The Northern Echo, featured former Councillor Dorothy Bowman, who said the Williamfield area is plagued by bad tenants and anti-social behaviour.
The heavy criticism might have been better aired locally through Newton News as the Northern Echo has a poor circulation in the town.
Our regional newspaper’s report gave the town a bad name, but then the story was picked up by BBC TV who interviewed Dorothy, giving this problem, (perpetrated by a very small minority), a much bigger exposure over the whole north east.
These sort of complaints only gain publicity because they are sensational and then give the general impression the whole town suffers from problems caused by a few, which is totally untrue!
Generally speaking Aycliffe is a great place to live and has one of the lowest crime rates in the country. We have to accept there are people who cause a nuisance and we have to rely on our local police and the courts to deal with them.
The Ward Councillors are disappointed with the way this was tackled, bringing the Williamfield area and the whole town into disrepute. Showing the Western Area Community Centre as “Fort Knox” protected by steel shutters did not come across well either.
The police are fully aware of problems caused by a few families, but we all hate to see the whole area denigrated.
Perhaps Dorothy didn’t contact Newton News because we do not feature items of this nature which publicise the actions of a minority. Readers will recognise we tend mostly to print good news stories.
Newton News spoke to a lady who moved to Aycliffe 66 years ago, who never regrets it, as she loves the flowers, trees and open aspects of the town. “You will find there is a minority causing trouble in most towns and they cannot be allowed to spoil it for their neighbours” said the elderly resident.
Most residents will confirm that comparatively speaking Newton Aycliffe is a nice place to live with good neighbours, a pleasant environment with most of us enjoying a happy life.
