James Wharton MP

I spent the afternoon in Thornaby with a local resident who took me to see some of the problems in the town.  I will be trying to address a number of local issues following this meeting which highlighted some of what needs to be done. 

In particular there are some issues that I will be raising with Cleveland Police to try to get certain practises changed.

This morning I met with local Councillors Phillip Broughton and Aidan Cockerill, who represent Grangefield ward.  We discussed a number of local issues and the results of the Grangefield survey that was carried out towards the end of last year.  There is a lot to do in the area and Phillip and Aidan are working exeptionally hard to address local issues. 

The Evening Gazette have picked up on my support for more school places for Ingleby Barwick. 

The more that can be done to push this and highlight the problems the better!

http://www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/teesside-news/2008/01/19/tory-plea-over-ingleby-barwick-school-places-84229-20368179/

Last night I attended the Cleveland & Durham Conservatives Area Council.  This is a body with representatives of local Parties from across the area and it was one of the most interesting and productive Area Council meetings for a long time.  There was a real enthusiasm to get things moving,  I suspect because people in the Durham area are motivated by the County Council elections and new Unitary Council that they are going to get (although they are not happy about the structural changes).  As ever Stockton was well represented by my local Chairman who spoke up for Party members in this part of the region and ensured that our voice was heard.  There is a real enthusiasm in the Party at the moment and things are a lot more fun than they have been as recently as a few years ago.  Lots of key things were discussed and over the coming months we should see the benefits of some of the decisions taken.

I spent this morning at All Saints school in Ingleby Barwick.  The Town Council had organised a visit from a representative of the church and, along with local councillor Ross Patterson and members of the Town Council, we discussed a number of options for possible expansion.  One thing is clear: Ingleby Barwick needs more school places and proper provision for local children.   This was not adequately appreciated in the initial proposals in Stockton Borough Council’s “Building Schools for the Future” consultation document and a better effort needs to be made by the Borough.  I am pleased to be working alongside the Town Council and thel IBIS Borough Councillors to hopefully achieve this.