Alnwick Town Council round-up

It will cost £10,800 per year, including cleaning, and the council is to install its own phone and internet which means its number will stay the same.

• Councillors have agreed to mark the grave of William Davison, for whom a blue plaque was unveiled in the town centre in November. His resting place, in the cemetery, is understood to have previously had a headstone which was knocked down, and members have agreed to spend up to £200 to lay a commemorative stone on the spot.

• The town council has agreed to sign the lease for a play area at the Bullfield Community Orchard. The council will take on the lease as well as inspecting, maintaining and insuring the site, which is reliant on funding being found. The town council already agreed to provide up to £6,123 – one-third of the cost – for the scheme.

• Following inquiries about the local authority charging to close roads for events, Coun Gordon Castle reported that this was simply to cover the cost of publishing the official notice in the local press ‘which is unavoidable and has not be properly recognised in the past’. Some events are exempt, such as the Remembrance Sunday parade, but it will apply to charities and community groups holding events, although the county council has agreed to halve the cost this year as it hasn’t been factored in by organisers.

• The county council has refused to allow the Alnwick Town Team to put banners on the Northumberland Hall, the meeting heard, which means the £2,500 budget for this will now be reallocated.

• Mal Graham, chairman of trustees at the Bailiffgate Museum, thanked the town council for its ongoing support, adding: “It really does help and literally helps us to keep the doors open.”

Councillors also heard updates about forthcoming exhibitions and events.