Luke John Frost

I have heard that the proposed change of units at Lanehouse Road Shops has been granted on appeal. Obviously I am gutted to say the least. I attended the Planning Meeting and submitted further comments to try and stop this application from being given the green light. Unfortunately you can't win them all and sadly what it means for the area is a further two takeaways will be opening right next door to each other, on a parade of shops that already has 5 fast food premises in that location, with a further 3 in close proximity.  So that means there will now be 10 takeaways within a 5 minute walk and well over 30 takeaways within a 15 minute walk. Sadly there was a lack of representation from our elected Mandale and Victoria representatives, despite one of them sitting on the planning committee. Personally I feel this should have been thrown out on the grounds of saturation and the proximity to two local primary schools, sadly Stockton Council is yet to adopt health grounds as...

I fully understand that local authorities have been forced into a position where they need to make savings and due to the situation forced upon them "difficult decisions" need to be made. However, I am also a person who recognises that within local authorities there is a lot of financial waste due to failed proposals, reports and also in the energy and man power of those who are tasked to carry out the wishes of those elected to represent the wider community (Use that term loosely) Failed ideas drawn up on the back of a beer mat has cost local authorities millions of pounds and because of this council tax has risen, year upon year. Here on Teesside we currently have over 30,000 children living in poverty and the newly released data has come at a time where local authorities are drawing up plans to move youth provision into the voluntary sector and in doing so will make savings of millions that has otherwise been dumped in the gutter. Replacing it instead with pea...

New research shows that there is over 30,000 children living in Poverty on Teesside after housing costs. The Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) and End Child Poverty have revealed the true extent of "Breadline Britain" and here on Teesside 33,832 children are living below that line. For a while I have been following reports and looking at facts and statistics trying to put into words the scale of the issues children in Britain face today. Here on Teesside we are usually the first area to be highlighted in national media for not doing so well, but no matter how much the issues get highlighted the government seem to be at loggerheads at what to do. In 2015 over 25,000 food parcels where handed out to those in need on Teesside and with this comes news that a further 15 Soup Kitchens have opened this year on Teesside and now the most unforgivable figure of over 30,000 children living in poverty. Government needs to act NOW and we need our local MPs and Councillors to star...

Jobs, Investment, Growth Three words that towns and cities across the country love to hear and in Middlesbrough in very recent times, reports are indicating massive growth in the business market and along with this growth comes plenty of jobs.  This week in the local Gazette it has unveiled plans for 3 large restaurants, 1 hotel and further improvement to buildings within the town. Which is fantastic news and all add to projects such as the Ski Centre and the ongoing developments at Middlehaven. Lets not forget about the success that Bedford and Baker Street have had in recent times and with Andy Preston's Fork in the Road also due to open the economy is in for a boost. It is down to businessmen and women who are to determined to make Middlesbrough a success and why shouldn't it be, its down to the businesses that the area is undergoing a boom phase. 

Things are hotting up on Teesside as two local authorities battle it out with who has the most and best hotels, with Middlesbrough currently leading the way in terms of new hotels, planned hotels and the investment from private companies that comes with them. Meanwhile Stockton looks to build their own hotel, all 125 rooms of it, but who will take the spoils and be named king of the developments (for 2016 at least) In recent years Middlesbrough has stepped up its efforts to create jobs, boost the local economy and bring in vital investment, yet in Stockton they have refused hotels due to the location of where private investors wanted to build them and pulled out the wildcard of we will build our own.  There is one thing that I have been unable to grasp over the last few years, in documents of Stockton Borough Council they claim to have a great working partnership between them and Middlesbrough, yet the ideas are distant and plain to see. One council wants private investm...

For those interested in the history of the area and also the engineering background of bridge building, then Channel 5 has a brilliant series currently on TV that is delving into the history of bridge building in some of the greatest examples of engineering the country has to offer. Better still the series touches upon Teesside and on more than one occasion. Filming has been held in Thornaby at the Infinity Bridge (pictured) and also some archive footage from Dorman Long in Middlesbrough.  This show to me is the type of publicity the area needs, not Benefit Streets or Police Interceptors. 

For a while now, the Homes and Communities Agency have been planning on building 150 homes at the Tees Barrage (Thornaby side) - these homes would not be social housing, that we are in desperate need of but private housing offering river views with a mix of 2,3,4 and 5 bedroom properties. But this week they have revised their application and it is now down to 96 dwellings, mostly thanks to Johnson Matthey Chemical Research who have highlighted the damages of living close to a chemical and research facility.  Now I understand that there is a shortage of housing, however I don't think new properties should come at the cost of green open spaces that are home to mixture of wildlife and places where families and individuals gather to enjoy the great outdoors.  It's my view that we need to start building upwards, Stockton Council has projected that an extra 21,000 people will live in the area by 2032 and its evident that there is a few brownfield sites available, however ...

A while ago I got told that our local council was reviewing youth provision to look at making a saving to contribute to them needing to reduce costs. But one thing I have noticed is that there is in fact very little youth provision in the town that is ran by the local authority. It may contract it services to youth providers, but non seem to actively cover Thornaby.  Last week I read a post on social media about a gentleman who was not consulted about the review although his organisation is youth provision based. Now I have to admit that when I found out, it was only on the off chance that I self invited myself to a forum to discuss youth outcomes. But each organisation within the local area should of been consulted at some stage even if it was just to have an input or to help the local council to look into services that are currently provided. So last week the council released a document that outlined its plans to save £3.3m by transferring open access youth provision to th...

I attended this years Remembrance Service at the Cenotaph in Thornaby and was pleased to see that attendance is still on the increase. The Parade was one of the biggest to date and what was fascinating to see was the many young people and children who attended to show their respect for all who served. I took many images of the service and parade, some of which will be going into the Thornaby Pride Magazine next month. I'd like to thank all the organisers and everyone who attended and marched for making it a day to remember.

I thought I would share a poem that was written by my grandfather Walter George Stonehouse, who was a former Army man and one of my best friends. It could of been written an hour ago, but this poem is from 20 years ago. If you see Police out on the beat Make them welcome in your street, Help keep criminals at bay As we live from day to day. I think we should cater more For those who stay within the law, Keep lonely people free from cold Care for them as they grow old. Folk in residential homes Shouldn't have to live like gnomes, Let all know that help is near, So no-one has to live in fear. Let's put up a fight for our Town Hall It is of benefit to us all, Let's be proud of our Town Centre To meet comments of all who enter. Council workers keep our parks A nesting site for singing larks, Some want to take away our woods To make way for heavy goods. Close by where the river flows We'll think of all of those Summer on the Village Green Can...

Tomorrow morning there will be a two minute silence to honour those who gave the ultimate sacrifice during World War 1 at Thornaby Town Centre at 11am. We observe a two minute silence on Armistice Day as a mark of respect, Armistice Day also marks the end of the First World War. Remembrance Sunday will also take place this weekend at the Cenotaph on Acklam Road, the parade will set off from the Aerodrome Club at 10:20 with the service commencing at 10:45. The parade will then head back towards the Aerodrome Club where the Mayor and Mayoress will take the salute. Food and Refreshments are available after the parade is dismissed.

I have had a bit of time to myself this week, mostly last night with the Presidential Election in the USA and as I have began to notice that when I have some free time on my hands I like to sit and read stories of real people, living hand to mouth on a day to day basis with often little or no help. I know depressing isn't it. But it also gives me time to think about family and the place where I grew up and what it was like to live on a council estate in the North of England. One thing I always do is turn to the family book of poems that reflects on times growing up in the backwaters of Britain. I have an aim that one day these poems will be published and I believe many people will resonate with them as memories coming flooding back, some poems are family orientated, some are influenced by the environment around us and some are just great poems that put a smile on your face.  So with all the current uproar in global politics, I thought I would quote a few phrases from on...

I've signed a petition to make the Government take decisive action to double the number of autistic people in work. Only 16% of autistic adults are in full-time paid employment. This situation hasn't improved in almost a decade. It's about time autistic people get the jobs they deserve. If you agree, please join me and take a minute to sign the petition to the Government. https://act.autism.org.uk/ea-action/action?ea.client.id=10&ea.campaign.id=56776 More needs to be done to support autistic adults into and at work. Some workplaces are full of too much information; too many sounds, lights, stares, glares – and too little understanding. The Government has committed to halving the disability employment gap. But without more understanding from both employers and the Government, autistic adults will continue to be left behind, their abilities overlooked. Let's change this now. Thanks

What a year it has been, I don't think there has been any other like it. In January this year I set up the Thornaby Youth Zone in an attempt to get young people active, whilst at the same time educate them in what is now known as "Soft Skills" In my eyes it has worked extremely well and I couldn't be happier with the progress of the Youth Zone. I set out with a vision to get young people active over the Easter School break to give them an opportunity to partake in Sport within Thornaby, with the idea of it becoming an annual event. But during that week I was approached by one of the participants asking me what I had planned throughout the Summer Holidays and that he wanted to do more sport to stop him hanging around with the wrong friends and getting into trouble. To be honest there was nothing planned at all at this stage.  So of course I went and planned another event going from 10 days up to 25 days and it was fantastic, the 48 youngsters enjoyed themsel...