Cllr Richard Ross - Reform UK North Tyneside, North Tyneside Council, Newcastle upon Tyne (2026)

04/09/2026

Currently down at the Reform conferance in Birmingham NEC. Some amazing thought provoking discussions and a beautiful tribute to our late Ann Widdecombe 🩵

If anyone is around please come and say hi.

I'd highly recomend researching "The Starky thesis" and the constitutional issues described by him.

03/09/2026

📢 Your Weekly Update (a day early) – Weetslade & North Tyneside

This week’s update covers the growing debate over outsourced school meals, critical local transport and utility alerts, Weetslade casework outcomes, and a travel update regarding my regular councillor surgeries.

1. School Meals: Value for Money or Managed Decline?

Recent local reports have highlighted formal calls by the GMB union to bring North Tyneside Council’s school catering service back in-house. The council suspended its in-house catering operations to address a £3 million annual shortfall, handing services over to private providers. Since then, serious concerns have been raised regarding a drop in food quality and rising costs for local families.

While the council administration defends this privatisation as a necessary response to financial pressures, residents are entitled to ask: does outsourcing vital services to private contractors actually represent true value for money?

Our children's health and nutrition should not be determined by the lowest bidder. Transparency is important, and further scrutiny is required to determine whether the cabinet's financial decisions are matching the reality on the ground for Weetslade families.

2. High Borrans: A Step in the Right Direction

Following my detailed post yesterday regarding the Council's sudden backtrack on High Borrans, formal discussions are now finally beginning with neighboring local authorities to explore a joint operating model.

While this is a welcome victory for public scrutiny, the Council must now do the sensible thing and immediately suspend the planned November closure to allow these regional partnership talks a real chance to succeed. I will keep you updated as these discussions progress.

3. Local Transport & Utility Alerts

Metro Night Works Alert: Essential track maintenance, signaling repairs, and vegetation management are scheduled overnight from Monday 31 August to Sunday 6 September. Residents living near the line may experience higher-than-usual noise levels during the early morning hours due to the use of demolition tools and jet washers.

Bus Franchising Consultation: The North East Mayor’s public consultation on the proposed Bus Franchising Scheme remains open until 28 September. This decision will shape how local bus networks across Wideopen, Dudley, and Seaton Burn are run and funded. Make sure to have your say online or via paper forms.

4. Weetslade Local Action Update

Rayleigh Drive Grit Bin: The damaged grit bin on Rayleigh Drive previously reported - I have received assurances from highways that it will be replaced as part of planned maintenance before winter.

Lockey Park: Works on the local waggonway network are progressing well, with key sections of bridleway resurfacing now complete. I am continuing to monitor the contractor compound reinstatement as the project moves to its final stages.

5. Surgery Cancellation & Conference Update

Please note that my scheduled councillor surgery this Friday at 9:00am at Wideopen Library is cancelled. Why?

I am currently down in Birmingham representing our area at the national Reform UK Party Conference (Hence photos).
As your councillor, I always aim to keep this page strictly focused on local casework, representation, and infrastructure scrutiny, keeping divisive party politics to a minimum. However, while I am here in Birmingham, I will be posting some key updates on national policy developments, particularly around housing growth, infrastructure planning, and local government reform, for those who are interested. Many of these national policy frameworks directly impact the planning pressures we face right here in North Tyneside.

My regular library surgeries will resume as normal upon my return next week. Thank you to everyone who continues to send in casework reports, photographs, and feedback.

03/09/2026

High Borrans: The Cost of Rushed

Yesterday, a major story broke in the Chronicle Live regarding the future of High Borrans Outdoor Education Centre.

North Tyneside Council has announced that it is now beginning "formal discussions" with neighbouring local authorities to explore partnership opportunities and joint operating models to secure the future of the Cumbrian-based outdoor education hub.

While any movement toward saving this beloved asset is welcome, the timeline revealed in this story raises serious questions about how our borough’s community assets are being managed.

The February 2025 Briefing Note An FOI request obtained by the Local Democracy Reporting Service has revealed that council officers suggested a shared, cross-council regional model (on a Tyne & Wear or "LA7" basis) as a "more sustainable operating model" way back in February 2025.

This means that the Council leadership has known for over 18 months that joint working with neighbouring authorities was a viable way forward. Yet, despite this, the Cabinet chose to push through a rushed closure decision this summer—set for November this year—citing financial pressures, while refusing to explore these options first.

What Happened to Pausing for Scrutiny? Residents will remember the passionate debate at our Full Council meeting on July 24.

I spoke and voted in support of a motion calling for nothing more than a temporary pause to allow for further scrutiny and the exploration of alternative partnership opportunities. That motion was voted down by all Labour councillors except one who got suspended for common sense - they insisted there were no viable alternatives.

Now, just weeks later, the Council has had to backtrack and begin the exact formal discussions we were pleading for.

Residents are entitled to ask: Why does it take a leaked briefing note, massive public backlash, and a petition signed by thousands of people to force the Council to explore common-sense, collaborative solutions?

The Way Forward As I highlighted recently in my video on Tuesday and before, sharing resources and working alongside our neighbours to solve common problems is the sensible way to run public services.
But if these formal discussions with neighbouring authorities are to have any real chance of success, the Council must reconsider the proposed November closure date. It makes absolutely no sense to close and mothball a valuable asset while simultaneously negotiating with partners to save it.

I will continue to press the Council for transparency on these talks. Our communities deserve joined-up, strategic planning, not reactive policy-making.

What do you think? Should the Council immediately suspend the November closure of High Borrans to let these regional partnership talks take place?
Let me know in the comments.

01/09/2026

I know my scrutiny posts can get long and detailed, so I’m trialling quick video updates to make key issues easier to digest.

In this video: why North Tyneside Council’s acceptance of "managed decline" on our roads isn't good enough, and how neighbouring Reform-led councils are showing that practical, shared solutions can fix the problem. A solution that could have worked with High Borrans....?

Give it a watch and let me know what you think of the new format.
Where is the worst road surface in Weetslade right now? Drop the street name below 👇

with Reform UK - Newcastle and North Tyneside , Reform UK Houghton & Sunderland South , Reform UK

01/09/2026

Monkseaton High Closes – But What Does It Say About North Tyneside’s School Planning?

Monkseaton High School has now officially closed its doors.

Built in 2009 at a cost of over £20 million as an "exemplar school of the future", the landmark building has lasted just 15 years before being closed by North Tyneside Council’s Cabinet, citing falling pupil rolls and a deficit forecast to exceed £7m.
While the future of the Seatonville Road site remains uncertain—subject to educational covenants and ownership under the North Tyneside Learning Trust—the wider question for our borough is impossible to ignore:

How does closing existing schools square with major housing expansion across North Tyneside?

We have already seen this battle play out at Hazlewood Primary School in Weetslade. The Council pushed ahead with closure plans, only for the independent Schools Adjudicator to reject the proposal as fundamentally flawed. Yet, instead of accepting that outcome, the Council is now spending taxpayer money pursuing a Judicial Review.

At the same time, under current Local Plan proposals, we are looking at applications and allocations for around 1,900 new homes across Weetslade and the North West Villages alone.

Using standard council formulas and ONS assumptions:
That level of growth will generate hundreds of additional primary and secondary pupils. Yet local secondary provision is already operating near capacity.
Established primary schools face closure threats or infrastructure bottlenecks.
And valued community assets continue to be rationalised under financial pressure.

This approach appears to represent completely disjointed planning. On one hand, the Labour administration claims falling birth rates mean we must close and consolidate existing schools. On the other hand, major developments and Green Belt releases are being promoted that will inevitably bring hundreds of new families into the area.

If established facilities are allowed to close or face uncertain futures, where will the next generation of school places actually go? Will residents be told in 10 years' time that more Green Belt must be built on for brand new schools, while recently built multi-million-pound facilities were left behind?

Residents are entitled to ask: Where is the joined-up strategy from the council leadership? Scrutiny is not about opposing investment or ignoring deficits—it is about demanding that housing growth, school provision, and taxpayer value are planned together before permanent decisions are made.

What do you think? Should the Council be focusing on protecting and sustaining our existing schools before approving thousands of new houses across our communities and Green belt?

Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

28/08/2026

📢 Your Weekly Update – Weetslade & North Tyneside

🏘️ Planning Review Work Continues

Following submission of my Weetslade Growth Review, work has continued reviewing targetted information and evidence being provided by residents.

Over recent days residents have shared:

✅ Ecology reports
✅ Green Belt information
✅ Wildlife evidence
✅ Local planning knowledge
✅ Site-specific concerns

I've also spent considerable time this week reviewing historic planning applications and previously refused developments to better understand what evidence and factors have informed decisions in the past.

🚧 Annitsford Farm Development

Interest continues to grow regarding the proposed 310-home Annitsford Farm development. Many residents are now reviewing the access proposals in greater detail, with concerns continuing to be raised regarding:

👉 Traffic volumes
👉 Existing bottlenecks
👉 Parking pressures
👉 School traffic
👉 Pedestrian safety
👉 Emergency vehicle access

Engagement now completed the question is, will the council listen, pause and complete the mandated surveys and checks?

🚧 Roads, Pavements & Infrastructure

Reports this week suggest North Tyneside's highways and footway maintenance backlog could approach £60 million within the next few years, with council reports warning that delaying maintenance increases future costs and reduces available options.

This mirrors concerns I've identified through my own scrutiny work on pavements, drainage and highways infrastructure across Weetslade.

The question residents are entitled to ask is straightforward:

If we are already struggling to maintain existing infrastructure, how will future housing growth impact those pressures?

💰 Section 106 Review Continues

My review of Section 106 developer contributions continues.

The aim is to understand:

👉 How much money has been secured from development
👉 What projects it was intended to fund
👉 Whether funding has been spent
👉 What benefits have been delivered locally

Further enquiries have now been submitted with zero response thus far...

🏠 Housing Standards & Resident Safety

Many residents have viewed the East Hartford update shared this week. Whilst outside Weetslade, I committed to helping residents on this issue long before becoming a councillor.

The Housing Ombudsman investigation remains ongoing and resident concerns continue to be examined following significant refurbishment and decant issues due to poor management by NCC.

⚡ Funding Opportunity For Community Groups

The Electrical Safety Fund is now open.

Up to £10,000 is available to eligible community organisations for projects that:

✅ Improve electrical safety
✅ Replace unsafe electrical products
✅ Improve installations
✅ Support vulnerable residents

If you are involved with a local community group, charity or organisation and would like more information - see comments for link.

⚠️ Parking Scam Warning

Residents are urged to remain vigilant following reports of fake QR code parking stickers being used to divert payments to fraudsters.

Before making payment:

👉 Check signage carefully
👉 Avoid scanning suspicious stickers
👉 Use official payment methods where possible

Please consider sharing this warning with family and friends.

♻️ Recycling & Waste Update

North Tyneside Council has apologised following disruption to recycling collections affecting parts of the borough, with additional crews deployed to clear the backlog.

The temporary restrictions on fridge and freezer disposal have also now been lifted, with normal services resuming. Residents can once again use the Household Waste Recycling Centre and bulky waste collection service as normal.

🌿 My Local Action Update

✅ Ongoing planning and infrastructure monitoring.
✅ Continued review of tree and environmental issues.
✅ Member Enquiries progressing.
✅ Resident concerns being followed up across the ward.
✅ Further evidence gathering through inspections and resident engagement.

As always, thank you to everyone who continues to get in touch, report issues and provide information.

Many of the most productive pieces of work this year started with a simple message from a resident.

27/08/2026

East Hartford Residents Deserve Better: The Facts Behind the Housing Crisis

This week, I have been busy engaging in an issue in East Hartford (Northumberland County Council) I committed to this long before I became a Weetslade councillor. I have compiled a quick audiovideo summarising the ongoing refurbishments and decant failures on the East Hartford estate.

With the national Regulator of Social Housing recently hitting Northumberland County Council with a C4 grading, their lowest safety rating! and the Housing Ombudsman now actively investigating our estate-wide group complaint under Case ID: 202549324, this is no longer a minor dispute. It is a validated public safety issue.

I am raising it on here as I suspect many of you may have similar issues, or family or friends with these issues, and I can state confidently I can help.

Listen to this quick briefing to understand the macro-level impact on our most vulnerable neighbours, the local policy breaches, and how we are collectively forcing the Council to provide safe, transparent, and dignified housing solutions.

21/08/2026

📢 Your Weekly Update – Weetslade & North Tyneside

This week has focused heavily on planning, infrastructure and several ongoing scrutiny projects across the ward.

⚫ Firstly, a sad day as family, friends and colleagues said farewell to a great man.

Today saw the funeral of Reform UK councillor Arty Hume of Amble. Arty served as Northumberland County Councillor for Amble and was widely respected by colleagues across political parties for his commitment to residents and public service.

My thoughts and condolences are with his wife Michele, his son Adam, family, friends and all who knew him.

Rest in peace, Arty

🏘️ Weetslade Growth Review Complete

A detailed review of proposed housing growth across Weetslade and the North West Villages has now been completed and submitted.

Residents have already started sending petitions, ecology reports, Green Belt information and wildlife evidence. Thank you to everyone who has contributed and please keep it coming.

🚧 Annitsford Farm Development

Residents may have noticed planning notices have now been erected relating to the proposed Annitsford Farm development. The application seeks outline permission for up to 310 homes.

Importantly, ACCESS is being considered as part of the current application.

Issues residents may wish to consider include:

👉 Traffic impact
👉 Harrison Court bottleneck
👉 The Wyndings access arrangements
👉 Parking pressures
👉 School traffic
👉 Pedestrian safety
👉 Emergency vehicle access

Enter comments direct to North Tyneside council - LINK in comments
Planning Reference: 26/01118/OUTM

💰 Section 106 Review Begins

I have seen documentation suggesting around £1m of Section 106 funding remains unspent and I am currently seeking clarification from the Council. If correct, residents are entitled to understand what that funding is allocated for, why it remains unspent and whether opportunities exist to maximise community benefit from available resources.

If funds are unspent then how can a delta of £180k at High Borrans not be resolved? or is the information false, in which case where is that money now.

👉 How much money has been secured
👉 What it was intended to fund
👉 Whether it has been spent on its intended use
👉 What benefits have been delivered locally

Further updates will follow. In my short time as a councillor when I ask about money, well the information in return is scant at best (so far) and lacks any detail to scrutinise. Why do you think that is? comment below

🌳 Wideopen Library Tree Planting Update

Following concerns raised by residents, a detailed response has now been received from the Council.

Positive developments include:

✅ Local resident consultation confirmed
✅ Woodlands Hall consultation confirmed
✅ Infrastructure considerations reviewed
✅ Proposed White Mulberry tree under further review

Thank you to everyone who provided feedback.

❄️ Winter Resilience Review Complete

A review of grit bin provision across Weetslade has now been completed.

Recommended locations include:

📍 Five Mile Park x2
📍 Hazlerigg
📍 Rayleigh Drive
📍 Weetslade Crescent

The review was based on resident feedback and local knowledge gathered across the ward. Over to the council to deliver.

🌿 Local Action Update

✅ Further flooding concerns in Dudley raised following highways review work.
✅ Lockey Park restoration and reinstatement works continue to progress.
✅ Resident concerns in Rayleigh Drive are being reviewed.
✅ Planning and infrastructure monitoring continues across the ward.

♻️ Fridge & Freezer Disposal Suspension

North Tyneside Council has temporarily suspended acceptance of additional fridges and freezers due to wider processing issues.

Questions remain regarding:

👉 Alternative disposal arrangements
👉 Timescales for restoration of the service
👉 Potential impact on fly-tipping

Residents requiring disposal of appliances may wish to check current guidance before making arrangements. If you notice an increase in fly-tipping locally, please let me know.

🗣️ Surgery Reminder

Where: Dudley Hotel
When: Tonight, 5:00pm - 7:00pm

No appointment needed. Feel free to call in if there's a local issue you'd like to discuss.

21/08/2026

🚧 Traffic Update – Great North Road / A1 Roundabout 🚦🚗🚗🚗🚗🚗

For residents who regularly travel via the A1 roundabout, Great North Road and Gosforth Park Hotel area, please be aware of a significant programme of highway works being undertaken by Newcastle City Council.

Current works include:

✅ Carriageway resurfacing
✅ Footway resurfacing
✅ Installation of a new signalised crossing
✅ Replacement of drainage gullies
✅ Lighting upgrades
✅ Alterations to existing road layouts

📅 Multi phases between: 10 August to 12 October 2026, with many road closures.

Works are taking place on Great North Road between Brunton Lane and Rotary Way.

If you regularly travel to Newcastle, Gosforth, the Freeman area, Cramlington or the A1, I'd recommend allowing extra time and planning routes in advance, particularly as work progresses through the different phases.

I'll continue to share major traffic and travel updates that may affect residents across Weetslade Ward.

20/08/2026

Surgery reminder

📍Where: Dudley Hotel
🕥When: Friday 21st 5pm - 7pm

Join me for a drink, some news and any issues you may have and wish to share.

See you there.

Cllr Richard Ross - Reform UK North Tyneside

04/09/2026

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