Art Feature

A 5ft sculpture, which has been inspired by seabed algae, is to be placed on Saltburn's upper promenade near the top of the Cliff Lift. It will be the final part of the £300,000 fossil gardens, which were opened last September.
Ian Moran, Community Project Officer for Redcar & Cleveland Council with the charity Groundwork South Tees, said the sculpture would be made of cast and fabricated steel and would stand on a circular plinth 1.2 meters in circumference. The sculpture has been made by Middlesbrough artist Andrew McKeowan and is called 'Organism'.
"It was inspired by microscopic organisms called diatoms, which live in the sea and are a type of single-celled algae. They are considered the most important of all plankton as they form the basis of almost all the food chains in the ocean. Diatoms remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and produce nearly 20% of the world's oxygen. Individually they are invisible to the naked eye, but in large concentrations they are seen as brown or golden brown patches in the ocean."
The sculpture will stand at the opposite end of the promenade to a 9ft high steel scupture of Henry Pease, the founder of Saltburn.
The gardens, which provide easy access to the Cliff Lift for wheelchairs. have been created by local community group 'Saltburn Forward' in partnership with Groundwork South Tees.

150th Celebrations

Did you know that one of the first railway hotels in the world was built in Saltburn - the Zetland - in 1863? Some journals of the time recorded it as the best railway hotel in the world.
Did you know that one of the earliest telephone conversations was made in 1877 using apparatus which connected wires laid across the Halfpenny Bridge?

A public meeting held on Friday 16th February in the Community Hall agreed to start planning for a sustained period of celebrations in 2011 to commemorate the arrival of the first steam train into Saltburn on the 17th August 1861.
Representatives from a variety of local organisations agreed to support an exhibition, related to the 'Victorian Week' celebrations of 1986, to be held in the Community Hall on Sunday 15th July. This would be a reminder of what happened in 1986 for those who took part and would give an idea of what was missed for those who were unable to do so.
Of the many ideas generated for the future, ranging from massed brass bands, choirs, fireworks at the end of the pier and temporarily closing off Station Square, it was felt that the emphasis should be put on Saltburn's railway heritage. Steam trains could be organised to bring visitors in to enjoy a well planned programme of events with the possibility of using the incoming trains to run on the Skinningrove line throughout the day.
A further open meeting was planned for the 5th June to continue discussions and welcome any additional individuals or groups who wish to be involved. Saltburn Community and Arts Association can be contacted on 01287 624997 to receive any thought or ideas.

Photo finish

Keen amateur photographers Ella Towers and Vicky Shepherd created a photo-finish with their competition entries for the best shot from Saltburn Valley's Pageant of Light. The judges, members of the Friends of the Valley, could not choose between Ella's picture of the lantern procession crossing the beck in Saltburn Valley Gardens or Vicky's shot of fire club swinger Cathie Sprague at the event which celebrated the end of British Summer Time in October. Friends secretary Lorna Moone said: "We were delighted with the quality of the photos, and in the end we couldn't separate these two, so they've shared first prize. This was the first year of the competition, but we'll definitely do it again next year."

Cleaning the beach in waves...

An army of volunteers, both young and old, headed to Saltburn beach on Saturday to take part in the 'Adopt a Beach' event organised by the Marine Conservation Society. Local volunteers, rounded up by Saltburn 500 Club, have been carrying out regular clean sweeps on the beach for the last eight years and this weekend's operation was as well supported as ever. The volunteers cleared bags of litter off the beach during the clean-up drive. Chris Terry, organiser of Saltburn Beach Watch, said: "Around 30 people usually take part. Not only does the rubbish spoil the beach for visitors, but it is dangerous to wildlife. The volunteers were asked to record the items they found, from plastic bottles to old shoes, sanitary and shipping waste. After the collection, the rubbish was weighed and categorised into sections and the data is sent to the Marine Conservation Society, Redcar and Cleveland Council and Northumbrian Water. Mr Terry said: "The survey helps us to keep track of any trends so that we can see where the problem lies."

This is exactly the sort of public-spirited action we need if we are to make the most of our area. It is a great event and helps to keep the beach clean - however the worst place for plastic waste and rubbish has got to be along the banks which are covered once again. No guessing as to where the problem lies here - it's all the result of the current methods of recycling!

Cliff Rescue

A dramatic air sea rescue was launched after four young girls were trapped on cliffs near Skinningrove as darkness fell. The girls - aged 12 and 13, from the Brotton and Saltburn areas - were rescued in an operation involving two helicopters, police and coastguard teams. One of the girls suffered an asthma attack and was stranded in a precarious position just below the cliff summit. Three other girls were stranded lower down the cliff face. All attend Saltburn's Huntcliff School. After they sent a 999 call at about 4.30pm yesterday, the Cleveland Police air support unit was launched from Durham Tees Valley Airport and a Sea King search and rescue helicopter was scrambled from RAF Leconfield in Lincolnshire. All four were winched off and taken to James Cook University Hospital. A coastguard spokesman said it was unclear how the girls had come to be on the cliff in fading light. The police helicopter used its search light to illuminate the scene while one of the coastguard team inched down onto the ledge where the stricken girl was standing. The Sea King then used its powerful search light as it carried out the operation to winch all the girls to safety.

Learning Campus Planning Submission

Redcar and Cleveland Council is ready to submit its detailed planning application for the £16million Saltburn Learning Campus project next week. The Campus will provide a new secondary school to replace the existing Huntcliff School buildings and a new primary school to replace the two Saltburn Primary School sites at Marske Mill Lane and Upleatham Street. The development of the current Huntcliff School site will create a modern learning campus, expanding on the existing facilities of a Children’s Centre, Leisure Centre and Multi-Use Games Area providing life-long learning opportunities. The first of two phases is hoped to commence in July, with the building of the new secondary school, and the second phase, the new primary school, will be completed by September 2009, subject to planning approval. Members of the public attended the latest meeting at Huntcliff this week to see the proposals and designs for the development presented by Council officers and the project's architects, Aedas. The Council's Capital Projects Manager Lionel Danby, who chaired the meeting, said: "The plans for the new buildings were generally well received. We have also taken on board issues raised and noted them for consideration during further design development." Improved shared facilities for both schools and the community will include a sports hall, multi-use activity halls, changing facilities and remodelled playing fields. Enclosed wildlife areas and amphitheatres will form new outdoor learning areas for the schools while woodland areas and landscaping will be used to improve the visible aspects of the site. The inclusion of on-site parking, drop-off facilities and cycle storage is expected to alleviate public concerns over traffic management and control. A formal public consultation process will take place once the planning application has been submitted. The Capital Projects Team's website is regularly updated as design development progresses - log on to www.redcar-cleveland.gov.uk/capitalprojects and click on the Capital Projects BLOG on the home page.

Jewel Streets Refuse Collection Changes

At last the council has recognised the problems faced by residents in the Jewel Streets which have been compounded by the changes in refuse collection - rubbish now being collected fortnightly rather than weekly. Many properties in this area are multiple occupancy, many are upper floor properties which do not have any rear access and therefore cannot accommodate a wheelie bin except in the rear allies. These bins become targets and are often stolen, torched or vadalised and residents are left without a receptacle to accommodate their rubbish. Black bags and general rubbish are then dumped in the allies. This has become a major problem since the introduction of the fortnightly collection and many residents have complained bitterly about the 'overflow' and the resulting mess which is then an ideal target for attracting vermin. In an effort to address this problem the council has decided to install large container bins at the top and bottom of each alley. These bins will be clearly marked 'for domestic use only' and can only be used by the residents of the Jewel Streets. Unfortunately they will still only be emptied fortnighly in line with the current refuse collection calendar.

Whislt applauding the councils consultation with residents representatives and making a positive move to address the problem we still feel that the whole issue of refuse collection and the present recycling methods needs to be carefully reassessed so that the town does not become a 'plastic' jungle.