Durham County Council: Christmas and New Year closures

Christmas and New Year closures

Published December 20, 2019 8.30am

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Customer Access Points and most other county council buildings in County Durham will be closed over the Christmas and New Year holidays.

Customer access points will close at 12.45pm on Tuesday, 24 December and reopen at 8.30am on Thursday, 2 January 2020.

In the event of an emergency, residents can still contact us on 03000 26 0000 or use the 24/7 automated payments line on 0300 456 2771.

If you are concerned about someone who is vulnerable or at risk, you should contact Social Care Direct on 03000 267 979. The service will be open across the Christmas and New Year period.

Online services will still be accessible over the festive period but requests may not be processed until council offices reopen on Thursday, 2 January.

How will other services be affected?

Register offices will be closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day. Bishop Auckland and Durham register offices will be open between these dates for appointments only. To make an appointment call 03000 26 6000.

Leisure centres will be closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day. They will also close early at 4.00pm on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve, except for Abbey Leisure Centre, which will close early at 11.30am on Christmas Eve and New Years Eve, and will also be closed on Sunday, 29 December. The Riverside Sports Centre, Chester-le-Street will be closed from Monday, 23 December and will reopen on Thursday, 2 January.

Libraries will operate normal opening times on Monday, 23 December but will be closed from then on until Thursday, 2 January, when normal opening times will resume.

Pathways day centres for adults will be closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day. Hawthorn House short-break service will be closed from Monday 23 December until Friday 27 December. 

Family centres will close or have restricted opening times over the Christmas period. Users are advised to contact their local centre before Christmas to check when it will be open.

Our Welfare Assistance Service will be closed on Bank Holidays and weekends and will be open reduced hours, from 8.30am to 12 noon on Christmas Eve, and from 9.00am to 3.00pm on Friday, 27 December, Monday, 30 December and Tuesday, 31 December. They can be contacted on 03000 267 900.

Sevenhills DLI research and study centre, in Spennymoor is now closed and will reopen at 10.00am on Thursday, 2 January.

Durham County Record Office has now closed to visitors, for collections management to take place, and will reopen at 8.45am on Monday, 6 January. Email and telephone enquiries can still be answered on weekdays before Tuesday, 24 December and from Thursday, 2 January.

The Park and Ride service will not operate during any of the bank holidays, including Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day. It will operate as normal, from 7.00am to 7.00pm, on all other days except Sunday 29 December.

Rubbish and recycling

Visit our Festive refuse and recycling in County Durham web page for information and updates on our rubbish and recycling services during the festive period.

Service updates

Residents can also keep up-to-date with any changes to council services by following DCC on Twitter on twitter or DCC on Facebook on Facebook.

Bin collections over the Christmas period

Household waste collection arrangements for the Christmas and New Year period:

Christmas and New Year bin collections                                           

Bins will be emptied as normal up to and including Friday 20 December 2019 

Over Christmas and New Year the following changes will apply:

Normal collection day	Revised collection days                    Christmas                                     New Year
Tuesday	As normal 24 December	As normal 31 December
Wednesday	Friday 27 December	Thursday 2 Jan 2020
Thursday	Saturday 28 December	Friday 3 Jan 2020
Friday	Monday 30 December	Saturday 4 Jan 2020

Normal collections will resume from Tuesday 7 January 2020

You can also find out collection details online by entering your house number and postcode into the ‘My Durham’ section at www.durham.gov.uk

Real Christmas tree collections

If you’d like your real Christmas tree collected free of charge, either book online at www.durham.gov.uk or call 03000 260 000 between 16 December 2019 and 12 January 2020 

Alternatively, take your real Christmas tree to a household waste recycling centre (all centres are closed Christmas Day and New Year’s Day)

Visit www.durham.gov.uk/hwrc for locations and opening hours

There will be no large waste (bulky) collections between 23 December 2019 and 3 January 2020

Chicanes at High Hesleden

Some time ago a number of residents in High Hesleden got in touch to raise their concerns about the safety of the three chicanes installed a few years ago in the village (for background details please see posts on this site dated Wednesday 4 February 2015 and Tuesday 22 August 2017).

Although the chicanes themselves have been installed correctly, and appear to be effective in slowing down speeding vehicles as intended, there are concerns that there are no clear roadside signs advising which approaching vehicle has priority over the other. This type of signage is provided at most other locations.

On each occasion that I’ve raised this matter with highways officers at county hall I’m told that the road markings in place are deemed sufficient to advise motorists whether or not they have priority over oncoming vehicles. Although there are Give Way markings on one side of each chicane I’ve suggested to officers that markings on road surfaces in rural villages like High Hesleden are not always visible and I’ve asked if signage specifically advising priority could be installed at each chicane. Each time I’m told that, while such signs could be installed, they must by law be illuminated and that the cost of connecting signage to the mains power supply is prohibitive.

I’ve persistently pointed out that chicanes have been installed elsewhere in the county where signage isn’t illuminated (the ones in East Street, Blackhall Colliery being a good local example) but on each occasion highways engineers insist that there is no budget available for illuminated signage. This is the latest response I’ve received from the service:

Hi Rob

We are not able to provide the signs without illumination.  It is a mandatory requirement of the signing legislation.  If we were to provide the signs without illumination they would be technically illegal and we would be placing DCC at risk and could be liable for any consequential incident.

With regard to other sites where the signs are not illuminated, if we are notified of the issue/location, I will pass the details on to Street Lighting and request that the illumination be provided.  I have already done so for the other locations.

Providing signs would cost several thousand pounds for each location.  Unfortunately we do not have a budget for this.

The obvious flaw in this response of course is that if there is no budget to provide illuminated signage at the chicanes in High Hesleden where will the money come from to install illuminated signage at other locations across the county where it has been installed incorrectly!

I have written again to the highways engineers to raise these points. As soon as I have a response I’ll consider the next steps in reaching a satisfactory resolution to this problem.

In the meantime, on a more positive note, the damaged roadside sign at the entrance the The Elms has been reported for repair. I’m advised that an order has been issued for a replacement sign and that this will be installed as soon as it is available.

I’ll update on the issues above as soon as I have additional information.

Proposed highways works and road closures in the Blackhall ward

Please note below details of road closures and road works scheduled for the Blackhall ward over the next few weeks:

Unclassified	Harold Wilson Drive, Hesleden	Puffing Billy event	Road closure (5:45pm - 7:45pm)	16 December	16 December	Community Organiser
Unclassified 28.16	Front Street, Hesleden	Footpath works	2 way lights	11 November	6 December	Durham County Council
Unclassified 29.3	Road leading to Crimdon Dene Holiday Park, Crimdon	Railway bridge maintenance	2 way signals (8:00am - 4:00pm)	2 December	6 December	Network Rail

Proposed solar panel project at Hulam Farm

Agents acting on behalf of Lightsource BP have been in touch recently with details of a proposed solar panel scheme to be sited on land at Hulam Farm.

The company is keen to consult local residents about their proposal so they will be holding a public information event next month in Hesleden to gauge public opinion on the scheme.

Please see below for full details of the proposal and the public consultation event:

Lightsource BP is a global market leader in the funding, development and long-term management of large-scale solar projects and smart energy solutions. They work closely with local businesses and communities to supply clean, dependable and competitively-priced energy. The company are dedicated to securing a low-carbon future and meeting the dual challenge of an increased demand for energy alongside a need to reduce emissions.
Lightsource BP is committed to local community and stakeholder engagement and have appointed Instinctif Partners to assist with the community and stakeholder engagement on the proposal.

The proposal is for a 49.9 Megawatt solar farm which is equivalent to the energy needs of 13,397 houses and will deliver many environmental benefits including saving 16,865 tonnes of carbon emissions per year. The solar installation has been designed to leave wide spaces around the site boundaries and between the rows of panels, leaving the majority of the fenced solar array as uncovered grassland. Further, Lightsource BP will also ensure the layout of this proposal not only maintains the existing vegetation but will plant new vegetation to further screen potential views and increase biodiversity.

We know that Durham County Council is conscious of the challenges of climate change and, through its declaration of a climate emergency earlier this year, has committed to doing all it can to reduce carbon emissions. The proposal will not only contribute to a reduction of emissions, it will also help the council in its ambition to be greener and will positively build on the work already being done as part of the ‘Altogether Greener’ initiative.

The community information event will be held on

Wednesday 4th December 2019 from 3:30pm to 7:00pm at

Hesleden Working Men’s Club, Front St, Hesleden. TS27 4PH

Roadworks next week in Blackhall Colliery

Please note below details of road works scheduled for Blackhall Colliery next week and ongoing pavement upgrade works in Front Street, Hesleden:

A1086 / B1281	Coast Road, Blackhall Colliery	Electric main upgrade	3 way lights	16 November	17 November	Northern Powergrid
Unclassified	Front Street, Hesleden	Footpath works	2 way lights	11 November	6 December	Durham County Council

Pavement upgrades on Front Street, Hesleden

Following queries from local residents yesterday morning about ongoing road works in Front Street, Hesleden I contacted the highways section at county hall to find out the nature and extent of the works.

The response is published below in full:

Good Afternoon Cllr Crute

These are capital scheme works to resurface the footway. Please find attached a plan showing the extent of the proposed works. Our programme team has informed me that the works should take approximately 3 weeks to complete; obviously this is weather dependant.

If you need any further information don’t hesitate to contact me.

The footpath resurfacing works described above are to be carried out between the Methodist chapel and the junction with the road heading towards Hazel Drive and Sycamore Drive. 

As regular readers of this blog will know, notification of scheduled works is generally published in advance so that residents and others can make preparations if necessary. Because some seemed unaware of the works in Front Street yesterday morning I have asked for confirmation that local residents and business, particularly those in Front Street, we given advance notification.

An update will be published as soon as it is received.

Update on public notifications (Thursday 14 November):

Having enquired about residents notification letters relating to these works I have received the following response from the service:

Good Morning Cllr Crute

I have been informed by our Highway Operations team that residents of Front Street, Hesleden received a letter on the 06/11/19 informing them of the proposed footway works. I have attached a copy of the letter used by them (as follows):

Dear Sir or Madam

Various Footpath Works at Front Street, Hesleden

I wish to inform you that from the week commencing 11/11/2019 onwards Durham County Council will be carrying out footpath construction works to various sections within the proximity of your homes.  This work involves taking up the existing footpaths and some kerbing as necessary and their renewal. 

The scheme is expected to take approximately 3-4 weeks to complete and during this time I would ask for your patience and co-operation as some disruption is inevitable. I would further ask that vehicles parked to the front and sides of these properties which are affected are left elsewhere during working hours to allow space for construction plant.

Should you have any problems or concerns during the work please contact Mr Stephen Deighton on 03000269567, or contact the onsite Foreman Mark Cooper 07713193318.

If you live on Front Street and did not receive a notification letter about these works please let me know and I'll follow it up with the service.

Remembrance Sunday 2019

In towns and villages up and down the country services of remembrance will be held on Sunday 10 November as we take the opportunity to pay our respects to the fallen and honour the sacrifice made by many in defence of our country during two world wars and other conflicts down the years.

As in previous years we will be laying wreaths on behalf of Durham County Council and the people of our communities at the usual local ceremonies.

Following the traditional services of remembrance wreaths will be laid by and on behalf of other local groups and organisations. There will be also an opportunity for members of the public to mark their private respects.

As in previous years we have provided funding for a buffet to be made available in Blackhall Cricket Club immediately following the service. Everyone is welcome so please come along and join us.

Electric main upgrade works scheduled to begin next week

Road No.	Location	Description	Traffic Management	Start Date	End Date	Responsibility
B1281	Hesleden Road to Coast Road, Blackhall Colliery	Electric main upgrade	2 way rolling lights	28 October	22 November	Northern Powergrid