Town safety net is being ripped apart

This unique market town is my patch, its wonderful character and characters having earned their place in my notebooks and my heart.

I’ve covered Darlington and its goings on for years now, reported on wars waged over wheelie bins, put pen to paper over planning protests, listened to heart-rending human stories and read report after report issued from the town hall.

I’m more than familiar with Darlington Borough Council (DBC) and the highs and lows that come with an authority having to scrimp and save in austere times.

DBC was the first council in our area to announce the horrifying scope of their proposed budget cuts.

The documents arrived in Echo Towers in paper form, an intimidating slab of what amounts to the potential destruction of much the town holds dear.

It took four journalists a full day to sift through that document and wrap their heads around what it would mean for Darlington, for our readers.

As they trawled through, the true horror of the council’s cuts quickly became apparent, leaving us reeling as much as our readers presumably were in the days following.

Most of our Darlington reporters live in the town Darlington and they’ll be affected, along with their friends and relatives – these cuts will leave nobody untouched.

Public feeling seems – somewhat understandably – weighted towards the big, visible changes.

People are devastated over the thought of losing the Crown Street Library, disconcerted at the move of such a valuable service to the Dolphin Centre and upset at potentially putting the Pease family’s historic gift to the town into private hands.

The potential selling-off of the Victorian covered market is also another heavily debated talking point.

Nobody wants these changes, nobody asked for them and they’re not garnering much support – to say the very least.

The market and the library are part of Darlington’s history and should be treasured as such.

But, what of the town’s future?

I worry about those cuts lurking below the surface, the ones that threaten to tear apart vital services and thrust Darlington into a future that can only be imagined as somewhat dystopian in nature.

Bill Dixon says if this budget goes through, there will be no dedicated drug and alcohol workers in the town.

The implications of that for its future are stark. Nobody sets out to be an addict and they’re the least popular cause in town – not many are rallying for them.

Dedicated people work their backsides off to help those struggling with substance abuse – if they’re not there anymore, who will pick up the pieces?

Cuts and changes to contraceptive services could change real lives, bring about new lives, impact young and old and potentially bring about a rise in STIs.

Many, many services in this town are only visible when you need them, only at the forefront of the mind when you’re involved, when you or your loved one needs help.

It’s these hidden causes I worry about the most, those small charities doing vital, inspiring and life-changing work.

Gay Advice Darlington and Durham could fold, leaving in their wake a demographic that undeniably needs the support they’ve been providing for years.

Organisations helping the homeless, helping the vulnerable, the abused, the elderly and the disabled are going to suffer.

Funding will be stripped away from the heart of this town – and others like it - and people will fall as a result.

Thanks to an unequal and divisive government Darlington Borough Council’s safety net is being ripped apart and real lives are going to fall through the gaps.

The visible, unwanted changes to much-loved facilities are horrifying enough but the fight to keep the town we all love should not stop there.