Community Action Team environmental programme update

I have received an update from the council’s Community Action Team on mid-point progress with their ongoing environmental improvement scheme in Blackhall Colliery.

We are now almost half way through our action weeks and the project is progressing well.

 

• We are continuing to work on over 150 pieces of casework identified through our walkabouts and raised by residents. 25 legal Notices have now been served.

 

• Next week we will be holding two online resident surgeries on Tuesday 1 September from 10.30am until 11.30am and from 5.00pm until 6.00pm. Our Social Media teams are planning to put out social media posts on Monday with direct links to the sessions. Please do ‘share’ and ‘like’ on your social media pages.

 

• We’ve carried out a survey for missing gas covers. 32 properties have been identified and we are writing to the property owners advising them to reinstate these.  Gas keys are also available at the Parish council for residents to pick up.

 

• 15 properties have been identified as having recurring issues over the past 2 years.  We have had a detailed look at these properties and will be working with the landlords to address all current issues.

 

• We are arranging a multi-agency meeting to take forward various issues which have been raised at Third Street.

 

• We have arranged a small socially distanced walkabout to look at the issue of bins being left out in the rear lanes of Fifth to Eleventh Street.  The Wardens have already carried out a letter drop about bins being left out to First and Third Street at the start of this project.

 

• We have agreed to carry out a small consultation for residents in First Street, Aspatria Avenue and Corry Close to see if they would be in favour of replacing the broken fence at Chicken’s Green (down from Corry Close) with boulders.

 

• The Parish Council has a group of volunteers who would like to take part in litter picks from September

Crimdon Hub Update

I’ve been contacted recently by someone asking for an update on the proposed Coastal Hub at Crimdon. Over recent months I've published several updates on progress, including an article three months ago about the planning process and how the planning application had been submitted to the council for determination (please see post dated Monday 4 May 2020 for details).

Obviously this was in the middle of the current Covid-19 pandemic, and working restrictions imposed during the lockdown period have had an unavoidable impact on progress. However, now that the planning application has been approved the whole package is scheduled to be put before the council’s cabinet next month for final approval. Following that stage project officers are confident that work will begin on site in the autumn. This of course will be dependent on prevailing circumstances regarding the global Covid-19 pandemic.

I'll continue to publish updates as and when I receive them, but in the meantime I'd like to thank everyone for their patience and understanding, especially during the unavoidable delays caused by the current pandemic.

Scam email warning

Durham County Council has issued a press release warning residents of a series of scam emails. Full details are published here:

A warning has been issued to County Durham residents following a series of scam emails, trying to obtain personal and financial information.

DCC trading standards team is urging residents to be on their guard after it has received reports of hoax emails being sent, claiming to be from the council.

Each email uses a made-up name and claims to be from a council officer, with the letters MBL and a number on the bottom of the text.

The emails contain fake Bacs receipts and encourage the recipients to click through to a fraudulent website, which appears to be of a phishing nature and attempts to take personal and financial information.

One way to identify the hoax is that it isn't sent from a durham.gov.uk email address.

Details on how to report fraud and help can be found on our Fraud page, or residents can call Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040.

Joanne Waller, DCC's head of community protection services, said: "We would like to urge the public to take extra care when they are being contacted by email. We would never ask for personal information or financial information and we would ask that people take the time to check who the email is from, and stop to think before they click on an unknown link in order to protect their information.

"I would also encourage anyone who has received one of these emails, or has any other concerns regarding fraud or scams to contact us. We will always take this information seriously and investigate the matter."

Details of how to protect yourself and family from frauds and scams can be found at Friends Against Scams Online Learning.

Blackhall Dental Practice Update

Last week I published information from NHS England regarding the imminent retirement of the dentist at the Blackhall dental practice in Middle Street meaning that the practice is scheduled to close at the end of this month (please see post date Thursday 6 August 2020 for background details).

Covid-19 pandemic restrictions are having an impact on how dental practices are dealing with new and existing patients, especially when urgent treatment is required, and I have now received additional information from NHS England referring to potential difficulties at the moment in registering with an alternative dental practice. Their guidance includes an update on what measures NHS England and dental practices are taking to mitigate the impact of the current situation. I have published the latest update in full below:

Please find attached correspondence from NHS England explaining some of the difficulties that patients may be experiencing in registering for alternative Dental services and what NHS England and dental practices’ approach to the current situation is.

I have contacted the practices on the list so I could best advise of the current ‘picture’ of provision.  Due to the COVID 19 situation practices are still in the initial phases of re-opening to offer face to face treatment and only where patient and staff safety is assured and appropriate PPE is in place and staff are fully trained in its use. Those patients who are currently in a course of treatment with them will be given priority to complete any treatment delayed due to the pandemic where it is considered safe to do so.  They are taking the names of those seeking a new dentist and placing them on a waiting list due to the limitations for any patient for a routine appointment.  

Practices are unable to operate at full capacity due to these issues and the sanitisation of the surgeries and staff PPE changes in between patients slows the clinical time they can provide.  Once practices become fully operational they will contact those patients on the lists to offer them an appointment.  I appreciate that this is frustrating for anyone wishing to visit a dentist for routine check ups at this present time.  

 

NHS England are operating Urgent Dental Centres (UDC) across the area for those patients who require urgent treatment, anyone ringing a dentist with an urgent dental problem can be triaged by a dental clinician to ascertain if they meet the criteria.  If they do, they will be referred to their nearest UDC for immediate urgent treatment.  All practices are updated with a ‘COVIDLIVE’ status weekly which includes guidance for “any and all patients” who contact them with the pathway for triage and referral into the UDCs available.

Garden Waste Collection Update

I’ve received advance information regarding the revised schedule for this year’s garden waste collections, and also details of a proposed reduction in charges for existing customers if and when they sign up to the scheme next year.

All current subscribers to the scheme will be contacted in due course to let them know of these changes, but in the meantime please see full details in the correspondence received this afternoon from the council’s Head of Environment:

I am pleased to be writing to you to confirm that the garden waste collections on their existing collection days (Saturday or Monday) will be continuing up to the end of November, beyond the initial calendar first issued to customers.

You will be aware that there was a delayed start to collections this year, as we prioritised refuse and recycling rounds in response to Covid. Overall by the last collection (23^rd November) we will have achieved 15 collections out of usual 17, but we have listened to customers and will not be collecting in December. In recognition of this year’s shortfall, we are pleased to inform you that the proposed charge for existing customers for next year will be at a reduced rate of £30.90 per subscription. The charge for new customers signing up to the scheme in 2021 will be at the usual £35 per subscription.

 

For information this year we have over 65,000 users of the scheme, and increase of 3,500 on the same time last year. We do hope the continuance of the scheme for the remainder of the season will be welcomed by subscribers to the service, and that many will opt to return next year.

Fence repairs in Blackhall Colliery

Following reports received from residents earlier this year about damage to fences at two locations in Blackhall Colliery I submitted a request for repair or replacement works to be carried out as soon as possible. 

Unfortunately this was at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic which meant that working restrictions were in place and staffing levels were disrupted because of the lockdown response. To compound matters conditions during lockdown also meant that supplies could not be sourced to carry out the repairs and replacements requested.

Thankfully, although the pandemic is still with us, restrictions have been lifted sufficiently to allow for fence repair works to be carried out at both locations. I’m told that the damaged fence at First Street and East Street will be repaired this week by the council’s clean and green team, with the highways section carrying out repairs to the damaged fence at Thornton Terrace as soon as possible.

Road resurfacing works scheduled for Wingate

I have received notification of highway resurfacing works to be carried out over the weekend of 22 & 23 August 2020 on North Road and Salters Lane in Wingate. Although these locations aren't in the Blackhall Division of Durham County Council they do connect parts of the ward in Wellfield, Station Town and Hutton Henry and as such are used frequently by residents in those settlements and others.

I've reproduced the notice in full below:

B1280 North Road and Salters Lane, Wingate Temporary Road Closure An Order is being made under the provisions of Section 14(1) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 the effect of which will be to close to vehicular traffic from 7.00 am on Saturday 22 August 2020  1. a 510 metre length of B1280 Durham Road and Salters Lane between its junctions with Quinn Crescent and Moor Lane, Wingate (including the junctions with Queens Road and Gully Road). 2. An additional 80m length of Salters Lane will be closed between Dobson Tce and Vicarage Estate.
 
The closure is necessary to enable carriageway resurfacing works to be undertaken which will probably take some 2 days (between 7.00 am and 7.00 pm per day) to complete to be carried out to that length of road.
 
Throughout the period of closure an alternative route will be available to vehicular traffic from the northern side of the closure from A181 westerly then south easterly on B1278 Salters Lane and continuing south easterly on C22 through Deaf Hill then north on B1280 leading to Station Town and Wingate to the southern side of the closure, and vice versa.

Blackhall Colliery Dental Practice

I’ve received advance notification that the dental practice in Middle Street, Blackhall Colliery is scheduled to close at the end of this month. I understand that letters are to be circulated locally at the end of the week.

Please note the comments below received from the Primary Care Manager at NHS England:

We are writing to make you aware that one of our local dental providers, Mr Abrahams has taken the decision to retire and as a result has given notice to end his contract for the delivery of NHS dental services from 45 Middle Street, Blackhall Colliery, Hartlepool TS27 4EE.  The practice will therefore close on 31 August 2020. 

We appreciate that this is short notice and the loss of service will be of some concern to you, but I want to assure you that there are other dental practices in the local area that offer dental care for NHS patients details of which are being shared with patients.   However, you will be aware that Covid-19 has impacted on how NHS dental services have been delivered.  

With effect from 8 June 2020 dental practices across the region were given the go ahead to start seeing patients for some face-to-face appointments. For many practices, this has been a phased approach due to the need to undertake the work required to prioritize the safety of patients and staff. Risk assessments were required to identify modifications and working practices that need to be adopted before a full range of dental treatment can be offered.  However, due to the nature of the service where a significant proportion of the treatments undertaken generate an aerosol, the infection control precautions required to ensure the safety of patients and staff have inevitably slowed the pace at which clinicians are able to work.  Practices are therefore having to prioritize patients with the most urgent needs first. It will likely be some months before the services return to providing care in a similar manner to that which patients previously experienced and will be dependent on the further easing of COVID-19 control measures. We are therefore asking all patients for their understanding and co-operation during this time. 

 

Our intention is to review the impact of the closure of Mr. Abraham’s practice to inform our future commissioning plans as we are committed to maintain access for patients.  We will of course engage with you in the development of these plans and will be in touch in due course to discuss further.  In the interim, please do not hesitate to contact me if you require any further information or have any queries or concerns regarding this matter.

Traffic survey request updates

On occasion over the past few years, in response to concerns expressed by residents about speeding vehicles along the A1086 in Blackhall Colliery and at Blackhall Rocks, I have asked for a series of traffic surveys to be carried out to enable the authorities to gather evidence, evaluate the extent of a problem where it exists and then determine whether any mitigating measures might be needed to address residents’ concerns. 

As a result, surveys have been carried out in both Blackhall Colliery (please see post dated Monday 30 January 2017 for background details) and at Blackhall Rocks (please see post dated Monday 27 April 2020 for background details). However I have received additional correspondence recently from residents reporting incidents of speeding vehicles in other locations along the A1086.

Earlier this year I contacted the highways section at county hall and the traffic management office at Durham police to request an additional traffic survey at the northern end of the A1086 Coast Road at Blackhall Colliery (from the Welfare Park down to The Hardwick) and I was assured this would be carried out in due course. I also requested a Community Speed Watch initiative be carried out at Broad Road in Blackhall Rocks to enable residents to participate if they so wished.

Unfortunately both these requests have been unavoidably delayed, in part as a result of restrictions imposed by the current Covid-19 pandemic and partly because of the weight of public demand across the county for traffic surveys. However I have contacted the council's traffic asset management team and Durham police again this morning to ask for an update on progress with my requests, and also to ask for an additional traffic survey to be carried out at those locations that have not already been surveyed. This would have the desired effect of joining up all the separate speed surveys along the A1086 Coast Road from Blackhall Colliery to Blackhall Rocks. I've reproduced this correspondence below in full:

Good morning all,

 

My purpose in writing is to request an update on my request earlier this year for a speed survey to be carried out along a stretch of the A1086 passing Blackhall Colliery Primary School. This follows concerns expressed by residents about speeding traffic at this location (emails to/from the traffic management team dated 14 February 2020 refer). This would also supplement a previous speed survey carried out in 2017 along the A1086 from Fifth Street to St Joseph’s RC church in Blackhall Colliery.

 

I have now received additional reports from residents of speeding vehicles along the Coast Road between Blackhall Colliery and the Hart Crescent junction at Blackhall Rocks. Residents are asking if a speed survey could be carried out at this location to supplement the survey(s) referred to above, and the survey carried out earlier this year at Broad Road in Blackhall Rocks. This would join up a series of surveys from the approach to Blackhall Colliery from Horden in the north to the opposite end of the A1086 Coast Road at Broad Road, Blackhall Rocks in the south.

 

As you will be aware from previous correspondence some residents in Blackhall Rocks were not persuaded by the outcome of the traffic survey carried out in January 2020 at Broad Road and I suggested at the time that a Community Speed Watch could be carried out at this location to enable residents to participate themselves. My request was confirmed earlier this year in correspondence from the police, with an assurance that a CSW could be carried out at the appropriate time.

 

I acknowledge that delays in carrying out these requests and initiatives have been unavoidable because of both the volume of public demand and the impact of the current Covid-19 pandemic restrictions. However I would be grateful if you could update me on progress with the requests outlined in this correspondence to enable me to respond to public concerns about traffic related matters on the A1086 Coast Road between Blackhall Colliery and Blackhall Rocks.

 

I will update on progress when I have a complete response from the highways department and Durham police.

Environmental improvement works underway in Blackhall Colliery

I attended the first formal strategy meeting of the county council’s community action team this afternoon. This comes hot on the heels of the initial community engagement period which ended last Friday (please see post dated Tuesday 28 July 2020 for the most recent background information).

The main purpose of today’s meeting was to collate the information gathered from the virtual surgery sessions held over the past few weeks, to identify community priorities from the survey which was carried out at the same time and finally to set the programme for the rest of the scheme which is scheduled to run until October.

To start on a positive note the survey generated a considerable number of responses from local residents, businesses and organisations which demonstrates both a strong public interest in the welfare of our village and a keenness to participate in the council’s environmental improvement scheme. It should be no real surprise that the priorities identified from the survey related to improving the management of a number of private rented sector properties, rubbish accumulations and/or incidents of fly-tipping, both in the street and in the back yards of properties and finally the poor condition of some of the empty properties in the village. Other reported priorities included incidents of anti-social behaviour, dog fouling and littering.

The next phase of the community action scheme has already started this week and will include work programmes and initiatives to address those issues identified above. This will include ongoing public engagement sessions, community walkabouts and weekly reports to keep residents up to date with developments.

During the strategy session held this afternoon I again raised the pressing issue of fly-tipping and rubbish accumulated in rear yards, especially in those locations I’ve been dealing with lately. I’m aware that one of the properties reported recently has now been cleared of debris and that formal measures have already been initiated in relation to others. 

Although it might appear that progress to date has been slow in tackling the poor condition of some of the back yards in a number of identified properties (especially in Third, Fourth and Fifth Streets) the council is obliged to work within a legal framework and this is now well underway. If you require information on any specific aspect of the community action scheme please contact the team at: CommunityActionTeam@durham.gov.uk or go to http://www.durham.gov.uk/cat for full contact details.