Ward Surgeries resume at Blackhall Library

It was great to get our monthly ward surgeries back on track this morning, with the first session taking place at Blackhall Library since social restrictions were introduced to limit the transmission of Covid-19.

Carol and Rob at Blackhall Library

We've always valued our local ward surgeries as one of the main ways for us to maintain direct, face-to-face links with our residents, so it was particularly disappointing to have to suspend them during lockdown. Although many people these days contact us by telephone, email and social media there are still quite a few who prefer to meet us in person to tell us about their issues - so we know they've missed our surgeries too.

In between visitors coming in and out of the library all morning I took the opportunity to talk through a few ideas with our wonderful library manager Carol Close. As ever Carol was full of exciting ideas for our library and the community as a whole, so we'll be meeting up at the library again soon with officers from the East Durham Area Action Partnership to look at these plans in more detail and then get them off the ground - so watch this space for updates!

In the meantime if there are any issues you would like us to know about - and you can't get along to one of our surgeries - you can get in touch with us direct at: rob.crute@durham.gov.uk or stacey.deinali@durham.gov.uk

A busier than usual Monday morning

Perhaps it’s no surprise that Monday mornings are often the busiest times of the week given the events of the previous weekend. For some reason though this Monday morning has been busier than usual, with reports ranging from general littering incidents to missing bins and even an upturned bench.

Rather than plaster Facebook with a series of incidents I’ve decided to list this morning’s report in one post:

The litter bin outside the library at the bottom of Hesleden Road has been reported for replacement (FS 3642 65216) 

Paint spilt across the road at the top of Fifth Street has been re-reported to the council for removal. This incident was first reported some time ago, just after the paint appeared in July, but the attempt at removal has been unsuccessful (FS 3642 65450) 

The regular littering along Middle Street, both front and back, has been reported for clearance (FS 3642 64572) and the box filled with rubbish and abandoned at the pit wheel has also been reported for removal (FS 3642 64845)

Fly-tipping and abandoned bins at the top of First Street, directly behind Airlie House have been reported for removal (FS 3642 65956)

As reported on social media last night the upturned bench on the Black Path has been reported to the parish council to be repositioned 

Finally, unsightly and potentially dangerous guttering and the generally untidy appearance of the empty property on Fourth Street has been reported again to the authorities with a request that the owner/landlord is contacted again with a request to carry out repairs. This has been reported in the past but the landlord appears reluctant to repair the property

Traders at Blackhall Rocks and Crimdon

I was contacted yesterday by the owner of an ice cream van currently sited at Blackhall Rocks who has concerns about the pressure he's facing from Durham County Council to move his business from the site. 

I've been in touch with the owner and I’ve assured him I’ll raise his concerns with the relevant departments at DCC next week and also that Stacey and I will do everything we can to find out more about why Durham County Council is removing businesses from local visitor sites and why it seems to be done in such a heavy-handed way.

From the comments I’ve seen so far on social media, and from the messages I've received directly, it looks as though this current issue is related to a recent decision made by DCC to remove businesses from Crimdon - something that was done without consultation and without even informing me and Stacey as the local county councillors. As regular followers of this blogsite will know I contacted DCC a few weeks ago to raise my concerns about what’s been going on in this area, where popular and well-respected businesses are being displaced and effectively closed down. It’s having a dreadful impact on the business owners themselves but it’s also taking away visitor attractions from places where they’re needed most. Please see the article on this site dated Friday 30 July 2021 for background details: https://robcrute-blackhall.blogspot.com/2021/07/campaign-to-keep-traders-at-crimdon.html

I’ll update on progress with this latest incident as soon as I have a response from the authorities but in the meantime if you'd like to let us know what you like or dislike about the existing facilites at Crimdon please get in touch with us at: rob.crute@durham.gov.uk or: stacey.deinali@durham.gov.uk

Littering and dog fouling initiatives

I was contacted earlier this week by residents complaining about another incident of littering on the B1281 between Blackhall Colliery and Hesleden. Once again this incident stood out from the usual littering offence because it comprised in part of used nappies, with the rubbish apparently thrown from a passing vehicle.

In response to the requests of a number of residents I've asked the neighbourhood wardens and the police to intervene on this occasion, partly because of the frequency of these incidents but also because of the appalling nature of the content and the inclusion this time of potential identifying material. Drivers, businesses and residents alike have had enough of their streets being used as open litter bins by people who evidently have no respect for our community.

I also received complaints about one or two isolated incidents of dog fouling in separate locations in two of the villages in our ward. I've asked the neighbourhood wardens to increase the level of coverage at these locations, and I'll update on progress in due course.

In the meantime, in response to a comment that the authorities never seem to respond to residents' concerns about environmental issues, I've referred below to a number of initiatives local councillors and individual services have been involved with over the past two years alone. A trawl through the articles published on these pages over the years will reveal many more:

Two separate public consultations took place last year on the work of the community safety team and also the proposed extension of a Public Spaces Protection Order in Blackhall Colliery (please see posts dated Sunday 9 February 2020 and Wednesday 10 June 2020). 

Last year the council's Community Action Team focused its attention on an eleven week scheme to tackle a range of environmental issues (please see posts dated Tuesday 14 July 2020 and Tuesday 21 July 2020). 

And late last year and earlier this year I published articles about two environmental improvement initiatives (please see posts dated Tuesday 4 August 2020 and Monday 22 March 2021).

If you have any concerns about littering, dog fouling or other environmental issues in your neighbourhood please get in touch with me at: rob.crute@durham.gov.uk or Stacey at: stacey.deinali@durham.gov.uk

If you prefer you can report any issues or incidents direct to the council at: https://doitonline.durham.gov.uk/