Blyth Valley Labour MP Ronnie Campbell (pictured) branded the summer event 'a weekend out for toffs'.

He strongly criticised Northumberland County Council - which is in the midst of making budget cuts totalling £40m over two years - for earmarking £80,000 to stage the high-profile equestrian event.

A progress report on the review reveals hundreds of people have made their views known on whether parking fees should be imposed across the whole county - rather than just in selected towns.

More than 560 people have signed three separate petitions calling for an equal policy across the board, with charges being made in all principal towns.

Previous issues of the Golden Guide have gone down so well with the over-50s that there was a waiting list for the latest 5,000-copy print run.

The free booklet, which is produced by community information specialists Clever Clogs Publishing in partnership with Age Concern Northumberland, the county council and care trust, has also been given a new design.

The eight parish and town councils were established last summer to boost local democracy following the abolition of Blyth Valley and Wansbeck district councils, and the creation of a single unitary authority for Northumberland.

Now it is being suggested that the councils - covering Blyth, Ashington, Newbiggin, Cramlington, Seaton Valley and Bedlington North, East and West - should form an official federation with a joint managing board.

Blyth Valley MP Ronnie Campbell is writing to Liberal Democrat leaders at County Hall and asking them to "stop hitting" the elderly population of the county.

He says the recent announcement the council is axing a scheme which provides cut-price taxi travel for hundreds of pensioners who are unable to use buses is the latest in a damaging series of cost-cutting measures affecting older people.

It was feared that around £30m worth of savings would be required to balance next year's budget but the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has allowed councillors to pay for some costs from the capital budget.

The authority had submitted four bids for capitalisation in respect of potential losses on Icelandic investments of £9.1m, for £6m in strain on the pension fund, £2.8m for enhanced redundancy and £1.4m for statutory redundancy.

County council leaders expected to be told yesterday whether ministers will allow them to use a financial loophole to avoid having to make almost £30m in savings this year.

But last night - as the authority revealed it has dropped plans to close a number of tourist information centres in Northumberland - there had still been no decision from the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG).

More than 800 vulnerable pensioners across the county use the scheme, which allows them concessionary travel in taxis because they are unable to use other forms of public transport.

They use council-issued vouchers, tokens or passes to pay for taxi trips to the shops, GP and hospital appointments or to visit relatives and friends.

Local community forums are about to start a six-month programme of public engagement, including public meetings, to help draw up community plans, which will influence future decisions and changes.

Meetings will take place in the Choppington, Newbiggin-by-the-Sea and Ellington, Linton and Lynemouth areas.

For further information, contact Lynda Fakir, Locality Development Officer for South East Northumberland on 0845 600 6400, email Lynda.Fakir@northumberland.gov.uk or visit northumberland.gov.uk.

Six community libraries in Northumberland are now asking why they were earmarked to be closed to save money when they cost the county so little to run.

Scott Dickinson of Hadston House Libary

The decision to close Ashington Hirst, Lynemouth, Kielder, Bedlington Station, Blyth South Beach and Hadston libraries has been temporarily shelved after the savings were found elsewhere, and will be revisited in six to 12 months time. But the people who house and run the libraries are speaking out, asking why they were even chosen in the first place when the benefits far outweigh the cost.

The Liberal Democrat administration at County Hall has drawn up the revised savings for 2010/11 after carrying out public consultations on initial £16m proposals published in November.

They will be discussed by the executive next week - and are based on the assumption the Government will allow the council to capitalise its £10m redundancy costs this year, cushioning the impact on the revenue budget.

Members of the public are welcome to attend the meeting, which starts at 6pm in the Spartan Centre, Croftway Primary School, William Street, Blyth.

The committee covers business for the Blyth, Ashington, Bedlington, and Cramlington areas, and county council executive member for corporate resources, Andrew Tebbutt, will be there tomorrow to give feedback from recent budget consultation meetings, and outline the next steps in the process.

County council bosses had hoped to save more than £155,000 by cutting cash destined for Ashington Leisure Centre, but after a fierce public backlash they promised to keep the facility open for another year.

From left: John McCormack, Kathy Tate and Neil Foster of the South East Northumberland Trades Union Council

However, for supporters of the campaign, launched by Ashington teenager Adam Nichol, 14, to keep the centre permanently open, the fight is far from over.

A dozen libraries in the county have been earmarked for closure as Northumberland County Council looks to make massive savings in the next budget.

Libraries at Ashington Hirst, Lynemouth, Kielder, Bedlington Station, Blyth South Beach and Hadston were first in line for the axe because of their alleged low usage, under initial consultations on £16m worth of cuts.

Northumberland County Council is trying to get back to a normal bin collection routine.

A spokeswoman said: "There has inevitably been disruption to the bin collection service in Northumberland due to the recent winter weather conditions - particularly in the more rural areas of the county.

"The council is asking residents to refer to the normal collection timetable for their area, and place the correct coloured bin out on the next scheduled collection day. Where a bin has been missed the council will collect additional bags of waste on the next visit.