Whittonstall threatened by prospect of open-cast coal mine

On Sunday I attended the public meeting at St Philip and St James’s Church, Whittonstall to discuss the horrific prospect local residents are now facing: an enormous open-cast mine being dug on the edge of the village.

In August, UK Coal announced a plan to submit a planning application for a site to the north-east of the village. The "Hoodsclose" scheme will allegedly create up to 50 jobs for 7 years.

I, and practically everyone who attended the meeting, are deeply sceptical of these figures: first, note the careful use of the words "up to"; second, bear in mind that modern coal mining is a hi-tech affair - any jobs created will require specialised skills which local workers looking for employment will probably lack; third, there is no cast-iron commitment to closing the site in 7 years time. One local resident voiced the words of her father in the 1940s, discussing an open-cast mine on the Northumberland coast, which was promised to last for only "5 years" - 65 years later, the mine is still going.

Local residents are up in arms, and rightly so. This part of the world is simply stunning, and could not have looked more beautiful than on a day like today - blue skies, a cool breeze, blazing sunshine. An open-cast mine will be an open sore, a blight on the landscape, will make moving away from the village impossible unless vendors are prepared to take a huge hit on their selling price, and raise the prospect of years of dust and trucks hauling coal off site - so much for a happy family life for residents with young children. From what I could see, the whole village turned out, and they are 100% opposed.

An awful lot of work will need to go into preventing this planning application from going through. It goes without saying: this is not a party-political issue. So I look forward to working with local councillors, the sitting MP and Hexham's other would-be MPs, if they agree that this plan is a really bad idea, to stop this nightmare vision from becoming reality.

NB: For the Hexham Courant report of this meeting, check this link

Official start of Autumn

Today was a day of two halfs or, more accurately, three thirds. Early morning spent at Kindermusic in Ponteland (Methodist Church opposite The Diamond), a music, dance and singing class which my eldest daughter loves. After I got her safely home it was off to Haltwhistle for more canvassing, with a quick stop in Heddon to pick up a colleague.

By 11am the winds were picking up a storm, and already there was lots of damage to trees and the foliage along the A69. Every minute of driving my car got a strong tug: God's hint to slow down.

We had a good turnout for canvassing. Among the more elderly residents, an important concern was the closure of the day care centres. Regrettably, one resident said she wouldn't vote Labour for that reason. When I patiently tried to explain to her that we opposed the closure of the day care centres and it is the Liberal Democrats trying to close them down, she told me she couldn't care less. Rather like the MPs expenses scandal: when something goes badly wrong which upsets voters, all parties get the blame, not just those at fault.


Final third of the day was spent at the Discovery Museum in Newcastle, where we got there just in time (4pm) to be told that the 'Play Tyne' exhibit "is now closed" - great ... Anyway, we had a good walk around before it shut at 5pm, and my eldest got very excited by the model boats. It's a pity my grandfather didn't live long enough to meet his grand-daughter: he loved building model boats and planes, and my eldest would have loved to see him building them.

Hexham Abbey Festival

Saturday spent at the Hexham Abbey Festival - unseasonably sunny weather meant I managed to get ever so slightly sunburnt. I chatted with Philip Clark who was involved in organising the food festival outside. The music rehearsals going on inside the abbey were impressive. After the festival, I headed over to Haltwhistle to do some canvassing, and met a number of voters who seemed pleased to see me even though I was keeping them away from their sunbathing! Dinner with my wife and kids in a local restaurant watching Newcastle United hammer Ipswich 4-0. Given his loyalties, I think Bobby Robson would have been both delighted and upset by the result. Night topped off at the Haltwhistle Working Men's Club's 'race night', where I managed to win £2.50 on a racing pig. Don't ask ...

School governors meeting

This evening was spent at a school governors meetings at Longbenton Community College, where I have been a governor since 2005. It was a nice meeting as we had something to celebrate - an excellent set of GCSE results, 60% meeting the government target of 5 A-C grades including Maths and English. The school's internal target was 58% so we exceeded our own expections - smiling (but not complacent) faces all around.

Lib Dem leader promises voters in Prudhoe, Hexham, Haltwhistle and Ponteland "savage cuts"

Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg has promised "savage cuts" if elected. Has anyone told his Lib Dem Parliamentary candidates in the North East that this is their 'official' message to voters? Somehow don't think so. Is it just me, or do the Lib Dems look more and more like the Tories every day?

Hexham canvassing

Out canvassing in the eastern part of Hexham today in blazing sunshine - had I known how nice the weather was going to be, I would have planned on going to Wallington Hall today instead of yesterday when it was overcast.

Spoke to a number of older voters, most of whom appreciate that it was a Labour government which introduced (1) winter fuel allowances (2) free bus passes for the 60+ (3) free TV licenses for the over 75s, but didn't appreciate that (4) Labour just increased the single person's pension by £5 a week (the largest single increase ever) (5) Labour have restored the link between pensions and earnings which the Tories abolished in the 1980s. Labour has got a good story to tell on what it has done for older voters, but still has a job to do making sure everyone knows the facts.

Whalton village annual show, Wallington Hall

It's Saturday, so that means it's family day. We decided to go to Wallington Hall, which I've never been to before. On the way, we picked up my mother who lives in Morpeth, who suggested we stop off at the Whalton village annual show, which is what we did. I'm a sucker for classic cars, thought don't ask me to drive one (I only know how to drive automatic). There were some cool cars at the show, including this one:



Wallington Hall was great: the weather held, and we were all enchanted by the walled garden and the dragon heads.