Newcastle City Council

Contacts
What's happening in your ward
Local council services
Reporting problems
Your Ward Committee and getting involved
Further information

Contacts

• Councillors
• Find your MP and Parliamentary Constituency
• Ouseburn Ward Surgeries
• Ward Co-ordinator: Cass Winlow
  Phone: 277 3554
  E-mail: cass.winlow@newcastle.gov.uk
• Neighbourhood Response Manager: Jim Forster
  Phone: 278 3009
  E-mail: jim.a.forster@newcastle.gov.uk

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What's happening in your ward

Fun at the Farm!
Art workshops at Ouseburn Farm this Summer, Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 27 July.
Make Art North East present family sessions. Come and make masks, collages, try marbling, print-making, painting, murals and textiles. 10.30am-12.30pm and 1.30-3.30pm, £1 per family (including refreshments). Phone 07943107264 for more information.
Saturday mornings from 31 July - 36 Lime St Artists present a Saturday Art Club. Try Chinese arts and crafts plus a range of other activities. No charge. Phone 07753289162 for more information.

YHN Walkabouts
Shieldfield Community Housing Office are holding estate Walkabouts in Shieldfield on the following dates in July: Tuesday 20(am), Wednesday 21(am), Tuesday 27(am) and Wednesday 28(am). We would like Tenants and Leaseholders to join us to help to improve the cleanliness and appearance of your areas. For more information or details on how to take part, contact the Shieldfield Community Housing Office on 278 1566. 

Fun in the sun with the Elders Council
Wednesday 4 August, 1-3pm Heaton Park, Newcastle
Come and take part in fun packed afternoon. Learn about your area and what is going on locally. Try new activities like hanging baskets, rookie golf, Tai Chi and Nordic walking. Take a history walk with John Grundy. Listen to music and singing, plus much more. For more information phone the Elders Council on 0191 233 0200.

Summer Reading BLAST OFF !!!
The 2010 summer reading challenge is here; Space Hop. Join us for the launch on Saturday 24 July at East End Library between 1-4pm. The event is for 5-12 year olds (children under 8 must be accompanied by an adult). Then, on Wednesday 4 August, 2.30-3.30pm it is Charlie’s Space Hop. To book a place or for more information contact the library on 278 8400 or email eastend.library@newcastle.gov.uk

Summer Activities 2010
Calling all children between 5 and 12. Come along and have fun at Ouseburn Community Centre every Wednesday between 1-3pm. (Children under 8 must be signed in and out by an adult).
We’ll be doing cookery, junk modelling, arts, crafts and more. The fun starts on Wednesday 28 July. There are also activities at St Francis Church Hall on Mondays, Ravenswood Play and Youth Centre on Tuesdays and at St Catherines School on Friday. To book your place, or for more information, phone Lorna or Peter on 0191 265 6378.

Join the Green Gym
A green gym is starting in Wretham Place, Shieldfield. At the Green Gym you can improve your physical and mental health as you participate in practical conservation and horticultural activities. If you are interested in getting involved please contact the Ouseburn Ward Coordinator, Cass Winlow by emailing cass.winlow@newcastle.gov.uk or phoning 0191 277 3554 and she can make sure you receive the relevant information.
If you want to know more you can visit www.btcv.org/greengym

Udecide
Shieldfield Ward Committee has invited Udecide to work with people that live in the area to help them decide how to spend money improving local green spaces. To find out more visit the Shieldfield Udecide webpage.
 
Health Trainers – making healthy choices easier
HealthWorks Newcastle have a team of Community Health Trainers who can help you to make better health choices. They can provide people with information about local services, community groups and projects. They can support people to stop smoking, reduce stress and anxiety, get fit and make friends and make healthy and safe relationship choices. Community Health Trainers work with individuals and groups. If you would like their support phone 273 8889.

Ouseburn Ward Charter Newsletter (pdf, 538Kb)

Badminton anyone?
Come and join in the Badminton Club for Adults at Hotspur Primary School, Mowbray Street on Tuesday evenings (term time only). Come along anytime between 7-9pm. New members are very welcome to join this friendly club. The cost is £3 per session. Four courts are available and equipment is provided.

Active Newcastle
Active Newcastle is a four-year campaign funded by Sport England, Newcastle PCT and Newcastle City Council. Its aim is to make it easier for people who live or work in Newcastle doing more exercise more often.
To find out what opportunities for physical activity are available, you now only need to visit one website. Go to www.activenewcastle.co.uk and see many of the activities that are taking place in our city. There is a postcode finder with handy directions to a wide range venues, as well as video footage of everyday people talking about the activities that give them a buzz.
Are you in a team or club that involves physical activity in any way? Let us know about it through the website and we will gladly promote what you do to others. We need your help to make this website a success, so tell your friends and colleagues about www.activenewcastle.co.uk today.

The Side by Side Information Point at East End Library
The Side by Side Information Point offers a wide range of information for black and minority ethnic communities. It is a pilot project based in the East End library but operates across the City and is available to all Newcastle residents. There is information about services, events, activities and groups in the local area as well as across the city as a whole. If you wish to find out about English language classes, or meet new people by joining groups or coming along to events, the Side by Side Information Point will be able to help you. You will find the Information Point in the entrance of the East End library. It is staffed by friendly and helpful volunteers and is open at the following times:
Tuesdays 10am-12 noon
Wednesdays: 2-4pm
Thursdays: 4-6pm
You can also phone 0191 278 8406 or e-mail: bmeinfopoint@yahoo.co.uk

The Side by Side Accompanying Service
This is a free service to support people of ethnic minority who live in the East of Newcastle and help them access health appointments, services, activities and events. If you need help using public transport or lack confidence in going to places on your own, Side by Side has trained volunteers who may be able to help you. For more details you can contact the Side by Side Information Point at the East End library or phone Paul Whitlock at CSV on 0191 232 6616.

Making walking your resolution!
If you are over 50 come and join the Over 50’s Local History Walks. Each walk costs £2. Call Michelle Mordue from the Quality of Life partnership on 0191 255 1985 for details.

Fusion is a two-year, City Council-led scheme that aims to increase participation in physical activity amongst children, young people and family groups across Newcastle. The scheme offers free activities at council managed leisure centres and pools and at partner organisations. View the latest newsletter. (pdf, 595Kb)

Ouseburn Junior Club
Every Friday at Ouseburn Community Centre. 3.45 – 5.45pm
If you are between 5 and 12 years of age come along and take part in interesting activities. The sessions are fun and challenging with arts and crafts, games, sports and dancing with healthy snacks provided.
For more information please contact Play Service Administation on 278 2852.

Go For It!
Go For It! provides a powerful toolkit to help young people deal with the issues they face. It helps them realise more of their potential by working to increase life skills. Go For It! can be adapted to suit flexible timetabling and delivery within community/voluntary or youth organisations. There are no exams; young people learn the concepts via interactive activities, workbooks that encourage personal reflection, facilitated discussions and DVD clips that illustrate the curriculum in real life. The East End Community Development Alliance can offer this free training to any young person aged 14–18 who lives in the east end of Newcastle. If you have a group of young people who would like to take part please phone Tania on 275 9477 or 07927 646130 or email: tania.mcallister@eastendalliance.org.uk.

Newcastle East Asylum Awareness Raising Group
Free information sessions are available covering issues related to Asylum. Sessions can also be tailored to meet the needs of you and your group as well as 'train the trainer' sessions. Phone Sue Crawley on 275 9477 or 07930 949 772 or e-mail sue.crawley@eastendalliance.org.uk.

Parent and Toddler Drop In Session
Every Friday, 9.30–11.30am - St Ann's Community Centre, Breamish Street. Come along for a cuppa and a chat with other parents. Grandparents are welcome too. There are toys and crafts for the children and healthy snacks are provided.
For further details phone Beverley on 230 1859.

News from the Round
Baby and Toddler Creative Play Session - every Friday 1.30 - 2.30pm.
£2 per child and £1 per adult.
Contact: Catherine Scott, Education and Outreach Worker, The Round, 34 Lime Street, Ouseburn Valley, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 2PQ
Phone: 260 5605

Seven Stories 
Seven Stories, the Centre for Children's Books, 30 Lime Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 2PQ
Phone: 0845 271 0777
E-mail: info@sevenstories.org.uk
Website: www.sevenstories.org.uk
School and Group Bookings - Alison Neill
Phone 0845 271 0777 ext 703; email: alison.neill@sevenstories.org.uk
Corporate Hire - Liz Paton
Phone 0845 271 0777 ext 706; email: liz.paton@sevenstories.org.uk

Newcastle Warm Zone
- are working in your area. An assessment to see if you are eligible for free cavity wall and loft insulation takes only five minutes and we don't even need to enter your property. All our staff carry ID and wear the Warm Zone uniform. If you have any queries about the Newcastle Warm Zone project please call us on 277 7373.
* * For a limited period only Newcastle Warm Zone are offering free cavity wall installation for all homes.
Click here for more information about Newcastle Warm Zone.

Living Archive at the Ouseburn Trust
Are you interested in helping with the work of the Ouseburn Trust and its archive? For more information, please contact Kirsten Luckins.
Ouseburn Trust, 53 Lime Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 2PQ
Phone: 0191 261 6596
E-mail: info@ouseburntrust.org.uk
Website: www.ouseburntrust.org.uk

Advice and information on finance for older people
Barclays and Help the Aged are working together on a UK wide programme to enable older people to better manage their finances, especially in times of change. The 'Your Money Matters' programme aims to improve the skills, confidence and financial situation of older people by providing basic money management and debt advice. Individual appointments and group awareness sessions can be arranged.
Contact Mike Smith, c/o Caring Hands Charity, 34 Wretham Place, Shieldfield, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE2 1XU 
Phone:  261 6412 
Mobile: 07977 010212
E-mail: michael.smith@helptheaged.org.uk

Ouseburn Valley: Public Talks
The talks are held on Mondays at 7.30pm in the upstairs room of the Cumberland Arms and are free of charge.

Caring Hands Charity
Independent support services for older people including Handyman , Gardening, Befriending, Laundry service and Financial Advice, 'Bottle in the Fridge' scheme.
34 Wretham Place, Shieldfield, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE2 1XJ
Phone: 261 5234
Caring Hands Charity website. 

Star and Shadow Cinema
Stepney Bank, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 2BB
Phone: 261 0066.
Email: info@star andshadow.org.uk
Website: www.starandshadow.org.uk
The Star and Shado w Cinema is a volunteer run cimema in the Ouseburn area of Newcastle that shows films beyond the mainstream. Come along to one of the regular meetings on Mondays at 6pm or join the volunteers' mailing list by sending a blank email to: volunteers-subscribe@lists.starandshadow.org.uk

Launchpad @ Holy Jesus Hospital
Launchpad is an organisation run by and for people experiencing mental health problems. The main focus to Launchpad's work i s to provide opportunities for service user s to be involved in the planning, delivery, monitoring and evaluation of mental health services. For more informati on:
Phone: 233 0382
E-mail: launchpadncl@aol.com 
Website: www.laun chpadncl.org.uk

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Local council services

Neighbourhood Services, one of the council's departments, is responsible for dealing with the cleanliness, safety and improvement of the local environment. The manager for Ouseburn ward is Jim Forster.

The managers are in charge of the Neighbourhood Response Teams, whose job it is to respond quickly to problems that soon make a place look untidy or make it feel unsafe. This team includes the Rapid Response staff who sweep the streets, pick up litter and empty litter bins; remove small scale graffiti; make minor repairs to the footpath or street furniture; and cut back shrubs. They also deal with problems such as dead animals, blocked street drains, potholes and fly-tipping.

The Neighbourhood Response Managers make sure these teams are doing the jobs that are a priority for the local community. They work with local councillors, ward co-ordinators, tenants' and residents' groups and local people to find out what their priorities are. They work closely with other Neighbourhood Services teams in the area such as grounds maintenance, and road and pavement work.

If you want to contact your Neighbourhood Response Manager you can contact them directly, e-mail them or go along to a ward committee meeting.

Key monitoring documents

• Ward priority plan (pdf, 16.6Kb)
  - sets out the key environmental issues in the ward and what we are doing to tackle them
• Planned repairs and maintenance of roads and pavements (pdf, 31Kb)
• Service requests to Envirocall - shows the number of requests for our cleans ing services

Reporting problems

If you want to report environmental problems, such as overhanging trees or graffiti, or ask for a bulky rubbish collection, you should contact Envirocall. 

Our streetlights are maintained by a PFI (Private Finance Initiative) project.

We work with the police on removing abandoned vehicles.

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Your Ward Committee and getting involved

Ward Committees

Your Ward Committee made up of three local councillors. Its purpose is to identify and address local issues. The committee consults and works with local residents and businesses, agencies and voluntary and community sector organisations.

The Ward Committee meets every month except August and December, on the fourth Wednesday of the month, at various venues in the ward. Meetings usually start at 6.30pm and are open to all members of the public. The dates for meetings are:

2010
28 July - Ouseburn Community Centre (business meeting)
25 August, 6.30pm - Christchurch Hall, Shieldfield. Themed meeting focusing on traffic management and parking in the ward.
22 September, 6.30pm - St Ann's Community Centre, Breamish Street. Business meeting.
27 October, 6.30pm - Christchurch Hall, Shieldfield. Themed meeting tbc.
24 November, 6.30pm - Ouseburn Community Centre, Mowbray Street. Business meeting.
There will be no meeting in December.

The Ward Co-ordinator organises and publicises Ward Committee meetings and deals with any issues raised. They can help you with transport to and from the meeting, childcare and information in a range of community languages. 

View the public papers for Ouseburn Ward Committee meetings.

Grant Aid

The Ward Committee has a budget which community and voluntary sector groups can apply for by completing a grant aid application form. Further information about this budget and copies of the application form are available on the Ward Committee Funding webpage, or by contacting your Ward Co-ordinator.

Deadlines for the submission of application forms for Ouseburn Ward Committee are:

Grant Aid applications are considered at Ward Committee business meetings only.
September 15
November 10


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Community Involvement

One of the ways residents are involved in ward decisions and improving services is by joining with other residents to identify needs and project ideas locally where they live. We have a number of active residents and community groups in the ward so please use this section to find out if there is a group near you.

Shieldfield Community Forum
Open to residents and community representatives in Shieldfield area. Currently working towards refurbishment of Wretham Park.

Clarence and Stoddart Residents' Association
Clarence Street, Shieldfield

Shieldfield House Residents' Association
Barker Street, Shield Street, Shieldfield

Shieldfield Towers Residents' Group
Residents of Pandon Court, Lort House and King Charles Tower
Shield Street, Shieldfield.

Napier Street Residents
Napier Street, Shieldfield.

Melbourne Court Residents' Group
Melbourne Court, Howard Street, Battlefield.

St Ann's Community Association
Breamish Street, Battlefield.

Ouseburn Community Centre
Mowbray Street, Heaton

Heaton Park Court Residents' Groups
Heaton Park Road, Heaton.

Your group not listed?
Please contact us with information so we can publicise and promote your work.

No group near you?
Like to start up something in your area? We can help. Contact your Ward Co-ordinator for further information. We are developing forums for residents over 50 years, children and young people and will be providing regular updates on opportunities and activities in the future.

Further Information

Residents Survey 2008-09
Each year the Council undertakes a survey of residents in the city to find out what you think about the Council’s performance, the services we provide to you and what you think about the area you live in.
View the results for Ouseburn ward (pdf, 44Kb).

Find out what consultations the council is carrying out in your ward and submit your views online. You can also see the results of previous consultations.

Cityeye gives details of events in your ward. You can also find information about societies and clubs in Walker.

Use our online map to find your nearest libraries and schools. You can also find out where your nearest recycling site is and find leisure services, such as swimming pools, and heritage information, such as listed buildings and ancient monuments. 

See also the Related Pages panel at the right of the screen.