Articles April 2025

South Road Development

Ascent Homes, who are responsible for the development, have indicated that a public development engagement event is likely to be held towards the end of May; this is because of restrictions around public events leading up to and just after the local election. As the work is expected to begin before then they have issued the following communication.

Exciting New Housing Development - Update from Ascent Homes

We are pleased to announce that Ascent Homes will soon be starting work on a new housing development in the area. This exciting project will provide 55 new homes, with 16 of these designated as affordable housing, helping to meet the local demand for quality homes at a range of price points.

Key Project Dates:

• Start on Site: Monday, 14th April 2025

• Sales Launch: Summer 2025

• Project Completion: Autumn 2027

While the development is sure to be a fantastic addition to our community, there may be some disruption during the construction process. A lane closure will be necessary as we begin work on forming the main entrance to the site. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your understanding as we work to provide new housing for the growing community. We will continue to provide updates on the progress of the development and any further potential disruptions in the coming months. 

Thank you for your patience and support.

Ascent Homes - Advance Northumberland

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Longhorsley Parish Council

The next Parish Council meeting will be held on Wednesday, 9th April, in the Village Hall, starting at 7pm, with a parishioner slot at 8pm. Meeting notices are displayed on village notice boards, with minutes and other information found on the Parish Council website.

Contact details for the current members are detailed below:

Clerk:  Samantha Doyle, 35 Burghley Gardens, Pegswood, NE61 6TN 07427 123268 or parishclerk@longhorsley-pc.gov.uk

Chairman: Norman Douglas 07485 174529 norman.douglas@longhorsley-pc.gov.uk

Councillors: Sarah Alcock, Kirsty Bell, Peter Boyle, Jennie Parker, Anne Peat and Trevor Potts.

Tree Works

The recent Tree works on the East side of South Road have now been completed and have successfully removed all the trees identified with Ash Die Back.

Friends of Green Spaces Group

A reminder that the first meeting of the Friends of Green Spaces group will take place on Saturday 5th April at the Village Hall at 2.30pm. No regular involvement or experience is needed, just a willingness to help.

CCTV works around the Village

Work to provide an extension to our current CCTV system will be starting around the village soon, there will be more information to follow.

Fly Tipping

Fly Tipping is an issue across the County as a whole. If you see any in the locality please use “Fix my street” to report it.

The website address is  fix.northumberland.gov.uk.

If you have no access to the internet, you can report a problem by phone to 0345 6006400 between the hours of 08.30-17.00 Monday-Thursday and 08.30-16.30 Friday.

Important Date for your Diary!

Every English Parish, by law, must hold an Annual Parish Meeting/Assembly, which is a relatively informal event for the whole community.

This is an opportunity for the Parish Council to report to its electorate what it has accomplished in the preceding year. It is also an opportunity for residents to ask questions and provide feedback to the Council.

The Longhorsley Annual Parish Assembly will take place on Wednesday 28th May at 6.30pm in the Village Hall – this is your chance to air your views or indeed to raise any issues – All are welcome.

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Your County Councillor

Isn't it wonderful to hear the birds starting to sing as Spring arrives.This year we have a wild bird seed mix on the farm and, all winter, the field has been full of Linnets, Chaffinches and other birds. Our friend who is a bird ringer told me that a linnet he had ringed some months ago here has been found in Norway last week.

On Council matters we are moving along with road repairs and I am pushing for sections of resurfacing on our minor roads which will be done hopefully this coming year. We have just agreed £150,000 for resurfacing  our small roads from Pigdon to Forget Me Not.

We are preparing to begin on the landslip near Mitford which is going to cost upwards of £4 million to repair. We have to find the money from our own resources which is clearly difficult.

I have asked for an update on timings for the revamp to the fixed speed camera in the village and they are still looking at late summer all being well.

As always please get in touch anytime if you have any NCC issues and I will be glad to help.

Glen Sanderson  07730 979737 glen.sanderson@northumberland.gov.uk

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Digital Switchover - drop-in sessions

BT will be holding a series of drop-in sessions to help residents with questions about the Digital Switchover, the UK's transition from traditional, analogue landlines to digital technology. 

The nearest one to Longhorsley is at the local Morpeth Morrisons, on 15-16 April, 10am-4pm.

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Longhorsley C of E First School recognised for helping to save songbirds

The Eco-Committee at Longhorsley CofE First School are taking part in the charity SongBird Survival’s Ruby Robin Award to help songbirds this winter.

The Eco-Committee are helping Northumberland’s beautiful songbirds to get through the tough winter months by taking part in a charity challenge.

The Ruby Robin Award was set up by charity SongBird Survival to inspire the next generation to help protect our declining songbird numbers. More than half of our UK songbirds are threatened or already in decline. During the colder months, songbirds face issues with limited food supplies, scarce water sources and freezing temperatures.

Sue Morgan, Chief Executive of SongBird Survival says: “It is fantastic to have Longhorsley CofE First School take part in our Ruby Robin Award to support their Eco-Committee to learn more about birds and how to help them this winter. Many of us love seeing and hearing songbirds in our gardens and green spaces but winter is a tough time for them. Temperatures drop and there is less natural food available. Taking small actions daily to give them food, shelter and water can really help protect our beautiful songbirds.”

Mrs Hall, Eco-Committee Lead says: “This project has been an incredible start to the year and I am very proud of our Eco-Committee! The children have been very engaged and have shared their findings with their peers and teachers, taking ownership of their learning and responsibility for looking after our songbirds this winter.”

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Working on your Garden. Please be aware of hedgehogs when 

• using electrical gardening tools, e.g. strimmers and lawn mowers 

• using chemicals, e.g. weed killer - please avoid

• putting down rat poison - use covered traps which hedgehogs can’t access

• clearing undergrowth, particularly piles of dry leaves

• lighting bonfires

• erecting netting (including that on goal posts) - hedgehogs can easily get caught in this 

• erecting fencing - please leave spaces at the bottom for them to access - they can cover large distances in search of food. 

Also ensure that garden ponds have stones at the edges so that hedgehogs can climb out if they fall in and drains have covers over them.

Encouraging hedgehogs in your Garden. Put out water each night in shallow dishes; leave piles of leaves and branches for shelter; put out wet cat/dog food (not fish varieties) and/or Calciworms. To stop other animals/birds from accessing food, buy or make a hedgehog feeding station - plenty of suggestions for this on-line/YouTube.

Intervention. If you see a hedgehog out during the day that doesn’t look injured, hypothermic or dehydrated and is moving around purposefully - keep an eye on it but leave it alone! It may be looking for food or been disturbed e.g. by a dog. 

Only intervene if the hedgehog is obviously injured; has ticks; is trapped; is lethargic; is wobbly; obviously a baby and mum doesn’t come back for it; there’s an abandoned nest of babies or there are flies around it - possible fly strike. Act immediately!

If you have to intervene: put the hedgehog in a high-sided box with an old towel/blanket and bring it in from outside. To provide warmth, use a plastic bottle filled with warm (not hot) water and refill as necessary. Give a dish of water and wet cat/dog food. 

Contact the Hedgehog Rescue Centre asap for advice  01665 570911.

9.00am - 12.00noon - 7 days a week. 

DO NOT LEAVE HEDGEHOGS OUTSIDE THE CENTRE WHEN IT IS CLOSED!!

For further information or if you would like to help the Northumbrian Hedgehog Rescue Trust in any way, please contact me.

Jan Bryce  07724 091586  jankbryce@gmail.com

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Post Office in Longhorsley Village Hall

Monday 9.15am   to 11.30am

Friday 11.30am to 1.30pm

Please note that this Outreach Service cannot accept large parcels.

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Longhorsley Takeaway Food

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

The Shoulder of Mutton

The Shoulder of Mutton is open and offering takeaways every day (apart from Tuesday).

Sunday lunches 12-6pm ~ Monday to Saturday 5pm-8pm

See their menu at  shoulderofmuttonpub.com ~ phone 788236 to order

The Flying Fryer

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

They will not be here on 4th April.

Facebook The Flying Fryer 07984 426 725

Dou_h&co 

Dou_h&co visits on one Thursday in the month from 4:30pm – 7:30pm.

Pre-order on  07507 834 628 from Monday 9am.

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

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Mobile Library Visiting Times

The Mobile Library is currently revising its timetable. Their next visit will be on the 9th May, between 15.55pm and 16.35pm.

The Mobile Library Service website can be found here

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May Edition

The last date for submissions is 20th April. You can email or phone us.

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

Jan and Sheena Haveman 07834 740649 longhorsley.tree@gmail.com

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