work on the A69.

August 2019, Highways England conduct work to divert utilities at the Hexham Bridge End Roundabout.

September 2019, permanent average speed cameras are being installed between the Hexham West junction and Haydon Bridge.

October 2019, work commences on the upgrading of the Hexham Bridge End roundabout with an underpass being built. As a safety measure during construction 30mph temporary average speed cameras will be in place.

The underpass project is expected to take 18 months and be complete by April 2021.

A public exhibition of the works is expected in mid-September 2019.

Work on the Styford roundabout is still intended and Highways England are developing a scheme to implement a flyover.

Councillor Derek Kennedy said “As you may know, we had over 1,500 sign the petition requesting that the £30 million investment be re-directed to the real problems on the A69 single carriage western corridor. Highways England are however going ahead with the projects to build the underpass at the Hexham roundabout and also to build a flyover at the Styford roundabout. We will now have to prepare for the disruption that this work will bring for the next 18 months or so. I will continue to provide you with updates as information becomes available.”

A website is available where you can register to obtain regular updates direct from Highways England the link is

https://highwaysengland.co.uk/projects/a69-junction-improvements/

Highways England believe these projects will

create 18 miles of free-flowing dual carriageway between Newcastle and Hexham
reduce congestion at the junctions
improve access from the A69 and into Hexham
make journey times more reliable
support economic growth within the North of England

If you have a view on this subject let Derek know by emailing him at
Derekhexham@gmail.com

A69 roundabout works

Mar 6, 2019

Highways England £30 million scheme to build an underpass on the A69 at Hexham’s roundabout has been met with fury from local people. Highways England explained that during the building work there would be no right-hand turn allowed.

This would mean if you were leaving Hexham and heading to Newcastle, you would have to go westwards to Acomb and do a u-turn to head back eastwards.
Those traveling from the west to Hexham would be diverted to Corbrige before doubling back to Hexham.
The diversions would last from April 2019 for around one year.

Councillor Derek Kennedy said “We need improvements to the A69 and the £30 million should be spent on improvements at the Hexham West/Warden junction or Acomb junction or further dualling in the west. The underpass will provide no real benefit and is a waste of money. The proposed diversions will cause enormous problems for Hexham residents and traders. The proposed Acomb u-turn is incredibly dangerous and I do not see how this can be effective, it will cause lots of queuing on the A69.”

Derek went on to say “Our high street is struggling, I spoke to a number of traders and they all said any A69 diversion will cause them huge problems, with some saying they will likely go out of business. I am very worried that the Bunker site development of a hotel, supermarket and car park could be compromised if the developers becomes concerned at the health of Hexham. Traders at French Gardens (Euro garage site) on Rotary Way advise me they will be severely affected if the proposals go ahead. I am appalled and am calling on Highways England and Northumberland County Council to immediately pause all works and re-consider the need for the scheme. We need the Hexham and Tynedale public and traders to be consulted as the impacts are huge for all of us.”

Do you have a view on this subject let Derek know by emailing him at
Derekhexham@gmail.com

New Street Cleaner for Hexham

Jun 7, 2018

County Councillor Derek Kennedy Hexham West has welcomed the news that a new street cleaning machine will operate in Hexham from June.

Derek said “I have received a lot of complaints from residents about the cleanliness in the town. This much needed new machine should help improve matters considerably.”

A state-of-the-art Hako sweeping machine has been bought and a driver employed to improve cleaning regimes across the town.

Hexham Town Council and Northumberland County Council are working together to deliver improved cleanliness in the town – aiming to make it a more attractive place to live, work and visit.

A new street barrow with brush and other tools have also been purchased, and will be used for manual sweeping in pedestrianised areas and the more hard to reach ‘nooks and crannies’ around the town centre.

The Hako machine will undertake regular sweeps of the town centre and also sweep pavements in all of Hexham’s housing estates on a scheduled basis.

Hexham Library Reopens

Jan 23, 2018

Hexham’s Library at the Queens Hall has reopened following a refurbishment.

Independent County Councillor Derek Kennedy went along and reports “The Library is very light and clean with a dominant white colour. The Victorian internal structures are retained. A new wide stair case replaces the old spiral stair case.”

The Queens Hall is now the key service centre for the County Council where bills can be paid and enquiries made. Hadrian House on Market Street is now closed and is being sold to a developer.

However Derek did say “The Library replaces the Tourist Information Centre at Wentworth, with its future still unknown. I’m not sure of the wisdom of this move. Especially as the only reference to tourism is a number of leaflets on the wall as you enter the library. This can be so easily missed and the Council may want to rethink and improve this service.”

Merry Christmas – Useful Message

Dec 23, 2017

Message from Councillor Derek Kennedy

Wishing You a Merry Christmas

If your household is like mine then you will have a greater amount of waste than any other time of the year.

Bin collection dates over the Christmas period will be later than your normal collection.

I live in Hexham with my normal bin collection day of Thursday

However with holidays, my collection day is 2 days late, so will be Saturday 30 Dec; and the following week, 1 day late on Friday 5 January.

You can check your collection date at the county council website
Click here

http://www.northumberland.gov.uk/Waste/Bins/Bin-Calendars.aspx

Hope you find this useful.

Wentworth Sports selling the Courant

May 22, 2017

Independent County Councillor Derek Kennedy recorded his delight that the Hexham Courant will once again be for sale in Hexham’s Wentworth Sports Centre.

Derek is a regular at the gym, said “I am so pleased that we have the Public Notices in the Courant and the newspaper is back for sale in the Wentworth. This has been an unsavoury affair with the County Council damaging its reputation with the public in Tynedale. I can assure residents of Hexham and Tynedale that I will fight against such injustices. I hope the County Council’s officers have learnt a valuable lesson and will reflect on their actions. We are public servants here to serve the public, some need to be reminded of that fact.”

Derek played the key role by using a Freedom of Information request to expose the poor decision making when the public notices were removed from the local newspaper.