Newcastle upon Tyne Liberal Democrats

In November the Council put into effect an "Article 4 direction" which covers much of North Jesmond ward and a number of other areas across the city. From now on, planning permission will be required to convert a family home into a House of Multiple Occupation (HMO) in most parts of the ward.

There will be a number of grounds on which planning permission can be refused, including the fact that:

Despite the investment in recent years by Northumbrian Water on improving sewer capacity to protect against flooding in the Red House Farm area, there's still work to be done to satisfy local residents and councillors.

"Northumbrian Water continues to refuse to accept the need for standby pumps at the top of Acomb Crescent in case of extreme storm emergencies" says Councillor David Faulkner. We will continue to press them but if the answer is still no then we will insist that the council makes the commitment and covers the cost. This has been dragging on for too long and must be sorted out soon." The Council has been informed that NW is doing more work on what they call "sustainable sewerage" which includes looking to remove surface water from sewer networks.

£50,000 is to be spent to improve two play areas in our ward. "This is great news" says Councillor Sarah Cross. The money comes from the ward capital fund which was set up by the Liberal Democrats when we ran the council."

Barbondale Lonnen - the existing play area provides a good range of equipment for younger children but only limited play experience for those in the 8 - 13 yr age range. The existing swings are reaching the end of their serviceable life. This project will provide a new set of swings located closer to the existing play area and a piece of multi-activity/climbing equipment suited to older children. Also, community consultation has revealed a need for seating. Picnic tables and benches will be located adjacent to the play area, with a hard surface access path, providing a place for parents, carers etc sit and meet.

HMO Victory For Local Residents

Following months of needless extra consultation the new administration at the council has bowed to pressure and the new Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMO) zone came into effect as originally planned on the 25th of November.

Under the previous Liberal Democrat administration Newcastle City Council gave notice of its intention to make an Article 4 Direction across eight wards in the city, which includes parts of East Gosforth. Years of consultation, negotiations with government, and court cases led to the agreed zone being designated last year, to come into effect this November. Inexplicably, only a few weeks ago Labour decided that yet more consultation was required. Councillor David Slesenger said, "This created intolerable uncertainty for local residents. This issue was already sorted. There was no need for any more discussions or submissions to council. All they had to do was leave it alone. Simple as that." David added,

There are currently consultations going on about putting double yellow lines at the bottom of Hunters Road. This will hopefully put an end to the dangerous parking at the junction.

Following discussions with the Council's parking control section extra patrols of the enforcement officers are now taking place throughout the South Gosforth Terraces. "Cars are being ticketed", said Councillor David Slesenger, "Unfortunately there are always plenty of more drivers willing to take the risk and selfishly park causing an obstruction."

Parking tickets were dished out to people who parked on the pavement next to yellow lines on Church Road next to the church. Remember that the yellow lines do not just stop you parking on the actual road. The enforcement is on the pavement as well. As it happens we are looking into the status of these particular yellow lines. Some residents have commented that if they were removed it would reduce the level of parking further down Church Road and on Church Lane. What do you think? Would you be in favour of this move?

When Domino's Pizza on Station Road applied to stay open to deliver pizzas till 4:00 am every day local residents sprang into action. Worried about late night noise, disruption and rowdiness they organised a petition. Councillor Henry Gallagher invited a journalist who interviewed locals and took photos. However, once a date for the Licensing Committee was set and with your East Gosforth Councillors, the South Gosforth Residents Association and local residents all set to protest against the application, Domino's withdrew it!

Local resident Kevin Brown of Abigail Court told Focus, "This application would have had a really detrimental effect on local residents, especially those with children. If this had been allowed to go ahead then who knows how many other fast-food outlets in the area would have switched to opening overnight!"

Councillor Peter Leggott commented, "People power can have a positive effect on issues in our area. This application touched a nerve in the local community. However we must not rest on our laurels. We will continue monitoring this situation in case Domino's comes back with another application in the future."

Your Ouseburn Lib Dem team has been working to tackle a few outbreaks of antisocial behaviour around our area.

Stephen Psallidas chaired a special meeting to discuss problems in and around Henry Square in Shieldfield relating to the new student accomodation on New Bridge Street. A series of actions were agreed and he will report back to residents in due course. In the meantime, residents are urged to report incidents to the police on 03456 043 043.

Stephen and Gareth Kane have reconvened the problem solving team of police and other bodies to tackle street drinking problems in the City Road/Blagdon Close area. Ex-cllr Gareth Cooper originally instigated this team to tackle this issue, but it has flared up again.

We are also arranging for extra patrols in the Heaton Grove area which has seen a rise in crime reports recently. The police have also advised us that there is usually an increase in burglaries at this time of year and asked us to warn residents to be extra vigilant.

The Coalition Government has fulfilled the Lib Dem election promise to provide a 'pupil premium' of £500 for each pupil on free school meals. Schools in Ouseburn Ward will gain about £90,000 this year, a very welcome boost to their finances.

Across the City, the Pupil Premium will deliver over £4m this year, focused on the most deprived pupils. And best of all, over the next 3 years we will be trebling this year's allocation! "Far from abandoning our promises as the press try to make out, the Lib Dems in Government are delivering the majority of our pledges, under very difficult economic circumstances." commented Focus team member Gareth Cooper, "Despite the last Labour Government leaving behind a legacy of huge debt and spending commitments, the Lib Dems are pulling out the stops to help those on the lowest incomes."

• Labour Council proposes thousands of homes onNewcastle's Green Belt
• Renowned Gosforth & Prestwick Carr Nature Reserves under threat
• Lib Dems force open consultation process to local residents

Residents acrossNewcastleare outraged at the Labour-run Council's proposals to build thousands of houses on the city's Green Belt. Of particular concern are proposals to build right next to Gosforth and Prestwick Carr Nature Reserves. The Gosforth Nature Reserve is of key interest to Ouseburn residents as it forms the entrance to the Ouseburn valley wildlife corridor which runs through Jesmond Dene and down into the Ouseburn Ward area.