Members and Committees

River Coquet and Simonside Hills © Simon Fraser River Coquet

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Details of Forthcoming Meetings

The meeting of the Development Management Committee scheduled for Wednesday 15th September 2010 has been cancelled as there are no items of business to discuss. The next meeting is expected to be held on 20th October 2010 at National Park Park Headquarters, Eastburn, Hexham. The agenda and reports will be made available five days before the meeting. If a site visit by the Development Management Committee is required the venue may change, in which case details will be made available on this website.

Meetings of the Development Management Committee are open to the public. The Authority operates a Public Speaking Scheme for Development Management Committee meetings. Details are available by following the link. Please ensure that requests to take part in Public Speaking at the meeting are submitted to the Corporate Administration team in accordance with the instructions contained in the guidance document.

The next meeting of the Full Authority will be held on Wednesday 15th September 2010 at 1.30pm at National Park Headquarters, Hexham. The agenda and reports will be made available five days before the meeting.

Meetings of Northumberland National Park Authority are open to the public. Public Questions can be put to the meeting in accordance with the Authority's Public Question Time Scheme and must be received in writing ten working days before the meeting.

Result of Elections at Annual Meeting 23rd June 2010

The following elections took place at the Annual Meeting on Wednesday 23rd June 2010:

Leader/Chairman - John Riddle

Deputy Leader/Deputy Chairman - Adrian Hinchcliffe

Lead Members:

Mike Bell (Distinctive Place)

Sue Bolam (Corporate Resources)

Alasdair Mitchell (Thriving Communities)

Peter Nicholson (Welcoming Park)

Liz Stockdale (Living Working Landscape)

Adrian Hinchcliffe (Planning Policy and Performance)

(Johnny Wilson stepped down as Lead Member)

Committees

The main business of Northumberland National Park Authority is transacted at the meetings of the Full Authority which take place in March, June, September and December. All Development Control matters are considered at meetings of the Development Management Committee which is scheduled to meet every month (usually the third Wednesday of the month). Matters relating to the Members' Code of Conduct are dealt with by the Standards Committee. There are also a number of advisory Member/Officer Panels eg Strategic Leadership Panel and the Review Panel, as well as subject specific Working Groups and Task and Finish Groups.

Membership

Twenty two Members are appointed to Northumberland National Park Authority to serve for a fixed term of appointment (renewable); six are appointed by Northumberland County Council in the May following local elections, ten are appointed by the Secretary of State for the Environment to represent local, regional or national interests in April of each year when a vacancy arises; and six are appointed by the Secretary of State for the Environment through a group selection process following parish council elections to represent the four parish groupings in the National Park (Hadrian's Wall; North Tyne and Redesdale; Upper Coquet; Cheviot) and additionally the Berwick/Alnwick and Tynedale groupings.

The 22 members of the Authority serve on various committees directly involved in the running of the National Park Authority and also on a number of outside bodies on which they represent the interests of Northumberland National Park.

Three Independent Members are appointed to serve on the Northumberland National Park Authority Standards Committee.

Opportunities to apply to become a Board Member of the Authority or an Independent Member of the Authority are advertised in local newspapers and on the website when they arise.

Scheme of Delegation

The Authority has adopted a Scheme of Delegation to Committees and Officers to permit swift and effective policy and decision-making by members and managerial and operational decision-making by officers within a framework of accountability to Government and local people. The Scheme of Delegation delegates powers from the National Park Authority to Committees and Sub-committees and establishes Terms of Reference for Working Groups and Panels which can advise the Authority. It also delegates powers to the Chief Executive (National Park Officer) to execute business and take decisions within a policy and financial framework and further delegates the powers of the Chief Executive (National Park Officer) to members of the Strategic Management Team and all of those other officers duly authorised in writing.