International Workers Memorial Day

We will be at the International Workers Memorial Day commemoration event in Hartlepool on Tuesday 28 April to lay a wreath on behalf the Blackhall Banner Group in remembrance of all those workers who have died at work as a result of accident or industrial disease.

As a mark of respect and solidarity the Blackhall NUM banner will be on display in Christchurch, Hartlepool throughout the service. The event is open to all and we have been given the following information from the organisers:

Workers Memorial Day Remembrance Service 2015

 

Hartlepool Trades Union Council (HTUC) organises a Workers Memorial Day Remembrance Service & Wreath Laying Ceremony in Hartlepool (first held in 1999) on International Workers Memorial Day, the 28^th April, of each year to remember those employees who have died through Industrial Accident or Disease whilst trying to earn an honest living for themselves and their families.

The confirmed speakers for the 2015 International Workers Memorial Day Remembrance Service, Tuesday 28th April 2015, 12.30pm, Christchurch, Church Square, Hartlepool are:-  

·         Hugh Scullion, General Secretary, CSEU

·         Fintan Hurley, Scientific Director, Institute of Occupational Medicine

·         Glen Williams, Chair, UNISON Service Group Executive

Special Guest:- Trevor Burden (bereaved family member) will be saying a few words prior to the wreath laying ceremony and will lay a wreath.

Ian Wright MP, Shadow Minister for Competitiveness & Enterprise will be giving a reading during the Service.

Rosie Upton (www.rosieupton.co.uk), folk singer, will be performing three songs she has specially chosen for Workers Memorial Day

It is likely that over 30 wreaths will be laid by individuals and organisations and we will be providing individual flowers so anybody attending the service can lay a flower at the Workers Memorial in memory of a loved one.

All attendees will be welcome to attend the Workers Memorial Day Remembrance Service & Wreath Laying Ceremony, Tuesday 28^th April 2015. 12.30pm, Christchurch (TIC & Art Gallery), Church Square, Hartlepool

Road repairs at Hesleden and Crimdon

We have received requests recently from residents in Hesleden and Crimdon to have repairs carried out to roads in their villages.

There have been reports of traffic tailbacks from the junction at the Seagull, on the A1086 Coast Road, back into the caravan park at Crimdon. This is reported to be causing problems for road-users and residents nearby so we have asked the highways department to reinstate the faded and worn "Keep Clear" road markings at the junction to enable residents to get safe and open access to and from their properties.

In Hesleden we have received complaints from residents about the poor condition of the road immediately outide the Methodist chapel (this is the cut which links Front Street with the rear of Front Street and Hazel Drive). We have asked the highways section to take a look at this stretch of road and carry out repairs where required.

We will continue to report road surface problems for repair as we receive them so if you have any highways issues in your area please let us know in the usual way.

The Seagull junction from Crimdon caravan park onto the A1086 Coast Road

The uneven surface of the road at Hesleden Methodist chapel looking onto Front Street

Pavement repairs in the Blackhall area

Following the repair requests we have made to the highways department at DCC we have now received confirmation of the pavement repairs to be carried out soon.

Please contact us in the usual way if you know of any pavements or pathways in our area in need of repair.

We have reproduced below the complete current list for your information:

Scheme Type	Road No	Location	Contractor	Status
Footway Surface Treatment	C22	Front Street-Hutton Crescent, Hutton Henry	Kiely Bros.	Committed
Footway Surface Treatment	Unc	Sheraton	Kiely Bros.	Committed
Footway	Unc	The Crescent, Blackhall Colliery	Highway Services	Committed
Footway	Unc	Ninth Street, Blackhall Colliery	Highway Services	Committed
Footway	Unc	Meadow Avenue, Blackhall Colliery	Highway Services	Committed
Footway	Unc	Sixth Street, Blackhall Colliery	Highway Services	Committed
Structures	A1086	Hardwick Dene Culvert	Highway Services	Committed
Street Lighting	Unc	Hutton Crescent, Hutton Henry	Highway Services	Committed
Street Lighting	Unc	Hazel Drive, Hesleden	Highway Services	Committed

Blackhall Miners' Memorial event

We have been helping the Blackhall Local History Group to organise an event to unveil a plaque of remembrance to commemorate those men who were either killed or who lost their lives as a result of their injuries at Blackhall Colliery between 1913 and 1981.

The event will be held at Blackhall Community Centre on Thursday 21 May 2015 at 10am:

 

We know that the members of the Blackhall Local History Group have given a huge amount of their time and effort meticulously researching the archives and records in order to make sure that the memorial plaque includes the names of all the men who gave their lives at Blackhall Colliery in service to their community.

We would like to offer our personal thanks the History Group for their admirable effort in providing this invaluable resource which will help us to remember and pay our respects to those from our past who gave everything in shaping our community.

CCTV cameras to tackle fly-tipping

Unfortunately, many articles on this blog are about fly-tipping in and around our villages. Regular visitors to this site will be aware that we have already taken measures to prevent fly-tipping in some areas along our coastal strip but in many cases this simply moves the determined fly-tipper to another spot nearby and the whole problem begins again.

Most of the complaints we receive relate to general littering and furniture dumping along the coast and in the countryside so, following consultation with the clerks and members of the three parish councils in our ward, we have decided to apply for funding to install mobile CCTV cameras at particularly badly affected locations.

There will be a short delay until mid-May before we will know with any certainty whether (and to what extent) we will be able to make progress with this scheme. However we are hopeful of having something in place soon to tackle a problem in our area which has a huge impact on the natural landscape and on rapidly diminishing public resources.

Despite many clean-up operations over the years fly-tipping remains a problem at the pathway adjacent to the Hackworth Road Industrial Estate in Blackhall Colliery

Street lighting repairs in the Maureen Avenue area

Following a number of reports from residents that street lights are burning constantly in the area around Maureen Avenue in Blackhall the parish clerk has passed on to us the following information received from the street lighting section at county hall:

Street Lighting have confirmed that the problem with the lights in the Maureen Avenue area of Blackhall Rocks is nothing to do with a fault or repair - issue is that Northern Power Grid have upgraded the overhead power supply cables as part of their routine

upgrading/maintenance programme but have left the supply permanently live which means that Street Lighting can’t reprogramme the photocells which control the switching regime hence the lights are burning permanently.

Usual arrangement is that NPG notify Street Lighting in advance of the cable replacement so that works can be coordinated but in this case they renewed the cables without any notice to DCC. The NPG Area Manager has acknowledged their mistake and assured DCC that he will attend to the issue as a matter of urgency.

It all seems a little ironic to us that the street lights in some areas are switched on permanently while we are continuing the uphill struggle at county hall to have the lighting returned to the roads linking our villages! However, we acknowledge that in this instance the fault lies elsewhere and we look forward to the street lights in Maureen Avenue being repaired by NPG as soon as possible.