Last month I published an article on this site about continuing problems with fly-tipping and debris in the rear yards of privately owned or rented properties in the village, and how a scheme to tackle some of those issues had been delayed because of working restrictions imposed during the Covid-19 pandemic (please see post dated Saturday 2 May 2020 for background details, and which I've also reproduced below in full).
Since that article was written, although some yards have been cleared, I've continued to receive complaints from residents nearby understandably concerned and frustrated about the condition of some of the other yards and properties. I have taken up those concerns with neighbourhood wardens and officers from the private sector team at DCC and I've supplied both with a list of the most badly affected properties with a request that they maintain contact with the owners to ask them to take responsibility for their properties.
Housing officers from the private sector team have confirmed that they are in touch with the owners and landlords of those houses and are continuing to press them to maintain their properties to a decent standard. I've also asked that if owners and landlords fail to clear their yards within a legally defined timescale the council should take measures to clear the yards on the terms outlined below, and subsequently recharge the property to recoup the cost.
In addition, I have been assured by officers from the Community Action Team that their scheme as described below will proceed as soon as possible with the intention of focusing on the issues set out here. In the meantime please continue to report any specific issues to the council or if you prefer you can contact me by email at: rob.crute@durham.gov.uk and I'll take those matters up on your behalf.
Article first published on Saturday 2 May 2020: Last month we received confirmation from Durham County Council that the Community Action Team (CAT) was scheduled to return to Blackhall Colliery later this year.
The CAT initiative, which follows on from the team’s most recent visit to the village a few years ago, is time-limited and focuses on carrying out environmental improvements in a single defined area (please see the post dated Friday 6 March 2020 for full details).
Unfortunately the scheme has had to be postponed because of the impact of the council and government's response to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. However, we will be asking for the CAT to return to the village at the earliest opportunity and as soon as restrictions are lifted sufficiently for the scheme to proceed safely.
On the positive side, the delay to the CAT scheme has given us additional time to consider the overall focus of the initiative. As regular readers of this blog will be aware, there are persistent and significant concerns in Blackhall Colliery about the poor condition of the back yards of some properties, especially in the numbered streets. This is an issue which has been well documented in articles elsewhere on this site, and it is a problem that has continued to develop over time with many locations left open to arson attacks with potentially catastrophic results for neighbouring properties and their residents.
A number of different approaches have been adopted over the years in trying to keep the yards of these properties clear of rubbish and debris. Most owners and local landlords respond immediately when concerns about their properties are raised with them. However many of the most problematic properties tend to be owned by landlords who live many miles away from our village, with little if any concern for the condition of their properties or the impact they have on our residents. They are happy to take the rent but not the responsibility. This is where the heart of the problem lies, and it's where we need to find a solution.
With this in mind we intend to approach officers from the CAT and ask them to focus predominantly on the issues outlined above when they come to Blackhall Colliery. In particular we will ask them to contact those owners and landlords that are most resistant to taking responsibility for their properties with a request that they clear their yards within an agreed and reasonable timescale. If this fails to produce a satisfactory result within that timescale the council will clear the yard and then recharge the owner or landlord for the works carried out to their property. If the owner or landlord fails to pay for the works as agreed the charge would be attached to the property which would then be recouped by the council when the property is sold.
We believe that this is a fair and reasonable proposal, one which places responsibility on the owner or landlord for the maintenance of their properties and one which should produce results within a strictly defined timescale. However we will ask the council to consider it in the hope of finding a workable solution to the problems posed by dangerous and untidy back yards in some of the streets in our village.