Reports of speeding vehicles and dangerous driving in Hesleden

Over the weekend a resident contacted me expressing concerns about road safety on Gray Avenue in Hesleden following a traffic-related incident there on Saturday. I'm advised that the incident was reported to the police so as a first step I’ll contact them to ask for more information about the accident.

By way of background I was last contacted about speeding vehicles on Gray Avenue in October 2023. At the time the police carried out a community speedwatch exercise which was inconclusive in showing any specific incidents of speeding vehicles (apparently no vehicles were recorded exceeding the speed limit during the course of the exercise). 

However, that was just a snapshot in time on a particular day so any reports of an increase in daily reckless driving incidents since then must be taken seriously by the authorities. With that in mind, as soon as I have more information from the police I’ll also contact the highways authority with a request they liaise with the police to come up with a range of options to reduce the risk of accidents caused by dangerous driving practices and speeding vehicles on Gray Avenue.

As a community we should all have the safety of children and young people foremost in our minds and at the top of the agenda in everything we do. This includes addressing the risks associated with speeding vehicles and dangerous driving whenever they come to light, especially where it is reported to be happening on a daily basis. Those concerns are likely to be heightened now that the school holidays have begun so I’ll make every effort to press the authorities to consider installing any traffic calming measures on Gray Avenue that will address residents’ concerns.

An evidence base of regular incidents will be invaluable in building support for measures to tackle local road safety concerns at this location, so if residents have any similar incidents to report please contact the police on every occasion. If you have any difficulty in contacting the police let me know and I'll take it up on your behalf. 

I’ll raise local awareness of this issue on social media in the hope it prompts other residents to report any future incidents to the police.

Community Activities Update for June 2025

Since my most recent community activities update last month I’ve raised over 65 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 85 individual residents. Almost all of these queries are personal and/or confidential so for obvious reasons details cannot and will not be disclosed to the public.

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

The main issues covered this month include schoolchildren's ideas about improving our communities, an update on streetlighting repairs at Blackhall Rocks, measures to protect public sites from unauthorised encampment or trespass and details of a new PACT meeting for Hesleden. 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 links below for full details, and as usual if you have any queries or comments that require a response please get in touch with me direct at: rob.crute@durham.gov.uk

Parking enforcement in Blackhall Colliery

Council responds to residents' concerns about parking restrictions at the Scheme Houses

Measures to prevent potential unauthorised encampment

Reform UK urged to come clean about DOGE access to public data

Notes from the Hesleden PACT meeting - Friday 27 June

Following up residents' reports

Children lead the way in improving their communities

Inconsiderate parking and reports of untaxed vehicles

Update on streetlight repairs at Broad Road, Blackhall Rocks

Update on streetlight repairs at Broad Road, Blackhall Rocks

Last month I reported a streetlight outage at Broad Road in Blackhall Rocks after residents told me the street had been in almost complete darkness for some time.

Shortly afterwards I checked on progress and was told there was a major structural fault in the system and that Northern Powergrid would need to carry out repairs. Background details can be found here in a monthly community update report I posted earlier this month: Community Activities Update for May 2025

Earlier this week a resident contacted me to let me know that the lights had still not been fixed so I contacted the council again to get an update from Northern Powergrid on what had happened so far and to find out when the lights would be repaired. I've reproduced the response from NP below in full:

'Northern Powergrid are booked in mid-July to carry out new connections along this stretch of road - this was the agreed course of action once the major fault was investigated.'

Hopefully Northern Powergrid will complete their repair works soon and get the streetlights at Broad Road back in full working order again.

Inconsiderate parking and reports of untaxed vehicles

I've been contacted recently by residents reporting inconsiderate and obstructive parking in some of the residential streets in Blackhall. In addition, some residents had asked if parking bays or a permit only scheme could be applied to selected streets where parking is seen as a persistent problem. 

In my experience requests like this tend to be resisted by other residents nearby, either because of the costs involved or the knock-on effect of restricting parking to residents only. The most frequent objection to requests of this nature is around the inconvenience caused when family and visitors call to a property, only to find they are unable to park in the street because of the permit only restrictions in place.

However, I raised the issue of permit only restrictions on behalf of the residents who had been in touch with me. I've reproduced below the response received from the service.

Dear Councillor Crute

Thank you for your service request regarding parking issues.

Resident Parking

In the first instance our policy states that we will not designate bays or areas for resident only parking. However, we will consider requests for permit only areas which are designed to displace long stay commuter parking but not short stay visitors. To this end a permit scheme will only operate for 1 hour in the morning and 1 hour in the afternoon.

Permit Parking Areas will only be introduced in line with the following qualifying criteria:

Permit parking areas will only be considered for residential streets within commercial areas which are subject to a high demand for commuter parking.

Initial requests for a permit parking scheme must be accompanied by support from at least 25% of the households in the street or from a local member on behalf of the residents.

More than 40% of kerbside space is occupied by non-residents for over six hours in the survey period and more than 85% of kerbside space is occupied by any vehicles during the same six hours.

Where support has been gained from at least 75% or above of the properties included within the proposed permit area. We must advise that the cost of administering such a scheme is required to be funded by residents, and from past experience a scheme will inevitably result in displaced parking affecting neighbouring streets and can impact on a town’s vitality and economic wellbeing. 

Additionally, permit schemes can often cause inconvenience to residents and their visitors and may not be considered a worthwhile solution by all residents therefore unfortunately, a permit parking scheme would not meet the criteria at this location.

Caravans

We have asked Customer Services to reallocate this issue to Highway Services - Business Support for Neighbourhood Wardens to investigate.

Untaxed Vehicles

If vehicles do not have Tax/MOT, then these should be reported to the DVLA. These details can be checked via the DVLA online form at DVLA Report Untaxed Vehicle [Opens in a new tab].

We would also advise that if vehicles are causing an obstruction of the road or footpaths, then this should be reported to the police on their 101 number as they have powers to enforce such offences.

Children lead the way in improving their communities

I had a fantastic afternoon in county hall yesterday with STARS Community Learning CIC, Believe Housing and children from some of our local schools talking about the issues that face them and their communities.

The children spoke out about a whole range of local issues, from litter, speeding vehicles and unruly dogs to Christmas gifts for disadvantaged children and improvements in the education system. They then took a vote and agreed their own priorities to address over the coming weeks and months. 

The topics they picked, and the way they spoke when presenting their ideas, showed their caring nature and a willingness to play their part in making our communities safer and better places to live. 

I hope the children enjoyed the session as much as I did, and I look forward to welcoming them back into county hall in the near future to hear more about their initiatives and how their projects have progressed. 

Well done to everyone who played a part, and especially our young people who showed the way forward and represented their schools and communities in a way we should all be proud of. They give us all a much-needed assurance that the future of our communities will be safe in their hands if they're given the chance to play their part in shaping it.

Following up residents' reports

On an increasingly rare morning without any formal meetings arranged I’ve taken the opportunity to follow up on one or two issues reported to me recently by residents. Most have already been reported to the authorities for their attention, so in those cases I’ve asked for an update on progress. These incidents include:

• Paint-damaged property in First Street (reported some time ago)
• Open access at an empty property in Middle Street (reported on Friday evening)
• Dogs reported by residents to be left alone in two separate properties (recently reported, with investigation ongoing)
• Fly-tipping and overgrowth in some of the alleys at the Scheme Houses

Notes from the Hesleden PACT meeting - Friday 27 June

The first PACT meeting for Hesleden was held in Hesleden WMC on Friday 27 June and there was a great turnout from residents who came along to meet with the neighbourhood wardens, elected members of the parish council and county council and representatives from the Hesledens Residents' Association (HRA).

The police had been involved in a separate operation on Friday so unfortunately they weren't able to attend the PACT meeting, but we'll approach the police to suggest that another one is arranged soon to compensate.

There were a few issues reported about ongoing issues in the village - mainly related to anti-social behaviour which are now being dealt with by the police and neighbourhood wardens. There were also reports from residents about littering and other environmental issues in and around the village. These have now been raised with the appropriate agencies for their attention.

Separately I've contacted officers in the council's countryside team to raise concerns on behalf of residents about access to the Haswell to Hart walkway by off-road bikes. I've asked for target-hardening measures to be installed to prevent illegal access to bikes. I've also asked the team to clean up the ponds along the walkway at the bottom of both East Terrace and Station Road. I've offered to arrange a meeting on site with countryside officers and someone from the HRA and parish council if this would help.

At the end of the meeting I suggested that in future we could align PACT sessions with the Hesleden Residents' Association meetings. It was also suggested that a ward surgery could be incorporated so that residents could contact me direct if they have any specific issues they would like to discuss outside the main meeting. This was agreed, so along with the HRA we'll make the necessary arrangements with the police and other agencies involved.

Ward surgeries & PACT meetings in Blackhall and Hesleden

I had an unusually quiet session at this morning's ward surgery in Blackhall library. It's normally very busy in the library on a Friday morning, but I'm aware there were other events taking place around the same time today so that would explain the low turnout on this occasion. However, I've had a few issues reported by residents that are now being dealt with by the appropriate authorities.

My next ward surgery is scheduled to take place in the Parish Offices at 9am on Thursday 17 July. However, if you have any issues you would like me to know about before then please get in touch and I'll see what I can do to help: rob.crute@durham.gov.uk

As previously advertised there will be a PACT (Police & Communities Together) meeting held this evening at 6pm in Hesleden WMC. Unfortunately the police are not able to come along on this occasion, but rather than cancel the meeting I'll be there, alongside the neighbourhood wardens and the parish councillors for the village.

Please follow the link for full details: https://robcrute-blackhall.blogspot.com/.../update-on...

Update on attendance at the Hesleden PACT meeting

Earlier this week notices were distributed advertising a PACT (Police & Communities Together) meeting scheduled to be held tomorrow evening (Friday 27 June) at 6pm in Hesleden WMC.

Unfortunately the police have since confirmed that due to circumstances beyond their control they will not now be able to attend as arranged.

However, rather than cancel the meeting I will still come along in case their are any issues that residents might want to raise with me as the county councillor for the village. I'm advised that local parish councillors and the neighbourhood wardens will be in attendance too.

Obviously I won't be able to speak for the police or deal with any police-related matters so the police have forwarded an update in advance. If there are any issues you would like to report to the police please use the contact details shown below.

The police have confirmed they'll do whatever they can to make arrangements to hold an additional PACT meeting to compensate for their absence tomorrow evening. 

Please see below update for PACT meeting again apologies we are unable to attend in person due to things out of our control, however we will make every effort to attend the next PACT meeting.

If anyone who has attended specifically to speak to their local officer, please pass on our contact details below. 

Police Update

• The multi-user walkway from Castle Eden down to Crimdon is a Section 59 area, we have lots of reports with off-road bike issues.  Following on from this we carried out Operation Endurance and issued 5 Community Protection Warnings. These vehicles were coming into the area from Darlington transporting off-road bikes and at present they have not been seen since. We have had some calls weekend just gone we believe these have come from Hartlepool and we are liaising with Cleveland re access points etc.
• Off-road bikes on the lines on Monday 23/06/2025 although this was a picture at Crimdon Beach they were in Heselden and on the lines on this day.
• We have spoken to an individual about their usage of an off-road bike and will develop this further.
• We have carried out high vis patrols around the cemetery following reports of ASB and drug activity, no issues identified.

Local officer contacts

PC Pinkney geoff.pinkney@durham.police.uk

PCSO Anderson gemma.anderson@durham.police.uk

PCSO Hall katie.hall@durham.police.uk

Reform UK urged to come clean about DOGE access to public data

Yesterday morning I attended a meeting of Durham County Council's Corporate Overview & Scrutiny Management Board (COSMB) - the first one held since Reform UK took control of the council last month. 

Agenda items for discussion included the forthcoming Best Value and Corporate Peer Challenge scheduled to take place in October. There was also the opportunity for members to shape the Board's work programme for the coming year.

The Best Value and Corporate Peer Review Challenge is run by the Local Government Association (LGA) and is intended in part to measure a local authorities' application of Best Value standards which are an essential element in ensuring the efficiency and effectiveness of council-run services. The application of Best Value also gives an assurance to members of the public that their council is fully committed to getting value for money when it delivers the local public services we all rely on. The initial stages of the process were begun last year under the former coalition in control of the council and are expected to continue in October this year under the new Reform UK administration.

My concerns about how the current Reform UK leadership is preparing for the LGA review were piqued last week when the leader of the council stated in a recorded meeting of the council's cabinet that his administration's policies 'will not necessarily align with the principles of Best Value' - an astonishing statement considering that every local authority's evaluation of effective and efficient public services are founded on those very principles! 

I suggested that members of the Board should include the LGA's review and peer challenge in the coming year's work programme. This would enable non-executive councillors to follow the process throughout. The LGA's report will be published after the inspection has concluded and the cabinet is expected to respond within a defined timeframe. Board members felt it was important that they had oversight of the cabinet's initial position statement and its response to the LGA, so for those reasons the review has now been added to the work programme.

Another issue I've asked to be included in the work programme relates to Reform UK's proposed DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) initiative, which has been borrowed from a similar scheme adopted by the Trump/Musk regime in the US - and something that hasn't quite been the roaring success it was intended to be. Under Reform UK's plans a team of 'world-beating' software engineers would be given open access to the council's data and records with the intention of identifying waste in public services - or at least those services that managed somehow to survive years of unnecessary austerity unleashed by the Tory party and were supported (somewhat ironically) by Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK.

As I said at the Board meeting yesterday, no one in county hall should have any fear of scrutiny - after all the council’s financial dealings and treasury management systems have always been open to rigorous scrutiny over the years by both internal and external auditors. 

However, several residents have contacted me expressing their concerns about who Reform UK’s 'world-beating' software engineers actually are, who is running things behind the scenes, which data will they demand to see and what do they then intend to do with it - and for what purpose.

There are additional concerns about how sensitive personal data will be used (such as details of council tax and housing benefit claims, family details in cases of children's social services queries and many more), and perhaps most importantly concerns about who will actually own the data harvested throughout the process. Members of the public want to know if their personal details will be covered under general data protection regulations (GDPR) that are intended to protect citizens from improper use of data. Once the data has been accessed by Reform UK or its software engineers who will it belong to? Will the company have control of the data and personal information or will Reform UK seize it? And again, what will the party and/or their data company do with the information once they've trawled through it?

No one in public service should be running scared of public scrutiny and accountability. But equally, Reform UK's data grab project must also be open to public scrutiny and accountability. Otherwise there may well be unanswered concerns that Reform UK is operating furtively under the radar of public scrutiny.

The Northern Echo published an account of yesterday's Board meeting (link below), and the article has elicited some quite hysterical (and predictable) comments about everyone at the county council having ‘something to hide’. As far as I'm aware this isn't the case - but equally, if the leaders of Reform UK want to be seen as open and engaging they should come clean with members of the public. We need to have full disclosure of their DOGE data access programme and then hold it open to all members of the council and the people of County Durham they represent. 

Anything less than full disclosure might lead residents to think that it's Reform UK itself that has something to hide.

Durham councillors “in the dark” over Reform Doge plans | The Northern Echo

Measures to prevent potential unauthorised encampment

I was contacted last night by a resident who had heard rumours of a potential unauthorised encampment on land to the rear of the Esso service station on the Coast Road in Blackhall. 

Although this is just hear-say at the moment I thought it best to raise the matter with the relevant authorities rather than risk a repeat of events associated with the most recent illegal trespass on land at the former colliery site back in 2013. 

I've written to the council and other authorities this morning with a request that whichever measures required are put in place to prevent any unauthorised encampment on this land. I'll update on any significant developments as and when they arise. 

Council responds to residents' concerns about parking restrictions at the Scheme Houses

Last week I published a couple of articles relating to the council's intention to introduce parking restrictions at a number of defined locations at the Scheme Houses. Full background details can be found in this link: Update on the council's proposal to introduce parking restrictions at the Scheme House

Since then I've made representations to the council on behalf of residents who understandably have concerns about the impact these restrictions might have in terms of displacing their vehicles, especially when there are severely limited on-street parking spaces elsewhere. 

I've now received a response from the council and I've reproduced their comments below in full. I'm preparing to go back to the council with further comments so if you have anything you would like me to raise on your behalf please let me know by emailing me at: rob.crute@durham.gov.uk 

Good afternoon Cllr Crute,

These proposals are being introduced to support Rule 243 of the Highway Code which states:

'Do not stop or park opposite or within 10 metres (32 feet) of a junction, except in an authorised parking space.'

This rule is designed to:

• Maintain clear visibility for drivers entering or exiting junctions,
• Ensure emergency and larger vehicles can manoeuvre safely,
• And reduce the risk of accidents caused by obstructed views.

We recognise that with the continued rise in car ownership, on-street parking has become increasingly common. While we aim to accommodate this where possible, it must be balanced with the need to maintain safety and accessibility. As such, residents are not guaranteed parking directly outside their homes, though we do strive to keep the extent of restrictions to a minimum while addressing the concerns raised.

With regard to the potential displacement of parking near the park, the relevant team has been notified and will assess the current traffic calming measures in that area in relation to vehicle speeds. With regard to displacement, this will be assessed by our team to ensure that any further restrictions are precisely targeted, avoiding the unnecessary removal of additional parking.

During the informal consultation stage, we notified directly affected frontages to ensure awareness of the proposals. The current on-site notices serve as the formal advertisement and provide an opportunity for all interested parties to submit comments. For your reference, I’ve attached a list of the properties that received letters during the informal stage, along with a plan highlighting the affected frontages.

In response to the suggestion of time-based restrictions aligned with refuse collection, this is not a viable option in this instance. Access for larger vehicles, including emergency services, must be maintained at all times. As previously mentioned, we have sought to limit the scope of the proposals to balance resident parking needs with essential access requirements.

Update on the council's proposal to introduce parking restrictions at the Scheme House

Earlier this week I posted an article setting out the council's intention to impose parking restrictions at a number of defined locations throughout the Scheme Houses. It is understood that these measures are deemed necessary to enable access for refuse and recycling bin motors to the side streets which are sometimes blocked by vehicles parked at the street ends. You can read full background details here: Council set to impose parking restrictions at the Scheme Houses and Blackhall Rocks

Since I posted that article I've made written representations to the officer dealing with the council's proposals. I've published my communication below for information. 

Good morning ******,

Ref: 10386989

I was contacted last night by several residents from the Scheme Houses estate in Blackhall Colliery after notices had been erected earlier in the day advising of the traffic order mentioned in your email.

Many of the residents were concerned about the potential impact of the traffic order which will restrict parking at several locations on the estate. Their main issue was with the potentially unintended consequences of parking restrictions which would force residents to park elsewhere in streets that are already fully occupied with vehicles. Some had concerns that this would impact on road safety at children’s play area nearby at Coleridge Avenue, while others were worried that they would have nowhere at all to park due to the heavily congested streets along Shaftesbury Road and others branching off from it.

I was also told by some residents that they had no idea about the proposals until yesterday when the notices were put up. I’m aware that a form of consultation was carried out earlier this year to gauge residents’ feelings about the parking plans but I’m not sure about the extent of the consultation nor of its outcome. If this information could be supplied it might well allay local concerns, although it is unlikely to address residents’ frustration that no other options were offered to deal with obstructive parking at these locations.

As with almost all residents in the area I acknowledge that measures need to be put in place to enable refuse and recycling motors to access the bins left in the side streets, however it would be helpful if more information could be given on the points raised above.

I notice you are out of the office for the time being so I look forward to receiving your comments when you return next week.

After I posted details earlier this week on social media I was contacted by a resident at the Scheme Houses who suggested a compromise proposal whereby the planned restrictions would only be applied during a time-limited period, for example on a Friday morning and early afternoon when the majority of bins are empties at the Scheme Houses.

This seems to be a sensible and workable alternative that would free up the streets at peak times and also address the concerns of the residents who have contacted me about this matter so I've raised it with the officer concerned with a request it is considered as a compromise.

Good morning ******,

Ref: 10386989

Further to my email to you yesterday a resident has contacted me to ask if time-limited restrictions could be applied rather than the blanket restrictions set out in the notice received earlier this week. It is suggested for example that parking restrictions could be imposed during the hours preceding and during the hours of refuse and recycling collection operations (ie, 7am to 3pm each Friday).

This seems to be a sensible compromise that might also address the concerns of many residents as detailed in my email yesterday. Could you let me know please if this alternative could be workable.

The officer dealing with this issue is away from the council until next week so I'll update on progress as soon as I have a response.