Your Parish Council

The Parish Council meets on the third Wednesday of each month at 7pm in Bellingham Town Hall. Meetings will either be in the main hall or the community room (accessible from Manchester Square) depending on hall bookings.

Members of the public are welcome to attend Parish Council meetings and may, with the permission of the Chair, make a short statement. If an important issue requires a decision by Parish Councillors, a request should be put in writing, or emailed, to the Clerk at least 7 days prior to the meeting.

Please note that during the COVID-19 restrictions meetings may be held online rather than face to face.

Check the Meeting Dates for details.

Agendas and Minutes

Select this year or Past for historical documents.

Draft minutes of meetings are published as soon as possible after each meeting and are formally approved at the following months meeting.

Parish Council Members

Chair | Martin Dickson-Green

E: Contact Martin

T: 01434 221197

Chair's Report

Area of Responsibility - Strategy / Website & Social Media / Indoor Market / Asset Maintenance & Repairs

Northumberland Association of Local Councils (NALC) Committee Member for North Tyne & Redesdale Parishes

Originally from Bellingham, Martin returned to the area in early 2018 after spending 25 years living in Newcastle and Darlington.

He has worked at Virgin Media O2 (previously BT and O2) since 1999 in various sales, marketing and project delivery & support roles.

Martin is a keen advocate of the environment & green technology and is passionate about making Bellingham the best it can be for residents, visitors and local businesses.

Martin is out on sabbatical until at least October.

Please contact Cllr. Wilkinson in his absence. Thank you.

Vice Chair - Edwin Wilkinson

E: Contact Edwin

Area of Responsibility - Allotments / Community Orchard / Bellingham Town Hall

Edwin, a former business owner and managing director, is now retired. He has been a member of the Parish Council for 23 years, holding the role of Vice-Chair for 8 years.

Other roles in the community have included being a School Govenor for 20 years, a member of the Belllingham Town Hall Committee for 23 years and chairman for 8 years and Chairman of the Community Orchard.

He enjoys the countryside, the environment and gardening.

Councillor | Michelle Brebner

E: Contact Michelle

Area of Responsibility - Local Business / Tourism

Michelle has lived in the parish of Bellingham for 16 years. After working at a number of small local businesses Michelle decided to take the plunge and set up on her own.

She now runs a successful Seamstress and upholstery business which has been established for 4 years.

When not busy working, she enjoys spending a lot of time with her family and grandchildren.

Michelle recently joined the parish council as she wishes to make Bellingham the best it can be for families and businesses.

Councillor | Brenda Huddleston

E: Contact Brenda

Area of Responsibility - Bellingham in Bloom / Village Decorations

Brenda has lived in Bellingham since 2010 and has worked hard to be come part of community. This includes becoming a member of the award winning Bellingham in bloom as well as various other activities such as organising Christmas wreaths for village poles.

Councillor | Kenneth Irving

E: Contact Ken

Area of Responsibility - Management of Health & Safety

Ken was born in Bellingham and has lived here all of his life.

He worked for JG Batey and was a retained fire fighter in the village for 12 years before joining the North East Ambulance service and training as a paramedic.

Ken is now retired but still works part-time for a private Ambulance company.

Councillor - Anthony Kirkbride

E: Contact Anthony

Area of Responsibility - Crime & Disorder / Police Liaison / Youth Engagement

Anthony moved to the area in 2018. He lives with his partner and two children and works for Northumbria Police based in the Newcastle area.

Councillor | Tim Moore

E: Contact Tim

Area of Responsibility - Community Parks and Play Areas

Tim has lived in Bellingham since 2017. He works for Forestry England in Kielder forest as a Forest Crafts Person and has a degree in Countryside Management.

In his spare time Tim enjoys kayaking.

Councillor | Amy Riley

E: Contact Amy

Area of Responsibility - Childrens Services / Youth Engagement / Schools Liaison

Amy is a mother of two children aged 3 & 5 and has a keen interest in trying to better Bellingham for children.

She has worked at the local Co-op as a Team Leader for 5 years now, and also runs the local volunteer toddler & baby group.

In her spare time she loves exploring Bellingham with the kids and enjoying the village we live in.

Councillor | Brian Tilley

E: Contact Brian

Area of Responsibility - Parish Newsletter & Communications

Brian moved to Bellingham in 1974 with wife Maureen, and their four sons attended the local schools. He is a multi-award winning journalist who worked on the Hexham Courant for 43 years, primarily as deputy editor.

Although now retired, he still writes the Bellingham Notes column in the Courant under the anagrammatic pseudonym Birtley Nail, as well as the Hextol column.

He has been involved in many village organisations over the years, including stints as secretary of the Bellingham Angling Club, North Tyne and Redewater Twisty Roads Preservation Society and the Town Hall Committee (of which he is currently vice chairman and booking clerk), as well as serving on PTAs, the children's party committee, May Fair committee and many more.

Brian is very keen on local history having written two books about the impact of the two world wars on the local area.

Parish Councillors Declarations of Interest can be found HERE.

Parish Clerk & RFO | Ben Dickson-Green FCA

Darmel House, Bellingham. NE48 2DQ.

E: clerk@bellinghamparishcouncil.gov.uk

T: 01434 221197

Area of Responsibility - Day to day administrative management of the Parish Council / Responsible Financial Officer / Management of all in-life staff and contractors / Indoor Market Trader Liaison

Ben has lived in Bellingham since early 2018.

He is a qualified chartered accountant but now teaches Business & Finance at Newcastle University Business School.

Ben took over as Parish Clerk and RFO at the end of 2019 and is ILCA Qualified.

Parish Support

Our support team work hard to keep our village looking great.

Eddie Taylor