SPEED

CONTROL
THE COBBLES ON OUR HIGH

Following the com-

STREET
pletion of the area at
rather than painting
directly onto cobbles.
intouch
The regular newsletter from your local Conservatives

the south end of the

High Street a recent
site visit with Coun-
This will now be
rolled out throughout
future phases of
YARM PARKING SUCCESS!
cillors and other in- works starting short- We are pleased to confirm that Stockton Coun-
terested parties has ly with the next area cil have decided to put on hold the planned
given approval to the from the disc zone parking changes, which were detailed in a pre-
new construction start point on the vious edition of intouch. We believe the pro-
methods used, with east side, down to posals would have damaged our town and
the introduction of Fairfax Court. caused increased problems for nearby residen-
coloured setts to tial streets as parking was displaced from the
show parking bays High Street area.

DANGEROUS TURN Following a campaign supported by your Con-

servative councillors, residents, traders and our
We are pleased to have
MP James Wharton, Stockton Council received
secured a scheme fund- One issue that came up when we were
around 300 objections. The result was that the
ed from the Western out and about in Kirklevington was
proposals went to appeal.
Area Transport Group the problem of cars (and taxis in par-
which will see the intro- ticular) parking on the corner by the On 14th March, Stockton Council’s appeals and cause he is deemed to have an interest in the
duction of 3 mobile Crown, causing a danger for other complaints committee took evidence and decid- issue, he would have had to stay silent and
speed indicator display drivers and pedestrians. ed to put the parking plan on hold. Council would have been unable to vote (whereas by
sites (SIDs) on busy officers were instructed by the committee to not attending a Conservative councillor from
local roads. This is a dangerous bend, even with work with traders and the Town Council on a elsewhere in the Borough was able to vote in
the traffic calming measures local new proposal, including tackling the short- his place), meaning we might not have se-
The location of the Conservatives have secured over re- age of long-stay parking. Whilst not a com- cured this important victory.
sites will be on Forest cent years, and it is clear that more plete victory, the deferral is a step in the right
Lane, Thirsk Road and still needs to be done. direction and will allow your Conservative Yarm As ever, Local Conservatives will continue to
The Spital. The mobile Town Council the chance to work with residents keep you informed of any developments and
device is the same type Ben Houchen (pictured) has contacted and traders to explore alternative solutions. we are already working to explore a number
as presently being used the Council about it and we will keep We can now look at options which would not of options. We believe it is important that
outside the Golf Club in residents informed. risk displacing traffic onto nearby residential Stockton Council rethink their current plans to
Eaglescliffe. streets and can work together to deliver a bet- take into account both residents’ and traders’
ter long term solution for Yarm. opinions, which we felt had been ignored dur-
ing the initial consultation. We are confident
YARM GALA - 19 JUNE 2011 Mark Chatburn attended the meeting on behalf that with Conservative Borough Councillors
of your Conservative Borough candidates, with and a Conservative Town Council working to-
Last year, Yarm Town Council’s Conservatives 19th. Once again the Gala will have a live music a number of town councillors also present. An- gether with local people a suitable solution
organised the fourth traditional Gala, which at- stage, Victorian funfair, bell boat competition, drew Sherris sits on the committee and so was can be found.
tracted over 4,000 people and was hailed as a hog roast, crepes, street entertainers and Li-
not able to attend- had he done so, and be- Pictured: Jason Hadlow and James Wharton MP with
huge success, we also marked the 300th Anniver- ons Charities Fair, as well as a boat parade, campaigners in Yarm.
sary of Yarm Town Hall with an opening ceremo- steam boat rides, a Farmers market, dancers, a
ny attended by Lord Crathorne. ‘Yarm’s got Talent’ competition and face paint-
The Gala is a free of charge event, organised by
ing. TIDYING UP KIRKLEVIGTON
local Conservatives as an event for our communi- This is hopefully a taster of things to come as A recent site visit with Highways Officers has taken place with the view
ty to enjoy and to showcase Yarm. more events are announced in the run up to the to removing some excess signs and `street clutter`. We hope this
event itself. will improve the affected area and be less distracting to drivers. If you
This year’s Gala will take place on Sunday June
have any thoughts or comments on this matter please do not hesitate to
contact us at yarmconservatives@hotmail.co.uk or contact one of your
YARM CONSERVATIVES - Conservative Councillors, as we are always happy to hear from local resi-
dents.
DELIVERING FOR OUR COMMUNTIY
Promoted by Laura Tunney on behalf of Mark Chatburn, Ben Houchen and Andrew Sherris all of Suite 6A DTV Business Centre, Orde Wingate Way
HERE ALL YEAR ROUND, NOT JUST AT ELECTION TIME
TS19 0GD. Printed by Inprint 78-84 Skinner Street, Stockton on Tees. TS18 1EG
intouch
LEVEN PARK UPDATE
In the previous edition of intouch we informed residents of
plans for a new park on the Leven Park estate. Those living
near to the proposed plans were also sent a letter by James
Wharton MP.
Nearby residents have received an updated letter since then
but as promised we are bringing everyone up to date with the
Leven Park proposals in this edition of intouch: Having worked
with Officers to review all the comments received there ap-
pears to be some support for a small scale local facility, how-
ever, the plans as presented did raise both aspirations and
worries amongst residents. Your local Conservatives have
worked hard to ensure concerns are properly taken into ac-
count and we hope the suggested changes might be more
acceptable to local people. We have ensured the Council was
left in no doubt that we want them to take all comments re-
ceived about the scheme seriously and we have asked them to
look again and come forward with a more acceptable plan,
which we will circulate as soon as it is available.
Some of the changes we expect:
The money available can only provide a small fenced play area
with both some traditional and natural/sustainable equipment.
Some land drainage is necessary as much of the area is easily
waterlogged at times. We have requested that Officers re-
examine the location and that the more contentious issues
such as the MUGA, gateways, extra paths and floodlights
be removed. Officers have agreed to pursue more planting
throughout the area and build on the tree schemes that An-
drew Sherris has secured over recent years. Andrew has also
discussed the issue with Yarm Recreation Ground Trust and
there is an agreement in principle that, if a scheme which could
have a traffic impact does go ahead, they would allow club
facilities to be used for parking.
Some residents asked that this money be spent on other
schemes throughout the Borough or used to renew local bus
shelters. However, it must be pointed out that the majority of
the funding is not Council money but national funding that can
only be used for new build or enhancement to existing areas of
this nature.
There has also been some misinformation given out by an indi-
vidual who set out to use this issue to try to score political
points locally. This was evident by some door step canvassing
taking part outside the Social Club and also by certain com-
ments made at a recent Town Council meeting. There have
also been some disgraceful leaflets distributed by one political
group attacking local councillors who live in this part of Yarm.
Please remember that there is an election coming and the so-
called “Yarm Independents”, who have been nowhere to be
seen for the past four years, will sadly try to stir things up for
political advantage. We have worked hard to persuade the
council to listen to residents and we hope a revised plan will be
seen as a significant step in the right direction. We need to
take a measured approach if we are to influence things in the
interests of local people and point scoring on an issue like this
puts our ability to actually secure changes in danger. Of
course the independents know this, but do not appear con-
cerned at the impact their game playing might actually have on
local people.
We will continue to work to persuade the council that it needs
to listen to residents and take into account local views. We
have worked hard on securing concessions that we believe are
in the best interests of our community and also to secure a
proper consultation.
As a result nothing will now be done until a full public con-
sultation has taken place. Revised plans will take into ac-
count those issues already raised as indicated above and we
will work to ensure the end result is in everyone’s best interests
and properly takes into account genuine concerns.
intouch
“DON’T TAKE A RISK WITH YARM’S FUTURE”
JAMES WHARTON MP
Most people find it hard to
get excited about local elec-
tions. This year, though, we
have a unique chance to take
part in two important votes.
On 5th May we will vote on
whether to change our elec-
toral system and on who our
councillors are to be for the
coming term.
Proposed changes to our voting system could
change the political climate in this country for-
ever. If the alternative vote is introduced it
would make it harder to remove sitting MPs
(despite what the Yes campaign say!) and would
give some people several votes whilst others
only get one. It would cost more and would
take many many hours to count, bringing an
end to the traditional election night, and it
would lead to more coalitions, giving politicians
the excuse to go back on their promises in the
name of compromise.
Locally there is also a lot at risk. Conservative
Councillors on Yarm Town Council give up
countless hours for the unpaid role and volun-
tarily organise the annual Yarm Gala, its future
can only be secured by their re-election. The
Gala is free of charge and sponsored, so as not
to be a burden on the taxpayer, yet opposition
groups have always failed to support the event.
Parking has not gone away, although with the
deferral we have thankfully secured the oppor-
tunity to make major changes. We need to
baked plans which have been proposed so far.
Full scale High Street parking charges are al-
ready being talked of by some at Stockton as a
possible next step. We need a strong team to
oppose changes which would damage our High
Street, and I need people who I can work with
for the good of our town to put pressure on
Stockton Council to do the right thing.
The Leven Park plans have also caused con-
cern for some residents, but only after local
Conservatives informed people of the pro-
posals though our regular intouch newsletter.
No doubt when the election gets a bit nearer
other groups, Labour, Yarm Independents (led
by someone who lives in Hartlepool!), Lib
Dems et al, will start jumping on whatever
passing bandwagon they can, but it is only
local Conservatives who have genuinely been
here all year round, not just at election time.
I am immensely proud of what has been
achieved in the last few years, from footpaths
and traffic measures to tidying up sites like
Worsall Road Cemetery, saving Preston Park
and introducing Yarm Gala, but this is only
the tip of the iceberg and there is much more
to be done. Local elections should not just be
about party politics, they have to be about
what is best for our community. Local Con-
servatives have put together the right team to
lead Yarm forward, I hope you might consider
lending them your support, I am confident you
will be impressed when you see what they can
do.

VOTE NO TO AV IN MAY
'It is the stupidest, the least scientific and the most unreal' voting system.-Winston Churchill
work as a team and ensure a long stay car park-
ing solution is found, rather than the half
Please use your vote in May to stop AV and to
protect Yarm’s future.

The “Yes to AV” camp, including
some local Lib Dems are now sug-
gesting it would make MPs work
harder. Sadly this is a total fabrica-
tion! AV would not change the reality
of safe seats and would actually,
many predict, make it harder to shift
a sitting MP. Under AV sitting MPs
are more likely to pick up second or
third preferences, meaning that (as
some people get more than one vote
in this strange and unfair system)
once they are in, they’ll be harder to How to contact James Wharton MP
get out again.
Email: office@jameswharton.co.uk
AV is expensive, doesn't work and is Website: www.jameswharton.co.uk
unfair, we hope you will join us in Tel: 01642 636235
voting no in May and sending Nick By Post: Suite 6, DTV Business Centre, Orde Wingate Way, Stockton TS19 0GD
Clegg a clear message that he Alternative Post: House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA
should get on with the job and stop
being distracted by fiddling with our
Contact your Yarm Conservative team: yarmconservatives@hotmail.co.uk
tried and tested constitution to try
to gain some party advantage for
the struggling Lib Dems.
HERE ALL YEAR ROUND, NOT JUST AT ELECTION TIME
Promoted by Laura Tunney on behalf of Mark Chatburn, Ben Houchen and Andrew Sherris all of Suite 6A DTV Business Centre, Orde Wingate Way
TS19 0GD. Printed by Inprint 78-84 Skinner Street, Stockton on Tees. TS18 1EG