Household Waste Recycling Centres change to Summer hours

Please see the press release below issued by Durham County Council relating to revised Summer opening hours from next week:

Summer opening hours for Household Waste Recycling Centres

Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) in County Durham will soon be switching to summer opening hours.

From Sunday, 1 April until Sunday, 30 September, HWRCs will operate the following opening times:

Monday to Sunday – 9am to 6pm:

• Annfield Plain 

• Heighington Lane, Newton Aycliffe  

• Middleton-in-Teesdale

• Potterhouse Lane, Pity Me 

• Romanway,  Bishop Auckland  

• Seaham

• Tudhoe

Monday to Thursday – 10am to 4pm and Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays – 9am to 6pm:

• Coxhoe

• Horden

• Thornley

Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays only – 9am to 6pm:

• Hett Hills, Chester-le-Street

Centres are open as normal during the Easter holiday period, unless stated otherwise.

Details of all HWRCs, including locations and opening hours, are available at www.durham.gov.uk/hwrc

Residents who are planning to visit a HWRC in a van, trailer, mini-bus or pick-up will need to apply for a free waste permit in advance. Save time and apply online at www.durham.gov.uk/householdpermit or by calling 03000 26 0000.

Commercial waste produced by businesses and landlords is not accepted at HWRCs and must be disposed of by a registered waste carrier. Further details can be found at www.durham.gov.uk/commercialwaste

Update on East Street streetlighting outage

The following update from the streetlighting engineers has been received. This relates to streetlighting problems on East Street, Blackhall Colliery (please see post dated Wednesday 28 March 2018 for details).

Cllr Crute

I have just spoken to Freedom who are working on behalf of Northern Power Grid.

They are on site now (Thursday evening) and have explained to me they will be complete tomorrow (Friday).

We will now not need the temporary measure I suggested as it will be complete permenantly. 

I will send a DCC Electrician tomorrow to ensure all is back on for the weekend.

The Northern Power Grid and freedom are now coming into DCC headquarters for a meeting to discuss how this has happened and to stop this happening again. 

I will let you know the outcome 

Kind Regards 

Streetlight repairs in East Street, Blackhall Colliery

Reports were received from residents this morning that the street lights along parts of East Street (roughly between First Street and the Scout Hut at the bottom of Eighth Street) were out of order, leaving a long stretch of the road and pavement in almost complete darkness.

Having asked the street lighting engineers at county hall this morning for their urgent attention to this matter the following statement has now been received:

Good Afternoon Cllr Crute

The lights in question on East street, it is due to contractors working on behalf of Northern Power Grid who are carrying out works in that area. They have removed overhead power lines from the old wood poles on East Street and not supplied the new with a power connection on the corner of East Street and First Street column 1061.

I have contacted both Northern Power Grid and the contractors involved and have asked for an immediate response to the enquiry as to why this has happened, and also why DCC have not been informed before this happened.

As a temporary measure and to have the new lights working, I intend to put up a temporary supply to have these re lit for the Easter break. This will be carried out tomorrow (29/3/18) .

I will now investigate with the parties involved as to why this has happened and to ensure it does not happen again without prior knowledge being given to DCC of the imminent works.

Kind Regards

Crimdon beach cleaning and access update

Queries have been raised recently about planned improvements to beach access at Crimdon and also about responsibility for cleaning the beach.

The Durham Heritage Coast manager has provided the following advice. Updates on separate issues will be published in due course. 

1.       General waste. There is not statutory duty to clear “beach litter”. Post LGR (Local Government Reorganisation in 2009) the former District budget for beach cleaning was lost in the general change. This is the reason for encouraging community involvement, on which the HC (Heritage Coast) leads. Clean and Green are very responsive after beach cleans in removing collected debris.

Activity:

At the same time as the little tern fence and wardens hut are installed (25^th April) a beach sweep will be made and larger items removed. A volunteer beach clean is timed to coincide with this allowing us to use the tractors and trailers involved in the fencing.

Louise is also in direct talks with Greenpeace Hartlepool who are looking to be more active with regards to beach cleaning at Crimdon.

2.       Boardwalks and Chespale fencing - the middle, damaged,  boardwalk has been removed and a new section immediately next to the footpath has been installed. Chespale has been installed to assist in the recolonization of the dunes and to reduce the impact of people on the dunes. This work has been completed about three weeks ago.

The third and final phase will be installing a boardwalk from the bottom of the steps near the caravan site, with associated Chespale fencing. This work will be carried out next winter as the funding for this work is effectively secured. We do not at the moment envisage any further boardwalk or Chespale fencing, other than maintenance after this.

No changes to bin collection arrangements over the Easter holidays

Although this coming Friday is a bank holiday the council has confirmed that there will be no changes to the bin collection round over the Easter holiday period. So please leave your bin out for collection as usual.

Please see full details below in the press release issued by the council:

 

There will be no changes to bin collections in County Durham during the Easter Bank Holiday weeks – weeks starting Monday, 26 March and Monday, 2 April.

This includes refuse and recycling as well as garden waste collections, for those who have signed up to the scheme.

Households who have collections on a Friday are therefore reminded to still put their bins out on Good Friday (30 March).

Residents are also advised to put their bins out for collection by 7am on their normal collection day.

Those who are unsure of their collection days can find out by entering their house number and postcode into the ‘My Durham’ section at www.durham.gov.uk.

For more information about bin collections visit www.durham.gov.uk/recycling and to find out which items go in which bin visit www.durham.gov.uk/whatgoeswhere.

To subscribe to the garden waste scheme, visit www.durham.gov.uk/gardenwaste or call 03000 260 000 during office hours.

Residents can ‘Save time and do it online’ if they wish to report a missed bin collection or order replacement bins. Simply register an account at www.durham.gov.uk/doitonline. Accounts can be accessed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Notes from the Blackhall PACT meeting for March 2018

Following on from last month's Blackhall PACT meeting there was another great turnout from residents for the latest meeting held last night in St Andrew's Church Hall (please see post dated Friday 23 February 2018 for our notes from the last meeting).

Officers from Durham Constabulary were in attendance, accompanied by representatives from the Neighbourhood Warden service and the Private Sector Initiatives office, to listen to the concerns of residents from Blackhall, Hesleden and Castle Eden.

At the beginning of the meeting police officers gave an update on the latest reported and recorded crime and incident figures for the area which compared quite favourably to those given at the February meeting. It is felt that better reporting and recording measures, as encouraged at last month's meeting, are responsible for this improvement. Progress was also reported on issues raised since the last meeting, again with a number of positive outcomes. However, we are still at an early stage in the process and there is no room for complacency.

Next the Neighbourhood Wardens reported on progress with environmental issues since the last meeting. Here it was generally felt that significant progress had been made over the last month, particularly as a result of more effective clearances of the back yards of empty private sector properties. This had been achieved partly through the work carried out during Operation Spruce-Up earlier this month, and partly because of the increased local attention through additional street walkabouts we've held with the police and wardens.

It was also reported by the environmental team that an advice leaflet containing useful local information and contact details for each of the authorities was currently being produced. It is intended to circulate this leaflet widely throughout the village as soon as residents have had the opportunity to comment on its proposed content.

Following the update and progress reports there was an opportunity for members of the public to question officers and also raise further issues of concern which had come to light since the February meeting. Some of those issues are reported below.

Residents from Castle Eden raised concerns about the ongoing problem of speeding vehicles along the B1281, especially between Hesleden and Castle Eden. We updated the meeting on our work with the police to address this issue, which had come much more to the fore since works to remove spoil from the pit heap at Hesleden had commenced. The police have agreed to follow this matter up in greater detail and have also agreed to request an update on the traffic survey carried out by the police force's Traffic Management Officer a couple of years ago (please see posts dated Saturday 6 February 2016 & Saturday 25 November 2017 for background details to our previous involvement in this matter).

From Blackhall there were concerns raised by residents about a number of ongoing crime and disorder issues which, although some had been given increased attention and in some cases had seen a positive outcome, remained partly unresolved. Police officers offered to meet with residents individually immediately after the meeting to discuss separate issues in further detail.

Concerns were also raised again about the poor condition of some private rented sector properties in the Colliery area. This presented a problem to the authorities given the evident conflict between the responsibilities of private sector landlords to maintain their properties and ensure the good behaviour of their tenants, and the limited powers available to the council and other agencies to enforce those responsibilities.

A suggestion was made that more money should be made available to the authorities to improve housing in the village. Naturally this notion received almost unanimous support but the reality is that we live in times of dire central government-imposed austerity in which resources are systematically being taken away from our councils and communities rather than the other way around. And it goes without saying that private investors and property developers will invest their money only where there is a realistic prospect of a decent profit margin.

Although there was a call for the authorities to meet their moral obligation to provide decent housing it must be recognised that because of eight years of hard-hitting funding cuts many authorities are currently struggling to meet even their legal obligations to provide services. Moral obligations are indeed a fine principle, but until the government meets its own obligation to properly fund our public services moral obligations will remain nothing more than a glorified wish list. The current government has taken more than £200m from our local council alone as part of its unnecessary and unfair austerity regime, with the promise of many years of savage funding cuts yet to come, and this is having a devastating impact on our communities.

We believe that the government has a moral obligation to give us our money back!

Other technical housing-related matters were raised, relating mainly to the differences between an Accredited Landlords Scheme and a Selective Licensing Scheme (we have already requested a Selective Licensing Scheme for Blackhall and our notes from the last PACT meeting dated Friday 23 February 2018 give further details). Housing officers have agreed to continue discussions with us on those matters along with other suggestions that came to light last night.

From talking to residents both before and after last night's meeting there appears to be general but cautious satisfaction with progress since the last PACT meeting held in February, especially in relation to street scene and environmental improvements. However, it's felt that if the police are to get fully on top of local crime and anti-social behaviour problems it's important that residents continue to report issues as soon as they notice them. In addition, it is imperative that local councils and partner agencies are given the powers they so desperately need to hold to account the handful of irresponsible private sector landlords who continue to wilfully disregard our public safety by letting their properties to known troublemakers. If there is any moral obligation to be met, then surely it lies with this sector.

Please note that this is not intended as a comprehensive record of events at last night's meeting. Rather it is a personal account of the main issues raised, and especially those considered to be of most relevance to the greatest number of local residents.

The next PACT meeting has been scheduled for Wednesday 18 April 2018 at 7pm. As yet no venue has been confirmed so we will post full details as soon as we are notified of arrangements. Please note police advice that immediate and consistent reporting of all incidents is vital, and please continue to report all incidents to the relevant authorities as soon as they happen.

In the meantime, if you have any council related issues you would like to discuss with us please come along to one of our regular monthly ward surgeries or contact us in the usual way.

The Crimdon Improvement Plan moves to the next phase

For some time now we have been working alongside Durham Heritage Coast officers to focus on the potential regeneration of Crimdon as a key priority for our area as a way to attract visitors, support the local economy and generate additional tourism along the East Durham coastal strip.

Over the past year or so we have stepped up our campaign, meeting on several occasions with officers from the Durham Heritage Coast Partnership, to consider the best way to achieve our aims. Those efforts began to come to a head last year when we saw progress on a couple of funding initiatives aimed at improving access to the coast (please see posts dated Sunday 3 April 2017, Thursday 13 April 2017 & Saturday 4 November 2017 for background information on the Heritage Lottery Funded Seascape Project and the Crimdon Improvement Project).

Having met again recently with the Heritage Coast manager we are pleased to announce that a further funding bid and planning application are being prepared which together, if approved by the government and local authority respectively, could lead to improved facilities on the coast at Crimdon, including a new cafeteria and toilet block. The Heritage Coast manager has issued the following statement to promote the latest developments:

Crimdon Improvement Project

The government recently announced that their Coastal Communities Fund is now open for applications and has £40 million available for spend from April 2019 to end of March 2021.

This is for projects over £50,000 that will ultimately lead to regeneration and economic growth whilst directly or indirectly safeguarding and creating sustainable jobs. Crimdon has been lacking toilet and other visitor facilities for over a decade and the County Council with the Heritage Coast Partnership are developing a funding bid that, if successful, will not only provide visitor facilities but seeks to improve the quality of the whole site, including the dene.

This is a one-off opportunity that Crimdon deserves given its popularity, history and fantastic natural environment. As part of the process an application for planning consent is required, this is likely to be submitted during April.

Funding for a new Little Tern warden hut at Crimdon

Following a recent arson attack which burned down the Little Tern warden hut in Crimdon we met with the Durham Heritage Coast manager to see how we might be able to help to build a replacement.



Outside the Little Tern hut in Crimdon before a litter picking event last Spring

With additional financial assistance from the East Durham AAP (Area Action Partnership) we are delighted to be able to confirm that a replacement hut has now been ordered and will be in place before the coming breeding season. The Heritage Coast manager has issued the following statement:

Little Tern Wardens Hut

“Following the loss of the little tern wardens hut at Crimdon earlier in the year to an arson attack, it is pleasing to be able to announce that a new wardens hut has been ordered. This is only possible because of the support from East Durham Area Action Partnership and County Councillors Lynn Pounder and Rob Crute.

The new hut will sit in the same position and made of the same materials as before and will be in position for the wardens to use for the coming breeding season. The little tern breeding season runs from early May through to the end of July. They return to Crimdon each year to breed from West Africa.

The colony will also be fenced to reduce disturbance of the birds by people, dogs and predators from late April.

For any further information please contact Niall Benson of the Heritage Coast Partnership on 03000 268130”

Police confirm details of this month's Blackhall PACT meeting

The police have released details of the Blackhall PACT meeting for March. Please note the change of venue and please also note that this PACT meeting will deal with police matters in the Blackhalls, Hesleden and Castle Eden areas only:

As those who attended the February PACT meeting will be aware it was made clear that if we are to properly tackle crime and anti-social behaviour problems in our community we must persist in reporting all incidents of crime and disorder (please see the article dated Friday 23 February 2018 for our report on the February PACT meeting).

So when you come to the meeting next week please make sure you bring along with you details of any report you might have submitted to the police (ie, the type and location of the crime or anti-social behaviour, along with the time and date the incident was reported). In this way we'll be able to accurately identify a trend with the police on reported crime figures since the February meeting and also monitor the effectiveness of police recording systems.

Crucially, if you've reported an incident of crime or anti-social behaviour that has not had a police response without a valid reason please make every effort to come along to the PACT meeting next week with full details as described above.

Since the last PACT meeting was held in the Resource Centre on 22 February we have continued to work alongside county council officers to deal with any local authority-related matters such as environmental and street scene reports (mainly those associated with fly-tipping, littering and dog fouling). Again, if you've reported any matters to the council that haven't had a response please come along on Thursday with full details (or if you can't get there simply let us know and we'll raise the matter on your behalf).

In relation to ongoing environmental issues in the village we'll be taking part soon in an additional environment-focused walkabout in the village (following on from the one we held with the police and neighbourhood wardens in January) to help in monitoring progress on issues raised by members of the public. We will also use the walkabout to assess the impact of the ongoing Clean-Up initiative currently active in the village from Tuesday 13 to Friday 16 March (please see the article dated Tuesday 6 March 2018 for background details).

We look forward to seeing another strong turnout from local people at the next PACT meeting. Evidence shows that the most effective way of tackling crime is to have strong reporting systems in place and to stand together as a community against those who have no respect for our villages and their people.

Castle Eden roadworks starting next week

We have received notification of roadworks scheduled to take place from next week in Castle Eden:

B1281

The Old Brewery, Castle Eden

Drainage works

2 way lights (manual control at peak times)

19 March

26 March

Durham County Council

C22

Stockton Road, Castle Eden

Telecom duct installation

2 way lights (8:00am - 4.00pm)

19 March

23 March

British Telecom

Blackhall Colliery starts off council's award winning environmental campaign

Please see below a press release issued by the council relating to its award winning environmental campaign which began in Blackhall Colliery earlier this week:

A national award-winning environmental campaign in County Durham has been extended as a result of its overwhelming success.

Durham County Council’s Operation Spruce Up is continuing due to the excellent results it has achieved in communities and the positive feedback it has received. 

The programme was launched in 2016 with council teams working with partners - including more than 4,000 children and young people, to give one town or village centre an intensive clean up each month.

In a survey carried out in communities visited by Spruce Up, 90 per cent of people taking part said they had noticed an improvement as a result of the work done.

The programme has even won national recognition, having landed the prestigious title of 'campaign of the year' at environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy's Network Awards 2018.

On the back of these successes, the council has extended the programme’s initial 14 month run.

Spruce Up has begun work at Blackhall Colliery and in the coming months will also call at Pelton, Tow Law, Gilesgate, Trimdon Grange, Annfield Plain and Cockfield.

The activity at Blackhall is seeing litter clearance, planting, benches and fences repaired, and bulky and fly-tipped items cleared up, along the A1086, Coast Road and Middle Street and in surrounding areas.

Council teams will also be going into Blackhall Colliery and St Joseph’s RC Primary Schools to give assemblies and organise poster competitions. Winning designs will be used on posters which will be put up in the community.

Spruce Up sees the council work with its Area Action Partnerships to select programme destinations, with 14 visited so far.

Environmental improvements are delivered in partnership with residents, community groups and town and parish councils.

Businesses and organisations get involved with McDonald’s, Tesco, Co-Op, Northumbrian Water, JD Wetherspoon, Sustrans, Durham University and the Environment Agency having joined in Spruce Up so far.

Schoolchildren also play a part and to date have helped with planting, collecting litter, installing bird and bat boxes and designing posters to help promote responsible dog ownership and discourage littering.

To find out more, visit www.durham.gov.uk/spruceup

Update on BT Openreach’s Broadband roll-out delay

Following concerns expressed by residents and businesses in Hesleden and High Hesleden yesterday about another delay in BT Openreach’s Broadband programme roll-out we contacted the Digital Durham team to ask for a reason for the delay and an update on progress.

We have reproduced their response in full here. We note that the Digital Durham team is monitoring progress with this scheme and we’ll update on this site as soon as we receive any additional information:

Unfortunately some additional duct work was needed which has caused a delay. They had hoped for the work to be completed before the end of the year; unfortunately the poor weather in December hindered the de-silting work to remove blockages in some of the underground duct as the water had frozen; and a further 600 metres of duct and fibre needed to be planned in which involves a lengthier process.

Openreach have advised that the duct work is now with their contractors for completion, and all going well, it should be completed by the end of the month if not sooner. I understand the contractors were surveying the site yesterday. 

Once that is completed the cabinet will need to go through a commissioning process - essentially an audit to confirm all is as it should be. All going well with the commissioning, Openreach systems are then updated to reflect the availability of the service which is then picked up by Internet Service Provider systems allowing those connected to the cabinet to place an order.

Openreach have said that service should be imminent.

The previous estimate was for the service to be available in March, but considering the final processes after the installation of the duct work, from experience I think there’s a possibility it might slip slightly into the start of April. It shouldn’t be too much longer though. 

Openreach are going to let me know when it’s completed, and I will get in touch. I’ve popped a reminder in my diary towards the end of the month to check where progress is at.

Pathways resurfacing request, B1281 and Mickle Hill Road

Following complaints from residents last week about the reduced width of the pathway along some sections of the B1281 between Blackhall Colliery, Hesleden and Castle Eden we have asked the relevant departments at county hall to inspect the whole area with a view to carrying out resurfacing works where required. In the meantime we have asked the environmental team to cut back the overgrowth in selected locations.

We have also asked that the provision of reflective bollards on the same stretch of road be reviewed with a request that all damaged and missing bollard be replaced.

We have reproduced our request below and we'll keep you up to date with all related developments:

Good morning,

Last week I asked for the pathways along the B1281 linking Blackhall Colliery with Hesleden and Castle Eden to be cut back to allow for easier pedestrian access.

I’ve since been contacted by the environmental team leader who has confirmed that this can be done in some parts but has advised that in others the pathways would need to be resurfaced to make any additional works effective. I’ve taken a look at the pathways along the B1281 and many parts are badly affected by potholes and cracked surfaces (made much worse by the recent frost, snow and ice).

I would be grateful if you could record a request on the CRM system for the pathways along both the B1281, Blackhall to Castle Eden and Mickle Hill Road, Blackhall Rocks to Hesleden (via High Hesleden) to be inspected and resurfaced as required.

In addition I would be grateful if the provision of reflective bollards along the B1281 could be assessed with any missing or damaged bollards to be repaired or replaced as required. As you will be aware this is a very busy route linking our villages to the A19 with most of it in darkness following the removal of street lights in some parts.

Regards

Scheduled roadworks in Castle Eden

We have received advance notification of roadworks scheduled to take place soon in Castle Eden.

Please note full details below:

B1281

The Old Brewery, Castle Eden

Drainage works

2 way lights (manual control at peak times)

19 March

26 March

Durham County Council

C22

Stockton Road, Castle Eden

Telecom duct installation

2 way lights (8:00am - 4:00pm)

19 March

23 March

British Telecom

HGVs in Hesleden

A complaint was received recently about heavy goods type vehicles reported to be using the route past Hesleden Primary School to access the former pit heap site at the west of the village.

On the assumption that the vehicles belonged to the company extracting waste from the pit heap we contacted the site manager for comment and we received the following response in return.

We are grateful to the company for their quick response and for their assurance that their vehicles are not responsible for the origin of this particular complaint. 

However, if you notice any similar incidents in future please take a note of the vehicle registration number and either forward it to us or pass it directly to the company for investigation: paul.davies@md2.org.uk

Hi Rob
Many thanks for your email.
We have double checked with site and they are certain that our site wagons are not using Myra Avenue and note that they have seen other articulated vehicles, not related to our site, using this access route.
However we will reinforce with our drivers  the designated route and ensure it is adhered to.
May we please ask if observers could take a registration number of a vehicle on this route and if it is one of our wagons immediate disciplinary action will be taken.
Many thanks
Paul

Blackhall Clean-up postponed again due to poor weather conditions

We reported recently on the pages of this blog and on social media that the council and its partners had organised a week-long clean up campaign focusing on selected streets in Blackhall Colliery. This follows the walk-about we held with the police, neighbourhood wardens and council officers back in January (please see post dated Monday 15 January 2018 for background details).

This was originally scheduled to begin last week on Tuesday 27 February but was postponed until today because of the bad weather.

Unfortunately the continuing poor weather conditions and the toll taken on services and staff last week during the severe and disruptive weather has meant that the clean-up campaign has had to be put back another week and will now begin on Tuesday 13 March at 11.30am, meeting at the Aged Miners' Homes.

Please note the message received from the event organisers. We will publish further details as they are received closer to the start of the event.

Hi All,

Just wanted to make everyone aware that due to the inclement weather over the past week and the remaining poor conditions the decision has been made to push back Spruce Up Blackhall until next week.

I know the conditions are improving but staff are having to catch up on work that was missed due to the weather last week so it is felt there could be a higher impact next week with the full complement of staff

Apologies for this late change (again) but hope this is OK with everyone.