| Local Tories involved in the increasingly-fraught Teesside political scene were up in arms over the weekend after Labour councillors in Middlesbrough rejected plans to create a controversial new body to take responsibility for local regeneration. But today it was Labour's turn to be outraged as Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove's department announced it was going to press ahead with the mayoral development corporation (MDC) anyway. Local Democracy Reporter Emily Craigie has the latest here. Tory Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen met with Mr Gove yesterday and was told the Government remained supportive of the plans and officials are working on the requested transfer of £14.7m of council assets to the body. The aim of the new body is to speed up regeneration in the town centre and Middlehaven. But a major sticking point for Labour, whose councillors led a vote against the plans, is that £14.7m of assets, including the Civic Centre and the former Crown pub would be transferred to the new body from Middlesbrough council. On Friday at a poorly-attended meeting, 16 Labour councillors refused to back proposals to support the creation of the MDC, defeating the 12 in favour. Local Labour MP Andy McDonald said: "This is a scandalous denial of democracy. The local authority made its decision." MDCs, which draw on a wide range of powers to acquire, develop, hold and dispose of land and property, and develop infrastructure, already exist in Stockport and Redcar, with councillors in Hartlepool recently backing a similar scheme. 
'Horrendous' congestion on streets where traffic scheme was scrapped  Traffic on the road outside Bare Trees Primary School in Oldham
As the end of the school day arrives for one primary in Oldham, cars are already queueing nose to tail on the road outside. "It's horrendous," one resident tells Local Democracy Reporter Charlotte Green. This is Holly Grove in Chadderton North, where Active Neighbourhood plans aimed at cutting traffic and rat-running were scrapped by the council after an outcry. It's just one example of the ever-increasing tensions between motorists and local leaders around the North aiming to make roads safer for cyclists and walkers. Oldham council proposed installing planters and bollards, as well as new bus gates to restrict vehicles which they said were using streets like Holly Grove as a cut-through. The authority stated it had also been contacted by people with concerns about traffic and congestion in the Chadderton North and Westwood area which contains several schools, including Burnley Brown and Bare Trees Primary Schools. It said people had raised concerns of 'inconsiderate driving and parking' around the schools. But last month the town hall rolled back on the scheme, after many of the 944 people who responded to its consultation reacted negatively. Council leader Amanda Chadderton said officials had 'listened' to residents and wouldn't be progressing with 'any part of the plans', but admitted it would leave some people 'disappointed'. As Charlotte reports, outside Bare Trees Primary School on a cold weekday afternoon, the congestion is obvious. One local tells her: "There is absolutely no consideration, and it is used as a rat-run. I do think, is today the day I'm going to get hit?"
'Car park safety reforms will ensure Gabe didn't die in vain'  Tributes to 'Gabe' were left at the Pier Head after his death in October 2020
Merseyside MP Maria Eagle fought back tears yesterday as she proposed "Gabe's Law" to the House of Commons in memory of tragic 15-year-old Gabriel Santer. Gabriel died after falling from the top of a multi-storey car park in Liverpool city centre in October 2020. Now his father hopes safety reforms for multi-storey car parks can be implemented to ensure his teenage son's death was not in vain. The proposals outlined by Ms Eagle, Labour MP for Garston and Halewood, seek to "substantially" increase the legal minimum height of barriers on top of car parks from the current level of 1.1 metres. Her Multi-Storey Car Parks (Safety) Bill would also require such sites to be staffed 24 hours a day. MPs were told it is unclear how many people die after falling from multi-storey car parks, with Ms Eagle noting newspaper reports showed there were at least 17 deaths in England in a 12-month period in 2022. As Richard Wheeler of Press Association reports, her voice cracked with emotion as she concluded: "He was a fine young lad with so much promise who died too soon and so needlessly." The MP asked for her Bill to receive a second reading on March 17. It is unlikely to become law in its current form due to a lack of parliamentary time.
Forged document started bogus psychiatrist's 20 years of lies  Zholia Alemi (left) had been jailed after being convicted of forging the degree certificate (Image: Cumbria Police).
An astonishing saga reached its conclusion yesterday at Manchester Crown Court, where a judge criticised the General Medical Council (GMC) for an "abject failure of scrutiny" after a bogus psychiatrist who submitted "clearly false documents" was able to practise for more than 20 years. Zholia Alemi, whose lack of qualifications was first raised in "persistent" investigative journalism by Phil Coleman, chief reporter for Cumbrian Newspapers, was jailed for seven years for 20 fraud offences. Read more about the case in this Manchester Evening News piece. Alemi, of Plumbe Street in Burnley, claimed to have qualified at the University of Auckland in New Zealand, but earlier this month a jury found her guilty of forging the degree certificate and letter of verification she used to register with the GMC in 1995. She had worked for a number of healthcare organisations across the North and nationwide. Sentencing her Judge Hilary Manley said the offences "strike so very deeply at the heart of healthcare provisions in this country". She added: "That the degree certificate and supporting letter were accepted by the GMC represents an abject failure of scrutiny. You benefited from that failure and of course from your own deliberate and calculated dishonesty." Una Lane, director of registration and revalidation at the GMC, said: "Our processes are far stronger now, with rigorous testing in place to make sure those joining the register are fit to work in the UK."
Scrapping highly protected marine areas 'disappointing', say campaigners  Allonby Bay off the Cumbrian coast will be protected from fishing, construction and dredging from July
As The Northern Agenda reported yesterday, the Government has scrapped plans to ban fishing at Holy Island off the coast of Northumberland after a sustained campaign by local residents. But there's a bigger story going on at Northern coastal sites. And conservation groups are "disappointed" at the Government's decision to designate only three of the five suggested highly protected marine areas (HPMAs), scrapping plans for one in favour of the local fishing industry. Allonby Bay off the Cumbrian coast, Dolphin Head in the English Channel and the north east of Farnes Deep in the North Sea, off the Northumberland coast, will be protected from fishing, construction and dredging from July. The Government said restricting activity in these areas will help blue carbon habitats, recover depleted species and protect the feeding and nursery grounds of commercial fish. It was considering five areas, which marine minister Lord Benyon said was the "bare minimum" in 2021, but after a consultation it decided to abandon two sites – Silver Pit South and Lindisfarne, Northumberland. Campaigners around Holy Island, Lindisfarne, have argued against an HPMA there, saying it would destroy a 1,000-year-old fishing tradition. But environmental groups have criticised the decision to drop two of the pilot sites, saying it leaves only 0.5% of English seas protected, and urged the Government to find replacements. 
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Northern Stories  Tall Ships Race 2010 in Hartlepool. (Image: PA)
- More than £6m is estimated to go back into Hartlepool's economy as a result of this summer's Tall Ships Races, according to council chiefs. Preparations are ramping up in preparation for the event being held from July 6 to 9 at Hartlepool Marina. It is set to be one of the biggest free family events in England in 2023 with hundreds of thousands of visitors from far and wide. Hartlepool Borough Council officers have outlined how plans are coming together and how the town will benefit from hosting the international event for the first time since 2010, when hundreds of thousands of people from all over the country flocked to the town.
- An underwater sea disco with a glitterball jellyfish will be among the events taking place as Liverpool gets ready to welcome Eurovision. Organisers have revealed plans for a two-week cultural festival in the city in the lead-up to the Eurovision Song Contest in May. EuroFest will see collaborations between artists in the UK and Ukraine, which won last year's competition. The commissions include The Blue and Yellow Submarine Parade by The Kazimier – described as an outdoor, underwater sea disco – which will make its way through the city and involve hundreds of performers, music and a huge glitterball jellyfish.
- A Sheffield mum was left with 'serious' injuries when a 12ft to 15ft strip of fascia board covered in nails fell from a dilapidated school, hitting her on the head. Carla Ashman, 39, who was waiting to pick up her two boys from Dore Primary School when she was struck, was left with cuts and grazes and a black eye - along with long-term tinnitus. She says the piece of fascia fell from just under the school roof before it 'smacked' her in the face. Following the dangerous accident Sheffield Hallam Labour MP Olivia Blake has asked Education Secretary Gillian Keegan to contact the parent and the headteacher at the school to offer support.
- A Knowsley Labour councillor prevented from contesting his seat in May's elections has spoken out of what he calls the "ongoing silencing" of people on the left. Cllr Crispin Evans, who has represented St Gabriel's ward in Huyton for nearly four years was stopped from standing following a selection vote which took place earlier this month. Labour sources told Local Democracy Reporter Lisa Rand Cllr Evans was deselected at the behest of the Knowsley party leadership because he "asked too many questions" and was "more on the left" of the party.
- An MP has revealed she dressed up as Baroness Betty Boothroyd on her fourth birthday, as she was "absolutely obsessed" with her. Labour's Charlotte Nichols shared the anecdote in the Commons during a special session to honour Lady Boothroyd's life, with tributes pouring in from across the political spectrum after her death at the age of 93. The Warrington North MP told the lower chamber about the "particularly profound impact" the former Commons speaker had on her life, even if she never actually met her.
- The independent investigator carrying out an inquiry into Sheffield's controversial street tree felling programme has set a date for the publication of his report. Sir Mark Lowcock, chair of the inquiry, said the report will be published on the council's website shortly after 10am on Monday, March 6. He will then make a live streamed public statement at that time, the details of which are to be announced soon. The inquiry was ordered in May, 2021, as part of a power-sharing deal struck between Labour and the Green Party after Labour, which was in charge during the felling, lost overall control of the council in the local elections.
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