eFocus 87: Daniel chosen to be Focus Team candidate, Kells Lane park set to get revamp, some leisure services to reopen, and more

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Hello <<First Name>> <<Last Name>>

This is the 87th edition of e-Focus, bringing you the latest news from the Low Fell Focus Team. It includes:

Daniel Duggan chosen to be Focus Team's candidate in Council elections
Kells Lane Park to get makeover!
Council promises to open some services, but not Gateshead Leisure Centre
What's happening with the proposed Anderson Green housing development?
Thank you to those who have signed up to our litter picks
Fly-tipping reported
Join us

We hope you are finding these updates useful. Let us know if there's anything you would like to see included in our next edition.

Also, a big welcome if you are getting e-Focus for the first time having signed up to our website, or opted into receiving e-Focus via one of our petitions, a survey etc.

We send these e-newsletters to over 1,000 local people, but there are many more who are not on our mailing list. Please feel free to forward this email on to friends and neighbours, who can add themselves to the list at www.subscribe.lowfellfocus.org.uk

Please remember that we are here to help you. Our details, including our home phone numbers, can be found here Best wishes,
Ron Beadle, Susan Craig, and Daniel Duggan
Councillors, Low Fell Lib Dem Focus Team

P.S. If you are on Facebook, and would like to follow us, our page is here

Daniel Duggan chosen to be Focus Team's candidate in Council elections

Daniel will be the Focus Team's candidate in the local election on Thursday, 6th May

Daniel Duggan has been chosen as the Lib Dem Focus Team’s candidate in the local elections on Thursday, 6th May.

Daniel, who has lived in Low Fell for over thirty years and represented Low Fell on the Council for the last five years, said “I love Low Fell - the community spirit that residents have shown during the pandemic has only confirmed what a great place it is. I have focused on the basics, like getting litter and graffiti removed and fixing potholes, helped organise events like the Summer Fayre and Remembrance Service, and kept in touch all year round with ‘Focus’ newsletters. But there is much more to do, like working for cleaner streets and getting value for money from the Council. I will always fight for Low Fell and I hope you will support me on 6th May”.

Fellow Low Fell Councillors, Ron Beadle and Susan Craig, are supporting Daniel. Ron said “Daniel has a real record of action. I will be supporting him and encourage residents to back him so we can keep a strong, united Focus Team that stands up for Low Fell”.

Susan said “Daniel works hard for Low Fell so please do support him. In Low Fell it’s between the Focus Team and Labour - the Conservatives came a distant fourth place last time. Yet another Gateshead Labour Councillor won’t make any difference”.

If you plan to vote for Daniel and the Focus Team please reply to this email letting us know or email Daniel at danielsduggan37@gmail.com (this will help with our records).

Also, if you would like to display a window poster to show your support for Daniel and the Focus Team, just reply to this email with your address, or email Daniel at danielsduggan37@gmail.com and we will get one to you.

Ron and Susan are backing Daniel in the Council elections on Thursday, 6th May in order to keep a strong, united Focus Team to stand up for Low Fell

Kells Lane Park to get makeover!

The Focus Team have been calling for Kells Lane park to be revamped for some time and we are delighted to let residents know that this now going to happen!

The Council are planning to spend £60,000 on an extensive overhaul of the park with a mixture of brand new toddler and junior equipment, hosting a broad range of play values.

New equipment includes a brand new wheelchair accessible pirate ship which will be installed onto new rubber safety surfacing (sand to be removed).

As well as this, the equipment will include a new trim trail, climbing unit, Flexus Swing, rotating equipment and swing sets (the latter will be relocated to create a ‘swing zone’ at the rear of the park).

The existing basket swing will remain and the work will also include re-seeding the 5 a-side pitch. The Council tell us that the equipment chosen is robust and can resist heavy use and some elements of vandalism.

Low Fell Councillor Daniel Duggan said “This is great news. Kells Lane Park is well used by residents and this investment is much welcomed. It’s great to see that our efforts calling for an overhaul of the park have paid off. I want to thank Council officers for working with us on this and we look forward to seeing the new equipment in the future”.

A number of residents have raised questions about the planned revamping of Kells Lane Park. We have put these to the Council officers and they have now replied which you can read below.

When will the revamp take place?

The park will be installed within the coming financial year but at the moment it is hard to give a firm date based on a number of factors; not being able to order till the new financial year, lead in times, COVID restrictions may slow the install process and potential inclement weather. Please note this is part of a wider Capital Programme and we have to implement the design, supply and installation of 5 parks this coming year.

As soon as the equipment is ordered/delivered we will try and give you a more firm time frame.

Can there be extra seating?

The Capital Funding secured is for the replacement of end of life play equipment and as such any spend on additional seating would reduce the budget for the play equipment offered.

Why is the sand being removed?

The sand is being removed to limit future maintenance costs and this will allow us to install a more inclusive pirate ship which caters for disability access, this would not be possible on sand.

Will there be a disabled swing if there is a wheelchair accessible pirate ship?

We can look to add a disabled swing as part of the plans but this may limit the amount of standard swings as it would have to take the place of either a toddler or junior swing. When we had the park designed we had to be mindful of future maintenance costs and this is why it is very much like for like in the play value offered.

At the moment the swing sets planned are 2 toddler and 2 junior along with the original tyre swing which will remain with a new basket attached.

Can a zip wire be added?

We wont be adding a Zip wire. I understand these are enjoyed by children but from a maintenance point of view they suffer a lot of vandalism, down time and increased maintenance costs for the limited play they endure.

We really feel there is a good play value mix within the new park design and it is certainly more inclusive with the introduction of the SEN pirate ship.

What about SEN provision?

We will speak with suppliers to discuss the possible addition of further SEN equipment and we will review the swing set up to see if there is any scope to add additional swings but we have to be mindful of future maintenance and the budget we have per park.

Council promises to open some services, but not Gateshead Leisure Centre

The Council have sent us the following information about when some Council facilities and services will re-open.

We have asked them when about reopening Gateshead Leisure Centre and the Council tell us that there are no plans to reopen the leisure centre/swimming pool. The official response from the Council states: ‘As the pandemic continues, the Council is committed to maintaining the vital Covid-19 response services that have been provided over the last year. This means that our facilities need to reopen in a phased manner. We will continue to monitor the situation and this will inform any decisions about further reopening of facilities. We will provide further updates when available.’

• From Monday 29 March –
- All outdoor leisure facilities will reopen (some with reduced opening hours), including the pitches and athletics tracks at Blaydon Leisure Centre and Gateshead International Stadium for use by structured sports club booking only.
- The Library Ring and Read service will resume, as well as limited access to public computers for essential purposes at Gateshead Central, Blaydon, Birtley, Leam Lane, Crawcrook, Chopwell and Pelaw.

• From Monday 12 April –
- The gym at Gateshead International Stadium will reopen to GO Gateshead members
- The gym at Birtley Leisure Centre, operated by Lifestyle Fitness, will also reopen
- Reduced hours Library access for a selection of books will resume.

• From Monday 1 May –
- Reopening of Dunston Leisure Centre gym and swimming pool for public, club and school swimming.

• From Monday 17 May –
- The resumption of indoor fitness classes at Dunston Leisure Centre. Details of opening times, the reactivation of memberships, booking processes and changes to operating procedures to help stop the spread of Covid-19 within our facilities will be communicated shortly. All services will operate with COVD-
19 risk reduction measures in place.

The Council say that the dates specified for the reopening of our leisure centres and libraries are subject to change, and entirely dependent on our ability to maintain essential frontline Covid-19 response services as well as virus transmission trends, case numbers, impact on NHS services and any emerging variants of concern.

What's happening with the proposed Anderson Green development?

As residents may know last year a planning application was submitted to build 18 apartments on Anderson Green - a plot of land accessed via Joicey Road and bordering Durham Road (see photo below).

Councillor Daniel Duggan and various residents objected to the application. The application was due to go before the Council's Planning Committee and planning officers recommended that the application be refused.
The applicant withdrew the application before the Committee could make a decision on it. A revised planning application has now been submitted.

Residents have asked us if planning permission has now been granted and the answer is no, it has not. Council officers tell us that they are currently in negotiations with the property developer. As soon as we have more information, we will let residents know.

Thank you to those who signed up to join our litter picks

We want to thank all those residents who have signed up to join our litter picks. We plan to resume litter picks when it is safe to carry out group litter picks.

If you would also like to sign up to be part of our litter picking efforts sign up here

Susan, Daniel and other members of the Focus Team on a litter pick in Low Fell (before social distancing)

Fly-tipping reported

Residents have told us that a mattress has been dumped on Wilson's Lane in Low Fell and we have asked the Council to remove this.

If you notice fly-tipping please report it to the Council here or let us know

Join us

The Lib Dems now have over 100,000 members with record numbers in Gateshead and Low Fell. If you are a party supporter there really is no better time to join than now and you can become a member from as little as £1 a month. To join visit here

Alternatively you can register as a supporter for free here.

If you would like to know more please contact Daniel, Susan or Ron.

Hosted by Google, Inc., located at 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway in Mountain View, Santa Clara County, California, United States. Published and promoted by Ron Beadle on behalf of Daniel Duggan (Liberal Democrats), all at 21 Beaconsfield Avenue, Gateshead, NE9 5XT.