LLCG - OUR FIRST AGM

Lukes Lane Community Group was formed in September 2006. Six weeks after being formed the Group received official recognition and signed its constitution.

Our first annual general meeting takes place on Monday, 12th November at the Lukes Lane CA at 7.00 pm

The evening will see Group officers report on the Group’s activities over the past year and their own work for the Group. Group financial accounts will be available for scrutiny. The Group constitution is open to amendment and activities for the coming year will be discussed. A question and answer session will allow residents to raise any queries or issues they feel need to be aired. Light snacks and refreshments will be available on the evening

All members of the Lukes Lane community are invited to attend and take part in the meeting and, more importantly, all members of the Lukes Lane community are encouraged to nominate themselves for the Community Group’s executive committee.

Anyone wishing to stand for election should submit their nomination, seconded by another resident of the estate, by Monday, 5th November. Nomination papers, which are being posetd through every door, can be handed in at the Community House from 10.00 am – 12.00 noon, weekdays from 29th October. Alternatively, phone John on 4234239 and the nomination will be collected. Again, if you have any queries or if you cannot attend and would like a matter raised on the evening, please let us know in advance.

Hoping to see you on the 12th.

FORUMS?

You won’t have heard much about the forums that have been held in recent months at the local CA and at the Community House and attended by various council departments, an assortment of service providers and members of the local Community Group. They are the next stage of the participatory appraisal (PA) process that was carried out on the estate over 12 months and commencing in October 2005 with the active involvement of several members of the Community Group and with the grateful feedback from residents interviewed.

As well as Community Group members, some 80 representatives from local service providers, agencies, the council, the police and the fire brigade have been involved in the forums, offering their expertise and taking on board the views expressed about the estate by residents during he PA process.

Each forum covers a different theme—health, safer streets, education and training, unity in the community, transport etc.—and each one addresses real issues and concerns and with a remit to get the relevant problem sorted with the full involvement of residents. We will keep you informed of further developments.

ONE COMMUNITY, ONE VOICE

From the time the Lukes Lane estate was built in the mid-sixties, there had been no official group to represent the interests of its residents.

Many on the estate had long felt isolated from the rest of Hebburn and over the years the estate had achieved somewhat pariah status, with residents elsewhere in the borough reluctant to move here and existing residents eager to move away. However, one finding of the recent participatory appraisal project, carried out on the estate with the involvement of local residents, found that there was a very strong sense of community on Lukes Lane. Time after time, residents responding to questions from the PA team about what they liked about the estate, cited the ‘strong sense of community’ and the friendliness of the people on the estate.

When the PA work was completed, local residents decided to organise with a view to addressing some of the many issues identified by the PA work - i.e. issues related to health, employment and safer streets - and to help make the estate a better place on which to live. The result was the formation of the Lukes Lane Community Group, with its motto: “One Community, One Voice” and with a remit to turn Lukes Lane estate from a community in itself and into a community for itself.

This may sound like so much soundbite, but the community group has been active – namely, in helping see the community house functions, setting up courses, organising events, attending and being quite vocal at the myriad forums attended by agencies, service providers and council departments, which are held regularly and in helping draw up an action plan to address the main issues identified during the PA work.

We have some great plans for the future – from holding a Lukes Lane summer fete to setting up a community market garden and shop that can provide fresh vegetables for residents, to the creation of a children’s clothing exchange. Of course these ideas are not exhaustive and neither can we bring them to fruition without the active involvement of others in the community. So we need you help! We need your involvement, your participation, your ideas. If, like us, you believe Lukes Lane estate can be really transformed and want to help put the unity back into our community, then please don’t hesitate to get in touch. Either pop in to meet us each Thursday at the Community House at 10.30 am, phone us on 4226915 or 4280056, or you can even send us an email to: lukeslane_cg@yahoo.co.uk

Children get a say in the design of a new estate entrance marker

The seven-foot tall sandstone marker at the entrance to the Lukes Lane estate (pictured), is shortly to be removed. Since the Community Group raised residents’ complaints about the marker, town hall officers, along with Group members and ward councillor Alan Kerr, have been meeting to discuss a new location and design for the marker.

Pupils from Lukes Lane Community School have since been involved and have worked together to come up with a new design that will be etched on to the new marker. It is expected that the new marker will be lit by ground-level lights, located amongst newly planted foliage and located on the grass verge near to the junction of the two roads that feed onto the estate. Moreover, the new marker will not be the current “tombstone’ shape, but rather lozenge-shaped.

Three Peaks Challenge raises £6,537 for Lukes Lane Community School

On the morning of July 20th, the last day before the school holidays, Rob Parker presented Lukes Lane Community School with a cheque for £6,537. The money was his way of saying thank you to the school for the help and support they had offered his family and for the safe and friendly environment they provided for their son Cameron, an ADHD sufferer, at the school.

To raise the money, Rob and friends Marcus Cole and Claire Penrice (pictured) decided they would climb the three highest mountains in England, Scotland and Wales—which involved following 25 miles of rough mountain terrain, climbing over 11,000 feet and driving 483 miles—and all within 24 hours! Needless to say they did it and with time to spare and now the local school has extra money to spend on new resources

Said Rob: “It would have been so easy for the school to say that they couldn't be responsible for his safety, but, they gave Cameron a chance and agreed to find the resources to pay for extra fencing, new gates and to install security locks to all the doors. This was needed to enable Cameron to stay at mainstream school. He has also been provided with extra teaching support which has proved invaluable to him.

“By doing this challenge we, as Cameron's parents, family and friends hoped to raise funds and give something back to the school towards the expenses they have already incurred and for future costs when Cameron moves to the junior section of the school. We hope it will not only benefit Cameron, but also other children who might have similar problems and who attend the school now, or in the future.”

Congrats to Rob and all involved in the mammoth fund-raising bid and what fantastic testimony to our local school and its staff who strive so hard to give our children the best start in life.

Lukes Lane Summer Fete

The Summer Fete organised by the LLCG on Saturday 18th August, and with financial support of CVS, was a roaring success.

The event-packed day started at 11 am and finished 11 pm. Throughout the day kids were entertained by top local magician Mr Merlin and a scary animal show in which many had the chance to hold snakes and tarantulas for the first time. O’Brien’s turned up with three fairground attractions for kids (trampoline area, banana-slide-bouncy-castle and merry-go-round) and there were stalls galore inside of the Hastings Club concert room and a choice of refreshments and food in the lounge.

An hour break after the scary animal show allowed the Community Group to get the room ready for the family disco that started at 7 pm and which went on until 11 pm; an evening enjoyed by al kids present and enhanced by many raffles and spot prizes.

All said, the day went as well as could be expected. The much-forecast rain amazingly held off until the fairground helpers were packing up to leave and the day went trouble free, bar one minor incident on the evening.

The group were inundated with queries as to the staging of the all-day family event and could only reply that, Xmas aside, it was hoped that the success of this one would spur the Group on to attempt a two-day summer fete next year.

Although the outlay for the day was heavy – i.e. the cost of the fairground attractions cost £800.00 alone and the insurance £250.00 more – the day did raised just over £1400.00, money that can be ploughed back into the community.

Once a again, a big thank you for all who helped out that day and made the 18th August a day to remember.

Drug-related litter

Drug-related litter is a term used for the discarded items that a small number of drug users leave after using drugs, most of which is normally harmless. They can be found even in the poshest of areas.

Discarded used needles and syringes, however, can present a ‘risk’ to humans, pets and wildlife and may be contaminated with viruses

What to do if you find any discarded needles or syringes

Do not touch the items. If someone such as a child brings you any drug related litter please do not attempt to dispose of this yourself. Carefully put it in an area out of a child's reach and contact South Tyneside Council 0191 427 7000 who will arrange for disposal

If there's any possibility that someone has sustained an injury from the equipment please go to accident and emergency immediately and follow the instructions below.

What to do in case of injury with a needle

Don't panic

Don’t suck the wound

Encourage it to bleed

Clean the woundCover it with a dressing

Go to Accident and Emergency

If anyone you know uses drugs and wants help or is the carer / relation of someone who uses drugs and needs support, please contact the South Tyneside Drug Action Team on 0191 496 7963 for more advice and information.