Me and Lynn have been contacted several times recently by residents in Blackhall concerned about rumours circulating throughout the village of a horse fair to be held over the August Bank Holiday weekend.
By way of background to these rumours, police have told us that Blackhall is one of five potential sites identified by travellers for a horse fair. The rumoured site in Blackhall is thought to be the former pit site, which is owned and managed by Durham County Council. Given the site ownership we have asked the council to secure the access gates from the nearby Hackworth Road industrial estate to prevent illegal access.
Our main concern, apart from the disruption and clearance costs associated with similar past events in nearby villages, is that the former pit site is used for emergency services access to the rail track in the event of an accident. For this reason we consider that it is vital that this land is kept clear at all times.
We have told the police and the council, that for mainly public safety reasons, we are opposed to any event or trespass taking place on this site. Further, the council is to seek legal advice with a view to serving an injunction to prevent illegal access to the pit site. It is felt that there are many alternative sites available which are much safer for all concerned.
Police insist that they understand residents concerns but feel that gypsies and travellers are inclined to pitch up on any land they think is suitable for their needs, regardless of safety issues and the potential impact on settled communities. It is noted that in previous years they have camped in Seaham, Horden and Easington, amongst others, despite warnings from the police and council that they are breaking the law. It should also be made absolutely clear at this point that neither the council nor the police have given consent for any event of this nature to take place.
We want to assure residents that we understand and share their concerns about the potential for an event of this nature to take place in our area. We also want to assure the community that, to ensure their safety and to keep this area clear for emergency access, we will continue to do everything we possibly can to prevent this event going ahead in this location.
We are due to receive an update from police and council officers within the next day or two and we will keep our residents informed of developments as they arise.
Wednesday 31 July 2013
Thursday 11 July 2013
Access gates to be made secure at Hackworth Road industrial estate
We have received reports recently from residents concerned that the gates at the southern end of the Hackworth Road industrial estate, leading onto the former pit site, had been damaged to the extent that trespass was possible. It was reported that children had been seen playing in the area which adjoins the railway track - itself open to trespass. The risks involved are serious and obvious and need not be detailed here.
The estates department at county hall has been made aware of this problem and we have expressed our concerns, on behalf of residents, that if this illegal and dangerous access issue is not addressed immediately there could be a tragedy on the site.
It is also noted that the former pit site should be kept clear of any obstructions at all times to ensure that utilities companies and emergency vehicles can get onto the site whenever required. We will do all we can to make sure that this area is made secure in order to prevent access or obstruction and to ensure the safety of residents and visitors alike.
The estates department at county hall has been made aware of this problem and we have expressed our concerns, on behalf of residents, that if this illegal and dangerous access issue is not addressed immediately there could be a tragedy on the site.
It is also noted that the former pit site should be kept clear of any obstructions at all times to ensure that utilities companies and emergency vehicles can get onto the site whenever required. We will do all we can to make sure that this area is made secure in order to prevent access or obstruction and to ensure the safety of residents and visitors alike.
Fighting to return the 206 bus service
Following a meeting of Hutton Henry parish council in July, and on the back of a number of queries from residents throughout our county division, me and Lynn have again contacted the public transport department at county hall to express our concerns about the impact on our communities of reduced and withdrawn bus services.
We are keen to secure the best outcome possible for our residents and we think that the best way to do this is to continue to negotiate with the relevant agencies. Clearly we are better armed with your comments, queries and suggestions so please contact us if you have anything you would like us to know about the withdrawal of services in the Blackhalls area, particularly issues about the impact on communities of service reductions.
To avoid confusion, we have copied in full the response we received from the transport section at DCC:
The 206 service, operated by Go North East, runs from Peterlee via Blackhall, Hesleden and Castle Eden, terminating in an anticlockwise loop Fir Tree - Wingate - Station Town -
Hutton Henry; then continuing via the A19 to Wellfield interchange and
continuing via Castle Eden etc back to Peterlee.
Go North East formerly ran the entire service under a contract with DCC. From
the retendering of the bus service contracts in the area last year, they took
on the main part of the service on a commercial (unsubsidised) basis, although
the timetable was to be unchanged. They took on several other other local
services in the Peterlee area in the same way.
However, after GoNE had submitted their tender, the situation has been
materially affected by Arriva's revamp of their own commercial services in the
area, which took effect at the same date as the change in the contracts. Arriva
increased the frequency and effectiveness of their services in several areas,
including the Wingate/Station - Peterlee corridor (where Arriva's frequency has
increased from 1 to 2 per hour) and between Peterlee and Blackhall (where
Arriva has increased their services from 3 to 4 per hour).
While Arriva's changes have been good for some people (for example people
travelling Station Town / Wingate - Peterlee), the impact has been that the
revenue taken by the GoNE local services has been reduced materially,
especially in the case of service 206. The majority of the revenue of service
206 was from people travelling between Peterlee and Blackhall, and between
Peterlee and Wingate, and in both sections Arriva has taken many of the
passengers. The places that are uniquely served by service 206 (Hesleden, Castle
Eden and Hutton Henry) are quite small and typically there are only a small
number of passengers on each bus to/from these places. This means the
overall revenue generated from passengers has proved insufficient to make the
originally intended timetable viable. A reduced timetable was therefore
introduced by Go North East with effect from 24th March 2013. Local services
between Peterlee and Easington Colliery and Peterlee and Horden were also
reduced at the same date, for similar reasons.
GoNE's decision that they could not sustain the whole original timetable
emerged at quite short notice. While the reduced service does provide for most
key needs, we do need to review the situation to see whether there is scope to
do better. (eg - it would be better if there was a journey from Peterlee at
about 0915 to provide a better timed morning journey for shoppers etc.)
Now that the role being performed by the service is focussed on the needs in
the section between Wingate, Hutton Henry, Castle Eden, Hesleden and Blackhall
it may be that a more "micro-bus" type of service would be more
appropriate, rather than the "mainstream" sort of service that GoNE
provides - although in all of this the key constraint is that DCC has to work
within the current funding provison for subsiding socially necessary services.
We obviously need to hear the views and preferences of users of the service and
it would be very helpful to learn any specific issues that are raised through
the parish council.
I will be back in touch with you and the the other local councillors once we
have been able to do more investigations. In the meantime, do get in touch if
you have any queries or if I can be of any further assistance.
Tuesday 9 July 2013
NHS consultation - Proposals to transfer further services from Hartlepool to Stockton
We both attended an NHS Trust consultation event in July to place on record our opposition to the Trust's proposals to transfer 100 critical care unit beds and associated services from Hartlepool hospital to North Tees.
The Trust has insisted that the proposed transfer is required because of the delay in building the new, unwanted, hospital at Wynyard. They suggest that clinical safety at Hartlepool hospital cannot be guaranteed without carrying out the recommendations of the National Clinical Advisory Team (NCAT) and the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) to transfer services and staff to Stockton.
We have consistently questioned the evidence detailed in the CCG and NCAT reports and have suggested that any such evidence promoted by the two groups is distorted because the Wynyard issue should have no bearing at all on current safety standards at either hospital.
We firmly believe that the new hospital has little realistic prospect of completion in the current economic climate, and also that lives will be at some point endangered by the constant leaching of services from Hartlepool to Stockton.
Further, following our questioning at the event, representatives from the NHS Trust, CCG and NCAT admitted that services at Hartlepool are currently safe and that no lives are at risk. When questioned further they were unable to point to any similar form of service transfer which proved that such measures actually improved safety at either site. They instead made a vague reference to research carried out by the Royal Colleges which remains unidentified to date.
We have found no evidence to suggest that critical care services are unsafe at Hartlepool, nor any evidence that the transfer of services as proposed would enhance patients prospects of survival or recovery. Accordingly we have recorded our opposition to the proposals, suggesting that all services should be retained at, and returned to, Hartlepool hospital.
The Trust has insisted that the proposed transfer is required because of the delay in building the new, unwanted, hospital at Wynyard. They suggest that clinical safety at Hartlepool hospital cannot be guaranteed without carrying out the recommendations of the National Clinical Advisory Team (NCAT) and the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) to transfer services and staff to Stockton.
We have consistently questioned the evidence detailed in the CCG and NCAT reports and have suggested that any such evidence promoted by the two groups is distorted because the Wynyard issue should have no bearing at all on current safety standards at either hospital.
We firmly believe that the new hospital has little realistic prospect of completion in the current economic climate, and also that lives will be at some point endangered by the constant leaching of services from Hartlepool to Stockton.
Further, following our questioning at the event, representatives from the NHS Trust, CCG and NCAT admitted that services at Hartlepool are currently safe and that no lives are at risk. When questioned further they were unable to point to any similar form of service transfer which proved that such measures actually improved safety at either site. They instead made a vague reference to research carried out by the Royal Colleges which remains unidentified to date.
We have found no evidence to suggest that critical care services are unsafe at Hartlepool, nor any evidence that the transfer of services as proposed would enhance patients prospects of survival or recovery. Accordingly we have recorded our opposition to the proposals, suggesting that all services should be retained at, and returned to, Hartlepool hospital.
New ward surgery for Blackhall Colliery
We have made arrangements to hold a new monthly ward surgery each month. We will be distributing details throughout the village soon.
The surgery will be held at
Blackhall Community Centre on the
first Friday of each month between
9.30am and 11.30 am
Remember, if you have any urgent matters you would like to discuss with us please don't wait for the surgery coming around - just contact us straight away using the details provided here.
The surgery will be held at
Blackhall Community Centre on the
first Friday of each month between
9.30am and 11.30 am
Remember, if you have any urgent matters you would like to discuss with us please don't wait for the surgery coming around - just contact us straight away using the details provided here.
New contact details
Following a few communication issues recently we both now have new telephone numbers. The old contact details may still work for a while but will be phased out soon so we recommend you use the new numbers when contacting us:
Lynn: 03000 268 762
Rob: 03000 268 702
Our email addresses remain unchanged.
Lynn: 03000 268 762
Rob: 03000 268 702
Our email addresses remain unchanged.
Addressing environmental issues
Along with the parish clerk, we have met this month with the new Clean & Green manager for our area.
Over recent weeks we have both received an increased volume of complaints about a range of issues around grass cutting, litter picking and dog fouling. We recognised that environmental services were undergoing something of an overhaul at managerial level so we invited the new manager to the Resource Centre to talk a few things through, with a view to improving the service as soon as possible.
Following the meeting the new manager and the staff within his local unit are very well aware of the priority we set in dealing with environmental issues (these issues, of course, reflecting the priorities of the people in our villages). We have a clear pattern established for individual tasks such as street clearing, refuse collection, grass cutting, weed spraying and fly-tipping. We also have improved lines of communication with the clean and green team to ensure that any problems can be rectified as soon as possible.
We believe that there has been an improvement in the service during the period since our meeting, but if you are aware of any problems with environmental issues in our villages please contact us immediately.
Over recent weeks we have both received an increased volume of complaints about a range of issues around grass cutting, litter picking and dog fouling. We recognised that environmental services were undergoing something of an overhaul at managerial level so we invited the new manager to the Resource Centre to talk a few things through, with a view to improving the service as soon as possible.
Following the meeting the new manager and the staff within his local unit are very well aware of the priority we set in dealing with environmental issues (these issues, of course, reflecting the priorities of the people in our villages). We have a clear pattern established for individual tasks such as street clearing, refuse collection, grass cutting, weed spraying and fly-tipping. We also have improved lines of communication with the clean and green team to ensure that any problems can be rectified as soon as possible.
We believe that there has been an improvement in the service during the period since our meeting, but if you are aware of any problems with environmental issues in our villages please contact us immediately.
Wednesday 3 July 2013
Traffic calming measures at High Hesleden
A few months ago I arranged a meeting in High Hesleden so that residents from the village could discuss their concerns about speeding traffic with police and highways officers from Durham County Council (see post dated 28 March 2013 for full details).
At that meeting it was agreed that a future meeting be held to identify options for traffic calming measures in the village so yesterday, 2 July, me and Lynn Pounder met with the parish clerk and the highways officer at the Resource Centre to discuss a way forward.
The starting point was to ensure that residents had the final say on which type and level of traffic calming measures, if any, they wished to have in their village. Accordingly a number of realistic options have been identified and these will now be put to residents for a decision.
Out of necessity this consultation will be done formally with statutory backing so accurate timescales cannot be given here, but residents should be assured that plans are in the pipeline to ensure that their preferred option for traffic calming measures will be installed as requested.
At that meeting it was agreed that a future meeting be held to identify options for traffic calming measures in the village so yesterday, 2 July, me and Lynn Pounder met with the parish clerk and the highways officer at the Resource Centre to discuss a way forward.
The starting point was to ensure that residents had the final say on which type and level of traffic calming measures, if any, they wished to have in their village. Accordingly a number of realistic options have been identified and these will now be put to residents for a decision.
Out of necessity this consultation will be done formally with statutory backing so accurate timescales cannot be given here, but residents should be assured that plans are in the pipeline to ensure that their preferred option for traffic calming measures will be installed as requested.
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