Plans for St Luke's take another step forward

Plans to replace St Luke’s in Middlesbrough with a new mental health centre have taken another step forward.

A planning application has been formally submitted to Middlesbrough Council. Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Trust plan to build a £75m mental health village on the Marton Road site. If it gets the go-ahead building work will begin in December with the 312-bed hospital due to open by 2010. The trust aims to create a non-institutional environment with a mini village, gardens and a cafe.

Middlesbrough Council’s planning committee will discuss the application at a public meeting in the town hall on Friday 17 August at 1.30pm.

Ladgate community council discussed the proposals at an early stage. Residents were happy with the broad thrust of the scheme, but emphasised

• the importance of security (which the trust acknowledged was a priority for them), and
  
• the need for adequate car-parking on the health centre site, to ensure that overspill parking in residential areas is minimised.

Easterside's day of fun for all the family

The people of Easterside enjoyed a fun day in the middle of their estate.


The aim of the day on 15 August was for everyone to let their hair down have fun, and learn about different activities and partnerships working in Easterside.


Chair of the Easterside Partnership, June Goodchild said: “Today is all about what I have been trying to do on Easterside for the past 12 years - build a community.

“And it is really starting to pay off. The atmosphere is brilliant. Everyone is having fun.”

MP invites Easterside pupils to London

Younsters tried out their debating skills during a trip to the heart of government.

Pupils from Easterside Primary School travelled to London to meet Ashok Kumar, MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland.

Mr Kumar recently made a constituency visit to the school.

He was impressed with the school’s innovative work in developing pupils’ thinking skills. And he invited the children down to his parliamentary offices in London to look at the workings of government.

The youngsters, aged between six and 11, led a “community of inquiry” that enabled them to question and challenge a selected subject during a structured debate.

The children have been working alongside two specialist consultant teachers from Norwich to develop skills in reasoning, investigation, inquiry and communication.

Maria Cornish and Sara Stanley have been brought in to co-ordinate mentoring and support sessions for teachers and students looking at the subject of philosophy. The pupils are encouraged to talk and listen to each other and to discuss philosophical ideas.

Ruth Parker, head teacher at Easterside Primary School, said that it was an “unforgettable” experience.

She said: “Thanks to Creative Partnerships Tees Valley, the children had a wonderful experience and not only saw some of the London sights but also had the privilege to participate in a philosophy session in front of Dr Kumar.”

Sally Fixter, of Creative Partnerships Tees Valley, said it could be the springboard for the young people to become “some of the nation’s future politicians or creative thinkers”.

Mr Kumar said: “Philosophy is one of the foundations of intellectual development and underpins our understanding of the world around us.”

Easterside residents' co-op aims to boost diet

There's no excuse for not eating five a day if you live in Easterside.

Residents have joined forces with Middlesbrough Council and Middlesbrough Primary Care Trust to launch a new food enterprise project in a bid to promote healthy eating.


The Easterside Food Co-operative offers fruit and vegetables at affordable prices. It uses local produce and relies on volunteers who receive a delivery each week and make up orders ready for customers to collect.

The scheme follows the release of NHS community health profiles which estimate just 15.5% of Middlesbrough residents eat five portions of fruit and veg a day compared to the England average of 23.8%.

Residents can buy bags of fruit or veg for £2.80 or six free-range eggs for 80p.
Every Wednesday orders are placed between 12.30 and 1pm at the Easterside District Residents Association Office for collection the next week.
Public health officer Helen England said: “Obesity is the second biggest cause of preventable death in the UK and in Middlesbrough levels of obesity are substantially higher than the national average.

“We are inviting people to come along and see for themselves that by joining the food co-operative they can get good quality fruit and vegetables at low cost. By helping the community improve access to fruit and vegetables we hope to encourage healthier diets.”

Richie Andrew, of Middlesbrough PCT, said: “We have three volunteers and Easterside Food Co-operative would be interested in hearing from any residents who could offer some of their time for the regular Wednesday lunchtime delivery.”

Anyone interested can call 01642 270900.

School attendance and holidays in term time

Attendance in Middlesbrough’s schools is significantly below the national average, and it is believed that this is a contributing factor to lower than average attainment for Middlesbrough’s children.

As a means of helping to improve attendance, the Council is encouraging parents not to take their children out of school for holidays during term time.

A Council leaflet explains:

• there is no legal right to take your child out of school for holidays during term time
• if you take your child out of school without permission, or if your child stays away longer than has been authorised, this will be recorded as an unauthorised absence and could result in the issue of a Fixed Penalty Notice (a fine of £50) .

A lengthy absence for a holiday could cause particular problems at these times:

• close to exams or tests
• during years 10 and 11, when your child is taking modular exams during GCSEs (including mock exams)
• during the first year at a new school
• at the beginning of a new school term
• if your child is already having difficulties at school
• if your child has already missed school for other reasons.

Governors at Easterside School have recently considered the Council's advice. They are aware that many parents choose holidays during term time to avoid the high season prices that have to be paid during school holidays.

Therefore, they have decided that they will not prevent parents taking their child on holiday during term time if good reason can be shown, but the decision will be entirely at the head teacher's discretion. The headteacher will consider:

• your child's age
• the length of time off requested
• your child's record of attendance and punctuality
• any previous term time leave.

Middlesbrough Music Live - 3 June 2007

Young people from the Ladgate area, along with thousands from the rest of Teesside, are expected to flock to the annual Middlesbrough Music Live free festival on Sunday 3 June.

Middlesbrough Music Live is a free one day festival organised and funded by Middlesbrough Council which is taking place in the heart of Middlesbrough town centre.

This year sees over one hundred performers appearing across eight stages throughout the town, with the focal point being the 96.6TFM Main Stage which has a fantastic new home right in front of mima in Middlesbrough’s impressive new Centre Square.

“It’s one of the biggest and best town centre performance locations in Europe” says Middlesbrough Council’s Judith Croft. “The recent decision by the BBC to bring Proms In The Park to the town just goes to show what a wonderful site it is.”

Event co-ordinators Ten Feet Tall are proud to announce that Tony Christie will be making his way to Middlesbrough to headline this year’s event with a tea-time slot on the 96.6TFM main stage.

“We just fancied something a bit different! He’ll have a ten piece big band with him and he’s a total showman so it should be a great spectacle” says Graham Ramsay from Ten Feet Tall.

Among the other acts also appearing on the 96.6TFM Main Stage will be The Dub Pistols featuring Terry Hall (The Specials). Their genre defying sound effortlessly fuses together breakbeats, hip hop, ska, reggae, punk and soul and they're keeping themselves busy this summer with appearances at V Festival, Creamfields and Glastonbury.

Of course, Middlesbrough Music Live is always about much more than just the headliner and in recent years it’s become a great place to spot future stars with the likes of Kaiser Chiefs, The Fratellis, Kasabian, Keane, Razorlight, The Ordinary Boys and Paolo Nutini featuring at past events.

Having recently graced the top 20 of the UK singles chart with their debut single and with a string of sell out dates with James and The Charlatans under their belts, recent NME cover stars The Twang lead the latest crop of hot new bands to Middlesbrough on 3rd June. Joining them will be a variety of up and coming acts including London indie-pop kids Good Shoes, mathematical party-punks Foals and new Sony BMG signing Newton Faulkner.

Thank you!

Dave Budd and Mike Carr have said a big 'thank you' to residents of Ladgate ward for their election victory. In a new leaflet to be circulated in the ward, they promised

• to work with all residents of Easterside, Marton Manor and Tollesby Hall
• to continue to work with community and residents' groups
• to continue with ward surgeries
• to remain accessible by phone and email.