County Durham should celebrate the sacrifices made by our mining and armed forces communities

Durham County Council's public consultation on its Council Plan review comes to an end next week, so this is your last opportunity to let the council know what you think about the services it provides, how it links with its service plans and the priorities it has set out to improve the county.

By way of background the latest draft of the revised Council Plan was put before the authority's Corporate Overview & Scrutiny Management Board earlier this month to give members of the board an opportunity to comment on the council's current priorities.

In one section of the committee report I noticed that the authority is focused on how it will prioritise the armed forces community. On the assumption that this would include armed forces veterans I agreed that the council owes a debt of gratitude to those who have served our country and who might now struggle with some of the crises they might now face - whether that be through Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or difficulties in finding appropriate housing once they return home So it's only right that we recognise their contribution and prioritise their needs. 

In addition I reminded members of the board that we all represent the people and communities of County Durham and that many of the towns and villages across our county were established and sustained by generations of miners and their families, often in the face of dreadful working conditions, substandard housing and the illnesses and injuries they now suffer caused by years of toiling underground.

It's impossible to tell the story of County Durham without coal being at the heart of its legacy, so if we want to preserve our culture and heritage and recognise the contribution miners and their families have made to the county's development, and also acknowledge the miners' contribution to powering the nation through two world wars, we must also prioritise the wellbeing and welfare of the miners, their families and the communities they built and held together for generations.

County Durham can be proud of the men and women who served and continue to serve in the defence of our country against the threats we face today. Equally we can celebrate the contribution the miners and their families have made over the generations to build and sustain many of its towns and villages. The county wouldn't be the place we are all proud of today if it hadn't been for the collective sacrifices made by the men and women of Durham in generations past and those who keep our communities alive and thriving today. 

There's room to acknowledge the roles played by all of our many working communities in the past, regardless of occupation, and prioritise their needs for the years ahead. After all it's that diversity and the spirit of standing together in the face of adversity that's made our county the wonderful place it is today.

If you would like to comment on the council's consultation please follow the link below, but be quick. The exercise comes to an end next week:

Help shape the Council Plan 2027-2031 | Durham County Council

Road closed next week for Northumbrian Water sewer repair works

I've received notification from Durham County Council that the back lane between The Crescent and Middle Street in Blackhall Colliery will be closed to traffic for a period of up to 5 days from Monday 21 September to allow Northumbrian Water to carry out sewer repair works.

The rather formal notification I received is reproduced below for information:

COUNTY COUNCIL OF DURHAM ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT 1984 

TEMPORARY ROAD CLOSURE NOTICE BACK MIDDLE STREET, BLACKHALL COLLIERY 

WHEREAS THE COUNTY COUNCIL OF DURHAM BEING THE HIGHWAY AUTHORITY FOR THE BLACKHALL COLLIERY AREA IS SATISFIED THAT SUCH RESTRICTION IS NECESSARY TO PERMIT SEWER REPAIR WORKS ON OR ADJACENT TO THE SAID PUBLIC ROAD, THE COUNCIL IN EXERCISE OF ITS POWERS UNDER SECTION 14(2) OF THE ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT 1984, HEREBY GIVES NOTICE OF THE TEMPORARY CLOSURE TO VEHICULAR TRAFFIC OF A 115 METRE LENGTH OF BACK MIDDLE STREET BETWEEN THE JUNCTIONS OF HESLEDEN ROAD AND PARK AVENUE. 

THE MAXIMUM DURATION OF THE TEMPORARY CLOSURE UNDER THIS NOTICE IS 5 DAYS COMMENCING FROM 21 SEPTEMBER 2026. THE ANTICIPATED PERIOD OF CLOSURE IS 5 DAYS. AN ALTERNATIVE ROUTE FOR VEHICULAR TRAFFIC IS AVAILABLE FROM THE EAST SIDE OF THE CLOSURE VIA HESLEDEN ROAD, MIDDLE STREET AND BACK MIDDLE STREET TO THE WEST SIDE OF THE CLOSURE, AND VICE VERSA. 

Pass Wide & Slow 2026 - promoting road safety for horses and their riders

You can tell the summer months are on their last legs when the rain clouds gather and the time comes for the annual Pass Wide & Slow event. This year's campaign was organised by Denise Richardson and was hosted again by Glenn and Leisa at South Blackhall Farm on the Coast Road in Blackhall Rocks.

Once again there was a fantastic turnout by local riders and their horses who came together yesterday morning to take part in both short and long rides along organised routes in Blackhall Colliery, Blackhall Rocks and High Hesleden. The Blackhall event was just one of several similar rides taking part across the country, and the aims of the campaign are to highlight to drivers the risks to horses and their riders when drivers overtake at excessive speed or fail to allow sufficient safe space between their vehicle and horses. Full details can be found on the British Horse Society's website: Dead Slow | The British Horse Society 

Since last year's event I've been working with Denise and members of the regional BHS to improve access for horses and their riders, mainly along the coastal route but at other countryside locations too. The process is unnecessarily complicated, and the timescales at the moment aren't particularly helpful, but the campaign will continue for as long as it takes until access is granted for horses and their riders to long-established historic routes.

I would like to thank Denise for inviting me again to this year's event, to the many riders who came along to support the local campaign and of course to Glenn and Leisa for hosting us all. Thanks also to officers from Durham Constabulary who came along again to support the event and to make sure everyone stayed safe.

It was a pleasure to meet up again with local riders and play just a small part in their campaign to improve conditions on the highway for horses and their riders.

New flower planter at school bus stop attracts positive comments

I'd like to offer my thanks to the residents who have contacted me over the past few days to comment on the new flower planter installed earlier this week at the bus stop in front of Blackhall Colliery Primary School on Middle Street.

By way of background I was contacted a couple of months ago by a local resident who suggested that the area around the bus stop would benefit from a few minor improvements. With that in mind I approached the clerk to Monk Hesleden Parish Council to see what the parish thought about placing a flower planter next to the bus stop to add some colour and to tidy the area up a bit.

Together we put a plan in place where I would provide the funding and the parish would arrange for their estates management team to install the planter. The work was completed earlier this week and from the comments I've received since residents have noticed the immediate improvement. This latest work follows enhancements to the seating area further down Middle Street last year where the parish council repaired the damaged fence on their land and installed flower beds on either side of the bench.

Given the success of this latest addition we'll continue to work together to carry out further improvements where they are most needed in other parts of Blackhall and Hesleden.

My thanks go to the clerk and members of the parish council for their help with this initiative, and especially to the council's estates management team under the supervision of Antony Peace. I'm sure residents will agree that their hard work and devotion to improving our villages have made a real difference.

Tea & Chat at St Andrew's continues to provide a vital service to our community

For some time now, along with Monk Hesleden Parish Council, I've been helping to fund and support the monthly Tea & Chat events at St Andrew's church hall on The Crescent in Blackhall Colliery. So it was nice to receive warm words of thanks earlier this week from the organiser George Duddin on behalf of the St Andrew's Neighbourhood Outreach Group and Fr Kyle:

Hello Lynda and Rob,

Today was the tea n chat and as usual 55 people turned up and had a good time. Fun meeting their friends, good food and of course the raffle and bingo.

This month's tea n chat marked the end our fourth year as it all began in September 2022.

It has remained a big part of peoples lives since then so as we start the fifth year next month, St Andrews Neighbourhood Outreach Group would like to say a very big thank you for your continued support each year.

It has made a huge difference to the people of our parish.

Thank you.

Best wishes,

George

In return I would like to thank George, Fr Kyle and the members of the Outreach Group for the last four years of providing a vital service in our village. Their events offer friendship, company and much more for many residents in Blackhall and beyond. Without their initiative and tireless work our community would be so much the poorer.

I wish them good look for the future.

Date set for the Benridge Solar Farm planning application

I received notification yesterday afternoon that the Benridge Solar Farm planning application will be put before the council's Countywide Planning Committee next week for a decision:

Application Ref: DM/25/01964/FPA 

Site Address: Land To The East, South And West Of Benridge Farm, Fillpoke Lane Blackhall Rocks TS27 4BT 

Proposal: Installation of a solar farm together with all associated works, equipment and necessary infrastructure including battery storage. 

The above application which relates to a proposal within your Electoral Division is to be reported to the County Planning Committee on 29 July 2026 in the Council Chamber, County Hall, Durham, DH1 5UL at 1pm.

The full committee report can be found in this link: DM-25-01964-FPA Benridge Farm Solar Farm 

Although the planning case officer has recommended that the application should be approved it should be noted that this is just a recommendation and does not represent a decision. A decision on whether the proposal should be approved or rejected will be made by members of the planning committee next week. 

Alongside a local residents group and the local Parish Council I have opposed this development from day one, and my written objections have been submitted to the county council for the attention of planning committee members. Given the quality of the objections raised by the local community I'm confident that, despite the case officer's recommendation, planning committee members will be sufficiently convinced by the evidence to refuse this application.

Details of the local campaign can be found here: Residents' campaign to oppose Benridge Solar Farm

My letter of objection can be found in this link: Formal objections to the Benridge Solar Farm planning application

Changes to planning system will silence local voices

Durham County Council met on Wednesday 15 July to discuss amongst other issues the local impact of the Planning & Infrastructure Act 2025. In essence the government is proposing changes through the Town & Country Planning Regulations that will refer most minor planning applications to senior officers of the council for a decision rather than put them before the council's area planning committees for deliberation as they do at the moment.

As things stand Durham County Council has a Countywide planning committee which considers major planning applications such as large-scale housing developments and infrastructure issues such as wind and solar farms. Alongside this committee there are also three Area planning committees where relatively minor planning applications are decided. However a majority of minor planning matters are already referred to senior planning officers or directors who make decisions by themselves under what is known as Delegated Authority. At the moment local members have the right to refer any potentially contentious matter to the planning committee for a decision, and this is where residents and their local councillor have the opportunity to tell committee members what they think of a particular planning application.

Changes through the Town & Country Planning Regulations are to due to come into force on 31 October this year, which will mean the three Area committees will be scrapped, with most applications to be decided under Delegated Authority instead. Although the Countywide committee will continue it will subsume the responsibilities of the Highways committee which will also cease to exist from 31 October.

At Wednesday's council meeting I raised my objections to the changes because they remove the right of residents and local councillors to have their say on planning matters that might affect them and their communities. I fully acknowledge the need to speed up the government's pledge to deliver on its housebuilding programme - something that will bring housing developments to those locations where it's most needed - but there are better ways to achieve those aims other than to silence the voices of local communities.

For decades planning committees have been one of the main ways for residents and their local councillors to have a direct input on issues that shape their own villages and towns. This is a vital element of local democracy, especially so in this case because no one knows their own communities better than the residents who live there and have sustained them for generations,

By way of a local example of the potential problems ahead, there's a developer currently making preliminary enquires about potential housing developments on two patches of land in our villages (full details here: Developer seeks public opinion on potential housing development sites). There has been no planning application submitted at the moment, but if the developer eventually decides to go ahead and submit an application it's likely that local residents will no longer have the opportunity to air their views in front of the council's planning committee. Instead the decision will be made under delegated authority by an officer of the council, and I don't think that's good enough.

I'm not implying that officers aren't able to make decisions of this nature, in most cases they do that already, but I'm genuinely concerned that the people who know their own villages better than anyone else will no longer be able to put their case in the public arena of a planning committee. That cannot be seen as anything other than a retrograde step that closes down the voices of the people who matter the most and will be most affected by planning decisions.

The Planning & Infrastructure Act is already up and running so the chances of anything changing soon are slim at best. But that doesn't mean we should back away or stay silent on matters like this that will conceal the decision-making process behind closed doors and undermine local democracy itself.

As this is a central government issue I've contacted the office of the Easington MP Grahame Morris with a request that our concerns are raised in all the right places. If the government is serious about empowering local communities they could get off to a good start by making sure that the decision-making process on planning matters remains in the hands of local authority members and the residents they're elected to represent.

Request for Chimneys update

Over the weekend I was contacted by a couple of local residents curious to know what's been happening lately with Chimneys - formerly known as The Trust on East Street in Blackhall Colliery.

I've asked the planning department this morning for an update on what progress has been made since the owners submitted a planning application to re-open the building as accommodation for people with autism and learning disabilities.

I'll post a full update as soon as I have a response from the service, but in the meantime you can get the latest information about this issue in an article I published on these pages last year: https://robcrute-blackhall.blogspot.com/2025/01/conversion-works-continue-at-former.html

Care provider puts an end to unfounded rumours about the Yohden Care Complex

Last week I was contacted by someone concerned about yet more rumours about the future of the Yohden Care Complex in Blackhall Colliery. This followed similar rumours circulating throughout the community last year, amid baseless claims that the facility was scheduled to close. Full background details can be found here: Care home manager clarifies rumours about Yohden Care Complex in Blackhall Colliery

Although these repeated rumours are nipped in the bud almost immediately they still crop up every few months and they are having a profoundly unsettling impact on staff and residents at the care complex and also on the rest of our community.

Rather than contact the care complex I've been in touch with the Adult & Health Services department at Durham County Council. They've contacted the care provider direct who has confirmed that parts of the complex have been closed temporarily for redecoration and planned maintenance works only. Once again they've quashed the rumours as absolutely unfounded. 

I've reproduced the full statement from the service below in the hope they bring assurance to the staff and residents:

We have again checked the concerns with the provider who own the care home (Maria Milliband Care Group). Following discussions with MMCG’s Regional Director, it has been confirmed that the provider has temporarily closed “The Court” area of the home to allow for planned maintenance and redecoration works to be completed. As there were already a number of vacant rooms within this part of the home, remaining residents were relocated to a more central area whilst the improvement works are undertaken. Staff have been informed of the changes according to the regional director.

We were told that the works are intended to enhance the overall environment and appearance of the home. MMCG has confirmed that there remain no plans to close the home, and that the temporary closure of The Court is solely to facilitate refurbishment and maintenance activities.

Developer seeks public opinion on potential housing development sites

A developer is making early, preliminary enquiries about two sites for potential housing developments: one adjacent to Weym’s farm in Hesleden and one to the east of the Black Path on the Blackhall Colliery side.

There has been no planning application submitted at this stage because the developer wants to gauge the opinion of residents first before they make a decision about whether it’s worth going ahead with their plans.

The developer has offered to hold open days in both villages at some point in the future to meet with residents and answer any queries and comments. At this stage though this is simply a developer putting the feelers out to see whether this is something the community would support.

This post is intended for information purposes only. All comments and queries should be sent direct to the developer for their attention: siteplanco@gmail.com