ANDREA BERGG (AYCLIFFE NORTH)
ANDREA BERGG has lived in Aycliffe for thirty years and for twelve years was a member of Great Aycliffe Town Council. She worked for 18 years training young people and adults to nationally recognised standards. Andrea has a particular interest in education which began when she ran school holiday clubs for 5 to 11 year olds prior to coming to Aycliffe. For the last 15 years, Andrea has been a school Governor for a highly successful Aycliffe primary school. Andrea and husband Peter have three adult children who all grew up in Aycliffe. In recent years Andrea has spent much of her time caring for elderly relatives. Andrea is Chairman of Aycliffe Liberal Democrats. She is strongly committed to the area and is a forthright speaker.
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Andrea says: "I moved to Newton Aycliffe 30 years ago with my husband Peter and our three children, Diane, Steven and Sarah. During this period I have watched Aycliffe grow and more importantly watched the community spirit grow. I have witnessed the dramatic changes in the town centre, sadly from reasonable to good and now to quite frankly dismal but I still hope for a vibrant shopping centre if all the problems can be sorted out. During this time I have had many opportunities to speak to residents, particularly during election periods, and feel I know the mood of the residents and their concerns.
"I spent 18 years working in training young people and adults to nationally recognised standards starting with ASCA, under the umbrella of the Reverend Granville Gibson and St. Clares Church, which was eventually taken over by Sedgefield Borough Council. I have a particular interest in education which began when I ran school holiday clubs for 5 to 11 year olds prior to my move to Newton Aycliffe. Since then I have taken a keen interest in the development of Primary and Secondary schools by involving myself with schools when my children were there, being involved after they left and being a school Governor for a highly successful primary school for the last 15 years.
"I served on Great Aycliffe Town Council for 12 years and was a member of most of the committees over this period which gave me a very good insight both into local politics and local Government. I am a big believer in local Government and would like to see the new Unitary Authority make decisions, as far as possible, at a local level. This particularly applies to planning issues as I feel very strongly that local people should decide how their town and local areas are developed.
"I have very strong feelings on environmental issues and recycle all I can either by the door step collections or at the local collection point on Aycliffe Industrial Estate. Land, in our relatively small country, is at a premium and I think the use of highly expensive landfill sites has to be greatly reduced to prevent further pollution, from methane gas for example, and to reduce the rising cost burden to councils and therefore to tax payers.
"After caring for elderly relatives for the last ten years I am very aware of the creeping reduction in services nationally. Allegedly warden controlled homes are going to be a thing of the past allowing people to stay in their own homes. However, the criterion for assessing the help the elderly need in their homes is getting more stringent and more of the burden is falling on families. I feel very strongly that the elderly need a higher profile in society when it comes to their needs and when the number of elderly is increasing year on year."
