Permanent new home for the whole DLI collection and archive to open this Summer

A few years ago the Labour administration then running Durham County Council announced plans to open up a permanent new home at Mount Oswald in Durham City for the entire Durham Light Infantry (DLI) collection, bringing it together with the DLI archive and written records for the first time in decades. Full background details - and additional links to previous posts - can be found in an article I published on this site last year: https://robcrute-blackhall.blogspot.com/2023/03/tory-led-coalition-urged-to-come-clean.html

However, over the last two years the Tory-led coalition now in control of the council has tried to dupe members of the public into believing that the building at Aykley Heads, where parts of the collection used to be on display, was going to be reopened as the DLI Museum (at a current capital cost estimate of £20m - with additional revenue costs of running the building coming in at £600k each and every year).

The truth finally came out this week however when the council issued a press release confirming that The Story at Mount Oswald is scheduled to open to the public in June this year. Notably the council refers to The Story in its own words as 'the permanent home for the whole DLI Collection'.

Durham County Council has confirmed that The Story, based at Mount Oswald in Durham City, is scheduled to the public from Friday 14 June.

A brand-new cultural venue and register office for Durham and the wider county, The Story will be housed in the recently restored Grade II listed Mount Oswald manor house, which has been extended to incorporate a purpose-built, contemporary building.

Combining period property restoration with state-of-the-art modern facilities, The Story provides a home for some of the county’s most important heritage collections and an elegant backdrop for the register office, ceremonies, and events.

Home to ancient archives and archaeological finds, records of bravery, and life-changing events, The Story will bring together five historic collections for the first time. Available for everyone, online and in-person, these precious collections chart peoples’ lives from birth to death.

They allow people to see snippets of a person’s life from the moment their birth is registered; their homes and communities; schooling; health; marriage; and celebrations and working life; providing visitors and residents with a unique opportunity to explore the history of County Durham and its people.

Cllr Elizabeth Scott, Durham County Council’s Cabinet member for economy and partnerships, said: “We are very much looking forward to officially opening The Story and welcoming residents and visitors in the summer. This exciting new venue will bring to life the fascinating history of the county, from prehistory through to the modern day, in the spectacular setting of Mount Oswald.

“This ambitious project will see a world class facility that will be home to some of the county’s most important heritage collections and a place for life-changing events. It supports our commitment to creating new attractions and opportunities for our residents and visitors, and further cements Durham’s position as the ‘culture county’.”

The council’s collection teams are currently packing and moving more than 15,000 objects and almost six miles of archives charting 900 years of local history to the new building. Accessing local and personal histories will be easier than ever before with free exhibitions, activities and talks, enhanced search facilities, and cutting-edge digital tools.

The Story will be the new home for the Durham register office and will offer an elegant wedding and civil ceremony location.

Thanks to funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, made possible by National Lottery players, alongside exhibitions there will be an exciting activity programme with storytelling sessions, kids’ takeover days, behind the scenes tours, volunteering opportunities and community projects.

The Story will also be the permanent home for the whole DLI Collection, reuniting it with the DLI Archive for the first time since 1998.

Highway resurfacing works on B1281 between Hesleden and Castle Eden

I've received notification today that the B1281 between Hesleden and Castle Eden will be subject to a Temporary Road Closure Order later this month to allow for resurfacing works to take place.

The road closure order means that the B1281 from the Gray Avenue junction at Hesleden to the Memorial junction at Castle Eden will be closed from 7am until 7pm for a period of 5 days from Thursday 29 February. The full terms are set out in the notification letter below:

B1281 Castle Eden Temporary Road Closure Order

Refer to application dated 4 October 2023 and subsequent re-programming of works relating to the above. The closure will be effected by an Notice under Section 14(2) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984.

The Order has been authorised to commence from 7.00 am on Thursday 29 February 2024 for an anticipated period of 5 days. It will be necessary for you to comply with the provisions of the Road Traffic (Temporary Restrictions) Procedure Regulations 1992 which require that:- 

(i) A notice be displayed in a prominent position at each end of the length of the road to which the Order relates and at the points at which it will be necessary to diverge from the road, stating the effect of the Order and, where applicable, the alternative route or routes available for vehicular traffic. 

(ii) Each such notice shall be displayed throughout the period during which the Order is in force and all reasonable steps must be taken to ensure that the notices remain in a legible condition and continue to be so displayed for so long as the Order remains in force, and are promptly replaced as often as occasion requires during that period.

Notices for use in complying with the aforementioned Regulations are enclosed. In addition you must provide and maintain at each end of the length of road the subject of closure, and at suitable points along the diversionary route for vehicular traffic, appropriate closure and diversion signs which accord with Chapter 8 of the Department of Transport Traffic Signs Manual.

The provision of the signs and their maintenance should be undertaken by a reputable traffic management company. For your information it is County Council practice to recover the advertising costs incurred in the making of the Notice. You must ensure that prior notification of the closure / prohibition is given to those residents and premises directly affected by the restrictions.

Neighbourhoods & Climate Change Network Management.

Replacement requested for damaged barrier at Deneholme

I was contacted this week by a resident reporting that the boom gate/barrier at the top of Deneholme bank had been damaged again. This follows repair carried out at this same location just a few weeks ago.

I went down to Deneholme the morning after to take a look for myself, and from the images shown here you’ll see that the barrier has been damaged beyond repair.

I’ve reported this incident to the council, with a request that the barrier is replaced as soon as possible. Given there have been repeated cases of vandalism at this location over the years I’ve also asked that another, more effective, way of restricting unauthorised access to the beach is considered.

I’ll update on progress as soon as I have more information from the service.

Calls for effective speed restrictions on Hesleden Road

I've received additional complaints recently from several residents concerned about speeding vehicles on Hesleden Road in Blackhall Colliery. This relates mainly to the section between Brockwell at the top of the bank and the A1086 junction on Middle Street at the bottom.

There are already speed humps installed at a couple of locations on the road, but they have proved ineffective against speeding cars and bikes, and because they meet the maximum permissible height of 70mm they cannot be legally raised. 

There are several young families living on either side of Hesleden Road, and naturally residents are concerned that an accident caused by a handful of irresponsible drivers or reckless off-road bike riders is almost inevitable. With that in mind I've contacted the council’s highways department to ask them to consider an alternative form of speed restrictions that would be more effective in addressing residents' concerns.

I'll update on progress as soon as I have more information from the service.

B1281 Blackhall to Hesleden footpath repair works confirmed

Last month I published an update on progress with a series of ongoing safety improvements taking place along the B1281 between Blackhall Colliery and Hesleden. In that article I referred specifically to much-needed resurfacing works to the public footpath, something that the council seemed reluctant to do despite my persistent calls for repairs to be carried out. Background details can be found in the link here: https://robcrute-blackhall.blogspot.com/2024/01/pedestrian-safety-on-b1281-between.html

Because of significant damage caused by a burst pipe at the mid-point of the footpath, and erosion caused by pooled water in a number of other locations, emergency works to repair a lengthy section of the footpath were carried out towards the end of last year at my request. Since those works were completed one of the priorities of residents was to have the rest of the footpath surface repaired to bring it up to a comparable standard. 

I've continued to raise concerns with highways officers about the poor condition of the footpath on a number of occasions over the past couple of months, but for some reason inspectors seemed to find the surface acceptable. However after further calls recently for repairs to be carried out, along with an offer to meet highways inspectors on site to discuss the issue further, I've now received confirmation that resurfacing works along this stretch of footpath are scheduled to begin before the end of this financial year (ie, by the end of March 2024).

I'm aware there are other sections of damaged public footpaths in our patch that require attention too, and I'll continue to press highways inspectors for repairs to be carried out as soon as possible. 

Calls grow for a review of the council tax system amid warnings of a funding crisis in local councils

The funding crisis in local government has reached such a 'tipping point' recently that many hitherto silent national newspaper titles are now reporting on it, with almost all warning that even well-run and fiscally responsible local authorities are at imminent risk of collapse due to the government’s austerity-led butchering of council budgets and local public services.

In addition a cross-party committee of MPs has now reported that councils are facing an 'out of control' financial crisis. Last week the House of Commons Levelling Up, Housing and Communities committee (DHLUC) called on government ministers to fill a £4bn funding gap in council budgets if it wants to avoid a 'severe impact' on local council services - £4bn being the minimum amount necessary just to return local council finances to 2010 pre-austerity levels.

The committee's findings highlight how councils are particularly struggling with increased demand and charges for statutory services (ie those that a council is legally obliged to provide) like adult and children's social care and support for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), as well as support for homeless people and associated temporary accommodation costs.

Looking to the longer-term the committee calls for a fundamental review of how councils are funded, the local council tax system and the delivery of social care services - elements of which the government flatly refuses to fund centrally, preferring to pass the burden instead to local authorities and council tax payers in the form of an additional 2% Adult Social Care precept on top of core council tax demands.

It's helpful to note at this point that each year, before the government decides how much grant funding it chooses to give to councils, it first makes an assumption that council tax will go up by the maximum permitted by law. In effect, the government is setting council tax levels by proxy, because if an authority fails to raise council tax levels every year the government will simply withhold an equivalent amount of central government grant.

The chair of the DHLUC committee is reported to have said: 'Councils being forced to hike up council tax, in a forlorn attempt to plug increasingly large holes in their budgets, is unsustainable and unfair to local people who are, year on year, seeing less services while paying more.'

In addition the committee said the increasing reliance on council tax to fund services will have a disproportionately negative impact on funding levels for authorities in more deprived towns and villages compared to those in more affluent areas where property values are higher and councils are therefore able to raise significantly more council tax for every 1% incurred.

The committee also pointed out that council tax charges were based on 1991 housing data, and because house prices had risen considerably since then people living in the most valuable homes are paying less in council tax as a proportion of their property's value than those in the least valuable properties. This applies particularly to areas like ours where the lower value of properties means that each 1% of council tax raised is much lower than in more prosperous areas. To make matters worse, residents in relatively deprived regions like ours in County Durham have a disproportionately high need for social services, largely because of illnesses and disabilities caused by its industrial legacy, chronic underfunding in communities, scaled-back medical services and generally poor social housing conditions.

To correct these imbalances the committee urged the government to undertake a revaluation of properties, take a look at wider reform of the system and consider introducing additional council tax bands.

So in summary, and to answer many of the funding and council tax queries frequently raised with me by residents, there are three main reasons why we all pay proportionately more council tax in County Durham while local council services reduce and remain exposed to further cuts.

Firstly, the council tax system is a scam, designed to make residents in deprived areas stump up more while householders in more affluent areas pay relatively less. Reform of the council tax system, preferably in the form of a fairer Proportional Property Tax was an option I put to the council. The background details can be found in a post I published on this site last year: https://robcrute-blackhall.blogspot.com/2023/04/tories-and-council-tax-scam-why-we-need.html 

Secondly, successive governments have used unnecessary austerity since 2010 as a tool to drastically reduce funding to local councils and services in many working class areas - all designed to pass the burden for vital public services onto local residents through higher council tax bills, thereby leaving the government more money centrally to hand out in personal tax cuts for the rich. The added benefit for ministers of course is that local councils are then routinely blamed for public service cuts forced on them by central government.

And finally, brutal cuts to statutory social care services (which in many councils take up to 70% of total council budgets) drastically reduces the money available for other discretionary local services like highways maintenance, libraries, waste collection and street cleaning. Because social services tend to be focused on more vulnerable people and the elderly, they are not always 'visible' to many residents, who in turn are much more likely to notice cuts in other everyday services in their neighbourhoods. 

The overall impact of a system that diverts funding away from poorer areas to those wealthier ones elsewhere inevitably generates questions like 'why do we pay more in council tax while all around us services are reducing'. To put it bluntly, the answer is that we're being taken for mugs. The council tax we pay is swallowed up every year by massive cuts in central government grant funding. And to make a potentially catastrophic situation worse, rising demand for essential social services, and the added cost pressures created by high inflation and interest rates, are tipping many local councils over the edge - and the prediction of an increasing number of social commentators and sector specialists is that there are many more councils at risk of following unless the government gets a grip. 

Only a systemic reform of the way the public services are funded can change things for the better. Unfortunately for us successive governments since 2010 have apparently had more urgent priorities than funding local services that provide a lifeline to our hard-pressed residents and their communities. 

Until a future government reforms the council tax regime and comes up with a fairer method of redistributing the nation's wealth to those who need it most we'll all continue to suffer the effects of a broken system. Put simply, we need a government that puts need before greed.

Community Activities: Monthly update for January

The first month of 2024 has picked up where 2023 ended - with another busy time in and around the villages of the Blackhall Ward! 

I've republished a series of articles below representing just a small selection of the issues I've been dealing with during the past few weeks. If you have any comments, or if there's anything in your area that you'd like me to know about, please get in touch and I'll see what I can do to help: rob.crute@durham.gov.uk

Planning appeal at Hesleden: The government appointed planning inspector issued a call in December for written representations on the Hesleden Pit Heap planning appeal. Representations must be received by the inspector by 8 February, so if you haven't yet submitted your comments as part of the appeals process please make every effort to do so before next Thursday. Full background details can be found here: https://robcrute-blackhall.blogspot.com/2024/01/hesleden-pit-heap-government-inspector.html

Written submission to the planning appeal inspector: Last month I wrote to the planning inspector setting out my concerns about ongoing extraction works at the Hesleden Pit Heap and the impact the development continues to have on the community: https://robcrute-blackhall.blogspot.com/2024/01/hesleden-pit-heap-planning-appeal-our.html

Highway safety improvements along the B1281: Stacey and I have continued to press for highway safety improvements along the stretch of the B1281 connecting Castle Eden and Hesleden to Blackhall Colliery. Drivers have reported particular concerns about the layout of the road at the dip near to the junction of the Hardwicke Hall Manor Hotel, so we've asked the authorities to install reflector bollards and other reflective signage at this location and others further up the road towards Castle Eden. Additional advisory signs and highway markings have also been installed along the B1281 where required. Full details here: https://robcrute-blackhall.blogspot.com/2024/01/pedestrian-safety-on-b1281-between.html

Fly-tipping and structure repairs: Environment issues in Blackhall Colliery have been reported to the relevant authorities for their attention. The issues reported include incidents of fly-tipping in the yards and gardens of private sector properties, structural damage to street signs and highways defects in a couple of locations. Full details can be found in the post here: https://robcrute-blackhall.blogspot.com/2024/01/environmental-issues-in-blackhall.html

Safety improvements at the B1281 roundabout: Following my continued calls for highways safety improvements at the new roundabout on the B1281 in Blackhall Colliery I’ve received an update this week from the council’s senior highways engineer: https://robcrute-blackhall.blogspot.com/2024/02/update-on-highways-improvements-at.html

Update on highways improvements at the B1281 roundabout

After requesting an update on my continued calls to improve highway safety on the B1281 in Blackhall Colliery I received an update yesterday on plans to implement improvements at the roundabout adjoining the new housing development currently under construction.

This follows concerns I've raised on behalf of motorists and local residents about dangerous driving practices and other safety issues associated with the new development. 

I've published the local authority's senior highways engineer's update below in full and will report on progress as soon as I have more information from the highways office.

Background details to this issue can be found in my post dated Wednesday 6 December 2023: https://robcrute-blackhall.blogspot.com/2023/12/addressing-problems-of-excess-water.html

From the Senior Highways Adoption Engineer, DCC: All matters regarding the scope of works, in my original response [previously reported], have now been agreed and we are awaiting a programme for implementation.

A street lighting contractor has already been appointed; however, the materials are on a 14-week lead in, which pushes this element of the work to April/May.

The final quotation for the non-electrical work is also expected this week and it is anticipated that, on review, the civils contractor will also be appointed.

It is the developer’s preference to complete all works as a single event, rather than have intermittent incursions over a period of, potentially, months; I am minded to agree with this reasoning.

Please be reassured that we have made progress since the correspondence of 15 November last year, although none necessarily visible on site, but, as stated below, industry wide issues with procurement are impacting projects, especially when these are remediation works rather than new construction.

Senior Highways Adoptions Engineer.