Jan 20, 2016
Hexham News – Loosing Hill car park closure
On 1st February Hexham’s Loosing Hill car park will close. The County Council will begin the building of the new bus station on the site, this is expected to take 6 months.
Councillor Derek Kennedy visited the site and said “I counted over 120 parking spaces that will be lost during this time. This is a busy car park used by many residents when visiting the hospital and doctors opposite.”
The loss of these spaces will add more pressure to the already chaotic parking problems the town is suffering. When built, the bus station will have some new buildings attached to it but only a small number of parking spaces will be retained adjacent to the bus station.
Derek added “I remain concerned at the location of the new bus station, it is very close to 2 busy roundabouts and it could be difficult for those using the buses to cross the roads to walk into the town centre and back again. I will continue to press for safe crossing points.”
Do you have any views? Contact Derek Kennedy at email address derekhexham@gmail.net
Jan 14, 2016
The rail line between Hexham and Prudhoe remains closed following two large landslides. Trains are running to and from Hexham to Carlisle and to and from Newcastle to Prudhoe. A replacement bus service is covering the journey between Hexham and Prudhoe.
The line is expected to be closed the rest of January and some time beyond.
Councillor Derek Kennedy has been contacted by a number of residents who have highlighted their experiences of using the replacement bus services.
Derek said “I am reliably informed that in the first few days of the replacement bus being in place that there were some real problems. A Mr Thompson of Hexham wrote to me to state that a journey that should take 45mins took around 2 hours. On another day the bus driver used a sat-nav to travel from Hexham to Prudhoe via A69 and was planning on driving his bus across the Ovingham Bridge! Passengers had to inform him the bridge was closed and give him directions on how to get to Prudhoe rail station. There have been various occasions when the bus and trains are not being co-ordinated to link up on time making journeys much longer.”
Derek continued “I understand the position is improving with journey times taking around an extra 25 minutes than normal. Season tickets cost over £1200 per year and while I sympathise with the time it will take to repair the landslides, however the rail companies can control the bus replacement service and I do expect better. I am monitoring the rail closure position regularly and would welcome any comments from users of the service. I am writing to the rail companies to ask for assurances that the bus replacement service is the best that can be offered and to ensure we are kept up to date when the landslide repairs will take place.”
Northern Rail have link here where you can check journey times
Jan 8, 2016
A proposal by Independent Councillor Derek Kennedy to re-introduce cheap parking charges into Hexham’s Wentworth car park has been blocked by the ruling Conservative group on the Town Council.
The proposal was to help mitigate the daily chaos experienced in the Wentworth car park. There is not enough all-day parking for workers and local residents and visitors go round in circles searching for an elusive space.
The proposal was to bring back the:
30p an hour up to a maximum of £2 a day charge;
Annual £100 a year permit scheme;
Remove the confusing red, white and blue bays and replace with white bays only;
The £350,000 a year generated to be put into a new ring-fenced Hexham Trust Fund;
The Hexham Trust Fund to be used to pay for projects such as a new workers car park and a park and ride scheme.
Note – the free parking at for example, Beaumont St and Gilesgate car park would be retained.
Derek Kennedy said “This is not only about trying to fix today’s problems but also looking ahead for the next 5 and 10 years. 50 spaces will be lost at Loosing Hill car park when the bus station moves location. New developments at the M&S site will reduce parking spaces further. We need to plan ahead. The Hexham Trust Fund could be used to develop the Town’s traffic infrastructure such as a workers car park at the old bunker site (behind Tesco) and a park and ride scheme similar to Durham. ”
Derek added “The change would help stimulate Hexham’s future positively and would engage with other initiatives such as Hexham’s proposed Business Improvement District.”
However, opponents of the scheme commented
Tory Councillor Tom Gillanders said “There are 1,700 parking spaces in Hexham, many unused because people don’t know where they are.”
Tory Councillor Cath Homer said of the Trust Fund “Its simply not going to happen.”
The Town Council wants another report to look into the matter.
Hexham Courant Opinion (8/1/16) “Despite a disingenuous attempt to wash its hands of the monster it created, the town council administrations should be taking positive action to make the parking system work, rather than creating obstructions and finding reasons why it won’t work.”
Hexham Courant of 8/1/16 has the full story on page 3 an Opinion on page 10. and a news report here (Hexham Newscast)
Jan 8, 2016
The serious flooding of Hexham fire station for the second time in a decade has set alarm bells ringing about delays in transferring the service to a new fire station behind the town’s hospital.
Source Hexham Courant: Fears for fire cover following station flooding
The fire station on Tyne Mills was put out of action on December 5 last year when it was swamped by Storm Desmond, forcing firefighters to operate from the doomed Haydon Bridge fire station.
But although deputy chief fire officer Paul Hedley assured Hexham Town Council on Monday that the loss of Hexham station for 24 hours had no real impact on the response capability of the Northumberland fire and rescue service, councillors remained concerned.
Mr Hedley said: “We have structures in place to enable us to respond to all eventualities even with both Hexham and Haydon Bridge unavailable.
“We lost the use of Hexham fire station due to flooding, but at no stage were we unable to provide full cover.”
However, Coun. Derek Kennedy remained worried that the fire station had suffered serious flooding for a second time and changing weather patterns made it likely it would flood again sooner rather than later.
He expressed concerns for the welfare of the firefighters themselves, for following the last flooding episode, several members of the crews had become ill with water-borne diseases picked up at the swamped station.
He said: “We know the fire station was built on a flood plain and I am very concerned for the future, especially as the county seems set on closing Haydon Bridge fire station, which served as temporary accommodation while Hexham was flooded out.
“Surely you cannot close the Haydon Bridge station until the new fire station behind the hospital is ready for use.”
On the perceived threat to the welfare of staff, Mr Hedley said protection for staff had improved beyond recognition since the 2005 floods, with the introduction of waders and waterproof clothing and other protocols for dealing with hazards which were not available a decade ago.
He added: “We were out of the station for 24 hours, but it has since been industrially cleaned to a standard far in excess of what happened in 2005.
“We have certainly not had any reports of firefighters or anyone else suffering ill effects from last month’s flood water.”
He did, however, indicate he would welcome support from the town council to keep Haydon Bridge open until such time as Hexham’s proposed new fire station was up and running.
Haydon Bridge is scheduled to close in September or October, but the new Hexham station is not expected to be ready until next January at the earliest.
Jan 4, 2016
Car Parking – Council Motion
Happy New Year,
Following many conversations over the last several months regarding the Wentworth Car Park, I have written the following motion for consideration at the Hexham Town Council on 4th January. The meeting is in the Council Chamber at 6:45pm and open to the public.
I will keep you posted on the outcome of the debate that follows.
Best
Derek
MOTION BY COUNCILLOR DEREK KENNEDY
Background
Car parking is a major issue for Hexham residents, workers and visitors alike. Since being introduced the free parking has had time to be tested and results have been very mixed.
1. The short term free parking in for example Beaumont St and Gilesgate car park has proved to be a success and should continue.
2. However the major flaw is the Wentworth car park. The current red, white and blue bays are confusing and ineffective. Particularly for those who work in the town, they are lifeblood of the town, spending money and time every working day. It is unfair for these key people to have to compete against one another for the limited number of long stay bays. Local residents are also left going round in circles looking for spaces.
3. We are seeing the Wentworth car park overwhelmed by the demand for parking.
4. Some long term bays are being used by those who travel away from Hexham, for example, by rail to other parts. There are other various perverse parking activities taking place which are to the detriment of the Town’s economic and social activity.
5. The conclusion is that the parking situation in Wentworth is not the best solution for Hexham. The public and business people demand a change and therefore:
I propose:
A. Hexham Town Council will support the re-introduction of [cheap] car parking charges in the Wentworth car park as the best form of control to ensure effective traffic management.
B. Wentworth car park would have similar charges to those in 2013. Namely, 30 pence an hour up to a maximum of £2 a day. Annual Permits would also be available at £100 a year (£2 a week).
C. Wentworth’s long, medium and short term bays should be removed. The replacement would be white bays controlled by cheap charges.
D. The money generated from car park charges, that can be estimated at £350,000 a year, is ring-fenced and placed into a newly formed Hexham Trust Fund.
E. The Hexham Trust Fund would pay for the liability of parking such as car park repairs and cash collection costs. The profit would then be ploughed back into Hexham traffic related projects. For example introduce park and ride or build new car parks.
F. The Hexham Trust Fund would be administered by the Town Council together with partners such as Hexham Community Partnership, Hexham Businesses, Northumberland County Council and other similar parties.
G. This change would help stimulate Hexham’s future positively and would engage with other initiatives around the town such as the Business Improvement District.
Submitted to Hexham Town Council December 23rd by Councillor Derek Kennedy
See the Hexham Courant article ‘Let us pay for parking‘ for further thoughts
If you have any questions please contact Derek Kennedy at
Email – Derekhexham@gmail.com
Telephone – 01434 607669
Address – 2 Alemouth Road, Hexham, NE46 3PJ
website: www.derekforhexham.net
Dec 28, 2015
Traffic Disruptions
Traffic disruption is expected in Hexham at Haugh Lane, Alemouth Road and Hallstile Bank (all are near to Tesco) from 4 January 2016 for up to 10 weeks. Northern Gas are undertaking essential maintenance works, expect temporary traffic lights near the Fuel station and the Railway Bridge.
Details of local roadworks and traffic issues can be found here northumberland.roadworks.org
Note – Following the resignation of the Conservative County Councillor for Hexham West, Town Councillor Derek Kennedy has offered to deal with all Council related matters on your behalf.
Derek is a Town Councillor (since 2003) and has previously represented Hexham West at District and County Councillor levels.
Please contact Derek Kennedy at
Email – Derekhexham@gmail.com
Telephone – 01434 607669
Address – 2 Alemouth Road, Hexham, NE46 3PJ
website: www.derekforhexham.net
Dec 24, 2015
Hello just to wish you a very Merry Christmas.
If you need to contact me about any Council matters over the Christmas period my details are:
Please contact Derek Kennedy at
Email – Derekhexham@gmail.com
Telephone – 01434 607669
Address – 2 Alemouth Road, Hexham, NE46 3PJ
website: derek.forhexham.net
Dec 21, 2015
Bin Collection Service at Christmas Time
The County Council are informing me that there will be no changes to bin collection dates over the Christmas and New Year period. So please remember to put your bin out as per your normal collection day.
You can put metal biscuit and sweet tins, Christmas cards, wrapping paper and cardboard packing in your recycling bin.
You can check your bin collection days on the web site www.northumberland.gov.uk/waste
Note – Following the resignation of the County Councillor for Hexham West, Town Councillor Derek Kennedy has offered to deal with all County Council matters on your behalf.
You can contact Derek at
Please contact Derek Kennedy at
Email – Derekhexham@gmail.com
Telephone – 01434 607669
Address – 2 Alemouth Road, Hexham, NE46 3PJ
website: www.derekforhexham.net
Dec 18, 2015
This week Hexham West’s County Councillor Cessford resigned his positions on Northumberland County and Hexham Town Councils.
Hexham Town Councillor Derek Kennedy is happy to take responsibility for reporting and
dealing with Northumberland County Council at this time on your behalf.
Derek said
“The winter time is when most people require the most from their council. If you need the grit box re-filled, a drain or gulley cleaned, or a council gritter to attend to your street, then please do get in touch with me immediately and I will deal direct with the County Council.
Any other issues such as planning matters etc I am also happy to deal with.
We thank Colin Cessford for his past efforts, and send our best wishes for the future.”
Derek Kennedy is one of your current Hexham Town Councillors (since 2003) and he has also represented you on Northumberland County and Tynedale District Councils.
Please contact Derek Kennedy at
Email – Derekhexham@gmail.com
Telephone – 01434 607669
Address – 2 Alemouth Road, Hexham, NE46 3PJ
website: www.derekforhexham.net
