The first spade went into the ground today marking the start of build of our exciting new WeFibre Gigabit broadband network!

The team from Pioneer Utilities have commenced work to install our new fibre cabinet and the associated ducting which will allow WeFibre to connect homes and businesses via existing underground ducts and overhead poles throughout the parish.

It's not too late to join the party - check out our dedicated Gigabit Broadband page HERE for more details of whats on offer.

Watch out for more contractors from Telcom Infrastructure in the coming weeks as we move to the next phase of the build!

Depending on your age you'll either know it as the white bridge, the Vet's bridge, or for those of us who are slightly older, the Police Station bridge, but whatever you call it the bridge has been in need of some attention for a long time!

As part of out rolling refresh of the village we have taken the opportunity to tidy up what was a scruffy looking bridge and it now looks much more how we'd expect. We hope you like the end result.

A couple of the picnic tables that have been in the Jubilee Field since it opened in the 1970’s were looking a little worse for wear. It’s not helped that people have been using disposable barbecues on the wooden tops!

We’ve replaced the top on one of the worn out tables and will look to do the other over the next few days.

On the subject of the Jubilee Field, you may have noticed the path joining the car park to the riverside walk has been widened. We will be gravelling the path over the next couple of weeks to match it to the path that runs under the Tyne Bridge.

Before

After

As we get into the summer more and more people are visiting the Jubilee Field and having a dip in the cooling waters of the North Tyne.

With safety in mind we have installed a new Lifebuoy safety ring to replace the one that was destroyed by vandals several years ago.

The ring is one of those things that is good to have but we hope never to see used!

Thanks to Michael at MB Handyman Services for installing it for us.

Bellingham Parish Council

NOTICE OF PUBLIC RIGHTS AND PUBLICATION OF UNAUDITED ANNUAL GOVERNANCE AND ACCOUNTABILITY RETURN

ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014 Sections 25, 26 and 27

The Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015 (SI 2015/234)

The Accounts and Audit (Coronavirus)(Amendment) Regulations 2020 (SI 2020/404)

NOTICE

1. Date of Announcement: 24 June 2020

2. Each year the smaller authority’s Annual Governance and Accountability Return (AGAR) needs to be reviewed by an external auditor appointed by the Smaller Authorities’ Audit Appointments Ltd. The unaudited AGAR has been published with this notice. As it has yet to be reviewed by the appointed auditor, it is subject to change as a result of that review.
Any person interested has the right to inspect and make copies of the accounting records for the financial year to which the audit relates and all books, deeds, contracts, bills, vouchers, receipts and other documents relating to those records must be made available for inspection by any person interested. For the year ended 31 March 2021, these documents will be available on reasonable notice by application to:

The Parish Clerk, email: clerk@bellinghamparishcouncil.gov.uk

commencing on: 24th June 2021
and ending on: 4th August 2021

3. Local government electors and their representatives also have:

• The opportunity to question the appointed auditor about the accounting records; and
• 
  The right to make an objection which concerns a matter in respect of which the appointed auditor could either make a public interest report or apply to the court for a declaration that an item of account is unlawful. Written notice of an objection must first be given to the auditor and a copy sent to the smaller authority.

The appointed auditor can be contacted at the address in paragraph 4 below for this purpose and between the above dates only.

4. The smaller authority’s AGAR is subject to review by the appointed auditor under the provisions of the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014, the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015 and the NAO’s Code of Audit Practice 2015. The appointed auditor is:

PKF Littlejohn LLP (Ref: SBA Team)

15 Westferry Circus
Canary Wharf
London E14 4HD

(sba@pkf-littlejohn.com)

5. This announcement is made by B. Dickson-Green, Parish Clerk.

The Parish Council is aware of the difficulties with parking in Bellingham during the busy tourist season, with many vistiors parking in the centre of the village before heading off on their walks around our fantastic area. 

Parking comes under the responsibility of Highways at Northumberland County Council and the Parish Council is in ongoing talks with them to try to get them to improve the parking offering in and around Bellingham.

In order to try and help relieve some of the pressure in the interim, the Parish Council has installed a new sign outside of the old Barclay's Bank which is hoped will help direct visitors to two parking areas we do manage - the Jubilee Field car park and the Fairstead. 

Both are already used by visitors but it is hoped this additional signage will help reduce the pressure on parking in the village centre until other solutions can be found by NCC.

It also has the added bonus of tidying up a scruffy part of the sign which has been overstuck since the closure of the Tourist Information Centre at Fountain Cottage several years ago. 

If you have already registered with WeFibre, our chosen gigabit broadband supplier, you will shortly receive an email from "Gigabit Vouchers" with the subject "UK Gigabit Voucher Scheme - action required". This is from the DCMS.

Some email services may see this as Spam so make sure you check your Spam folder if you don't get the email in your inbox.

You need to open the email and click the link to validate your voucher request.

Complete the form which will ask you if you are a Business, Sole Trader or Resident. Remember to select one of the business options if they apply to you - even if you run a business from home.

The form will state you are agreeing to Telcom (which is WeFibre's parent company) requesting a voucher of your behalf.

Once completed you will receive a confirmation email and you can sit back, relax and wait for WeFibre to install your ultrafast connection!

It's not too late to join the party if you haven't registered your interest yet. Visit wefibre.com/grants and register your details. The package on offer is a 1Gbps download AND upload full fibre connection direct to your property for only £20 per month for residential and small businesses! 

You can find our more on our Gigabit Broadband page.

Our refresh of the village continues - this time we have repaired Robert Stewart's memorial bench outside the old Barclays Bank.

A number of the seating planks were snapped with screws exposed and several of the back uprights had rotted through so these have all been replaced with new and the bench repainted to match the other benches we have.

This is the start of a rolling programme to refresh or repair all of our village assets.

A huge thanks to all of our wonderful volunteers who have once again helped Bellingham Bloom! 

The winter daffodil and tulip displays have been removed for another year and replaced with amazing summer bedding.

Edwin & Pat Wilkinson have also worked their magic in the Town hall garden.

Thank you to all who have sponsored or donated to this years floral displays and an ongoing thank you to all who have volunteered to keep all of the barrels and baskets watered! You are all amazing!

If you would like to help out with the watering please get in touch and we will pass on your details. 

Thank you to all who attended this evenings online meeting.

Technology got the better of a few of us but you can still have your say.

Send us an email to clerk@bellinghamparishcouncil.gov.uk, message us via our Facebook page or send us a message through our website HERE.

We look forward to hearing your thoughts!

We will be holding our Annual Parish Meeting on Thursday 27th May at 7pm.

This is an opportunity for the community to put forward any ideas or suggestions for things they would like the Parish Council to take forward on their behalf over the next year and will be used as a basis to form a formal Parish Plan.

Please note that due to ongoing COVID social distancing restrictions this session will be held online via ZOOM.

ZOOM Meeting ID - 460 180 0273

Link to the Meeting - https://us02web.zoom.us/j/4601800273

In addition to this session we will look to run a face to face meeting later in the year once COVID restrictions are lifted.

It would be great to see as many people join the online meeting as possible to share your thoughts on making Bellingham an even better place to live and work.

As part of our mandatory safety checks we are in the process of safety testing the memorials in the cemetery.

Please note if you see a small warning notice in front of a memorial it has been identified as being unsafe and in need of repair. 

Please do not remove any of these notices.

Thank you for your co-operation with this sensitive matter.

Following the recent uncontested election result we have spaces for two people to join us as councillors on Bellingham Parish Council.

If you are interested send a copy of your CV and a covering letter saying why you would like to join us to clerk@bellinghamparishcouncil.gov.uk.

Closing date for applications is Friday 4th June.

Whether you fancy a big walk or a little wander, hiking paths or biking trails, the Northumberland countryside around Bellingham has loads of adventures on offer. And we need your help to keep every mile as safe as possible and as spectacular as ever.

Please leave #UnspoiltNorthumberland just like you find it. #RespectProtectEnjoy

Kielder Water & Forest Park are continuing with the offer of a free permit for car parking up to March 2022 to residents of the following villages -

Byrness, Rochester, Otterburn, Bellingham, Tarset, Kielder, Falstone, West Woodburn, Ridsdale, Wark, Stonehaugh and Redesmouth.

If you wish to apply for a residents’ permit, the details are as follows:

The parking pass is available from Kielder Waterside where production of a utility bill or council tax bill to confirm your address will be required. One parking pass per household

The parking pass will need to be renewed annually

If you need any more information please contact Kielder Water and Forest Park via email: info@visitkielder.com.

Return of Result of Uncontested Election

As the number of candidates for Bellingham Parish Council was less than the number of seats available there will not be an election for the Parish Council in May.

The below persons have been duly elected without a contest. 

Martin Dickson-Green

Ken Irving

Anthony Kirkbride

Tim Moore

Amy Riley

Brian Tilley

Edwin Wilkinson

There are two unoccupied seats that the Parish Council will look to fill by co-option as soon as possible following the May meeting. 

** ROAD CLOSURE REMINDER **

In case you haven't seen the B6320 will be closed to all vehicular traffic at the old railway bridge by Darmel House from 8am to 5pm this Saturday, 10th April.

A diversion is in place via the A68 towards Otterburn and West Woodburn.

Community Post

A number of people have been using waste soil from the skips in Manchester Square which has been excavated from the earthworks in St Cuthbert's Church graveyard behind the Black Bull.

There is a small chance that any soil taken could contain traces of bones from very old unmarked graves.

If you have taken soil and find any of these bone fragments can you please put them in a container and leave them inside St Cuthbert's Church and they will be re-buried as appropriate.

Thank you for your assistance.

Download the full notice here

The recently extended Jubilee Field car park has been completed with the addition of the new perimeter fence.

The outside of the cemetery fence that has stood half painted since lockdown hit at the end of last year has finally been completed!

The inside is still to finish but it looks great from the road when passing now!

Before

After

There was a housing survey undertaken a couple of years ago around the future housing needs of the people of Bellingham and the surrounding area. 

The report is available for you to view on our website HERE.

The wonderful volunteers at Bellingham in Bloom are once again planning a fantastic floral display for the village this summer and are looking for some volunteers to help out with watering the planters. 

If you can spare a hour or so over the week to join the team of waterers looking after the displays, please contact Christine Bragg on 220855.

Thank you for your help in making Bellingham Bloom!

Do You Want to Stand for Bellingham Parish Council?

County and Parish Council elections will be held on May 6th 2021

Forms:

If you wish to stand for a seat on the Parish Council in Bellingham, you can get the relevant nomination and electoral register forms direct from Northumberland County Council (NCC) using the following email address:

electionnominations@northumberland.gov.uk

Guidance and deadlines:

You can get helpful guidance on the process, along with timetables for the elections here:

https://www.northumberland.gov.uk/elections.aspx

NCC offer a checking service for nomination forms before they are submitted, which can be booked here:

https://outlook.office365.com/owa/calendar/ElectionsNominations@northumberland.gov.uk/bookings/

More information:

Further information about standing for public office can also be found here:

https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk

BELLINGHAM, REDESMOUTH & CHARLTON

TIME IS RUNNING OUT  TO GUARANTEE YOUR FREE INSTALLATION (Saving at least £49!)

WeFibre are building a new Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) broadband network throughout our Parish and will be providing speeds upto 1Gbps (1000Mbps) Download AND Upload to homes and small businesses from only £20 per month*.

The new network is being funded by the Government's Rural Gigabit Voucher Scheme.

• Broadband usage is more than doubling every year.
• The existing network in the area that all current providers use doesn't come anywhere near the speeds on offer. 
• Applications to the scheme end on the 31st March 2021.
• Voucher claims are non-binding. It simply secures your funding for the next 12 months giving you FREE INSTALLATION!
• You can try the service for free for 30 days with no obligation! Why not try it out and if you aren't blown away by the 1Gbps (1000Mbps) speeds you can leave with no hard feelings!​
• Claim your free Government voucher today at wefibre.com/grants and let Boris & Rishi pay for your installation!!

DON'T MISS OUT ON GETTING THE BEST BROADBAND SPEEDS IN THE COUNTRY FUNDED BY THE GOVERNMENT

Your voucher gets you FREE INSTALLATION (Saving £49)

30 Day Free Trial of the service. If you aren't blown away by the 1000Mbps (1Gbps) speeds you can leave free of charge - No hard feelings!

Your voucher lasts for 12 months so you don't have to try the service straight away. Get your voucher claimed so you don't miss out in the months to come when you see how great your friends and neighbour's new broadband is!

What if I don’t claim my voucher?

Once the network is built, any properties which didn’t take service initially can request to be added and WeFibre will come back and connect them. (NB: Voucher funding currently runs out on 31st March and there have been no announcements of a replacement scheme. It is better to claim your no obligation voucher now to guarantee your free installation for any time over the next 12 months.)         

If the network hasn’t been built out to your location as a part of the initial build and voucher funding is no longer available then charges may apply for getting connected, so it’s better to take advantage of this unique opportunity and reserve your voucher today.

*£20 per month on a 12 month contract. £30 per month for a 30 day rolling contract. 

Thank you to all in the community who have claimed their government voucher for Gigabit Broadband. We are delighted to announce that WeFibre have confirmed we have passed the minimum interest threshold of 100 voucher claims and have moved into Stage 3 - Network Design!

There is still time for you to get involved if you haven't claimed your government voucher yet for free installation and your 30 day free trial.

Click Gigabit Broadband from the main menu for more detials.

You have until March 31st 2021 to claim you voucher at wefibre.com/grants

BELLINGHAM, REDESMOUTH & CHARLTON

ACT NOW TO GUARANTEE YOUR VOUCHER

WeFibre are planning to install a new Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) broadband network throughout our Parish and will be providing speeds upto 1Gbps (1000Mbps) Download AND Upload to homes and small businesses from £20 per month*.

The new network is being funded by the Government's Rural Gigabit Voucher Scheme.

• Broadband usage is more than doubling every year.
• The existing network in the area that all current providers use doesn't come anywhere near the speeds on offer. 
• Applications to the scheme end on the 31st March 2021.
• Voucher requests are non-binding. It simply secures your funding for the next 12 months.
• We need 100 vouchers claimed in order for WeFibre to build the new network.
• You can try the service for free for 30 days with no obligation! Why not try it out and if you aren't blown away by the 1Gbps (1000Mbps) speeds you can leave with no hard feelings!​
• Claim your free voucher today at wefibre.com/grants

DON'T LET OUR AREA MISS OUT ON GETTING BETTER BROADBAND FUNDED BY THE GOVERNMENT

What if I don’t sign up for a voucher?

Once the network is built, any properties which didn’t take service initially can request to be added and WeFibre will come back and connect them. (NB: Voucher funding may no longer be available, it is better to sign up early.)         

If the network hasn’t been built out to your location as a part of the initial build and voucher funding is no longer available then charges may apply for getting connected, so it’s better to take advantage of this unique opportunity and reserve your voucher today.

*£20 per month on a 12 month contract. £30 per month for a 30 day rolling contract. 

Click HERE for more details.

You may recall back in September we asked residents and businesses in the parish to get behind the government rural broadband voucher scheme with a view to getting gigibit (1000Mbps) broadband in Bellingham.

The government programme is offering vouchers worth £1500 per home and £3500 per small/medium (SME) business to support suppliers with the cost of installing new fast and reliable connections. The more people that register their interest the more government vouchers we have to use and the more likely it is we get the service.

We have been contacted by WeFibre who are interested in providing service to our area.

The deal they are offering is 1Gbps (1000Mbps) upload AND download for £20 per month for residential and £60 per month for business customers.

As more and more people are uploading files, photos etc to the cloud, upload speed becomes more important. WeFibre offers on average download speeds up to 14x faster than the UK average and upload speeds up to 64x faster!

They require a certain level of interest in order to progress in the village so we are asking everyone who would like ultra-fast Gigibit broadband to register their interest by clicking the WeFibre logo below and clicking on the "Join the waiting list" button and entering your details. You are not committing to anything at this time, it is just to allow WeFibre to gauge interest and work out wether investing in our area is viable for them.

Please click the link and register your interest and make sure you share this post and tell your friends too!

Thanks.

*Comparison examples to existing residential providers in the area showing maximum available download/upload speeds (prices taken from individual company websites. Correct as of 9th Feb 2021). You can test your actual current download and upload speeds at Speedtest.net.

WeFibre - 1000Mb/1000Mb - £20/month

BT Fibre1 - upto 80Mb/20Mb - £31.99/month

Sky Fibre - upto 80Mb/20Mb - £27.00/month

TalkTalk Fibre 65 - upto 80Mb/20Mb - £24/month

Plusnet Unlimited Fibre Extra - upto 80Mb/20Mb - £24.99/month

With postal vote applications landing on doormats over the coming days, here's a quick and easy guide on what you need to do if you choose to vote by post.

It's the safest way to vote currently due to Covid-19.

If you haven't received one you can download a Postal Vote application form HERE

Contact us HERE if you are interested. 

You will shortly receive a letter from Northumberland County Council asking you to confirm who is registered to vote at your address. Please take a few minutes to check and confirm - it's really easy to do either online, by phone or by post.

The form also gives you the opportunity to register for a postal vote. Postal voters can vote in advance without the need to visit a polling station but can still vote in person on the day if they want to.

We have County and Parish Council elections coming up in May.

Subscribe to our new quarterly newsletter.

The latest news from Bellingham and the Parish Council direct to your inbox!

Click the Sign Up button on the main menu!

It's almost a year since the Parish Council installed two electric car charging points on the back of the Town Hall in Manchester Square. Even with the various lockdowns and generally lower numbers of visitors into the village the chargers are still seeing regular use. To date drivers have used 1771kWh of electricity which equates to around 7000 miles driven! Not bad for a quiet year!

It's not just Bellingham that is seeing the benefit of our work - we have in the past few months been contacted by councillors from Burnham Parish Council in Buckinghamshire and Sandford Parish Council in Crediton (near Exeter) asking how we went about installing our chargers. 

Bellingham is leading the way with the EV future!

Cygnus Support is a mental health and emotional well being charity based in Ashington but covering the whole of Northumberland. We offer one to one counselling and support for people with a range of needs. Currently we are all working from home and sessions are delivered by telephone and video. Clients can access the service by self-referral or by being referred in by another service they may be working with, referrals can be made by completing our referral form, which is available on our website or as a word document or by phoning our office on 01670 853977 . 

In response to the Covid-19 pandemic we have developed a Covid response project which comprises a mental health helpline, 1-2-1 counselling and our online therapy platform, SilverCloud. SilverCloud offers online therapeutic modules to support an individual’s mental health needs. This can be accessed not only by residents but by anyone working in Northumberland.

Arthritis Action Groups are an opportunity for people with arthritis to talk with others and share their tips on how to manage their arthritis and stay active whilst at home, and we actively welcome new attendees. We discuss a variety of self-management techniques. Participants will need to contact Arthritis Action directly for the log in instructions for the meeting.

Northumberland County Council provide grit/salt bins for use by the public during frosty/icy conditions. You can use the grit provided to clear snow and ice from pavements around your home, making paths safer and easier to use. The bins can be found in the following locations (all are Yellow unless otherwise stated) - 

• Fairshaw Crescent - End of Grass Section on Right Hand Side (Blue Bin)
• Outside the Public Toilets 
• Opposite Bridge House beside the Burn Bridge
• Foundry Yard - Opposite the Snooker Club 
• Behind Orchard House Vets opposite Northern Garage 
• Hillside - Beside parking area at the top of the path behind No.25
• Briar Hill - Beside Playground Entrance 
• Redesmouth Road - Outside School Gates 
• Redesmouth Court - Right Hand Side When Entering the Estate 
• Town Hall - Bottom of Steps Between Town Hall and the Gun Monument 
• Boat Road - On the Corner adj Fallow Green Cottage
• Doctors Surgery Car Park
• Westlands - Bottom of Westlands Bank (Green Bin)
• Reenes Way - Side of Garages (Green Bin)
• Cairns Road - Top of Back Lane opposite Allotments
• Cairns Road - Parking Area opposite No.36
• Malting Close - Adj Electricity Substation

You can report an empty grit bin to NCC HERE

You can request an additional grit bin from NCC HERE

Grit provided should not be used for treating private property.

Northumberland County County Council has introduced a Snow Warden Scheme in Northumberland to allow an individual or a group of community volunteers to sign up to help clear snow and ice from public footpaths in their local areas.

By carrying out voluntary snow warden duties you will be helping to keep your community safer during severe winter conditions. In return they will provide you with a snow warden kit which comprises of a snow shovel, bag of salt/grit, a thermal hat with a head torch, a pair of thermal gloves and a hi-vis vest.

If you would like to be involved in this scheme please click on the link below to view and print the forms.  Please return your completed forms (registration form and fitness declaration) to the following freepost address [please note it must be exactly as is stated with no address or postcode].
 

Freepost NCC LOCAL SERVICES

Individual Registration Form

Group Registration Form

Bellingham Parish Council has worked hard throughout 2020 to increase the number of services we offer our community - from the basics such as street cleaning and additional grass cutting through to maintenance of our assets, such as repainting the public toilets and supporting local residents who were shielding or self isolating during the initial COVID-19 lockdown. The attached infographic shows some of the services we currently offer. We want to build on this work in 2021 and re-establish a rolling maintenance programme including repair and repainting of street benches, painting of bridge railings and repainting of bins, planters etc.

We would also like to invest further in our community (post COVID-19) and work to improve our offering to tourists who contribute a significant amount to our local economy, thereby supporting local businesses which create jobs for local people.

In addition, we have statutory responsibilities regarding the upkeep of the graveyards in Bellingham. The graveyards need to be professionally assessed for the safety of headstones, with any dangerous memorials having to be repaired. Work is also needed to repair and redecorate the cemetery chapel near the show field. The cost of these works will run to thousands of pounds.

Bellingham Parish Council, like all Parish and Town Councils around the UK, is funded by our precept - the small portion of your council tax bill that pays for our services.

For the past few years we have not increased the precept in line with inflation. While this has meant a real terms reduction in your precept contribution year on year, it has also meant a real terms reduction in our annual income. While the cost of some services is fixed under contracts for a number of years, when these need to be renewed in the future, we need to make sure we can still afford them. Even with our current level of service provision, the parish council has run a significant deficit of around £5,000 per annum for several years, which cannot continue.

This is where we need your help. The parish council will be setting its precept amount for 2021 at our January meeting. We need a slight, but unfortunately necessary, increase to the amount each household contributes in order to make up for the real terms fall in our income over the last several years, give us the income we need to deal with the additional works such as the maintenance and safety work on the cemetery and chapel, as well as the rolling asset maintenance programme. If we do not raise the precept we would need to look at cutting the services we currently offer the parish.

Please be aware that this is a change to the precept portion of your council tax bill (itemised on your statement as Bellingham Parish Council) and is separate from any increases made by Northumberland County Council or the Police & Crime Commissioner for Northumbria for services they provide.

Under our proposal, a council tax Band A property (such as Westlands, Cairns Road, Hillside or similar) would see an approximate increase of £3.83 per year, or around 7p per week.

A larger Band D property would see an approximate increase of £5.75 per year, or around 11p per week.

While no-one likes increases in bills we hope you will support us with or plans for 2021 and agree this is a small amount to pay to allow us to maintain our village to a high standard and make it an even better place for us all to live.

We would be interested to hear your thoughts on this, as well as any suggestions you have for improvements or services you would like us to provide.

Click HERE to tell us your thoughts.

We have changed our logo from the sketch of the Town Hall to a new symbol inspired by the old Three Horns crest of the Bellingham family.

This symbol can already be seen in a number of places around the village so we thought it better represented the Parish of Bellingham.

Hope you like it!

2020 has been a difficult year for a number of reasons. In particular the COVID-19 pandemic has caused huge disruption to people across the world and, of course, even within our corner of it in Bellingham Parish. In spite of this, the Parish Council (along with many other individuals and organisations) has been working hard throughout this year for the community and we thought that it would be good to take a little time to have a look back at the year and consider the activities we have undertaken (in addition to our regular grass cutting, planning, street cleaning and allotment management).

Community

The main focus of the Parish Council during March to June was on the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact of the first lockdown on the village - in particular on those who were vulnerable and shielding. This led to a parish-wide information leaflet being sent out to all households, followed by centralised shopping and food delivery to those self-isolating within the village. Food shopping and delivery, postal services and pharmacy deliveries were offered by volunteers for over 3 months to residents who were shielding. By the time this finished we had undertaken over 280 shopping and 75 prescription deliveries.

The Parish Council would not only like to thank the council volunteers who helped with this service, but also those who offered to help, as well as those who helped to look after their neighbours and loved ones themselves in this very difficult period. We would also like to thank our local churches (in particular Deacon Anne Taylor and the former Reverend Susan Ramsaran) for organising ring-arounds and support for those in need and the local shops for their support for the delivery services.

The Parish Council Facebook page has been developed through this year and used to provide information for locals as well as entertainment through lockdown and beyond in the form of our well attended Facebook lockdown quizzes.

As well as Facebook, the Parish Council has created and developed its own website (www.parish-council.com/Bellingham), allowing residents easy access to key information about its activities, as well as its policies and past minutes. This has helped to improve transparency as well as the level of public participation by residents, which is greatly appreciated by the Parish Council.

In addition to the COVID-19 support, the Parish Council has enacted a new small grant funding process. These grants have helped a variety of key local community organisations in the year, including Bellingham in Bloom, Bellingham Town Hall, and North Tyne and Redesdale Community Partnership.

Bellingham Parish Council has also undertaken an expansion of the Christmas lights in the heart of the village this year (with more planned for next year) and spearheaded a campaign to get everyone to to put up Christmas lights to make the village as cheerful as possible through the end of 2020. It has been wonderful to see how many people have done this and what a positive response residents and visitors alike have had on seeing how great the village looks lit up.

Infrastructure

Early in the year, the Parish Council switched on two new electric car chargers situated on the rear of the Town Hall. These have been in regular use by some residents - the number of electric vehicles in the village has started to rise - as well as by local essential workers. The Parish Council has received a number of emails of support regarding the new chargers from tourists as well.

The Jubilee Field car park has been extended, with additional signage being put up. The notice board provided by the Playground Committee has been brought into use and is becoming a popular location for advertising with local businesses. We hope to put new fencing up around the car park early next year.

Due to the rising number of visitors we have installed a number of new litter bins throughout Bellingham, with new bins outside the Post Office, Westlands and Reenes Way, Redesmouth Road, Jubilee Field and near the Cemetery.

With the help of some fantastic volunteers, the Parish Council has organised the start of a major refresh of the cemeteries within Bellingham, with the start of path clearance and the repainting of the railings and benches. While the completion of this has been delayed due to COVID-19, we hope to complete this work in 2021.

The old notice board on Lockup Lane was in poor repair, so this has been replaced with a new wooden magnetic board for council, town hall and community notices.

Tourism

The Parish Council has brought the large area of grass at Armstrong Square back into a useable state in the year, improving the look of a key tourist area within the village.

The public conveniences have been painted and their signage improved with the help of some local volunteers. During the height of the pandemic the Parish Council had no choice but to close them but reopened them at the earliest opportunity. While opening days have been reduced due to the high cost of more regular deep cleaning due to the pandemic, hopefully this will be a temporary situation.

The Parish Council volunteers have also cleared trees and shrubs blocking tourist signs for Bellingham.

Business

In the run up to Christmas, the Parish Council has spearheaded a new campaign over Christmas (’Tis the Season to Shop Local’) to support the great shops here in Bellingham who have been working hard for residents over the pandemic. There has been a 100% take-up of this campaign by local retailers and there has been a strongly positive response from residents as well.

While there has been a lot of focus on the pandemic, Bellingham Parish Council, the businesses in the parish, our charitable organisations and all the volunteers and residents have been working hard this year to look after each other on a wide range of fronts.

We would like to thank you for making our parish such a great place to live in 2020 and we look forward to this continuing in 2021.

A message from Northumbrian Water

Wet wipes are the biggest causes of blockages and sewer flooding, and we really need your help. You can make a massive difference by making one easy change: Bin the Wipe.

Many wipes are made from plastic, which means they don’t break down in water like toilet roll. Our toilets and sewer pipes are not designed for wipes. Even if the wipes aren’t in your toilet bowl, they might get stuck in the pipes near your home, or someone else’s.

Flushed wipes contribute to more than 60% of sewer blockages in the North East: it’s a huge issue.

Flushing the wrong things down the toilet cause huge problems inside customers’ homes, in our communities and our environment.

Wrongly flushed items are a nightmare for everyone as they can cause all sorts of problems inside customers' homes, in the communities we live in and for the environment.

Northumbrian Water is working hard to raise awareness of these issues, so that you know about the problems wet wipes can cause.

What can happen if there’s a blockage in the sewers?

When sewage can’t flow down the sewer pipes because of a blockage, it has to go somewhere else. This could be your street, garden or even back into your home through the toilet, or drains in your bath, sink and shower, flooding your bathroom and home.

The only wipes that can safely be flushed are wipes that have passed the water industry’s standard, ‘Fine to Flush’.

So unless they have the official 'Fine to Flush’ symbol, toilet wipes, baby wipes, make-up wipes and cleaning wipes should all be binned after use - even ones that say they are flushable.

In your area, this is an ongoing problem. You are at risk, unless people stop flushing wipes down the toilet.

Please tell your family, friends and neighbours to Bin the wipe.

Facilities in the Briar Hill Play Area have been improved with the replacement of the two worn out swing seats.

Further improvements are planned for the playground in the new year including repainting of the railings and seating.

Following the mystery of the disappearing bin from outside the newsagents we have installed a new twin bin which has been firmly bolted down!

The remaining single bin that was there previously has been relocated to the Jubilee Field car park to give extra capacity for visitors there.

The lights are up meaning it's officially the start of the Christmas season in Bellingham!

A huge thanks to David and his team for their hard work this weekend making our village look amazing!!

Donations to the West Northumberland Food Bank are urgently needed.

Please leave any donations of non-perishable food and toiletries in St Cuthbert's Church - the church is always open during daylight hours.

Thank you!

The local shops in Bellingham have worked hard this year to ensure that everyone in the town was able to get what they needed during the lock-downs this year. We would urge residents to repay the favour and keep shopping local!

In partnership with our excellent local shops, we are launching a Shop Local initiative for Christmas. We want to encourage people to use our local amenities where possible for as much Christmas shopping as possible. Look out for the signs in shop windows!

An update from North Tyne Youth's new Youth Development Worker.

Following requests from residents the Parish Council has installed a new combined dog waste/rubbish bin outside the entrance to Bellingham Middle and Primary Schools.

The long serving notice board on Lock Up Lane was beginning to show signs of age so we've replaced it with a shiny new one!

The board has a magnetic backing so please don't use drawing pins - we have provided mini magnets to use.

To keep it organised, we have marked out space for Parish Council notices, a section for our friends at the Town Hall as well as plenty of space for your community event notices.

If you'd like something put up in the board drop us an email at clerk@bellinghamparishcouncil.gov.uk, fill out the contact form or drop us a Facebook message. If you already have a notice you can drop it into Country Store Bellingham and they will pass it on.

Special thanks to Charlotte Brown for the use of the van!

We have started the refresh of the cemetery with the help of some fantastic volunteers! The plan includes wire brushing and repaint the metal railings, sanding down and repainting the park benches, clearing moss from the paths and cutting back some shrubs.

A huge thanks to Bernadette and Bob Thompson, Ken and Sally Irving, Ant Kirkbride, Martin & Ben Dickson-Green and our on location caterer Margret Wilson for all their help at the cemetery today!

We cleared some of the paths and painted most of one side of the railings before the paint ran out! Lockdowns permitting we are hoping to complete these works as soon as we can. 

Continuing our maintenance programme to spruce up the village we have recently completed a refresh of the exterior of the village public toilets. The interior was re-painted last year but the outside was looking a little tired and in need of a smarten up. The pebbledash exterior has been repainted, doors and frames re-glossed and new noticeboards and facility signs added.

Following requests from residents the Parish Council has installed two new combined dog waste/rubbish bins - one at the top of Westlands bank and one at the junction of Reenes Way and Charlton View.

There had been reports of dog mess being left and rubbish thrown under hedges so it is hoped the new bins will encourage the guilty parties to do the right thing!