Amble Town Council round-up

The county council has been made aware of the issue and has vowed to tackle the problem.

At last Thursday’s Amble Town Council meeting, clerk Elaine Brown gave a report to members about what she has been told by the authority.

She said: “I have been told that rock armour has been placed along the coast to prevent coastal erosion and it looks like a tidal surge carried these rocks to where they are now.”

She added that the path will be cleared and the steps are also due to be improved, and the work should be done soon.

• A resident has called for Amble to be tidied up and made more attractive, criticising the town’s litter issues and uninspiring floral displays.

June Watson called on the town council to ‘get to grips’ with the problems, branding the Church Street bus shelter an ‘absolute disgrace’.

Coun Helen Lewis replied by saying that a town operative carries out litter-picks and that the county-council’s NEAT team has changed its cleaning schedule to try to combat some of the issues.

She added that some of the planters in the town are due to be updated.

Coun Craig Weir said that the main problem is water. He added: “We have been working on getting water to various parts of the town and once that is done we can look at the planting programme.

“Some of the smaller beds also need work. We are working on it, but it is difficult.”

• Coun Jane Dargue has been re-elected as Amble Mayor. Coun Craig Weir was voted in as Deputy Mayor.

• The next Amble community litter-pick will take place on Wednesday, starting in the Town Square at 6pm.

• A new life-saving piece of equipment has been installed along Queen Street. The defibrillator is sited at the Premier store and has been purchased following a fund-raising initiative by the town’s Blue Bell. The town council is to speak to Warkworth Harbour Commissioners to see if they would go 50/50 on buying a defibrillator for the harbour area.

• County councillor Jeff Watson said that he believes that plans for a new hotel in Amble, submitted by Arch, will still go ahead. It follows the Conservative group becoming the county’s largest party and pledging to subject the company to a strategic review.