Trees planted in North Tyneside park to replace dying plants
Hundreds of trees are being planted in a park after dying plants were removed as part of its redevelopment.Dangerous and diseased trees have been removed from Killingworth Lakeside Park by North Tyneside Council and are being replaced with 450 mixed trees.Year 5 and 6 pupils from Amberley Primary and Bailey Green Primary have helped with the planting aimed at boosting biodiversity.Deputy Mayor Carl Johnson said getting local children involved would encourage them to "protect the environment near where they live".
"Killingworth Lakeside Park is a wonderful asset for our communities in the north west of the borough and we are working on exciting plans to bring its facilities up to date," he said. "An important part of that is improving the biodiversity and ecology of the lake and woodland."
The woodland maintenance included removing trees suffering from ash dieback, tree thinning and shrub clearance.In their place a mix of UK native species, such as Scots pine, silver birch, oak, rowan, holly and field maple, are being planted throughout the woodland.The redevelopment will also see the Green Flag award-winning park receive new play equipment, parking facilities and walking and cycle routes.
Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scotsman
5 days ago
- Scotsman
'The new Scottish Clearances': Rural communities 'abandoned' in industrial-scale changes under net zero push
Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Two decades on from when wind farms were first proposed in a community in East Renfrewshire, little remains of what the area once was. 'It's a wasteland now,' says Aileen Jackson, from Scotland Against Spin (SAS), a group that receives between 50 and 100 requests a week from residents across the country asking for advice on how to handle applications. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'We were the first to be written off in this when there was no more room for turbines in the Central Belt.' The council area, which is about 67 square miles, is home to the UK's largest onshore wind farm to date, Whitelee. The development holds 215 turbines on Eaglesham Moor and has plans for battery storage, a hydrogen plant and some solar panels. Ms Jackson, whose home is less than one mile from turbines, said it makes the local authority home to the highest concentration of wind farms per area in Scotland. Offshore wind must more than quadruple by the end of the decade to reach the Government's target. PA | PA ScottishPower Renewables (SPR) said some 100,000 visitors visit the wind farm each year, which has 81 miles of tracks used by communities for walking, running, cycling and horse riding. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad A spokesperson for the company said it had provided community benefit funding of over £17 million and its own Whitelee's visitor centre had been awarded the Green Flag for tourism. But Ms Jackson said the community 'is only seeing the tip of the iceberg.' 'It's not what we've got at the moment,' she said. 'It's what's to come that's terrifying. Ms Jackson says the red lights at night from the turbines round her home remind her of Mordor | Aileen Jackson 'What really upsets us as well is that East Renfrewshire was the recreational lung for the people who live in the city. But now they have no green space left, unless they want to go to and walk among wind turbines. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'I am 66. I am never going to see these hills again without this clutter. It's devastating.' With no more space for large wind farms, East Renfrewshire council is receiving applications for single turbines. 'We are now getting a new wind farm by stealth it seems,' Ms Jackson said. 'They are scattered everywhere and are all different sizes. All have different rotation speeds, which means they all make different noises.' On the other side of Whitelee, in the next door region of East Ayrshire, residents say they have the highest concentration of industrial sized turbines sited around towns. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'I can see 27 turbines from my bathroom window,' said Dr Rachel Connor, who claimed Whitelee caused local water contamination, which was later dismissed by SPR. Dr Rachel Connor, who can see 27 turbines from her bathroom alone | Dr Rachel Connor 'We've lost five rural properties in our area due to the wind farms. They were all running as family homes and they've all either been demolished or left to become derelict. 'It's the new Scottish Clearances. If I honestly believed it made a difference, then I would suck it up. 'I just think we're being sold a pup. All this time and we are still paying through the nose for bills.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Ms Jackson and Dr Connor, among other campaigners, have said they are the canary in the coalmine for what is to come for other communities as Scotland ramps up its onshore renewable energy developments. In the Scottish Borders, those in Newcastleton, a village of about 750 people, have been working together to make their remote mainland community more resilient. 'When there are power cuts here, we're left for days,' said Jim Lewis, head of Newcastleton Community Council. 'We often feel abandoned.' Jim Lewis, chair of Newcastleton Community Council, said residents are scared of the numbers of Net Zero-related projects in planning for the area | Jim Lewis But the village, he said, was now feeling even more powerless in the face of what residents have described as 'a cluster bomb' of net zero developments from onshore wind to forestry. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'We're a small community and we're being turned into an industrialised area,' Mr Lewis said. 'Rural communities are getting [run] over. The numbers that are yet to come are scary and people are feeling scared about the impact. It's the cumulative effect we're starting to notice.' Newcastleton residents said they feel scared about the changes that are to come with multiple wind farm and forestry projects in planning and scoping | Newcastleton Community Council The south of Scotland is home to more than a fifth of Scotland's existing onshore wind capacity, a South of Scotland Enterprise (SOSE) study found. In Dumfries and Galloway, locals have nicknamed an area 'wind farm alley' because of the sheer number of turbines. A derelict property in the middle of windfarm alley which appeared to have work being done on it | Katharine Hay Some communities have felt supported by community benefit funds, which are not mandatory for developers. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad In New Luce, a pub has flourished thanks to money from SPR's Kilgallioch wind farm and some residents are given taxi vouchers and about £200 off bills each year. Kenmuir Arms Hotel, in New Luce, which was bought and refurbished by the community using money from surrounding wind farms | Katharine Hay Karen Stewart, who is on the board of the Kilgallioch Community Fund, previously told The Scotsman the benefits of the community funding outweighed the disadvantages of the wind farms because money was coming into the community. Others, however, have argued the funding is more a bribe and is disproportionate to the impact the projects have on the landscape they call home. A model made my a Hands off Our Hills campaigner showing turbines in and around wind farm alley | Katharine Hay The UK government is consulting on the potential introduction of a mandatory community benefits scheme for low carbon energy infrastructure. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Without this in place, Scottish councillors have previously said developers can 'make empty promises and let communities down'. The Scotsman has launched a new series 'The Net Zero Dilemma' | Gavin Munro/Scotsman Up in the Highlands, however, communities have taken this further, saying they feel neglected from the outset. Earlier this month, ministers, led by Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes, met to discuss a research report that proposed a 'once-in-a-generation opportunity' to make the Highlands a centre for renewable energy, and in the course of it create 'tens of thousands of jobs' and secure £100 billion worth of investment. Councillor Helen Crawford and deputy first minister Kate Forbes | Supplied and PA But organisers have been accused of keeping the event 'low key' and not inviting local voices and tourism bodies to it. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Highland councillor Helen Crawford, who attended the discussion, said: 'What struck me really forcibly was the absolute lack of any discussion regarding what is the backbone of the Highland economy which is tourism. It was not evident that it has any way been considered in terms of what the impact would be and that voice is essentially silent from the table. 'Likewise there was no voice for our communities and what is the compensation impacted communities are going to get from the loss of value of their homes. There was no attempt to bring these people into the conversation.' According to Scottish Government figures, there are 82 live applications for section 36 onshore wind farms alone. These are large-scale wind farms that can generate capacity exceeding 50 megawatts and require specific consent from ministers. Figures show there are an extra 71 in scoping. The Scottish Government said: 'We are analysing the responses to a public consultation on the review of our Good Practice Principles for community benefits from onshore and offshore renewables. The evidence gathered will inform a refresh of our guidance to ensure that our community benefit arrangements deliver sustainable, meaningful impacts and help support our just and fair transition to net zero. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'The Scottish Government has been calling on successive UK Governments to mandate community benefits and is pleased that the current UK Government has last week launched a working paper on this. Communities must see the benefits from developments.'
BBC News
28-05-2025
- BBC News
North Tyneside Council by-election triggered after Labour mayor elected
Two council by-elections have been triggered in North Tyneside following Labour's narrow victory in the local mayoral of the seats, Longbenton and Benton, has been vacated by mayor Karen Clark, who was elected to her new role earlier this who is effectively the leader of North Tyneside Council, saw Labour's majority slip to just 444 votes, ahead of Reform UK's John Pat Oliver has stood down as a councillor in the Killingworth seat creating a vacancy there. Polling Day has been scheduled for 2 July. Clark - who has been a councillor and cabinet member for a number of years - replaced Labour veteran Dame Norma Redfearn, after she retired from the Conservatives, who are the official opposition on the local authority, came third in May's mayoral election, which is held every four years. In the most recent council elections in 2024, three Labour councillors were elected in Longbeton and Benton with a turnout of 32.8%, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service. Three Labour councillors were also returned in Killingworth, with a turnout of 35%.Applications to register to vote need to be made by midnight on Monday, 16 are required to officially register for the seats by 16:00 BST on Thursday, 5 June. Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
BBC News
24-05-2025
- BBC News
New North Tyneside waste recycling centre site sought
A council is trying to find a site for a new household waste and recycling centre after locals said they needed more Tyneside Council is carrying out a feasibility study focusing on finding a suitable brownfield or industrial site in the north-west of the would complement the existing facility in North Shields and would be open to all North Tyneside residents, the authority said the move was in response to calls from the local community. The council said it was also seeking new ways to boost recycling, including pop-up events, reuse shops - where salvaged items are repaired and resold - and doorstep collections for small are also plans to add new recycling bins at key locations. North Tyneside's elected Mayor, Karen Clark, said: "Residents in Seaton Burn, Dudley, Wideopen and other parts of the north-west have consistently told us they want better access to recycling and waste facilities."We proposed a feasibility study in our budget plans and, after strong support through consultation, we've now committed the funding to get things moving." Follow BBC Newcastle on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
