Monthly Update for November 2025

Over the course of the past month I’ve raised over 80 queries with the authorities on behalf of residents and businesses across the Blackhalls & Hesledens ward. I've also been in direct contact with more than 65 individual residents. Almost all of these queries are personal and/or confidential so for obvious reasons details cannot be disclosed to the public.

In addition, I’ve dealt with a number of general queries raised with me by members of the public. These include issues raised at my twice-monthly ward surgeries, during street walkabouts, at PACT meetings and through other methods including direct contact with me via telephone, email and my social media platforms.

The main issues covered over the past few weeks include parking and access concerns at Crimdon, an update on rumours about the Yohden Care Complex in Blackhall Colliery, works to the Haswell to Hart Walkway at Hesleden, litter-picking sessions with groups of children from St Joseph's RC primary school and speed hump upgrades at Station Road in Blackhall Rocks.

I’ve selected just a few of the articles about these issues for re-posting, just in case you missed them first time around.

Please follow the individual links below for full details, and as ever if you have any comments or queries regarding any local issues please get in touch with me direct and I'll see what I can do to help.

Parking and Access at Crimdon: Access problems caused by DCC-imposed parking charges at Crimdon

Remembrance Sunday in Blackhall: A proud Blackhall community pays its respects at the 2025 Service of Remembrance

Update on Yohden Care Complex rumours: Care home manager clarifies rumours about Yohden Care Complex in Blackhall Colliery

Upgrade works on the Haswell to Hart Walkway: Upgrade works to the Haswell to Hart walkway at Hesleden

Speed hump upgrades at Station Road, Blackhall Rocks: Speed humps to be reinstated at Station Road, Blackhall Rocks next month

NWL pipeworks at Hesleden Dene: Northumbrian Water to host residents' information evening to discuss sewer pipe replacement works

Litter picking in Blackhall Colliery: Litter picking with the children of St Joseph's RC primary school

Blackhall Christmas Tree: Christmas tree celebrations in Blackhall

Hesleden Christmas Tree: Christmas gets underway in Hesleden

Christmas gets underway in Hesleden

After the Christmas tree lights were switched on in Blackhall last night it was Hesleden's turn this evening to light up their own tree on the village green, and as usual the people of Hesleden did the village proud with another fantastic turnout.

To get things underway the parish council chair, Cllr Gaynor Crute, welcomed residents who despite the chilly December weather turned out in their numbers to get the festive season of to a great start.

A choir of children and young people from Stars Community CIC led the gathering in singing a selection of Christmas carols which was followed immediately afterwards by the traditional countdown to the tree lighting.

As ever, thanks go to the clerk, ground staff and members of Monk Hesleden Parish Council for organising the Christmas tree lighting ceremony and making sure everything was in order.

However a special thank you is reserved for the residents and children of Hesleden who came along this evening to get the festive season underway in great style!

Christmas tree celebrations in Blackhall

Christmas officially got underway in Blackhall this evening as the parish council along with residents and children of the village came together to light up their Christmas tree on Chicken's Green.

Despite the damp weather there was a fantastic turnout by residents who came along to play their part in what has become the traditional start to the festive season in the village.

Parish council chair, Cllr Gaynor Crute, got the ceremony started by welcoming the children and staff of Blackhall Colliery and St Joseph's primary schools who sang a selection of festive favourites. Fr Kyle then blessed the tree before leading the children in a countdown to the big moment as the lights were switched on.

As ever, thanks go to the clerk, staff and members of Monk Hesleden Parish Council, who made sure everything was in place for the event, and thanks also go to Fr Kyle for his seasonal message and blessing for the tree. 

And of course a special acknowledgement goes to the main attraction of the night which was the children from both Blackhall Colliery's primary schools who come along with their teachers each year to get the Christmas period off to a fantastic start.

Litter picking with the children of St Joseph's RC primary school

It was bright and sunny on Wednesday morning, but bitterly cold - so probably the perfect weather for a litter-picking session organised by the Community Action Team and Camilla from Groundwork.

We were joined by a lovely group of children from St Joseph's RC Primary School who put their all into an hour or so of collecting litter and rubbish along the open land next to the railways lines on East Street. All together 6 bags full of litter were picked up and left for collection near the litter bin at the bottom of Fifth Street.

I hope the children enjoyed their time spent improving this part of our village as much as I did. They were a real pleasure to work with and are a credit to their school and our community.

The next session is due to take place at the same time next week. So fingers crossed for more bright and dry weather!

Northumbrian Water to host residents' information evening to discuss sewer pipe replacement works

Last week I posted an article on these pages to let residents know that the county council's countryside team was scheduled to carry out upgrade works along the lines at Hesleden: Upgrade works to the Haswell to Hart walkway at Hesleden

I've now been contacted by Northumbrian Water Ltd (NWL) confirming that they are due to carry out sewer pipe replacement works nearby in Hesleden Dene in January 2026.

I've checked with both NWL and the county council and they confirm that there will be no overlap of their respective work programmes. 

Northumbrian Water have also confirmed that before the works begin on site they are holding a public 'drop-in' session next month at Hesleden WMC so that residents can meet the project team and raise any issues with them direct. 

I've published the notification I received from NWL below and I've included a link at the end to the NWL Community Hub for additional information:

We wanted to let you know about some work we are planning to carry out in Hesleden Dene to lay a new sewer pipe, replacing the old pipe bridge, which will be removed from the Dene.

Work, led by our partners Mott MacDonald Bentley (MMB), is set to start in January and run through 2026, with clearance of our site in the first quarter of 2027.

While the work will take place away from customers' homes, we're aware of the sensitive nature of the area, so are holding a public drop-in event at Hesleden WMC, for people to meet members of the project team, find out more, and ask any questions.

This will take place on Wednesday, 10 December, and we have set aside some time at the beginning of the session, for elected local representatives to come along prior to the session opening to the public, should you wish to do so. This will be from 4pm to 4.30pm.  Of course, if it is more convenient, you're welcome to attend during the main session itself, which then runs until 7pm.

NWL Community Hub: Citizen engagement platform | Northumbrian Water

Speed humps to be reinstated at Station Road, Blackhall Rocks next month

At a Blackhall PACT meeting held earlier this year I gave an update on the highways works programme that included replacement speed humps along Station Road in Blackhall Rocks.

By way of background, the existing speed humps on Station Road were planed-down several years ago to allow for a royal visit to take place. I asked the highways department to reinstate the humps to their original height after almost 100 residents from Blackhall Rocks signed a petition asking for the speed humps to be brought back to an effective standard. There followed a long, drawn-out struggle to get the council to agree, but we got there in the end.

Full details can be found in this link, along with additional links to the background to this issue: Blackhall PACT meeting for February 2025

Earlier this week I asked the highways department to confirm a date for the works to be carried out and I was told yesterday morning that works are scheduled to commence during the first week in December weather permitting.

The highways team has told me that pre-signage will be installed on site and that residents will soon receive written confirmation in advance of the works taking place.

Damaged pedestrian island at Blackhall Rocks raises road safety concerns

Residents raised concerns on social media last night about the dangerous condition of a pedestrian island near the junction of Hart Crescent and Broad Road on the A1086 Coast Road in Blackhall Rocks.

By way of background, signage on the island was damaged a few months ago and was removed shortly afterwards leaving the island unlit and virtually invisible in the dark. The signage was reported for replacement as soon as it was damaged and I'm told the service is waiting for delivery of new signage. However there were reports last night of a few 'near-misses' as vehicles swerved at the last moment to avoid a collision.

I've brought this matter to the attention of the highways department this morning with a request that measures are taken urgently to make the pedestrian island safe again and reduce the risk of accidents.

My thanks go to the residents who took the time to raise this issue.

Upgrade works to the Haswell to Hart walkway at Hesleden

I've received confirmation from the council's countryside team this afternoon that works to upgrade the Haswell to Hart walkway are scheduled to begin tomorrow.

The upgrade is due to take place in the Hesleden area between the former pit heap site and Hesleden and are in part a follow up to my recent enquiries about fencing and security around the site. Please see full details below:

Hello Cllr Crute,

I hope you are well.

I just wanted to make you aware that improvement works to the H–H railway line between the Quarry and Hesleden are scheduled to begin tomorrow. These works will involve resurfacing sections of the route with tarmac, carrying out drainage improvements, and implementing target-hardening measures to protect the path and surrounding infrastructure.

The contractors have advised that the programme is expected to take approximately 2–3 weeks to complete, depending on weather conditions and progress on site. During this period, there may be temporary restrictions or short closures of certain sections of the path, along with the presence of machinery and work vehicles along the route.

I will continue to monitor the works and will provide updates should there be any significant changes to the timescale or access arrangements.

Community Action Team litter pick sessions in Blackhall Colliery

As regular readers of these pages will know the council's Community Action Team carried out another 12-week project in a defined area of Blackhall Colliery earlier this year. Full background details can be found in this link: Local Issues & Casework Update for January 2025

As the CAT team's visit to Blackhall Colliery drew to a close they made a commitment to continue arrange a series of bespoke sessions in the village. The CAT team leader has sent me details this week of two individual litter-picking sessions to take place later this month and again next month.

In addition the team leader has confirmed this week that the CAT team will return to Blackhall Colliery in May next year to carry out a review of this year's project. I'll publish full details as soon as I have more information.

In the meantime I've published full details below of the litter pick sessions:

Further to the Community Action Team in Blackhall Colliery at the start of the year, please find attached a poster for upcoming litter picks:

Wednesday 26^th November

Wednesday 3^rd December

Both at 10am. Meeting opposite Parish Council building, 68 Middle Street, Blackhall Colliery. All welcome.

Care home manager clarifies rumours about Yohden Care Complex in Blackhall Colliery

Earlier this week residents got in touch with me asking if I had any information about rumours circulating on social media and throughout the community relating to residents being removed from the Yohden Care Complex in Blackhall Colliery. Full background details can be found in this article from Monday evening: Council clarifies rumours relating to the Yohden Care Complex

Some of those rumours implied that sections of the care home were being considered for closure, so naturally the people who had contacted me were quite alarmed. To make matters worse, within minutes of the rumours going live there were comments on social media claiming that the care home was about to close in order to accommodate 'illegal immigrants' and asylum seekers. Although there wasn't a scrap of evidence to support any of those claims they created additional confusion and caused unnecessary anxiety amongst residents in the care home and in the wider community. 

In the hope of reassuring the people who had contacted me, along with the staff, residents and their families, I made further enquiries with the county council's commissioning team and director to get confirmation of what was actually happening at the home. 

I've now received the following response from the County Durham Care Partnership which clarifies the current position. Please note that the response to the closure rumours is based on information supplied by the manager at the Yohden Care Complex:

Further update:

Our CO has spoken to the manager at Yohden again today (and was there himself on Friday completing a QBA action plan follow up). She has reiterated that there are no plans to close and has provided feedback that rumours were started on Facebook yesterday. The post in question has since been taken down.  Comms have been issued by the provider re closure of the first floor of the home with both letters going out and meetings with residents’ families taking place at the start of the process. The small number of moves to their local / sister home (Field View) are almost complete, noting that 3 individuals originally planned as in scope remain at Yohden as they are currently meeting the threshold for nursing care and / or Field View has been determined to not fully meet their needs. 4 of the 5 LD SUs have moved to new providers, again with 1 individual remaining at Yohden due to nursing needs.

9 residents in total have moved out, to either Field View or an alternative LD provider – 5 General Res and 4 LD. That is less than originally planned, which they informed us about as per previous emails, due to consideration of needs along with families and SWs.

** has been in contact with the Regional Manager and Head Office have advised that another letter will be sent out to families to further allay fears, and they are discussing placing a banner outside of the home to advertise that they are still accepting admissions. The regional manager also reassures us directly that the home is not closing and that the plans remain as they advised originally. They will share a copy of the comms with us. The regional manager believes that some comments have been posted on social media by ex-staff members, which is not helping. He has suggested internally that the provider instigate some company social media regarding the home to try and give reassurances to the wider community.