Jesmond Focus Team

About the Jesmond Focus Team

Philip Browne, James Coles and Peter Allen are the councillors for North Jesmond Ward and will be the Liberal Democrats candidates for the new Jesmond Ward on Newcastle City Council in May 2026. They already work hard throughout the year to address local problems and issues and to ensure that the voices of Jesmond's residents are heard in the Council Chamber. 

The Focus Team have a long record of listening to local people and keeping in touch through regular Focus newsletters. In addition, the Team also use this web page, eFocus and social media to keep local people informed about what is happening across the ward.

Philip, James and Peter are also part of the 22 strong Liberal Democrats Official Opposition Group on Newcastle City Council, holding the current Labour administration to account and pressing for change to improve our area and the wider city.

Tackling Litter in Our Streets and Fly Tipping in Our Back Lanes

Overflowing bins and fly tipping are seen regularly in many of Jesmond's back lanes, whilst litter is scattered across many of our pavements.

We are tackling these problems by:

• Regularly reporting incidents of fly tipping, litter and overflowing bins to the Council's cleansing team
• Actively supporting the work of Keep Jesmond Clean - with monthly volunteer litter picks across Jesmond and Jesmond Vale
• Getting the Community Payback service to undertake regular litter picks and neighbourhood tidy ups
• Working with the Council, the Universities and Student Unions to to promote recycling and enforce HMO license conditions on bin storage in back yards
• Pushing the Council to increase the number of litter bins
• Supporting the introduction of a new by law that will require all residents to only leave bins on the street or back lane on collection days

Peter Allen: “Many residents have told us about how litter and overflowing bins in the back lanes affect the quality of our neighbourhoods. As well as working with the Council and others to clean up the mess whenever it is reported, we are also looking to address the root causes of these problems.”

Better Regulation of Student Houses (HMOs)

Many students choose to live in Jesmond, with many being housed in Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMOs). Whilst the students bring a vibrancy to our community, poor management by some landlords means that nearby residents have their quality of life reduced and students face living in poorly maintained properties.

We are tackling these problems by:

• Getting the Council to change the fee structure for HMO licences, based on the number of rooms within each property. This will allow the Council to employ more staff to more regularly inspect HMOs and to take enforcement action against bad landlords who leave their properties in a bad condition or who don't ensure bins are kept within back yards
• Ensuring all planning applications to convert residential properties in Jesmond into HMOs are considered by the full Planning Committee, rather than just by planning officers
• Getting the Council to agree to push for an Article Four Direction to cover the whole city, which will require all new HMOs to seek planning permission

James Coles: “Without good enforcement of regulations, poor landlords risk crowding out good landlords. We want to see better regulation through the planning and licensing systems, for the benefit of both local residents and students.”

Tackling Anti-Social Behaviour

The high concentration of students across parts of Jesmond, coupled with the draw of the bars, hotels and restaurants around Osborne Road, means that incidents of anti-social behaviour can cause disturbance for residents around their homes.

We are tackling these problems by:

• Supporting the work of the Neighbourhood Policing Team and Operation Oak to tackle anti-social behaviour incidents such as noise disturbance and student parties
• Successfully creating a regular meeting of the Council's licensing, public safety and cleansing teams, the Universities and the Police with ward councillors to ensure that all partners are aware of and coordinating their actions to tackle incidents and their causes, including enforcement action with landlords and disciplinary action by the universities against offending students
• Working closely with the Council's Licensing Teams, who regulate both licensed premises and HMO landlords, to ensure that emerging issues are tackled quickly and effectively
• Encouraging residents to report any incidents of anti-social behaviour via the Police 999 (Emergency) and 101 (Non-Emergency) services so that a clear picture of trouble spots can be identified and appropriate action taken to prevent future problems 

James Coles: “All residents, including many students, have the right to expect their nights are not disturbed and the streets are not covered in debris the following day. It is also about ensuring that those enjoying a night out are doing so safely.”

Campaigning to Stop Sewerage Pollution in the Ouseburn

After heavy rain, raw sewerage can enter the Ouseburn through a series of storm overflows designed to prevent flooding incidents. The Liberal Democrats have been campaigning to clean up the Ouseburn over the last two years as part of a national campaign to stop water companies using our rivers and watercourses as open sewers. 

Our campaign has included:

• Collecting and presenting over 1,400 signatures calling on the Council, Northumbrian Water and the Environment Agency to clean up the Ouseburn
• Meeting regularly with managers and engineers at Northumbrian Water to discuss their investment plans to address the problem and to push for solutions
• Supporting the Ouseburn Way project, funded by the Reece Foundation, which aims to improve the Ouseburn environmentally and for recreation
• Pushing the Council to warn people of the potential dangers of allowing their children or pets to play in or near the water after heavy rain 

Northumbrian Water has announced that it will invest £14 million, as part of its 2025-30 Investment Programme, to address the overflows from the Salters Bridge and Grassholm Way sewerage outfalls, which account for around 2/3rds of the sewerage spills. Initial survey work has started at Salters Bridge and the whole scheme should be completed in 2027. We are continuing to keep up the pressure on Northumbrian Water, the Council and Environment Agency to address these issues as quickly as possible. 

James Coles: “Whilst recognising that many of these problems are the result of a largely Victorian sewerage system that has not been upgraded in the past, it is unacceptable to continue to allow sewerage and other pollutants into our watercourses. The Northumbrian Water scheme is a start, but more needs to be done in the future.”

Filling the £20 Million Student Council Tax Gap

Newcastle has a large student population, most of whom are exempt from paying Council Tax if they live in purpose-built student accommodation or in a student (HMO) house. Working with the Council's finance team, we were able to identify that there was a shortfall in Government grant funding to the Council to compensate for the lost revenue, amounting to over £20 million per year.

We successfully lobbied Government to change the Fair Funding Settlement for the Council by:

• Working with former Lib Dem Council Leader, Lord John Shipley, to ask a parliamentary question and get a response back from a Government Minister
• Getting the Council to support a motion to lobby the Government on this issue
• Co-operating with Lib Dem councillors in other student cities to push this issue nationally

Peter Allen: “The student Council Tax gap has been growing since 2013, but it took a campaign by Lib Dems locally and nationally to get the Government to address it. As a result, Newcastle's Council Tax payers will not be covering a more than £20 million annual gap in Council finances over the next three years.”