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| October's newsletter delivery heroes braving the elements |
If you would like to see the newsletter, we have a pdf version available online:
Wednesday, 31 October 2018
October College ward newsletter
Our team of leaflet heroes is growing. Thank you to everyone who turned out in the sleet to deliver our latest newsletter in College Ward. (Mike and Mary had to dash off so that's why they are not in the picture.)
If you would like to see the newsletter, we have a pdf version available online:
If you would like to see the newsletter, we have a pdf version available online:
Tuesday, 25 September 2018
First Darlington Green Party College ward newsletters
Thank you to everyone who helped to deliver our first two ward newsletters, in College ward. We've had great feedback from residents in the ward.
If you don't live in the ward, you can view the two newsletters using the links below:
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| Matthew Snedker and Bryony Holroyd for Darlington Green Party in College Ward |
If you don't live in the ward, you can view the two newsletters using the links below:
If you'd like to get involved with delivering leaflets or with door knocking, please get in touch.
Friday, 27 July 2018
Upcoming event: Picnic in the park, 12th August
Picnic in Stanhope Park. Bring your own picnic, or sample the food available for a small donation. All welcome to attend. Sunday 12th August starting at 12pm.
- Facebook event
- Facebook event
Wednesday, 25 July 2018
Newsquest redundancy announcement
At a time when transparency in local government is needed most, the announcement of further redundancies at the Northern Echo should set alarm bells ringing.
It is said that sunlight is the best disinfectant. While this might not strictly apply to disease control it is most certainly the case when it comes to politics.
There is growing concern among Darlington people that decisions taken in their name are not always in their best interests. More concerningly, there is a spreading feeling that consultations with residents have become merely paper exercises with decisions having already been taken behind closed doors.
The Northern Echo has a proud heritage of serving the people of Darlington and beyond and while they cannot please all of the people all of the time they have undertaken journalistic investigations of significant importance. The bungling of the pedestrian heart contract and the Crown Street Library campaign being just two that spring to mind.
There is hope that independent, citizen journalism may fill the void left as regional papers shrink but unless that enthusiasm is coupled with professionalism and resources the scrutiny required to keep civic society honest will be missing.
Newsquest has been honest in saying these redundancies are down to cost cutting and shrinking of print circulation is not news. However, Darlington people should ask themselves, who do you trust to supply you with balanced information about your home town? Does billionaire Mark Zuckerberg really have your best interests at heart?
The price of freedom is eternal vigilance. When it comes to Darlington, perhaps the price of freedom is an online subscription to this newspaper.
Matthew Snedker
Darlington Green Party
- Nine roles at risk as daily plans to merge district reporting teams
It is said that sunlight is the best disinfectant. While this might not strictly apply to disease control it is most certainly the case when it comes to politics.
There is growing concern among Darlington people that decisions taken in their name are not always in their best interests. More concerningly, there is a spreading feeling that consultations with residents have become merely paper exercises with decisions having already been taken behind closed doors.
The Northern Echo has a proud heritage of serving the people of Darlington and beyond and while they cannot please all of the people all of the time they have undertaken journalistic investigations of significant importance. The bungling of the pedestrian heart contract and the Crown Street Library campaign being just two that spring to mind.
There is hope that independent, citizen journalism may fill the void left as regional papers shrink but unless that enthusiasm is coupled with professionalism and resources the scrutiny required to keep civic society honest will be missing.
Newsquest has been honest in saying these redundancies are down to cost cutting and shrinking of print circulation is not news. However, Darlington people should ask themselves, who do you trust to supply you with balanced information about your home town? Does billionaire Mark Zuckerberg really have your best interests at heart?
The price of freedom is eternal vigilance. When it comes to Darlington, perhaps the price of freedom is an online subscription to this newspaper.
Matthew Snedker
Darlington Green Party
- Nine roles at risk as daily plans to merge district reporting teams
Monday, 23 July 2018
Green party deputy leader visits tree protest site, dubbed 'Weeping Willows' by campaigners
Amelia Womack was met by a large crowd on visit to Darlington today. She heard about the #lovedarlotrees campaign and is sure that we will Green Party councillors elected in May 2019.
Northern Echo: Green party deputy leader visits tree protest site, dubbed 'Weeping Willows' by campaigners
Northern Echo: Green party deputy leader visits tree protest site, dubbed 'Weeping Willows' by campaigners
Friday, 20 July 2018
Green Party Deputy Leader to visit former Blackwell golf course site
Green Party Deputy Leader, Amelia Womack, is making her first visit to darlington on Monday 23rd July, to meet local residents and learn more about the #lovedarlotrees campaign.
Development of the former Blackwell golf course remains as contentious as ever. The shock and distress felt by residents and visitors alike when hundreds of trees were felled is still raw. The sense of anger caused was multiplied by the response from local and Borough councillors who failed to grasp the magnitude of feeling in the town.
Matthew Snedker coordinator of Darlington Green Party said; “The response from councillors seemed off-hand, along the lines of ‘it was voted through the planning committee, so what is all the fuss about’. The disconnection between serving councillor and the people they are supposed to represent was alarming and shows why increasingly people are loosing faith in councillors who are seen to have been in post for too long. I know that Amelia has been following what has been going on in the town to protect our trees and I am delighted that she has made the time to see first hand the work we have been doing.”
After a 3 year planning battle the developers, Storey Homes, cleared the former Blackwell golf course of around 180 trees and dredged two ponds thought to contain Great Crested Newts. There was considerable confusion earlier this year when Natural England initially told campaigners that there was no permission to disturb the site, only for a licence to turn up at the eleventh hour.
Matthew Snedker added, “What is of great concern is that Darlington Councillors may have lost control of their planning process. Either they lack the ability to hold developers to the law or they hope that Darlington residents won’t hold them to account for their actions.”
Members of the public can show that they #lovedarlotrees by gathering at Blackwell Grange Hotel from 11:30 or meeting Amelia at the site on Carmel Road South from 12:20.
Development of the former Blackwell golf course remains as contentious as ever. The shock and distress felt by residents and visitors alike when hundreds of trees were felled is still raw. The sense of anger caused was multiplied by the response from local and Borough councillors who failed to grasp the magnitude of feeling in the town.
Matthew Snedker coordinator of Darlington Green Party said; “The response from councillors seemed off-hand, along the lines of ‘it was voted through the planning committee, so what is all the fuss about’. The disconnection between serving councillor and the people they are supposed to represent was alarming and shows why increasingly people are loosing faith in councillors who are seen to have been in post for too long. I know that Amelia has been following what has been going on in the town to protect our trees and I am delighted that she has made the time to see first hand the work we have been doing.”
After a 3 year planning battle the developers, Storey Homes, cleared the former Blackwell golf course of around 180 trees and dredged two ponds thought to contain Great Crested Newts. There was considerable confusion earlier this year when Natural England initially told campaigners that there was no permission to disturb the site, only for a licence to turn up at the eleventh hour.
Matthew Snedker added, “What is of great concern is that Darlington Councillors may have lost control of their planning process. Either they lack the ability to hold developers to the law or they hope that Darlington residents won’t hold them to account for their actions.”
Members of the public can show that they #lovedarlotrees by gathering at Blackwell Grange Hotel from 11:30 or meeting Amelia at the site on Carmel Road South from 12:20.
Thursday, 31 May 2018
Free parking in Darlington - trying to hold back the tide?
For years a vocal group of Darlington people have called on our Labour controlled council to give away parking for free in the town.
And for years the council has been firm in its stance that this measure would not be in the best interest in of the town but, with local elections less than a year away, senior councillors have panicked and dipped into their shrinking budget to subsidise car parking.
To put forward a position opposing this measure will not be wildly popular but decision making is always best when there are groups prepared to stand up and challenge. Having people who look at assumptions twice before proceeding is good for democracy.
Our high street has always changed and anyone wishing to turn the clock back twenty or thirty years will be sadly disappointed. Tax 'efficient' Amazon and shopping via smart phone have disrupted the old retail model to such an extent that bricks and mortar retail chains are on the edge of viability. The multinational retailers long ago decided that huge retail parks that drew customers from a large area was the only way to create the efficiency of cost that would keep them going.
Sadly our Council have made a basic mistake, a mistake that I have seen other managers of legacy businesses fall for. They have chosen to fight the opposition on their ground, trying to compete where the council is weakest and retail parks are strongest. By promoting two hours of free parking reinforces the fact that parking charges exist. Retail parks can offer free parking twenty-four hours a day all year round.
If this decision was forced on the council by M&S closing, what sort of panic would Binns’ demise cause? Four hours free parking? If another big name were to go, what next? The evolution of retail will not be stopped by a race to the bottom in parking costs. Remember, a round trip to Teesside Park cost £12, according to the AA, so it is not transport costs that make people decide.
Managing the change to a new healthy and vibrant town centre will not be easy and it will not be cheap. By giving away parking the council is deliberately cutting their income and reducing the amount of money available to spend on the town.
Instead, the council should be concentrating on winning where retail parks are weak. Our unique sense of place and history, a place to meet friends and be entertained, a range of one off shops and special events. The recent food festival was a prime example of this. It was a great success and the organisers are to be warmly awarded for their hard work.
A great change for our new town centre would include changes to planning to allow people to live in the empty spaces above shops, creating a new community in the heart of our town. Also more work needs to be done to make active travel into and out of town easier, quicker and safer.
This council needs to stop acting like King Cnut, trying to stem the tide of change, and instead fight to our strengths and plan for a new future in our town centre.
Matthew Snedker
Coordinator, Darlington Green Party
Wednesday, 30 May 2018
When Darlington’s Labour controlled council revealed their plans for 10,000 new build houses, the reactions of most people were of equal parts horror and dismay.
Horror from the knowledge that this rash of building would forever change the nature of our town while covering much needed green space.
The feelings of dismay I hear are just as strong. People know that, whatever the promises of ‘consultation’ our current crop of Labour councillors are so entrenched that they feel safe in ploughing ahead with their master plan.
The figures conjured up to support this excess of building piles supposition on top of wishful thinking.
Darlington residents will be aware that Westminster is putting pressure on local authorities to build more homes. Even with this urgency, the directive from Central Government is that Darlington Borough Council need only find room to house 150 extra people each year. However this plan is hell bent on adding 30,000 more people to the town.
Even before a single foundation is dug, Darlington’s housing market is not in the best of health. We are already feeling the chilling effects of house price deflation. While affordability of housing needs addressing at a national level, the uncontrolled price crash this council risks is not going to be in anyone’s best interests.
The other signs of a sickening local housing market can be seen in empty homes. Darlington’s ‘void rate’ is above average for owner occupied, private rent and social rent properties.
Further holes in the Council’s arguments can be seen in their claims that new employment will drive housing need. Their claims seem overly optimistic, especially as the assumption is that people will relocate for zero hour contract, minimum wage jobs.
However, to get a full understanding of the madness this proposal threatens to unleash on the area you need to look at the housing proposals for the Tees Valley as a whole. Individually, all authorities are predicting significant numbers of people will move into their area. They wish us to believe that as we crash out of the EU the Tees Valley is to become a hot spot for migration never witnessed before. To be frank, the regional population predictions just don’t stack up.
The figures on which this plan is built are decidedly shaky but of course the real driver behind the scenes is a council desperate for money. Of course this is largely due to the Conservative Government’s ruthless cuts to all areas of public spending causing turmoil in all councils. If this desperation is obvious to us, then it is as clear as day to developers. They know that they hold the whip hand here and will build the houses they want, where they want and when they want. Disquiet over recent planning decisions already shows a process that is out of control, yet effective opposition from within the Council chamber is in short supply.
People who care about the future of Darlington have only one chance to call a halt to these plans. They must take the opportunity of the May 2019 local elections to break Labour’s grip on power before irreversible damage is done to our town. A Green Party presence on the Borough Council would hold the council to account on all decisions, week in week out.
Matthew Snedker
Coordinator, Darlington Green Party
Horror from the knowledge that this rash of building would forever change the nature of our town while covering much needed green space.
The feelings of dismay I hear are just as strong. People know that, whatever the promises of ‘consultation’ our current crop of Labour councillors are so entrenched that they feel safe in ploughing ahead with their master plan.
The figures conjured up to support this excess of building piles supposition on top of wishful thinking.
Darlington residents will be aware that Westminster is putting pressure on local authorities to build more homes. Even with this urgency, the directive from Central Government is that Darlington Borough Council need only find room to house 150 extra people each year. However this plan is hell bent on adding 30,000 more people to the town.
Even before a single foundation is dug, Darlington’s housing market is not in the best of health. We are already feeling the chilling effects of house price deflation. While affordability of housing needs addressing at a national level, the uncontrolled price crash this council risks is not going to be in anyone’s best interests.
The other signs of a sickening local housing market can be seen in empty homes. Darlington’s ‘void rate’ is above average for owner occupied, private rent and social rent properties.
Further holes in the Council’s arguments can be seen in their claims that new employment will drive housing need. Their claims seem overly optimistic, especially as the assumption is that people will relocate for zero hour contract, minimum wage jobs.
However, to get a full understanding of the madness this proposal threatens to unleash on the area you need to look at the housing proposals for the Tees Valley as a whole. Individually, all authorities are predicting significant numbers of people will move into their area. They wish us to believe that as we crash out of the EU the Tees Valley is to become a hot spot for migration never witnessed before. To be frank, the regional population predictions just don’t stack up.
The figures on which this plan is built are decidedly shaky but of course the real driver behind the scenes is a council desperate for money. Of course this is largely due to the Conservative Government’s ruthless cuts to all areas of public spending causing turmoil in all councils. If this desperation is obvious to us, then it is as clear as day to developers. They know that they hold the whip hand here and will build the houses they want, where they want and when they want. Disquiet over recent planning decisions already shows a process that is out of control, yet effective opposition from within the Council chamber is in short supply.
People who care about the future of Darlington have only one chance to call a halt to these plans. They must take the opportunity of the May 2019 local elections to break Labour’s grip on power before irreversible damage is done to our town. A Green Party presence on the Borough Council would hold the council to account on all decisions, week in week out.
Matthew Snedker
Coordinator, Darlington Green Party
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