Middlesbrough Council - News Forum - Setting a light to the News

Newlands School mosaic to be lost when bulldozers move in
Sandy McKenzie
Evening Gazette Aug 22 2011
A PLEA to save a piece of Middlesbrough heritage is set to fail.
The cost of preserving a five-metre high mosaic depicting the Madonna and Child at the former Newlands School is considered to be too high.
The mosaic which was unveiled in 1963 will disappear when the building in Saltersgill Avenue is demolished. Peter McTiernan, pictured inset, a chartered surveyor who lives in Linthorpe, Middlesbrough has called for the mosaic to be saved from the demolition which is now going on as part of the project for the new Trinity Catholic College, which brings together the former Newlands and St David’s Schools. The mosaic is on the outside of a wall of the building that was the Newlands School hall. Mr McTiernan said: “I think it is important the mosaic is saved. “It looks very good and it marks the involvement of the nuns from the Faithful Companions of Jesus who have given more than 100 years’ service to the people of Middlesbrough.” Mr McTiernan said one idea could be to leave the wall with the mosaic as a free-standing structure. But headteacher Peter Coady said: “Trinity Catholic College and members of the Faithful Companions of Jesus are in agreement that the costs of preserving the mosaic are unfortunately prohibitive. “The cost of doing so is in excess of £50,000 which will be far better spent on frontline education for the benefit of the pupils. We are preserving the image of the mosaic through a high resolution photo and are now considering how this can be incorporated into the new school. “This is one of a number of ways we are maintaining the history and involvement of the Faithful Companions of Jesus in what will be a wonderful new school building for the pupils of Trinity Catholic College.”
A Middlesbrough Council spokesman said the matter of the future of the mosaic was for the school to decide upon. Creating the Trinity Catholic College is part of the Building Schools for the Future programme. It is the single biggest investment in Middlesbrough schools in the town’s history. The £100m of Government funding will renew all the town’s state secondary schools by the end of 2012.
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Middlesbrough must not lose ambition says council chief
Sandy McKenzie, Evening Gazette Aug 19 2011
DESPITE the economic problems Middlesbrough must not lose its ambition, says Ian Parker, chief executive of Middlesbrough Council.
Mr Parker was speaking at a meeting of Middlesbrough Council’s Executive which backed in principle a scheme that could see £11m worth of improvements carried out to the entertainment venue at the town hall. Initially the council plans to make a bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund for cash to enable a detailed improvement scheme to be drawn up. Bids would then be made to the Heritage Lottery Fund and to other sources of cash to pay for the improvements. Mr Parker told the Executive: “The town hall is a jewel in Middlesbrough’s crown and we should be proud of it.
“We are in difficult financial circumstances but we must not lose our ambition. As opportunities come up to do something like this we must grasp them.” Charlie Rooney, Executive councillor for regeneration and economic development, said the plans were about restoring the town hall to its former glory.
He said it would be 2013 at the earliest before work could begin. The plans for the Grade II* listed building include: Restoration and refurbishment of key features in the main entertainment hall and the Crypt. Restoration and refurbishment of the town hall organ. Restoration of the carriage drive as the main entrance to the entertainment venue. A new café space and exhibition area, education and community space, enhanced toilet facilities and new lift access.
Bringing into full use under-used areas such as the court room and former police cells
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Lottery chiefs probe plans for winter closure of Captain Cook Birthplace Museum
LOTTERY chiefs are probing the winter closure of a leading North museum celebrating the famous explorer Captain Cook.
It comes after the Heritage Lottery Fund threw more than £800,000 at Middlesbrough’s Captain Cook Birthplace Museum,
and a further £4.5m on renovating the surrounding Stewart Park.
Due to the cash crisis engulfing North authorities, Middlesbrough Council voted to close the museum this winter,
and fears are spreading the doors will not reopen in the spring as promised.
Hundreds have put their name to petitions to save the museum devoted to the Teesside-born navigator
and push council bosses to guarantee the building will reopen after six months.
No date has yet been set for the museum to reopen. It will shut to the public on November 1.
The legendary sailor and navigator Captain James Cook is one of Teesside’s most important historical figures,
fearlessly setting sail to discover distant lands.
Baptised in the small village of Mawston, the sailor rose to the rank of captain of the Royal Navy,
making some of the first journeys into the Pacific Ocean and mapping lands from Australia to Newfoundland
before meeting his death at the hands of savages in Hawaii.
Lottery chiefs handed the museum, which marks Captain Cook’s birthplace, £815,500 to ensure visitor numbers were sustained,
while the park underwent a major multi-million pound revamp, set to be completed in the coming months.
Ivor Crowther, Head of the Heritage Lottery Fund for the North East, has been holding crisis talks
with council chiefs this week amid widespread concern over the museum’s future. He said:
“We understand that Middlesbrough Council, along with many local authorities across the country, is under significant financial pressure
and tough decisions are being made. Despite this, we are keen to ensure that Heritage Lottery Fund’s investment in The Captain Cook Birthplace Museum is protected for public benefit.
“We will continue working closely with the council over the coming months to discuss ways forward.”
Independent councillor Tom Mawston, also a trustee of the museum, has branded the winter closure a travesty
and said Lottery leaders raising concerns was a glimmer of hope.
“If there is a chance of the museum to stay open it will be welcomed by lots of people,”
he said. “It has roused quite a storm. This is a museum which is popular with a lot of people and many have fond memories of it.
“It is also one of the few museums named after a person on the site of their place of birth.”
Meanwhile Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland MP Tom Blenkinsop has set up an online campaign to save the museum
and is writing to culture secretary Jeremy Hunt.
Charlie Rooney, the council’s executive member for regeneration and economic development,
has said the plan is to reopen the museum in spring, adding: “We are looking at creative ways of cutting future costs.”

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