Luke John Frost

A few years ago Stockton Borough Council (SBC) sold the Town Hall back to the People of Thornaby for £101,000 and its with great delight to read that the Town Hall Project Group have been successful in passing stage 2 of the Heritage Lottery Fund. Fantastic News. The Thornaby Independent Association fought for many years to bring the Town Hall back into the rightful hands of the Thornaby People and to safeguard it from further neglect at the hands of SBC and the elements. I can't thank them enough for giving their time and effort to the cause. But what does angers me, is that the Labour party that sold it back to the people of Thornaby stand outside for photographs to put on their leaflets and Social Media pages. It absolutely stinks! These very same people who in council meetings of the Town Council show their true colours by going against any plan for the Town Hall. Yet even the Councillor who is on record saying its a waste of public money is seen in images and on l...

A brief introduction to how the European Union works The European Parliament The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union, chosen by people from across the continent. It can amend, veto and have final say on proposals from the European Commission. The European Commission The Commission is the civil service of the EU and is led by Commissioners. They are nominated by the governments of the member countries that make up the EU. The European Council The Council is made up of the heads of state from the Member States, the Prime Minister of the UK is a member for example. There are also meetings of Ministers from the Member States such as Finance Ministers or Agriculture Ministers in their respective Council of Ministers. "Europe is just full of faceless unelected bureaucrats who tell us what to do" Well, that isn't really the case in practice, not that you'd know from the British Press. The direction of th...

There is less than 40 hours to go before the polls open on the EU Referendum and to say its been long is an understatement. Working 80 hours per week then campaigning on top has been a battle like no other, yet I am still in campaign mode. This morning I attended a breakfast debate hosted by Andy Preston, who came runner up in the Middlesbrough Mayoral Race in 2015 and the Labour MEP for the North East Jude Kirton Darling.  It was clear from the outset that Teesside and the North East will be hit hardest if we chose to leave the European Union and that as a region, we could not afford to be set further back than we already are. Teesside benefits from being in the EU and the prospect of handing over the reigns to the Conservatives is giving me a migraine like no other. Me personally, I am not really bothered about immigration and actually welcome migrants to the area, who bring a wealth of culture and art with them. My main priority has been the economy and finding ...

I attended an EU debate over breakfast this morning at the Brasserie HQ in Middlehaven.  On my way from the station, I planned to take some images of the area to show what has been done in terms of construction and to see the investment that has so far gone into the Middlehaven Site, which is sandwiched between central Middlesbrough and the River Tees. I wasn't disappointed and what topped of a lovely walk around the new giants was to see the MPI Ship docked next to the Stadium in all its glory. It made for some great photos to upload to the Picture Teesside Social Media Campaign on Facebook. Teesside has seen investment over the years, but if you are to read the local newspapers and watch the regional news, you may find yourself thinking that we have had no investment and that the area is still locked into the 1970s.  Its great to see investment coming our way, but its up to our local government and businesses to tell the rest of the world that we too are...

What angers me most with Stockton Borough Council is its lack of ideas.  Take for example the Stockton and Darlington Railway, back in 1825 Stockton made history by becoming the worlds first passenger railway. Yet how many people living in Stockton would actually know this fact? Millions of people across the planet pay to visit a place with history, and one that tells the tales from yesteryear to the modern day. But Stockton struggles in its attempt to attract the numbers. There is of course a number of reasons for this and as always I will try and stay calm, collective and neutral. Stockton Borough Council has for many years failed to tell the story of the area and by doing so has left the area with no infrastructure or culture that could be used to boost visitor numbers and increase the GDP locally. We look at the home of railways and what do we see, we see a ticket office, for some its the worlds first ticket office, to others its a shelter for those struggling in l...

Digital media and new technology is current carving its way through Teesside and is beginning to show just how vital these new age sectors are to the economy. Middlesbrough is host to the BoHo Developments that offer fibre optic broadband with some of the fastest speeds that any one man/woman would ever need. Teesside is settling into a new dawn, a dawn of promise and interest.  But what i find interesting is that the other authorities on Teesside are trying to replicate that success and to me, in my of thinking, this causes frictions and uncertainty. Each new development of BoHo needs tenants to occupy the spaces and for that to become a success, it does not need to have competition in a neighbouring town. Yet Stockton has created the Fusion Hive on the North Shore site and Redcar is setting itself up to also take a slice.  Maybe I like the idea of zones and quarters too much. Our local authorities should not be trying to compete with each other, if they continue to ...

City of Teesside ... Sounds good doesn't it ? It is my firm belief that we should reinvent ourselves and to begin that process it starts with the branding. Currently we known under the banner of "Tees Valley" and I like many feel this is not a worthy branding for an area with so much passion and heritage. Our area is known globally as Teesside, yet our government and local authorities wont allow something that unites us all. To me, we need the correct branding and for me that is Teesside. So with the branding sorted, I believe that our area would be better united together to become a City, with a population of over 600,000 this would easily be achievable and we can stand on our own feet to rival the likes of Liverpool, Manchester and Cardiff. We have the capabilities to do this. Whether or not those in power locally agree is another matter and we all know how well the local government gets on with each other. So we are branded, have become a city regi...

Through out this EU Campaign, one thing has been made very clear and that is we have a large amount of people who are hate filled. This Campaign has showed the very worst of our society and I am actually pretty embarrassed by the amount of garbage coming out of the mouths of the far right that is being thrown into the spotlight by our media and is showing the world just how much we are divided as a nation. Heading this is non other than Nigel Farage, the UKIP leader who this weekend stood in front of a flotilla of race filled billboards set to drive up and down the country. Shame on him, shame on them and shame on those backing them.

So Darlington Council have to make huge savings and doing so it seems their first target is the Crown Street Library. The plan is to sell the building and relocate services to the Dolphin Centre on a much reduced scale. This is to come at the cost of 25 jobs within Library Services and I am appalled that when the going gets tough, the council's get cutting. Instead of reducing the costs to the upper hierarchy of said council, it is the front line staff that are being sent packing. In my opinion services such as libraries should be the last thing to be hit when making cuts. Libraries have an environment that encourages thinking, reading and writing and allows imagination to run wild. Darlington Council will make their decision this Wednesday in a Special Cabinet meeting and I hope for the sake of learning and culture, they see fit to save this building and better still save the creative environment that comes with libraries.

If, by leaving the EU people think that we would be better off and that money will be invested into an area like, then I have some bad news for you. This images shows several headlines from newspapers about what the Conservatives really think of the North. But, If you feel that I am over stretching and on complete different planet, you can always pop along to the HQ of the Northern Powerhouse, in London.  Who knew London was a northern city ??

I like many people are looking forward to the EU Debate and Referendum to be over and done with and enter normality once again. However, I don't think that is going to happen anytime soon. This EU Referendum has stirred the pot and what has come with it is a lot of racial tension and a split in the very communities we live in. What has took decades to do has been unfurled in a matter of months. The Conservatives, without knowing it have divided our communities and at the same time those that have been friends for many years are now at loggerheads and the true mentality of some has come to the fore. But, of course this is exactly what the far right have been pushing for many years and now regular citizens are being brought into arguments of a racial kind. Social media has opened the door to abuse not only of colour but religion and culture and for that, I am angered more by our self servant, power hungry, greed driven government. Incidents are happening up and down ...

I have submitted a comment of objection to the application to install 3 floor to ceiling windows with shutters. I think it is a disgrace that developers can get away with destroying the character of a building, without seeking permission first from the relevant authority. Sadly, this has not stopped them and what we have now, can only be considered as an eyesore, on a building that is of local importance and one in which has a blue plaque to indicate its use through Thornaby's time as an Aerodrome under the command of the Royal Air Force. The unit next door to this one, although does have shutters, but the difference is that they have kept the original windows and features in place. Some people may also have noticed that most of the wall has been taken away too, another criminal change to the building and one that does nothing to the appearance of this former watering hole.

This week I attended a live on air debate about whether or not we should vote to Remain (R) or Leave (L) the European Union (EU) in this coming week's EU Referendum. The debate took place at the Darlington Arena, also referred to as the White Elephant of the North, for obvious reasons. So after an early train ride into Darlington, it was nice to be greeted by Andy Preston (R) and James Wharton (L) who were discussing our place in Europe and how, should there be a panellist unable to make it, I would slot in nice as I am now a veteran in local debates ... Apparently. One of the big talking points through the debate was Immigration and whilst Mr Wharton MP sat in silence, or rather was talked over by his young acquaintance on the panel at the start, both Andy and Jessie Joe Jacobs (R) give a good account of why immigration plays an important role in modern day Britain and that whilst we acknowledge that immigration needs to be reviewed and "Benefit Migrants" should b...

I find it rather worrying that the Labour Party are not willing to discuss Immigration and the impact that migration has, for good and bad. As reported today on BBC, Yvette Cooper has asked for the Conservatives to talk about Immigration, whilst making it look like Labour is distancing itself further away from reality, it was also highlighted on last nights BBCs Newsnight by  Andy Preston As someone who believes in a mixed society and believes in communities of cultural rich ness, it angers the hell out of me that the party for the people are staying quiet on tough issues that we must all face. The only Labour MP I have seen recently talking about Immigration is Hilary Benn, although he often stands for reason, he is being placed in a difficult decision by the party that runs through his blood. I have not heard a single word out of our local MPs mouths about immigration or what they feel the public is telling them, but whats new there. Why distance ourselves from openly tal...

I am voting to remain in the EU because not only is it the right thing to do, our area benefits massively from funds allocated to helping Teesside thrive and prosper. In 2014 a deal worth £187m was signed to build on the work that had begun in 2008 by the Tees Valley Unlimited (the local enterprise partnership) which is creating thousands of jobs and hundreds of new enterprises that is helping to boost the £10bn Teesside Economy. I am v oting to remain because our area benefits from cultural and social action that has seen Teesside grow to be a leader for changing landscapes and a majority of people I have spoken to, believe in mixed society bringing a wealth of culture and values to our community. So much so that Teesside will be fighting to be crowned City of Culture in 2025. This brings with it wealth, status and if crowned, tourism arts and culture will pick up and be placed on the worlds stage. Look at what it has done with Liverpool. I am voting to remain because the future...

Yesterday I attended the launch of the "Stockton Flyer" on Stockton High Street as part of the celebrations for her Majesty the Queens 90th Birthday. Although the rain looked threatening and a very long wait for a cup of coffee it was a great event to mark such a big occasion, with a good turnout to boot.   

 I have to admit to being embarrassed by the amount of rubbish on our streets. Over the past week it has become an eyesore and shows to outsiders that we have no respect for our town.  No matter how many times I report or go out and litter pick on my own time the next day the town is flooded once again with litter, this has to stop. I have written a letter to the council to see what the possibility is to have wardens out who can fine people throwing litter onto the streets. We are town with many many bins and what I find beyond anger is that these bins are often empty.  Last thing I want to see is people being hit in their pockets, but it is getting to a stage where the town is looking like a litter bomb went off. In the meantime I will be out on Diamond Road tomorrow litter picking and doing my part for the community I care about.