Barnard Castle town councillors to host first fact finding surgery

PEOPLE’S queries and worries about Barnard Castle are being sought for a new fact

Town councillor Emma Rowell

finding surgery.
Barnard Castle town councillors Emma Rowell and Judi Sutherland want to hear concerns and suggestions in a bid to uncover the town’s biggest problems. Woodleigh on Scar Top, in Barnard Castle, will open its doors for the first session from 4.30pm to 6pm this Friday (October 21) with the open forums lined up for the last Friday of every month.
Cllr Rowell, who also runs the Number 15 Coffee House, on Horsemarket, said she wanted people to go into depth with their worries, ideas and questions.
“Councillors have favourite things and areas of expertise they can pursue,” she said. “I think we owe it to the people who voted us into office to represent what they know and what they need to know so we can take that further.”
Healthcare changes at the Richardson Hospital, proposed parliamentary boundary changes and social care were targets high on Cllr Rowell’s agenda.
She added that she expected to uncover “massive areas and groups” where the town council need to improve.
“We’ll look at problem solving where we can,” said Cllr Rowell.
“If all we can do is set the ball rolling so people begin to be aware of things, that’s a service we can provide. But we need to hear from people.”
Cllr Rowell hoped the surgeries would provide a more accessible service than existing town council meetings.
She added: “There are many committees and committees are rather dull – people are moved to come when they have an issue they feel strongly about but they often have to sit through the whole thing. If you are a councillor that’s often the first time we have seen something so it does not give you much time to do background research.”