Standing at the crossroads

I have followed the recent on-goings within Middlesbrough and I am surprised that it has actually gone on for this long, when then Labour Councillor Terry Lawton lifted the lid on plans to close the Captain Cook Birthplace Museum (CCBM) and transfer to the Dormans Museum the Middlesbrough Labour Group seem to have laughed him out of town. But the determination and commitment shown by Cllr Lawton to stand up for local heritage and common sense, seems to have brought about news that the closure of CCBM could save the council £137,000 per year.

Whilst savings on a local level is welcomed destroying local heritage is not. But, it seems that is something we are brilliant at doing here on Teesside, Cleveland, Tees Valley (you chose) - we have an approach that heritage is not important and that it comes at a cost that is wasteful. I live in Thornaby, I know what our local authorities are capable off, destroying our heritage without regret is high on the agenda.

But the now Independent Councillor is also lifting the lid on proposals to build a office in Centre Square, the beating heart of the town. Now I have to admit, this all as an air of resemblance for me as I was thrown out of the Labour Party after revealing plans to build a School in Preston Park, Stockton's best tourist attraction. But Cllr Lawton is correct to make these plans known and for members of the public to have a say on an application that will change a well known part of the town.

You know the funniest thing about all this is that a few month back it was revealed that Stockton Council was going to lend a huge amount to build and own a hotel, it caused uproar and now the neighbouring Labour Group want to build and own an office block, I can't wait to see what Redcar and Darlington Labour groups propose in the coming months. I am guessing their plans won't be too popular with normal folk.

However I must thank Cllr Lawton for his continued fight for the people of Middlesbrough and the residents of Thorntree. I had the pleasure to meet him at a Breakfast Conference on the EU a few months back and I must say welcome to the Independent side of life. It seems that when it comes to standing up and fighting for what you believe in political groups dislike unruly passionate people. I long for the days when local politicians actually care for their communities and careless about what the local whip or parliamentary candidates thought was the right thing.

Comments

Darlington Library

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.

Social Media

For those that don't know I have been blocked by Facebook, this has happened 3 times in as many days. Facebook says that is due to being reported and in my opinion I most probably know who by. But never the less, I will continue to inform people of what I do and what I think by other means. Twitter and Blogger are to become my main source of communication and to be truthful Facebook was beginning to get on my nerves anyway. Fake news at its finest. So from now on I will get family members and friends to post the links up to this blog and if you are on twitter you can follow me at @LukeJohnFrost where you can also send me private messages if you so wish to do so. I know there was a lot of people who relied on this on Facebook. But not to worry, if you are not on Twitter you can still request my email or catch me as some do in the Town Centre or Library.

Putting The Record Straight

Just to make something clear, I am not against investment in our area, far from it. I have signed many support comments for developments such as Aldi, Parade of Shops on the Industrial Estate and even supported the Hotel proposal and the Student apartments on Mandale Triangle. Saying that I have also objected to a few, such as the Mcdonalds on the centre and recently the two takeaways that where planned for Lanehouse Road, along with the proposal for 150 homes at the Barrage. In fact I am still the only objector on the Stockton Council Planning portal. I believe investment is great, when it is in the right area and with the right amount of demand, access and need. Over the years we have had a bombardment of planning applications go through Stockton Borough Council for south of the Tees developments that has seen the population swell and the infrastructure buckle under the weight of bad management and developers who constantly cut corners to make a quick pound or two. In the pas...

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