I attended a residents’ public meeting in Hesleden WMC yesterday afternoon where the planning application seeking consent to extend the timescale for operations on the pit heap for an additional ten years was the single item of discussion. Background details can be found in an *article published on this site last week: https://robcrute-blackhall.blogspot.com/2022/02/hesleden-pit-heap-company-seeks-consent.html
The meeting was very well attended by residents from Hesleden, Castle Eden and Blackhall, all keen to find out more information about the application before they submit their comments as part of the public consultation exercise. As was expected many questions were raised and remain unanswered. In addition, rather than provide definitive answers, the responses to preliminary queries supplied in advance of the meeting by the planning case officer simply generated more questions from the floor.
With this in mind, and in the hope of giving all residents the opportunity to fully understand the implications of the application and the planning process involved, I have contacted the planning department at county hall, and also a representative from the company involved in removing the pit heap, to ask if they would agree to attend a further public meeting at some point over the next couple of weeks. This timeframe should be about right for them to make any necessary arrangements and also for residents to organise a suitable venue.
Residents have been given an assurance that the period allowed for public submissions will be extended beyond the statutory 21 days, so this should allow sufficient time for any comments and associated matters arising from the public meeting to be considered before the planning officer's report is compiled.
Whilst residents are free to submit their comments about this application at any time they choose Stacey and I will be awaiting the outcome of the next public meeting before we assess the general views of all residents and then reflect their concerns and comments in our own submission to the planning office.
I will update on progress with details of the public meeting request as soon as I have further information, but in the meantime if you have any issues you would like to raise with us about this matter please don't hesitate to get in touch at:
rob.crute@durham.gov.uk or stacey.deinali@durham.gov.uk
*Please note that you can register your comments on the council's planning portal by following the link shown above in the first paragraph of this post.
Guidance on how to submit your comments, and a list of what can and cannot be taken into account when deciding a planning application, can be found at this link: https://www.durham.gov.uk/article/8276/View-and-comment-on-current-planning-applications
