Simon Tagg - Newcastle under Lyme

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Simon Tagg - Newcastle under Lyme

Simon Tagg, local Councillor and Community Champion in Newcastle-under-Lyme and Staffordshire. Parliamentary Candidate for Newcastle-under-Lyme 2024

Conservative Leader at Newcastle Borough Council & Shadow Cabinet Member at Staffordshire County Council.

07/09/2026

📢 Government expected to announce the pause of local Government Reorganisation 👍

I welcome the expected announcement that the Government is to paused and launched a review into Labour’s Local Government Reorganisation proposals, including those affecting Staffordshire.

For almost 2 years through the Save Our Borough Campaign, we have argued that plans to abolish Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council and merge our Borough into a larger Stoke-on-Trent dominated authority were being pushed forward without proper public support and without answering serious questions about local democracy, accountability and community identity.

Today's decision shows that those concerns cannot simply be brushed aside.

Newcastle-under-Lyme is a proud Borough with its own history, identity and communities. We are not just a line on a map and we should not be swallowed up into a remote mega-council that risks weakening local representation and reducing residents' voices.

💪 I want to thank everyone who has supported the Save Our Borough Campaign, signed petitions, attended meetings and spoken up for our borough.

This pause is an opportunity to rethink these proposals and put local communities first and for this Labour Government to finally scrap any notion of merging our Borough out of existence.

Be assured that I will continue to fight for Newcastle-under-Lyme, protect our local identity and oppose any attempt to force our Borough into a council structure that local residents do not support.

Save Our Borough!

05/09/2026

☕️ Great to catch up with Cllr David Hutchison at the May Bank Councillors’ Surgery at The Victoria this morning.

It was good to hear about the work David and the team are doing on behalf of local residents, including:

🚗 Speed awareness on local roads
🌳 Protecting green spaces
🌼 Planning litter picks and bulb planting
🗑️ Dealing with missed bin collections

Cllr Finn Swain, Cllr David Hutchison, Cllr John Tagg hold a monthly surgery where residents can pop in and raise issues about the local community.

📍 May Bank Councillors’ Surgery
📅 First Saturday of the month
🕙 10.15am – 11.45am
📌 The Victoria, Brampton Road

31/08/2026

☔️ Wet Bank Holiday working on the Town Ward By-election!

Despite the rain, we’ve been out speaking to residents and listening to the issues that matter locally around the town centre.

This by-election on October 8th has been caused by the resignation of a Reform UK councillor after just three months in office.. and comes less than 18 months after a previous Labour Town councillor also resigned, causing another by-election.

Residents have plenty of local issues that need addressing, including just a few here 📸

💧Continued flooding at the junction of The Mill with Enderley Street.

🚧 Damage to the central reservation of the ring road at Rycroft, which still needs repairing.

🏚️ The shanty town developing alongside the Lyme Brook behind Aldi.

These are just some of the basic local issues that residents expect to see addressed yet they remain unresolved.

29/08/2026

Councillors Street Surgery this morning 🌧️

A big thank you to everyone who braved the rain and came along to our Thistleberry Street Surgery in Paris Avenue ☔️

It was good to spend time chatting to local people alongside Cllr Sue Beeston.

Residents raised issues about trees, road damage and waste collections, as well as the recent planning application by the Islamic Centre off Pilkington Avenue.

A number of residents have concerns about the application, including worsening parking problems, traffic and the size and scale of the proposed development - I share those concerns.

We’ve also been asked whether the application will be decided by the Planning Committee or delegated to a planning officer, and what the expected timescale for a decision will be.

Unfortunately, since July, local councillors are no longer able to ‘call in’ planning applications for consideration by the Planning Committee.

We have therefore written to the Chair of the Planning Committee (see below 📸) and the relevant planning officer asking whether this application can be considered by the Committee, allowing councillors to have an open debate with public able to participate before a decision is taken.

📢 If you have views on the planning application, you can submit your comments via Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council’s planning portal:

https://publicaccess.newcastle-staffs.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?keyVal=TJX416BM0AC00&activeTab=summary

27/08/2026

📢 Reminder: Monthly Councillor Street Surgery in Thistleberry

Our monthly councillor street surgery is taking place by Paris Avenue shops this Saturday.

📍 Local residents are welcome to come along for a chat about any issues or concerns that affect you or your community.

25/08/2026

🏠 HMO policy long overdue. My letter to the Sentinel letter 21st August ✉️

Almost a year ago, the Conservative Group brought a motion to Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council for a review of the Council’s policies around Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) and the use of Article 4 Directions.

📋 Officers were asked to review the legal and policy position and report back with option for further action. That review was expected in May.

At the moment, residents have heard little more than dogwhistle sound bites from the new Reform administration on this subject but no substantive policy, timescales or recommendations have been published. 🤔

🏠 HMOs for 3 to 6 people can generally be created without planning permission. An Article 4 Direction can change that, meaning a planning application is required and local residents get the opportunity to have their say. 🗣️

📸 The Council successfully introduced an Article 4 Direction in the Brampton area, on the edge of the town centre, over 10 years ago. It remains in place today, providing additional safeguards against the proliferation of HMOs - so Article 4 Directions are nothing new.

HMOs for larger numbers (for over 7 or more individuals) have always require planning permission.

Other councils, including Stoke, are now bringing in Article 4 Directions to give them greater control over the growth and concentration of small HMOs in their areas.

I support introducing more Article 4 Directions where the evidence shows they can make a difference - including a Borough-wide Direction, provided it is backed by the strongest legal evidence and precedent 👍

This isn’t about stopping good-quality shared housing. It’s about protecting neighbourhoods, managing concentrations of HMOs and making sure residents have a proper voice when significant changes are proposed.

I will keep pressing for the review to be published and for the Council to take action where it is needed, rather than settling for cheap headlines that promote the Council leadership.

21/08/2026

Reform UK councillor resigns again - this time it’s accepted by the Council

It’s clear from the timeline of media coverage as this has played out that Christine Duffy wanted to resign from Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council, but became embroiled in a farce that was not of her own making.

I wish her all the best for the future.

However, there seem to be questions for the Reform UK leadership of the Council to answer:

❓What training was offered to Mrs Duffy to help her fulfil her councillor role?
❓What lengths did Reform UK go to in order to avoid a by-election in Town Ward

This has been an embarrassing episode for the Council, not to mention the awkward position officers have been put in throughout this whole affair, which has now made national headlines.

❓ Is this really what Jonathan Gullis meant when he said he wanted Newcastle-under-Lyme to be a “flagship Reform council”

It is also strange that comments were disabled on the Borough Council’s Facebook post announcing the resignation. Here:

www.facebook.com/share/p/1EBN52oBue/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Whats particularly strange is that Cllr Gullis is usually an avid fan of commenting and replying on social media… 🤔

Mrs Duffy stated in her original resignation letter that she had received little or no training since taking office. Yet, just weeks after taking control of the Council in May, Cllr Gullis gleefully withdrew the Council from the organisation that provided training and development opportunities for councillors. My view here:

https://x.com/simontagg/status/2090713555402158401?s=46&t=h7KXRXCVa2JTHYvC3NdGPg

20/08/2026

⚠️ Staffordshire County Council update on road closure by Stubbs Gate/Brook Lane junction

As many will be aware A519 is currently closed at the junction of Brook Lane and Stubbs Gate after Staffordshire County Council highways officers discovered a large void beneath the road surface.

Highway officers say what was initially appeared to be a small defect has turned out to be a much more significant issue, with several pipes exposed beneath the carriageway.

They have paused Repair works while further investigations are carried out with Severn Trent Water to establish the cause and agree the best way to resolve the problem.

The road will remain closed until it is safe to reopen. The County Council need to treat this issue as a priority.

This is already cause delays on other routes around town so please allow extra time for your journey.

📱Staffordshire County Council will provide further updates on their page as they become available.

19/08/2026

Newcastle Town Centre’s regeneration gathers pace. 🏗️🏠🌳

A really positive national feature in ‘Building’ magazine (link in the comments) highlights what is happening right here in Newcastle-under-Lyme describing the town’s £85m regeneration programme as an example of how smaller towns can seize the opportunity to reshape their town centres.

And this isn’t just talk anymore. You can see the transformation happening on the ground.

📍 Ryecroft - a new neighbourhood with around 130 homes, green space and an aparthotel.

📍 Midway - an innovative UK-first, transforming the former multi-storey car park into around 110 new homes rather than simply demolishing it.

📍 Astley Place - the former York Place shopping centre being repurposed into homes, shops, cafés, bars, green space and a new music venue (completed later in the year.

📍Zanzibar site - homes and Enterprise ‘work units’ on North Street.

Together, these schemes delivers in partnership with Capital & Centric provide 328 new homes, new commercial and leisure space and new public spaces bringing more people into the heart of Newcastle and helping sustain a town centre that is lived in, visited and enjoyed throughout the day and evening.

Securing Town Deal and Future High Street Funding from the previous Conservative government from 2019 helped to get these projects moving.

📸 Here are some photos showing the progress at each of the sites.

Address

Promoted By Simon Tagg Of 2-4 Lily Street
Newcastle Under Lyme
ST50BE

Website

http://www.newcastleconservatives.co.uk/

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