Over the past few weeks as part of our election campaign we’ve been promoting our five key themes for our communities. These are based on your priorities and also the range of comments and queries we’ve received from residents, businesses and community groups in the course of our roles as local councillors.
We thought it might be helpful if we brought all of these themes together in one document - both for ease of access and also to enable you to see in context what we’ve been doing in our communities, what we want to do in the future and details of how we’re going to do it.
These priorities are not set in stone of course, so if you have anything you would like us to take a look at please get in touch using the contact details included at the end of this document.
1 BETTER TRANSPORT:
In this theme we’re focusing on Better Transport for our communities:
After attending training around walking and cycling infrastructure and learning about the aims of this initiative, alongside concerns that residents have raised around the lack of buses to our villages, we felt that ‘Better Transport’ should be a priority.
Since the pit closure programme of the 1980s many people have been left without a job and have had to travel further afield to access employment. Over the years public transport services have been reduced and the cost of travelling has increased.
We know that Durham County Council has plans in place to create 30,000 new jobs in key locations across the county. However, many people who rely on public transport cannot access these jobs due to infrequent bus services and lack of direct links into the city, towns and employment sites. Not only does better public transport increase employment opportunities, it also breaks down inequalities and enables our communities to remain connected.
The government have set in place aims to reduce carbon emissions and plan to ban diesel and petrol cars by 2030. This could have an adverse effect on many families as they move from petrol and diesel to an electric alternative. For families living in rural areas, walking and cycling is unrealistic for work commutes. This means they will have to rely on public transport in order to access employment, training and other essential services.
We believe that greener public transport will be a key factor in supporting people to access employment, training opportunities and essential services and will contribute towards the zero-carbon emissions goal. In addition, introducing more frequent green public transport will impact positively upon the numbers of cars on the roads and will contribute to reducing carbon emissions.
The improvement of bus services offers the greatest potential for improving public transport at the local level, thereby promoting social inclusion, reducing congestion, improving air quality, improving access to services and tackling inequality.
We have already set in motion a campaign to improve bus services and move towards greener transport through rallying support at Labour Branch and Constituency meetings as we know residents of Blackhalls area deserve to be able to get to work and reach local services safely.
Therefore Pledge #1 is to campaign and push for a greater investment in green transport as part of a wider Green New Deal, more and better bus services to connect us to key employment sites and vital services, a realistic plan to support families in moving towards the zero-carbon emission goal and better rail links along the North East coast to join up to local, regional and national transport links.
2 CLEANER STREETS:
In this section we’re setting out how we plan to continue working with our residents, local community groups and the authorities to keep our streets and open public spaces cleaner.
In our informal survey carried out online almost 30% of respondents expressed concerns about fly-tipping, littering and dog-fouling in our communities. Those views are endorsed by the amount of comments we receive each week which suggests that environmental issues, including cleaner streets and safe and accessible open spaces in our communities, are perhaps the most important themes to our residents – and because of demands on services it is one of the most challenging to maintain.
As ever, the main council service in addressing these issues is the council’s clean and green team which has a set rota in dealing with litter in our communities, ranging from daily street cleaning operations in areas of high footfall to weekly operations in areas of less demand. The clean and green team is also responsive to community calls to clear away fly-tipping where it takes place on public land and open spaces.
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| The Community Action Team clearing streets and yards in Blackhall Colliery |
The daily work of the clean and green team has been supported over many years by various volunteer litter-picking groups, including the weekly sessions organised by a long-established community group in and around Castle Eden. More recently volunteer litter-picking groups have been set up in the Blackhall Colliery, Blackhall Rocks and Hesleden areas to carry out weekend sessions in our communities. To help these volunteer groups we worked together with Monk Hesleden Parish Council to fund and provide a range of litter-picking equipment which is available to organised groups in our area. We would like to put on record our gratitude to the volunteer litter-pickers who do so much to supplement the work of the council’s clean and green team. In addition we also provided funding to tackle a particularly long-running problem associated with fly-tipping in parts of the Scheme Houses in Blackhall Colliery. Details can be found here: https://robcrute-blackhall.blogspot.com/2021/03/alleyway-clearance-at-scheme-houses.html
Over the past year or so we have also received a number of complaints about motorbikes, quads and off-road vehicles trespassing on our public open spaces – particularly in and around Hesleden, Station Town, Blackhall Colliery and the beach banks. In response we have raised concerns with the police and other authorities and we also worked again with the parish council to install security gates and other measures to prevent unauthorised access to specific locations. Details can be found here: https://robcrute-blackhall.blogspot.com/2021/02/reporting-bikes-and-off-road-vehicles.html and here: https://robcrute-blackhall.blogspot.com/2021/01/first-phase-of-safety-measures-at.html
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| Anti-bike gates installed at Chicken’s Green in response to residents’ concerns about off-road bikes trespassing on land near to the children’s play area |
Although pandemic restrictions have prevented us from meeting physically we have continued to liaise with the local police team and the parish clerk to react to environmental issues in our communities. This has been helpful in maintaining contact during a period when the parish council’s Environment Committee, of which we are co-opted members, has been unable to meet as usual.
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| Private alleys cleared of rubbish and fly-tipping as part of a one-off scheme funded by local councillor’s NB Budget |
Living in the community we represent as councillors (Rob in Blackhall Colliery and Stacey in Hesleden) we are well aware of the issues facing our communities from careless littering to wilful fly-tipping in and around our open spaces. We are fully committed to driving down incidents of environmental crime in our communities, and in doing so we rely in part on reports from our residents and businesses of incidents of dog-fouling, littering and fly-tipping amongst others. If you need to report any environmental issues for attention please do so on the council’s website at: http://www.durham.gov.uk/environment or if you prefer you can continue to contact us at: robcrute@gmail.com or stacey.deinali@gmail.com and we’ll report any incidents on your behalf.
3 SAFER STREETS:
In this section we’re setting out how we intend to continue working with our residents, the police, neighbourhood wardens, and other agencies to realise our Safer Streets priority:
From listening over the years to residents at PACT (Police & Communities Together) public meetings, ward surgeries and from correspondence we’ve received the primary street safety concerns of most people in the villages of the Blackhalls Division relate to traffic – mainly reports of speeding vehicles, but also concerns about inconsiderate and dangerous parking practices in Middle Street, Blackhall Colliery. We have also contacted the authorities at the request of a local business to consider how effective CCTV coverage might be in addressing reported incidents of crime and anti-social behaviour in Blackhall Colliery. We will update on progress when we have a response from the authorities.
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| Traffic-calming measures to be installed on the B1281 at Castle Eden and on the Coast Road at Blackhall Rocks and Blackhall Colliery |
In responding to our residents’ reports of speeding vehicles we’ve worked alongside two of our parish councils - Monk Hesleden and Castle Eden - to help fund the installation of speed visors at a number of locations, including one along the B1281 between Hesleden and Castle Eden and two others at the entrance points to Blackhall Colliery and Blackhall Rocks. The background and latest updates on both of the Blackhall schemes can be found here: https://robcrute-blackhall.blogspot.com/2020/11/speed-visor-programme-for-blackhall.html
We have also worked with Monk Hesleden Parish Council and other relevant authorities to seek to address the complaints we’ve received from shoppers, residents and motorists about the illegal and dangerous practice of parking outside the main shopping area in Middle Street in Blackhall Colliery. Highways engineers are currently working on a scheme that will address this issue, and to test whether any proposed scheme is likely to address public concerns we will press for a consultation exercise to enable our residents and businesses to express their views on any proposals once they are completed. Background details can be found here: https://robcrute-blackhall.blogspot.com/2021/04/parking-in-middle-street.html
The traffic calming schemes mentioned above will be funded through the Neighbourhood Budget supported by funding from the relevant parish councils. The parking scheme for Middle Street will be funded through the county council’s Towns and Villages Investment Plan, details of which can be found here: https://robcrute-blackhall.blogspot.com/2021/02/towns-and-villages-programme.html
4 STRONGER COMMUNITIES:
In this section we’re focusing on how we can work together to focus on our Stronger Communities priority.
A long-standing priority for our residents and businesses - and many visitors from East Durham and beyond - has been the regeneration of Crimdon, including a reinvestment programme to attract more visitors to the Durham Coast. With this in mind we worked alongside officers from the county council and the Durham Heritage Coast to bring to reality a new Coastal Hub for Crimdon. The background to this project, and the latest developments in installing the Hub, can be found at: https://robcrute-blackhall.blogspot.com/2021/04/crimdon-coastal-hub-on-track-for-summer.html
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An artist’s impression of the Coastal Hub currently under construction at Crimdon
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Residents and visitors have also raised concerns about the existing infrastructure at Crimdon, and in particular the poor condition of the private road linking the A1086 Coast Road to the promenade. Along with the parish clerk we pressed continually for repairs to be carried out at this location in time for the formal opening of the Coastal Hub - currently scheduled to take place later this summer. Our persistence paid off and highways and pavement repairs have been scheduled to take place soon. Details can be found at: https://robcrute-blackhall.blogspot.com/2021/04/repair-works-confirmed-for-coast-road.html
As we’ve mentioned in our previous Safer Streets priority, we have worked alongside Monk Hesleden Parish Council and other relevant authorities to seek to address residents’ concerns that disabled priority parking places along the double-yellow lines outside the shops in Middle Street are being taken up by motorists parking illegally, and who could easily leave their vehicles at public parking facilities nearby and take a short walk to the shops and other facilities. Residents have also expressed concerns that vehicles are pulling into the pavement whilst parking at this location, thereby posing a safety risk to shoppers and other pedestrians - many using pushchairs, wheelchairs and mobility scooters. Highways engineers are currently designing a scheme to address these issues and background details can be found here: https://robcrute-blackhall.blogspot.com/2021/04/parking-in-middle-street.html
We have also promoted the need for improvements to the retail offer in our communities and plans are being considered to invest in our communities through the council’s Town and Villages Investment Programme, details of which can be found here: https://robcrute-blackhall.blogspot.com/2021/02/towns-and-villages-programme.html
Finally, with experience as a business owner Stacey understands the opportunities and challenges facing the sector. With that in mind we will continue to work with and listen to existing and emerging businesses to help them set-up, survive and thrive, and also generate local employment opportunities.
5 BETTER HOUSING:
Our final priority theme is focused on Better Housing:
From the many comments and queries we’ve received over the years, and from the many posts we’ve published over the years on social media, most people will be aware that an unregulated private housing sector has been at the root of many problems in our villages. Some irresponsible private sector landlords have taken advantage of the system, simply to take rent without taking the responsibility that goes with it. This issue has been at the very top of the agenda at several PACT (Police & Communities Together) meetings in the past. With this in mind we’ve pressed persistently for a Selective Licensing Scheme which would bring much-needed regulation to the private sector. Details of the scheme and its background can be found here: https://robcrute-blackhall.blogspot.com/2020/09/private-rented-housing-improvement.html
Details of other housing initiatives, including the forthcoming Targeted Delivery Plan, can be found here: https://robcrute-blackhall.blogspot.com/2021/03/housing-improvement-initiative-for.html
In addition most people are also aware that Durham County Council is not a housing authority, and as such it has no real authority at the moment to influence what some irresponsible private sector landlords choose to do with their properties. This includes addressing neighbours’ concerns about the condition of the property and the behaviour of its tenants. It is intended that the SLS referred to above will bring much needed regulation to the private sector and address many of the local issues associated with it. In the meantime the council will continue to work alongside its partners to respond to local concerns wherever it has the authority to do so.
To clear up some of the confusion about the local impact of private sector housing, and the limited powers the authorities have to deal with it, Rob published a piece on his blog and online last year. The article was intended to dispel some of the local myths and rumours doing the rounds and it can be found here: https://robcrute-blackhall.blogspot.com/2020/06/housing-issues-in-blackhall-colliery.html
Finally, if you are in any doubt about reporting incidents of crime and disorder in our communities please follow police advice to contact them on 101 (non-emergency) or 999 (emergency).
CONCLUSION:
So there you have it. This is how we plan to engage and work together with our community groups and local authorities and agencies to Make A Difference in the communities off the Blackhalls Division.
Please take a look through each of our themes and priorities for our communities and compare what we’ve done and what we’re doing against the intentions, background work and local involvement of the other candidates – if you’re unsure who to vote for on 6 May that might help to make up your mind.
As ever, if you have any issues you would like to raise with us please get in touch in the usual way. Our contact details can be found on the leaflets we delivered last week to every home in the villages of the Blackhalls Division.
Rob: rob.crute@gmail.com
Stacey: staceydeinali@gmail.com
