I was recently able to head up to Kielder to spend time with the School, meet the teachers, and knock on a lot of doors locally. I also popped in to the Village Store and chatted to many of the locals who were out and about, including parish councillors. We discussed many things from the County Councils failure to upgrade the local lights, as promised, to the success of the fuel station and the lack of bus services, and the opportunities of the oil buying clubs locally.
As to the school there is no doubt it is a very good school, well led and with unique local facilities. The library co-exists in the same building in a good use of shared facilities by NCC. The sadness is the Youth Hostel which is presently not being used but I am hopeful that a solution will be forthcoming soon.
Finally a word on the fuel station, which has been transformative since I opened it a few years back [see photo below]. With the oil price coming down I hope that the cost of fuel will drop even more, as a car in Kielder is a necessity not a luxury. As always, I was not able to speak to everyone in the village but if you need to get in contact email me or call the Hexham or Westminster offices.
