James Wharton MP

A surprisingly busy surgery this evening, with constituents from right across Stockton South bringing a range of issues and concerns.

Yesterday George Osborne visited Teesside for a bit jobs announcement in Hartlepool and then a meeting with local businessmen and women at my office in Stockton.

http://www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/teesside-news/2012/08/29/exclusive-chancellor-george-osborne-s-welfare-bill-warning-84229-31719219/

Today I was pleased to visit Cleveland Army Cadet Force’s summer camp at Wathgill. There were over 300 cadets from across Cleveland who are coming to the end of their week and a half summer training.

This afternoon I was on Radio 5 Live to discuss a range of issues, but at around the same time the planning application for Morley Carr Farm in Yarm was in front of Stockton’s Planning Committee.

I did not go, as I did not want to risk it becoming a political (as in Party political) issue, instead around 100 residents went along to make known their concerns. From what I hear they spoke well and got their points across effectively, before being ignored by the Labour Councillors on the committee. The Conservative Councillors, along with the Lib Dems and all but one independent, voted against. Labour, en masse, voted for. Strangely, having heard exactly the same arguments as the non-Labour Councillors, every single one of them decided to support the application.

This is very sad for all those residents in Yarm who have campaigned so hard. The Morley Carr Farm development does not look like sustainable development to me, the traffic issues alone being a huge and pretty much insurmountable problem, and yet today it was passed by Stockton Planning Committee’s Labour Councillors. I have asked that it be called in, which is a last ditch effort to prevent it from going ahead, let’s see what happens next.

This morning I attended the funeral of Mick Eddy, a well-respected former Head Teacher and local Councillor in Village ward, Thornaby. It was a moving service and extremely well attended, the large numbers of people who came along showing by their weight of numbers just how popular Mick was. He will be sadly missed by all those who knew and worked with him and my thoughts are with his family at this difficult time.