Nick Brown, Labour MP for Newcastle upon Tyne East has waded into the controversy over Acorn Road, sending a letter of complaint to Newcastle City Council chief executive Pat Ritchie on behalf of his constituents, some of whom he believes have been excluded from a “haphazard” consultation process.

The issue has polarised debate, both on articles written by JesmondLocal and at official and unofficial public meetings. Some South Jesmond residents have stated that despite living in very close vicinity to Acorn Road, they were not asked for their opinion and were unaware that they could make it known. One anonymous resident said:

“As a South Jesmond resident who considers Acorn Road to be my main shopping centre, Newcastle City Council did not send me a voting slip to a decide on the future of Acorn Road… I feel very let down indeed. Is this democracy in action?”

Now Newcastle MP Nick Brown has joined the debate writing to the Chief Executive of Newcastle City Council after having been contacted by a number of his South Jesmond constituents. Rt Hon Nick Brown MP gave JesmondLocal the following exclusive statement:

“I raised the issue of Acorn Road as a specific agenda item at the three Newcastle MP’s regular meeting with the Leader of Newcastle City Council, Cllr Nick Forbes, on Friday 14^th November. I complained at the exclusion of some of my constituents from the formal consultation notification and process and about the haphazard way the consultation that was undertaken was carried out. The Chief Executive of Newcastle City Council, Pat Ritchie, was also at the meeting and acknowledged receipt of my letter about this and apologised for not having answered it yet. Ultimately this is a matter for the Council to decide. I have made my concerns known about the consultation process. I understand there are also external deadlines on the funding stream for the proposed works.”

In his letter Mr. Brown asks the Chief Executive to outline “what statutory requirements exist for informing and consulting residents on proposals such as this” as well asking how his South Jesmond constituents can still have their say.

A Newcastle City Council spokesman said: “The informal consultation process was undertaken by the council and the results very carefully analysed and verified by an independent research company. We stand by the results which showed the majority of residents and businesses preferred illustration one, and more than 50 have signed an open letter in support of it.

“We have no plans to conduct an investigation into the consultation process, and we reject any allegation that it was flawed, though we do recognise that not everyone got the outcome that they wanted.

“We are working hard to address some of the concerns most notably the reduction in parking provision which we are very confident we can minimise through detailed design. We are still working up to the detailed design stage when there will be further opportunities for people to comment upon these proposals as part of a formal consultation period.”