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Articles

Your County Councillor

The recent weather has caused an extremely large amount of pothole reports and customer requests. Following on from the heavy rainfall and flooding and then winter weather in January / February, we have recorded over 5,000 new potholes during February 2021 - the highest for three years. Although we will not reach the levels of the Beast from the East year in 2018 we are now going flat out on repairs.

Many potholes will receive a quick fix just to keep on top of things and be followed up in the summer by proper patching, and we have a large programme of resurfacing and patching agreed for the coming year.

We will also get down to getting some passing places on the Smallburn Road and speed monitoring through the village when traffic levels return to normal in the summer.

But spring is with us and the freedom from Covid restrictions will be welcome soon. I think the way we have managed things in Northumberland and the patience shown by so many residents has done us proud.

So thank you and best wishes.

As usual, get in touch anytime if I can help with anything -

Glen Sanderson (County Councillor) 07730 979 737 glen.sanderson@northumberland.gov.uk

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May Edition

The last date for submissions is April 20th.

You can email, phone or leave short articles in Millar's Village Shop.

If you leave an article in the shop, please include your phone number.

Please keep articles under 250 words, if at all possible.

Alan & Sue Etchells 788847 Longhorsley.Tree@gmail.com

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Citizens Advice Northumberland

Please note their new Northumberland Adviceline freephone number:

0808 278 7944 ~ Monday to Friday 9am to 4.30pm

See all their contact details on our Longhorsley website - Citizens Advice Bureau

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Council Tax Scams

(Was Breaking News)

NCC is warning residents to be aware of several Council Tax scams offering a promise of a reduction or refund.

There is a scam email about eligibility to a council tax reduction, a scam letter about eligibility for a council tax support scheme and a scam letter offering a reduction in council tax as part of the Government’s response to Covid19.

Quick Guide for Unsolicited Communications

Always be suspicious of unsolicited phone calls/texts - almost all are scams.

It's the same advice for all unsolicited calls, text, emails and letters.

• If you think the communication could be genuine then contact the person or company the communication purports to come from.

• Use your normal contact details or look for a reliable source.

• Don't use the link or contact details in the unsolicited communication.

• If it's a phone call, dial 1471 first so you can check that the line is OK to use, or use a different phone.

Above all

X Never give out any personal details.

X Never allow anyone to access your computer.

For general advice see the Scams webpage on our Longhorsley website.

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Neighbourhood Policing Team

Poaching continues to be an issue across the rural area and Northumbria Police have Operation Hawkeye to address this. People believed to be poachers from the Durham area were stopped over the weekend. We have volunteers from across the area working with the Police to tackle these crimes. However you should report any issues with poachers via 101 or a web submission so we are aware of where the problems are.

The motorbikes and quad riders using the green lanes and BOATS (Byway Open to All Traffic) has increased recently with multiple groups of riders being in the area most weekends. This is being addressed with a multi-agency approach as they are legally allowed to use certain lanes and areas to ride however we are aware some stray onto private land and can cause damage and are a nuisance. There are issues with them being on private land that we cannot enforce but we are working with the landowners to try to stop this nuisance behaviour.

We still have the COVID team working to address COVID breaches across the area whilst the lockdown continues.

If you wish to report any incident please contact Northumbria Police on 101 or in an emergency 999 and for anything else I can be contacted.

Alternatively you can pass information anonymously via Crime Stoppers at crimestoppers-uk.org or 0800 555 111.

PC Andrea Teasdale 07736 193262 or 101 extension 61181 andrea.teasdale.8603@northumbria.pnn.police.uk

Bedlington Police Station 101 extension 63526 open 8am - 8pm 7days/week

For Crime Maps, go to www.police.uk - the last reported month when the Longhorsley Tree went to press was February 2020.

In the last six reported months there have been 16 crimes reported in Longhorsley parish.

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COVID-19 Update

(Was Breaking News)

In Northumberland the cases rate, the number of Covid patients in hospital and the death rate all continue to fall.

The number of patients and the death rate are both well below last April's peak.

The case rate is the same but we are doing 20 times more testing.

See Covid-19 in UK and Northumberland in Breaking News for updates.

Click on image to see it full size

There’s a summary of the current lockdown rules on our Summary of Covid Rules from March 29th webpage - subscribe to Breaking News to get updates if and when the rules change.

Vaccination Update

By mid-March the proportion of people in the North East & Yorkshire NHS region who had received their first vaccination stood at:

After three weeks this gives 80% protection against hospitalisation.

The UK have been dispensing 3million doses of vaccine a week since the beginning of February.

This rate is enough to meet the mid-April target of groups 1-9 (>50) having their first dose.

Availability will be lower in April and priority will be given to groups 1-4 (>70) for their second dose.

The target is still to offer the first dose to all adults by the end of July.

The NHS will let you know when it's your turn to be vaccinated.

DO NOT PHONE YOUR GP SURGERY.

You can choose to book online to be vaccinated at a vaccination centre or wait to be contacted by your GP surgery and go to a local site.

At the moment GP surgeries are focusing on those who are most at risk.

See Covid-19 Vaccination Programme for North Northumberland in Breaking News for updates.

There are a range of Vaccination Guidance leaflets available on the newsletter website - see Covid-19 Vaccination Guidance

Variants Update

As of March 22nd there were 10 variants of concern or under investigation.

See Covid Variants and Vaccines in Breaking News for updates.

If you don’t have internet access you can pick up a summary of the Roadmap out of Lockdown and a vaccination leaflet from the Post Office in Longhorsley Village Hall or Millar’s village shop.

See the summary of the Roadmap out of Lockdown here and the vaccination leaflet here.

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Kids Corner

Click on image to see it full size

Word Search and drawings supplied by 9 year old Gracie.

If you are of primary school age and want to submit an article, cartoon or picture, please email longhorsley.tree@gmail.com

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Post Office in Longhorsley Village Hall

Please note the temporary opening times:

A full list of Post Office services available at Longhorsley can be seen here

Only one customer is allowed to be served at a time.

Those waiting to be served must stand at least 2m (6.5ft) apart.

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Longhorsley Takeaway Food

We will send out a Breaking News if we are notified of any changes.

Also see ‘What’s Open in the Longhorsley Area’ on Breaking News.

The Shoulder of Mutton

The Shoulder of Mutton will be serving Sunday lunches 12 to 2pm

Takeaway or local delivery ~ phone 07803 515772 to order.

See their menu on The Shoulder of Mutton Facebook page.

Pizzeria Padre

Pizzeria Padre at West Moor Farm (by Forget Me Not Country Park) is open for collection every Thursday & Saturday 5pm to 8pm.

Order by 5pm Tuesday for Thursday or 5pm Thursday for Saturday.

See the menu and place orders at pizzeriapadre.com

The Flying Fryer

The Flying Fryer is normally here every Friday from 4pm to 7pm, depending on demand.

Added April 1st: Unfortunately, Paul has been taken ill (not Covid) and can't be here Friday April 2nd.

Please remember to keep 2m apart when queuing.

Facebook The Flying Fryer 07984 426 725

Mivesi Naan Truck

Mivesi Naan Truck will be here Wednesday April 28th 4pm to 8pm.

See their menu on the Mivesi Facebook page.

Pre-order by text to 07841 204532 or message them on Facebook.

Dou_h&Co

Dou_h&Co weekly visits every Thursday 5pm to 7:30pm.

Pre-ordering only 07507 834 628 from Tuesday 9am each week.

You will be allocated a collection time and be sent a payment link.

See their menu on the Dou_h & Co Facebook page and www.Dou-h.co.uk

Monroe's Food Truck

Monroe's Food Truck is planning to visit Longhorsley on Sunday April 11th from 4pm to 8pm.

See their menu the Monroes NCL Facebook page.

Pre-order by text to 07568 096276 or message them on Facebook.

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Report Potholes

(Was Breaking News)

Extracts from NCC news item Teams out in force for road inspections

Given the severe weather conditions there may well be areas where potholes have now suddenly appeared.

Council teams have been out inspecting roads to identify and repair any hazardous defects, starting with the major roads.

Damage that is considered a serious risk will be repaired within 24 hours.

Other damage will be repaired within 28 days.

NCC rely on reports from the public so don't assume that someone else will report the damage - Report a pothole is on NCC's homepage.

NCC are only potentially liable for damage if they have been negligent - they can't be expected to repair damage that they don't know about.

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Green Homes Grants

BBC report scheme is axed

The BBC report that the scheme will be stopped on March 31st and the cash allocated to a separate insulation fund run by councils.

See the BBC article Green Homes Grant scheme to insulate houses axed

NCC have a government grant of up to £3.4m for the installation of carbon reducing technologies into 200 private and 140 council owned properties.

To be eligible, you must own your home, have a household income below £30,000 and a EPC rating D-G.

The work will be carried out on properties that hold Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) ratings of ‘D’ and below to help these homes move to band ‘C’ and above, lowering utility bills and providing additional disposable income to those households.

This investment has been awarded by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) as part of their Local Authority Delivery aspect of the Green Homes Grant. The Green Homes Grant voucher scheme offers households funding of up to £5,000 to cover two-thirds of the costs towards energy efficiency improvements to their homes, with low income households offered vouchers to cover full improvement costs under £10,000.

See the NCC news item Northumberland homes to receive free energy efficiency boost

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Longhorsley Calendar - Spring is Here!

If you take a photo of a local springtime scene that you think would be suitable for the 2022 Longhorsley calendar we’d love to see it.

Please email it to us at Longhorsley.Tree@gmail.com

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Local Teenager Receives Community Award

Last minute article - this article does not in the paper version.

This is a story of a young man who went above and beyond to help someone in need and it is always nice to recognise our teenagers when they do those positive things. Kyloe Usher grandson of Eileen Yeoman may never have lived in the village but Longhorsley has always been a big part of his life as he started his schooling at St Helen’s First School.

On the 13th February 2021 we had snow and living in his village of Pegswood went out onto the pit heaps with his sledge and spent the day. As the afternoon started to get colder and the light started to fade. Kyloe was alerted by some younger lads of a young lady that had gone down the hill and hit a tree. When Kyloe got down to her and her friend it was quickly apparent with the first aid training he had received from the Army cadets that the young lady had a break to her leg and the emergency services were called. They were informed that it could take a few hours to get to her. With the support of a few others Kyloe directed the fire service to the young lady and stayed with her and her family to support them until the ambulance arrived.

Kyloe has been awarded from the village a Pegswood Brick Award for helping his community and has also been nominated for an award through Koast radio. The young lady is on the long road to recovery after an operation but it is hoped that in time she will make a full recovery. Kyloe has since then left home to follow his chosen career firstly as a Junior Soldier at Army Foundation College hoping to pass out and continue his training with the Royal Electronic Mechanical Engineers.

Rachel Usher

Click on the image to see it full size

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Longhorsley Parish Council

The next Parish Council meeting will be held on 14th April, 2021 virtually via ZOOM, starting at 7pm, with a parishioner slot at 8pm.

Should any parishioner wish to attend, if they contact the Clerk, she will give out the meeting ID and necessary password in order to join the meeting.

Meeting notices are displayed on village notice boards, with minutes and other information found on the Parish Council website

northumberlandparishes.uk/longhorsley

Contact details for the current members are detailed below:

Clerk: Gillian Turner - 4 Lowther Close, Seaton Manor, Ashington, NE630HY 01670 812704 or email parishclerk@longhorsley-pc.gov.uk

Chairman: Iain Elliott Iain.elliott@longhorsley-pc.gov.uk

Vice-Chair: Tom Lowrie Councillors: Peter Boyle, Penny Ford, Kate Foreman, Victoria Pagan and David Pringle.

MUGA Lighting

By Easter we expect to have completely overhauled the electricity cabinet and wiring for the lights. Hopefully, this together with the new coin box should alleviate the associated problems currently encountered. We apologise for any disruption and inconvenience this may have caused users of the facility. The old tokens for the lights can be used in the new coin box and an additional supply of tokens, to replace those misplaced, has been purchased.

The Haining Ditch

It has been brought to our notice that children have built a make-shift dam in the Haining Ditch. Please bring this issue to the attention of your children as any obstructions can lead to localised flooding.

Winter Gritting / Snow Clearance of Footpaths

If everywhere is covered by two feet of snow, then people know they must take care.The problem is that once a clearance programme is implemented, it must be maintained for the whole period there is snow or ice. We do not have any paid employees on-call to carry out such work, and our Village Maintenance Operative fits in his duties around his main job, therefore we cannot guarantee that he will be available in times of bad weather.

In order to assist residents during these times, we will compile a map showing the locations of all of the grit bins around the parish and put the map onto the Tree and the Parish Council websites as well as highlighting the locations in the Village Newsletter during the winter period.

We encourage residents to use the grit on public footpaths in their area and should the bins need replenishing we will publicise the contact details of NCC on the grit bin itself.

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Small, Spiky and Seriously Endangered!

Once a frequent visitor to gardens, hedgehogs are in serious decline. In the last two decades, numbers have fallen by up to 30% in urban areas and 50% in rural areas. Working hard to fight back against this trend is the

Northumbrian Hedgehog Rescue Trust. Now a registered charity based in Longframlington, it was set up by animal lover Carole Catchpole more than 20 years ago.

Today the Trust is still run by Carole together with a dedicated group of volunteers who look after more than 600 hedgehogs during the year.

The Trust is always looking for new volunteers who can spare a morning a week. If you would like to find out more, contact Gill on 07584 787314.

To find out about the process of becoming a hedgehog foster carer please go to the Trust’s website hedgehogs-northumbria.org.uk.

You can also find us on Facebook.

If you want to make your garden hedgehog friendly, here are a few tips:

  • Hedgehogs need to travel from garden to garden in their search for food. Make sure there are one or more small gaps (13cm by 13cm) and encourage your neighbours to do the same.

  • Create a wild area in your garden. In autumn, gather the fallen leaves into a pile in a corner of the garden for hibernating hedgehogs.

  • If you have a pond, make sure that a hedgehog can get out of it by putting a slope in place.

  • Don’t use chemicals in the garden. Regular visits from a hedgehog will help control slugs anyway.

  • Netting in use should be at least 30cm off the ground to stop hedgehogs getting tangled up in it.

  • Check for snoozing hedgehogs before strimming. Strimmers regularly cause serious injuries to hedgehogs.

  • Put out food and a little bowl of water - hedgehogs will eat meat cat food in jelly or dried cat biscuits.

Click on image to see it full size

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