For many years now I’ve been invited along to Monk Hesleden Parish Council’s monthly environment committee to look at how we can collectively tackle a range of environmental issues in the parish area.
At the latest meeting held earlier this week we covered a lot of ground recapping on the issues we’d successfully addressed in the recent past, and those others that remain to be followed up.
Updates were given on ongoing plans to install safety measures on Middle Street to prevent vehicles mounting the pavement when drivers are parking outside the shops. Unfortunately plans have had to be temporarily suspended due to circumstances beyond our control.
While we were on about parking issues it was reported that there had been several additional complaints received from residents concerned about the dangers of vehicles parking at the junction of Hesleden Road and Middle Street. These additional reports have been passed to the police and the civil parking enforcement team for their attention.
A number of ongoing issues regarding damaged pathways at Blackhall Rocks and High Hesleden were raised at the meeting.
Almost all the footpaths in High Hesleden have been included in the new work programme for repair works, but there’s one particular footpath that still remains to be addressed. This is the stretch leading from The Elms to the Black Path. I was told a long time ago that this had been included in the work programme for repair, only to be told at the last minute that the wrong footpath had been scheduled in error. Along with local residents I'm anxious to see progress on this one and I’m seeking a solution with the highways team.
I received a number of reports of potholes in the road at a couple of locations in Blackhall Rocks and these have been reported for inspection and repair as necessary. I’ve also asked the council to contact the owner of the abandoned land in Middle Street to get an update on works to complete the fencing replacement works started some time ago.
Since the meeting, four separate incidents of fly-tipping in Blackhall Colliery were reported for clearance. I'm advised that as of today the rubbish and detritus at all four locations has been removed.
Finally, I updated members of the environment committee on the latest developments with the community campaign against the planning application seeking consent to extend the time allowed to remove spoil from the pit heap in Hesleden. There have been many delays over the years, much to the frustration of residents and campaigners alike. However, these are beyond the control of the community so I felt we’d be better off focusing on the next stage of our campaign.
I suggested that now more than ever before we need to stand together as a whole community as we prepare ourselves for the planning committee stage of the campaign. This could happen as early as next month, although nothing can be certain at this point. Our preparations will include working alongside representatives from long-established local community groups to coordinate our collective approach to addressing the committee. Crucially, there will be a period at the planning committee meeting for residents to have their say, so we’ll need to consider how we can make the most of that opportunity too.
It was felt that the best chance of success would come from convincing the members of the planning committee that we had a strong case based on community cohesion and environmental concerns and focused solely on evidence and ‘material’ planning matters.
Finally, I suggested that as we move forward to the next phase of the campaign we should continue to urge everyone in the community to submit their comments to the council’s planning portal. Although numbers themselves won’t be a deciding factor, it’s a significant strength to be able to refer to strong and united community backing when it comes to addressing the planning committee. More information about how residents can submit their comments can be found here: https://robcrute-blackhall.blogspot.com/2022/03/how-to-submit-your-comments-to-planning.html
As ever I’ll update on any significant developments in due course, but in the meantime if you have any issues you would like me to know about please get in touch at: rob.crute@durham.gov.uk
