Damaged wall at Hillcrest Place

Following complaints from residents about the poor condition of the wall at the former garage site at Hillcrest Place we asked the County Durham Housing Group for an inspection and remedial works to be carried out as soon as practicable.

Earlier today we received the following update from the housing group's buildings surveyor:

Morning Cllr Crute

As requested I have visited the above wall.

The walls are cracked in several places and the brick faces have come off a lot of the bricks.

As a short term measure I have requested that our contractor visit and renew the fence located at the top of the steps – this should be done over the next few weeks.

With regards to repairs to the wall, this will be done as a planned scheme. I have passed this info to the relevant department who will address at a later date.

We will monitor progress with this issue and report on developments as we receive them.

Fly tipping at Deneholme, Blackhall Colliery

Furniture dumped at the top of Deneholme, at the approach to the beach at Blackhall Colliery, has been reported for collection. We have also requested repairs to the damaged access gate.

Given the increase in incidents of fly tipping recently at or near this location we have asked the neighbourhood wardens to consider installing CCTV cameras.

We will update on progress with these requests as we receive further information.

Community Organisations Capital Grants Fund

Last week we published details of two funding opportunities for community organisations in East Durham, the Holiday Hunger Scheme and the Community Organisations Capital Grants Fund (please see post dated Wednesday 21 June 2017).

We have now received further details about the Capital Grants Fund application process along with contact details:

A new fund offering financial support to community organisations in East Durham has been launched.

The Community Organisations Capital Grants Fund has been set up to specifically assist organisations in delivering projects that support the aims of East Durham Area Action Partnership (AAP).

Community groups and organisations can apply for funding of between £500 and £3,000 to pay for adaptations to community rooms or buildings or for the purchase of equipment.

Shealagh Pearce, principal AAP coordinator, said: “Community buildings are very often at the centre of the development and delivery of AAP projects.

“A number of our initiatives, including job clubs, welfare champions and lunch clubs, are already delivered through community buildings so they really are key assets for us.

“If anyone is considering applying but is unsure if their project is eligible I would urge them to get in touch.

“We are always more than happy to discuss applications and offer any advice that we can.”

Grants are available to not-for-profit organisations based in the East Durham AAP area.

There is no deadline for applications.

For further information about the scheme, contact East Durham AAP on 03000 262 054 or email eastdurhamaap@durham.gov.uk



Broadband issues in Hesleden and Castle Eden

At the last meeting of The Hesledens Residents' Association meeting held last Saturday there were one or two queries raised about progress with BT's rollout of broadband provision in The Hesledens, Castle Eden and parts of Blackhall Colliery (please refer to previous posts dated back from the last one on Wednesday 15 March 2017).

Following a request to the Digital Durham team at county hall they have provided an update on the latest developments:

Dear Cllr Crute

Please find a response to your query below. I’ve included an introduction about the need to upgrade to a fibre broadband service once it’s available, and then a separate response relating to the Castle Eden and Hesleden areas.

Residents will need to upgrade to the service

The installation of fibre broadband to an area does not have any effect on residents current (standard) broadband speeds. It is an opt in service, and faster speeds can only be obtained if a resident upgrades to a fibre broadband service through an Internet Service Provider (BT, Sky, Talk Talk, EE, etc). Broadband comparison sites can often help find the best deals.

I know there’s a lot of advertising in relation to fibre broadband, but it isn’t uncommon for residents just to presume their speeds will automatically increase. This is something that we focus heavily on in our leafleting following the installation of fibre broadband to an area under the Digital Durham programme.

Castle Eden

Fibre broadband is already available to the Castle Eden area via Wellfield cabinet 8. If anyone would like to check their properties potential speeds, this is a link to site: https://www.btwholesale.com/includes/adsl/main.html
Or this one is much more straightforward to use in terms of confirming if a fibre broadband service is available: http://www.homeandwork.openreach.co.uk/when-can-i-get-fibre.aspx
You can point any Castle Eden residents in our direction if they are saying that they are unable to upgrade to fibre broadband.

Hesleden
There is only one cabinet in Hesleden that has not been upgraded to fibre and that is Wellfield cabinet 9.

Cabinet 9 is planned for upgrade under BT’s own commercial programme. Openreach estimate that the cabinet will be upgraded to supply fibre broadband services by the end of December 2017.

Residents can track progress directly on the OpenReach website: https://www.homeandwork.openreach.co.uk/when-can-i-get-fibre.aspx

Openreach can also be contacted about their commercial programme directly at: https://www.homeandwork.openreach.co.uk/help-and-support/fibre-broadband-availability.aspx

The Hesledens Residents' Association

The first formal meeting of The Hesledens Residents' Association got underway yesterday afternoon at Hesleden WMC. This followed two initial preparatory meetings held over the past few weeks (please see post dated Sunday 11 June 2017 for background details).

Nominations were taken and positions were filled for the roles of Chair, vice-Chair, Secretary and Treasurer and details will be published in due course. It was also agreed that a constitution for the Association be drafted and agreed at the next meeting to be held in July.

 

The broad aims and objectives of the group were established and it was agreed that residents' priorities for the village and the surrounding area be discussed at the next meeting. In the meantime a number of local issues were raised from the floor. These included:

• Broadband provision in the villages
• Street lighting
• Parking
• Condition of the pond along the lines
• Issues relating to the children's play area
• Highways and pavements

Those issues within the remit of Durham County Council will be reported immediately and those relating to other organisations, including Monk Hesleden Parish Council, will be reported to the parish clerk for attention.

Updates on progress will be published on this site as soon as they are received but in the meantime please get in touch if you have any comments to make with regard to the matters raised above.

The next meeting of The Hesledens Residents' Association will be held on

Saturday 22 July 2017 at 2.15pm in Hesleden WMC. All welcome.

Small Grants Funds from East Durham AAP

Please see funding opportunity below:

 

East Durham AAP - Funding Information Update

 

East Durham AAP are launching the following Small Grants Funds:

 

·       Holiday Activity Fund 2017 - Groups operating in East Durham AAP will be able to apply for funding to deliver activities that will address holiday activities and help to combat holiday hunger.  Grants from a minimum of £250 up to a maximum of £3,000 are available for activities taking during the 2017 school Summer Holidays. The fund is open to applicants from Thursday 15th June until Friday 30th June 2017.

 

·       Community Organisations Capital Grants Fund - Groups operating in East Durham AAP will be able to apply for funding for capital projects that support the aims of the East Durham AAP.  Grants from a minimum of £250 up to a maximum of £3,000 are available for capital projects.   There is no deadline for this fund.

 

For more information and to request a copy of the application forms please contact the East Durham AAP Office on 03000262054 or e-mail eastdurhamaap@durham.gov.uk

Environmental issues at Crimdon

Following reports over the weekend of overflowing litter bins, rubbish gathering along the front and the persistent problem of dog fouling the environmental teams at both the county council and the Durham Heritage Coast have been asked clean the area and also to ensure that bins are emptied regularly.

Ultimately littering is a problem created by people discarding their litter without a thought for others, and the same can be said of the responsibility of dog owners to clean up after their pets, but as a minimum the relevant authorities should make sure that the bins they provide are emptied on a regular basis.

Other issues have been raised too over the past few days, mainly those relating to toilets and other facilities at Crimdon. Background details to this issue can be found elsewhere on this site (please see posts dated Sunday 2 April & Thursday 13 April 2017 for previous articles about the Crimdon Investment Project).

In a perfect world local authorities and other public bodies would be funded fairly by central government, and in such a way that they would be able to support facility and infrastructure investment in resorts like Crimdon but unfortunately we live in times of bleak and unnecessary austerity which has far-reaching consequences for the British public. The government is steadily stripping away 40% of Durham County Council's budget, leaving it barely able to provide statutory services let alone invest in leisure facilities.

However we must remain hopeful that the findings from the Crimdon Investment Project mentioned elsewhere will produce alternative funding options to enable a revival of Crimdon's fortunes. We are extremely fortunate to have such an attractive natural asset on our doorstep. It would be a shame if we were to lose out on any opportunity to improve the resort and to increase tourism in County Durham.

Hesleden residents consider forming a new community group

It was a pleasure to be at Hesleden Club yesterday afternoon to take part in the second informal public meeting to discuss the potential for a residents' association in the village.

The strong attendance was encouraging and the idea of forming a residents' association was enthusiastically received, with many people believing that a community group of this type would revive community spirit in the village and also help to focus attention on local issues.

The main outcome of yesterday's meeting was a unanimous agreement to hold a formal public meeting later this month with the intention of forming a fully constituted residents' association.

The main points to be covered at the meeting will include the election of chair, secretary and treasurer along with agreeing a name for the organisation and discussing its main aims and objectives.

Leaflets promoting the meeting are to be distributed to all residents soon and these will set out the format of the meeting and all relevant details, including the date, time and venue.

For advance notice the meeting is scheduled to be held on:

Saturday 24 June 2017 at 2pm in

Hesleden WMC

Please come along and have your say on the future direction of the village.

Roadworks in Blackhall and Station Town

We have received advance notification of roadworks at the following locations in Blackhall Rocks and Station Town:

A1086

Coast Road, Blackhall Rocks

BT overhead network maintenance

2 way lights (9:30am - 3:30pm)

13 June

13 June

British Telecom

B1280

South of Newholme Estate, Station Town

New gas service

2 way lights (manual control at peak times)

10 July

17 July

Northern Gas Networks