Councils agree to continue successful Cramlington Partnership

Cramlington Town Council and Northumberland County Council have jointly agreed to continue the Cramlington Partnership for a further five years.

Under the Partnership Agreement the Town Council funds the cost of 10 additional full-time environmental maintenance staff to supplement the “core service” provided by the County Council. This means that Cramlington receives enhanced environmental maintenance in summer and winter. Key to Cramlington’s enhanced services are grass cutting standards. Under the County Council’s core service 11 grass cuts a year are undertaken but under the Partnership arrangement this is increased to 21 cuts. The Partnership also cover litter collection, flower beds, hedge cutting and weed spraying – all of which are provided to an enhanced standard.

In addition to extra grounds maintenance work being done in the winter, having the larger team also means that during bad weather teams can clear more snow or ice on pedestrian routes to shops and schools. The new agreement will introduce additional improvements including increasing the maintenance on banksides in the town that lead to underpasses so that the appearance of these key pedestrian routes are improved. Staff will also provide free
labour to a number of community projects during winter months.

The decision to continue the Partnership also secures the jobs of Partnership employees.

Councillor John Collins, Chair of the Town Council, congratulated staff for their hard work over the previous five years of the Partnership. He commented: “What is clear to everyone is how much better Cramlington looks compared to some neighbouring towns and this is down to the dedication of staff on the ground. Our vision is to have the cleanest, greenest and most attractive town in Northumberland. Having the team means we can respond more quickly to emergencies, such as heavy snow earlier this year, and we can maintain and improve the environment of our town to a standard that residents rightly expect”

Cllr Glen Sanderson, cabinet member for environment and local services at Northumberland County Council, said: “ We are committed to working closely with all town and parish councils and this is a great example of how we can achieve more by working in partnership. This is only made possible by the fantastic work done by the staff on the ground“

The new Agreement comes into force on 1^st April 2019. Both the Town and County Councils have expressed a determination to ensure that the service delivered by the Partnership and the value for money it provides will continue to improve throughout the period of the new agreement.