We heard reports that young children had been digging channels into the spoil heap and also that the site was being used as a race track for off-road bikes. Given the instability of the pit heap, the potential danger to public safety caused by these activities is obvious.
Prior to contacting the authorities we visited the site to see for ourselves the extent of the issues residents had told us about. We saw evidence that the former pit heap was open to access by the general public, that the improvised race track had a steep and potentially dangerous slope at one side into the nearby dene and also that there were a few incidents of fly-tipping in the immediate vicinity, although these appeared to be on private land.
We reported these matters to the police, planning officers at Durham County Council and also to the council's neighbourhood wardens for their attention. Following their joint site visit last week we received the following email from the senior planning enforcement officer at DCC setting out the measures they have planned to address the problems identified by residents:
Thank you for bringing this
matter at Hesleden to my attention, which is now an open investigation
allocated to officers for investigation. The case reference number
is EN/14/00541, and is being dealt with by myself and in my absence David
Chong.
I confirm officers from Planning
services have inspected and held meetings on the site with the owner and the
person responsible for the alleged unauthorised activity which is the subject of
concern. The owner has requested the land use cease immediately and
informed officers he will make arrangements for a gate to be erected to restrict
ready access. This will be monitored by officers to ensure action is taken
accordingly.
I can also confirm that
the Council are considering a planning application for the clearance of
minerals from the land which would relieve the problem by effectively redistributing the land spoils and therefore removing the tracks being marked for
the bikes. The officer dealing with this application is Chris Shields in
the strategic team who will be happy to discuss your concerns further.
I will keep you informed as the
investigations progress, but please do not hesitate to contact the officers
involved if you have further enquiries relating to this matter in the
interim.
We note that the planning enforcement officer refers in her correspondence to a planning application relating to the clearance of the former pit heap which she believes will tackle some of the reported problems. However, previous posts on this blogsite record our opposition to this planning application for a number of valid reasons. Our position has not altered so we have insisted that the problems reported by residents about public safety and security at the pit heap site are unrelated to the application and, as such, they must be addressed separately.
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Access route to the former pit heap site at Hesleden |
