NORTHERN ECHO

Posted by: Arthur Holland Pegg, Northumberland on 9:51am today on the Northern Echo ‘on line’.

'As far as Northumberland County is concerned, two unitary authorities would be a 'half-way house' inasmuch as it would split the county into two areas neither of which would be able to claim the title of Northumberland County. If two unitary authorities are created in Northumberland then for certain services both authorities would need to come together e.g. Fire Services, there would be terrific duplication of effort, a need for more buildings, disputes over allocation of financial support, more staff, and a greater confusion among the residents of Northumberland - who we would expect to be the beneficiaries of the new organisation. Therefore one - good, two - bad.

This County Councillor is a symptom of the problems we have with the Northumberland County Council.
He lists his occupation as full time Liberal Councillor yet he hasn’t got the time or inclination to read the TWO COUNCIL BID..Surely Councillor Pegg's viewpoint regarding the District Bids for Two Unitary Councils for Northumberland and his obvious lack of knowledge regarding the bid must be coloured by the hypocrisy of protectionism.
The District bid supports the different needs of the urban and rural areas of Northumberland and if he had bothered to read the bid supports one fire authority shared by both areas. Sharing this service allows the fire authority to ensure that the needs of both areas would be fulfilled and that the "terrific duplication" as he puts it would not happen.
So do we now have a convert?

We know what the view of the Executive is on the Fire Service -its slash and burn (no pun intended)