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Coastal View & Moor News Issue 90 June - July 2018
South Gare - The horrifying environment we create in the search for peace and tranquility by the sea By Cllr Carl Quartermain (Coatham Ward) Cabinet member for Tourism, Culture and Communication
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n hour in the sun turned into four hours emptying this area of dog waste, rubbish and a beach litter pick. Fifty bags later and 50 conversations later and you soon realise just how busy this area is and how dangerous to health it is becoming. Young children encouraged to take their shoes and socks off near to this filthy area prior to hitting the sand with plenty of broken glass and dog faeces around shocked me. When I arrived the smell was sickening and that was at the top of the steps. I wore a Hi Viz jacket but I think the flies and bluebottles thought I was a flower. I must have been a funny sight running around flapping my arms as I was attacked by a couple hundred of these disease carriers in the first 15mins. I have requested through the boundary review that all this area, the dunes and the marshes become part of Coatham so that we can claim it as being within our area of responsibility. Currently it is not. The review should be complete by the end of the month. We shall see.
The issue with this land is it belongs to PD Ports and they won’t put bins in because it’s a private and dangerous area in many parts and they don’t want to be seen as encouraging visitors or risk being liable. The council won’t put in bins or clean up because it’s private land and they too would be trespassing. Insurance is a factor, if a worker is injured there they are not covered. Besides when they are working on here, that’s our public money being used where it shouldn’t be and we need these guys clearing our streets and bins. I have been part of a partnership group looking at how to improve the access, safety, permissions and future usage of South Gare. This includes looking to create a visitor centre along with environmental groups and community groups, the CEO of PD Ports and the CEO of Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council. It’s a lengthy ongoing issue that we all want to resolve. Please share this information and encourage everyone going to South Gare who walk dogs and those who enjoy food and drink to take their waste with them. South Gare is beautiful but we are turning the most used access point into a dumping ground with the expectation that someone else will clean it up. They won’t.
Council stands up for local shoppers and shopworkers over ASDA / Siansbury’s merger
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edcar and Cleveland Council at the recent full council passed a Labour sponsored resolution following alarm at the possible merger of Sainsbury’s and ASDA. It was passed by the votes of all parties with the exception of the Council’s Tories who were whipped to vote against it. The mover of the resolution, Skelton Councillor David Walsh, said: “We drafted this resolution over concerns voiced by many that such a tie up would lead to less proper choice for shoppers, more pressure on local suppliers and dairy farmers and possibly worse pay and pension conditions for affected staff.” This resolution came as a result of a an early morning phone call to Councillor Walsh from two girls working in one of the three ASDA and Sainsbury’s stores in Skelton and Saltburn mentioned in the resolution. Cllr Walsh said: “They had heard the merger news that morning, and all I could say was that whilst the council would not be able to stop one of the biggest corporate linkages in Western Europe, we would see what representations we could make. “The resolution called for the Council to make Councillors views clear to the Competition and Markets Authority who will be overseeing any merger. “Together, the two businesses currently employ around 330,000 staff across a total of 2,800 stores. “The reality is that despite the corporate gloss, it will be local shoppers that suffer from rising prices and local shopworkers that may be fearing for their jobs if this goes ahead without adequate oversight and investigation “It is the work of these, mainly female workers, who have built these companies: and unlike speculators they have a long-term interest in the well-being of the companies. They should not be traded in mergers and takeover bazaars without any say. We got rid of hiring fairs two centuries ago.”
Saltburn Councillor Craig Hannaway, who seconded the resolution, said: “Here in East Cleveland we have three stores owned by these two companies trading in a few miles of each other - Sainsbury’s in Saltburn Square, ASDA on the Skelton By-pass and a Sainsbury’s “Local” in New Skelton. The closeness of all three must mean they are under the takeover microscope. We also have overlaps elsewhere - such as with ASDA in South Bank, and Sainsbury’s in Central Middlesbrough - and where the same might apply. “At the end of the day, like the Sainsbury’s Executive caught singing “We’re in the money” live on TV, a few people may do very well out of this. Many others - ordinary men and women from Teesside’s towns, estates and villages probably will not. “That’s why we want the Competition and Markets Authority to examine this merger and to put in safeguards to protect both local shoppers and local shopworkers.”
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The risk of being here and the responsibility over waste is yours and will always be yours regardless whether this land is private OR public. ***There are lots of toddlers and families
using the South Gare area daily. Dog poo bags dumped together in this area attract flies which becomes a serious health issue to you and your children. Bag up the poo and your rubbish and take it away with you***