Hartlepool Hospital Campaign Update

Hartlepool Mail

Please click on the link above for the latest on the Save Our Hospital campaign following my recommendation to contact the health service ombudsman.

For further information please see my post (Campaign for A&E at Hartlepool Hospital) dated Thursday 10 May 2012 (below).

Citizens Advice Bureau to continue in Blackhall

Vital village service saved - Hartlepool Mail

Click on the link above for details of how the CAB service in Blackhall has been saved.

Road Signs

I have received many complaints recently about traffic signs sprouting up all over Blackhall - often in places people don't want them and usually in the most unsuitable location.

Some weeks ago I asked for signs to be put up on Hesleden Road in Blackhall to direct vehicles to parking facilities at the community centre. This was to alleviate parking problems on Middle Street on the introduction of new parking restrictions there.

The signs were eventually erected - directing vehicles to the nearby medical centre! 

Obviously this created huge problems with drivers assuming (quite understandably) that they were entitled to park at the medical centre whilst doing their shopping, thus limiting parking for patients and medical staff.

After weeks of haggling and harassing highways officers at county hall I persuaded them to relocate the unwanted signs. Unfortunately they were put up on the pavement directly opposite the community centre - directly in the line of vision of residents in the bungalows. 

Back to the drawing board!

If you have any problems with inappropriate or incorrectly positioned road signs in your area please let me know.

Station Town & Hutton Henry Road Flooding

Drainage works on road - Hartlepool Mail

Click on the link above for details of drainage works to be carried out this week on the C22 between Station Town and Hutton Henry.

Roadworks at Station Town and Hutton Henry

Over the last week or two I have received reports of flooded patches across the road between Station Town and Hutton Henry (C22), and particularly outside Rodridge Hall. Clearly this is a problem made worse by recent heavy rain in the area.

I contacted the highway engineer's section at county hall and they have confirmed today that drainage works on the carriageway are to begin on 16 May and traffic lights will be in place for an estimated two days.

Please let me know if you are aware of any other road drainage problems in your area.

Campaign for A&E at Hartlepool Hospital

Following contact last week with the chairman of the Save our Hospital (SOH) campaign group we have agreed to open up a new front in the fight to save services at Hartlepool hospital.

I suggested that the group should contact the Parliamentary & Health Service Ombudsman (P&HSO) in order to challenge the Hartlepool & North Tees NHS Trust on its claims that it consulted the public on its proposals to close A&E at the Holdforth Road site.

The proposals had been included in the Trust's Momentum programme which I have insisted was never put before the public for consultation purposes (certainly in East Durham and the villages I represent) and that therefore the decision to close the A&E department was flawed and unsafe. In effect I am challenging the process rather than the end result though the clinical safety of the outcome remains the same.

The chairman of SOH has also contacted the NHS regulator Monitor to raise similar concerns and to ask the regulator to investigate the actions of the Trust in closing services at the hospital despite the public in Hartlepool and East Durham standing firmly opposed to those actions.

Both organisations have confirmed receipt of correspondence from SOH and I will keep you informed of developments as they arise.

Blackhall Rocks Picnic Area

I was at a meeting of the parish council's environment committee this afternoon where representatives from the Limestone Landscape and Durham Heritage Coast Partnerships were in attendance to discuss their proposals for improvements at the Blackhall Rocks picnic area (see blog post dated 28 March 2012 for further information).

The main areas proposed for works include:

•  The main car park: to be resurfaced and enlarged, with marked parking bays and improved signs and new bins. Proposals include a new picnic area for use by disabled people.
•  New coastal access route: to include new signs and seating on the new route from the main car park to the viewing area.
•  Proposed Traffic Prohibition Order: to restrict vehicles from the road between the main car park and the turning point at the steps. Emergency access would remain.
•  Turning point redevelopment: to include new signs and seating areas at the turning point at the top of the steps.

As I insisted earlier the proposals put forward by the Partnership must be put to the public for their information and also to ensure full engagement. There was general agreement this afternoon that if the scheme was not accepted and endorsed by the public the works would not proceed.

I have asked in particular that the Partnership ensures that user groups (such as walkers and anglers) are made fully aware of the proposals and that their comments and suggestions are taken into full consideration before any works are agreed to progress.

Please let me know if you have any comments or questions in relation to this matter.

Blackhall Skatepark Petition

I was at a meeting this morning of the Blackhall Community Youth Project (BCYP). This group was set up after the youth club in Middle Street closed last year and its overall remit is to identify gaps in youth provision in the Blackhall and Hesleden area and to set out a programme of activities and events which fill those gaps.

The group is represented by all key organisations and agencies in the area including the parish and county councils, East Durham Trust, East Durham Area Action Partnership, Blackhall Community Centre, One Point, Groundwork and all three primary schools. 

The main issue for discussion at this morning's meeting was the provision of a skatepark in the area.

A petition requesting a skatepark and signed by over 1,200 residents was handed recently to the clerk of Monk Hesleden Parish Council. This was then passed to the BCYP to ensure first of all that the signatories had the opportunity to put their case to the group, and also to enable the organisations involved to consider all options available.

It was agreed by those present that the overall aim of the group would be to provide a skatepark in the parish area if at all possible. It was acknowledged that there would be a number of obstacles to encounter in achieving this goal (mainly in terms of funding, land availability and public demand) but there was a general agreement that all options would remain open at this stage.

As a first step, in order to gauge public demand, the group is to explore the opportunity to provide a temporary skatepark in the area, perhaps over a full weekend in May or June. Partners will also work together to ensure that funding is made available to provide transport for young people from the area to get to the skatepark in Peterlee. 

Whatever is achieved in the future I am sure that it will be of considerable benefit to the young people in our area. I am impressed by the effort they have put into organising a campaign of this nature and feel that it must be rewarded. The BCYP, together with the wider community, will offer every support needed to ensure a positive outcome.

The group will meet again in June to consider further options but in the meantime please let me know if you have any comments you wish to make or if you would like to know more about the Blackhall Community Youth Project.