A1086 Landslip works between Blackhall and Horden

Although there is little news to report on progress with the ongoing landslip works on the A1086 between Blackhall and Horden, we did commit ourselves to providing an update as regularly as we received it from the highways department.

We have now been given further details from the council's senior structures design engineer and we have reproduced it below for information:

Further to the update sent on 17^th February regarding the land slip adjacent to the Coast Road to the north of Blackhall  I can report the following progress:

Our consultants have commenced and are progressing the design work as per their proposal  with an indicative provisional start on site by early summer 2014 subject to negotiation with public utility companies.

For your information I will be attending a Design Workshop week commencing 7^th April and will update you on progress following this.

We would expect further information from the workshop to be held during the week commencing 7 April, and we will publish an update here as soon as it is received.

Pot holes repaired at Hazel Drive

Following reports recently from residents at Hazel Drive in Hesleden about the poor condition of the road surface caused by pot holes, we contacted the highways section and asked for repairs to be carried out.

Because of the huge number of pot holes in the street the highways inspector decided to resurface the whole area rather than carry out patching work. This was done last week with micro-asphalt which is designed to repel water which, when frozen in the winter months, is the main cause of pot holes in roads.

Please let us know if you have similar issues in your area and we will request an inspection by the highways department.

Consultation due on the proposed closure of Deneholme

Following an initial period of local, informal publicity Durham County Council now intends to carry out an informal consultation on the closure of Deneholme at Blackhall Colliery. It is expected that this will lead to a statutory consultation in due course (please see post dated 12 February 2014 for background information).

The clerk to the Parish Council has now received notification from the the county councill's senior engineer and we have reproduced it below for information:

On behalf of Niall (Benson) I am progressing the proposed TRO (Treaffic Regulation Order) to close Deneholme to motor vehicles at a point immediately north of the access road to the allotments to the east of the road.

The effect of the TRO is very similar to that implemented on Deadman’s Lane which allows access on foot, wheelchair, equestrian and authorised users via a key system for the gate.

I will be consulting with all the organisations I can think of who may wish to access the area using the list from the Deadman’s Lane consultation.

Notices will be posted soon to advertise the consultation and an article appeared in the recent edition of the Parish Gazette giving some further information about the proposal.

If you wish to make representations on this matter please watch out for the consultation or contact Niall Benson, Heritage Coast officer on:

niall.benson@durham.gov.uk

Further objections to Castle Eden crematorium plans

Along with residents and business representatives we met last night with planners from DCC to discuss a number of outstanding issues relating to the planning application for a crematorium at Castle Eden (please see posts dated 12 December 2013 & 3 January 2014 for further information).

Apart from planning policy issues, the main matters for discussion related to those around increased traffic generation, Natural England's objection to the proposal, health and safety issues from the Golf Club and the potential for a return of anti-social behaviour at the proposal site - and potential difficulties in revoking a Traffic Prohibition Order imposed at the access road to prevent such problems.

We intend to submit further objections in light of new information from last night's meeting (we'll put full details on this site in due course) and we would urge anyone to join us in writing to the planning section with their concerns.

Please note that representations will be accepted right up until the date of the planning committee meeting, currently expected within the next month or so. This is despite notices on the council's planning pages to the contrary.