Amble Town Council round-up: Tour of Britain, anti-litter campaign and CCTV

○ An anti-litter campaign is to be stepped up in Amble, to try to encourage people to keep the town tidy.

It comes amid complaints about the amount of rubbish that is being dropped and a disappointing turn out at a recent litter-pick.

New bin stickers – with the slogan ‘bin it, don’t sling it’ – will go onto bins soon.

At last Thursday’s Amble Town Council meeting, Mayor Jane Dargue said: “The litter-pick last month was poorly supported – I think we had one member of the public.

“We did everything we could to advertise it, but we’ll keep plodding on. It is about changing attitudes. We have the bins in place, but we need to have the community on board.”

A litter-pick which was planned for last weekend was postponed.

○ The town council will ask residents how they feel about developing a neighbourhood plan and to see who is keen to get involved.

Coun Helen Lewis said: “While we investigate the likely cost of a neighbourhood plan, we engage with our own and surrounding parishes, giving them information about the pros and cons of a neighbourhood plan and gauge what active support there is and what expertise is out there, and then consider whether to proceed or not.”

○ Former Amble town councillor Audrey Jones has raised numerous gripes. She said that the entrances to the town are looking tired, there are lots of potholes and she criticised ‘ugly and horrible’ notices to promote the town’s market ‘which are up all the time’.

Coun Helen Lewis said the town council has asked the county council to remove various signage and fill in potholes on numerous occasions.

The town council said that it is considering what can be done to improve the look of the flower beds at the town’s entrances.

○ Work on installing Amble’s new CCTV system is due to start, but it will take some time to be completed, with a number of cameras needing to be dismantled and then replaced and conservation-area approval also needed. But those that can go up will be installed and will become operational from that moment.

○ Wave-basin improvement work at the Little Shore could start in August. The scheme has been pushed forward because of a rapidly deteriorating seawall that is putting the southern breakwater at risk.

○ The water feature at Paddlers Park is now working and the new play-area surface is in place. The town council monitors the equipment, but the public is urged to report any faults.