Quick response to make steps safe at Crimdon beach

Earlier this week I contacted the council’s coast and countryside team with a request they make the access steps to the beach at Crimdon safe. My request came after residents got in touch with me reporting a steep drop from the last step on the beach-side of the steps.

The coast and countryside team leader contacted me on Friday afternoon to confirm that the steps had now been made safe, and that further works for the middle steps along the sea front were in the pipeline as soon as the necessary materials became available.

I’ll update on progress with any remaining works as soon as I have more information from the service. In the meantime if you have any issues to report please get in touch with me at: rob.crute@durham.gov.uk and I’ll raise your concerns with the relevant authorities.

Objections to revised parking charges at Crimdon

Following considerable confusion earlier this year about whether or not the coalition in control of the council was pressing ahead with its plans to introduce parking charges at Crimdon, I've now received notification of an internal consultation exercise on revised charges. You can find background details to this issue in this link: Coalition urged to come clean about its Crimdon parking charge fiasco

I've responded to the internal consultation by reiterating my objections to any parking charges at Crimdon. I've also challenged the council to hold an open and meaningful public consultation exercise so that they can gauge first hand the overwhelming level of public opposition to the proposed charging regime. Please see full details of my letter of objection below:

Please take the following comments as my formal objection to the introduction of parking charges at Crimdon:

I support the introduction of measures to prevent obstructive parking practices at the access to the bungalow at the southern edge of Crimdon. However, I do not support the introduction of parking charges at Crimdon.

Since the proposal to introduce parking charges at Crimdon was first suggested I have been contacted by a significant number of residents and visitors who agree with me that parking charges will drive tourism away from Crimdon at a time when everything should be done to attract visitors to Crimdon and the villages along the East Durham coast. I can confirm that I have received no indication of support for parking charges at Crimdon.

Opposition to this proposal was reflected in a consultation exercise carried out at the time when parking charges at Crimdon and Seaham were first suggested as part of the council’s latest MTFP proposals earlier this year. There was an unusually high level of public engagement with the consultation exercise, with similarly huge levels of opposition expressed by members of the public to the introduction of parking charges. It is noted that there was no discernible element of support. 

Despite those objections parking charges were eventually introduced in Seaham and judging by many reports since then the charges have had a devastating impact on some local businesses in the town. I have no doubt that if residents are ignored again, and parking charges are introduced at Crimdon, there will be a similarly regressive effect on visitor numbers and local businesses.

Introducing parking charges at key tourist/visitor locations like Crimdon will have a negative impact on the resort itself, alongside the nearby villages where additional business generated by visitors is welcomed and needed now as much as it ever was. The proof that parking charges will damage the local economy and drive down visitor numbers can be seen just a few miles up the road in Seaham.

Finally, I would urge the council to carry out a thorough and meaningful public consultation exercise to gauge public feeling about this issue. Members of the public, the business sector and visitors were ignored before parking charges were introduced at Seaham, and the result has been catastrophic for the town and especially for a number local businesses. The same mistakes must not be repeated. 

The people deserve to be heard and they must be assured that their opinions on this matter will be treated with respect and taken fully into account before any final decision is reached.

For the reasons set out above I wholeheartedly oppose the introduction of parking charges at Crimdon, and I know from their representations and the outcome of an initial public consultation exercise that thousands of residents, businesses and visitors are fully supportive of my position on this matter. I urge the council to test public feeling and then respect the outcome.

Regards,

Cllr Rob Crute (Blackhall Division)

Reports of speeding vehicles on the A1086 Coast Road

Earlier today I posted an image on social media of a direction sign on the A1086 Coast Road in Blackhall Rocks that appeared to have been damaged in a traffic collision. I reported the sign for replacement or repair this morning, but since then I've been contacted by a resident reporting that the collision was caused by a vehicle travelling at excessive speed in the early hours of this morning.

Additional comments from a few other residents in Blackhall Rocks appear to confirm that there's an increase lately in incidents of vehicles breaking the legal speed limit at this particular location, and especially on a night time. 

I've now asked the authorities to look into these reports and take whichever actions are necessary where a consistent pattern of excessive speed can be confirmed**

Good morning all,

Earlier this morning I reported an illuminated road sign on a pedestrian refuse in Blackhall Rocks for repair or replacement. A resident has since contacted me to report that the sign was damaged during the night after it was hit by a vehicle whilst it was speeding.

I’ve now been contacted by other residents in Blackhall Rocks reporting an increase lately in the number of vehicles persistently exceeding the speed limit along the A1086 Coast Road in Blackhall Rocks, especially on an evening and during the night.

Please record this incident on the CRM system for the attention of the relevant authorities, with a request that residents’ reports of vehicles travelling at excessive speeds are fully investigated and that measures to address the problem at this location are considered.

Regards,

Rob.

Cllr Rob Crute (Blackhall Division)

**The results of a 24 hour/7 day speed survey taken at Broad Road in 2020 showed an average mean speed at the time of just over 30mph. Full details can be found here: Speed Survey, Blackhall Rocks 

Blackhall Rocks residents petition for improved traffic-calming measures

Last month I published a post about a road safety issue in Blackhall Rocks after it was raised with me at one of our monthly ward surgeries. When we met at the surgery in June a resident told me about the concerns he had about how speed humps on Station Road had been rendered ineffective after they were reduced in height to enable a royal visit some time ago. Full background details can be found in the article published on 21 June: https://robcrute-blackhall.blogspot.com/2024/06/highways-issues-at-station-road-in.html?m=0

After we’d discussed this issue in detail at one of the June ward surgeries in the Parish Office (formerly the Resource Centre) I submitted another request to the council asking the highways department to take remedial measures to restore the humps to their original condition. At the same time the resident I met with suggested he would organise a local petition setting out residents’ concerns and asking for improvements to the speed humps.

We met again at the latest ward surgery last week where the resident handed me a petition signed by almost 100 Blackhall Rocks residents who expressed their concerns about the increased volume of traffic using Station Road and the amount of drivers exceeding the legal speed limit for that stretch of road.

I took the petition to County Hall later that morning and handed it to the democratic services office on behalf of the petitioners. The petition was validated on the spot and sent over to the highways services office for a formal reply. 

Before I submitted the petition I attached a covering letter confirming that Stacey and I as the local members were both in full support of the petition and the residents who signed it.

As with all petitions submitted to the council there is a 28-day timeframe for a formal response from the service setting out their intentions. I’ll update on that response as soon as it’s published, and in light of the comments from the service, we’ll take a look at our options on how we want to progress the campaign to make Station Road safer for local residents and visitors.

Regulating HMOs in our communities

At the latest full meeting of Durham County Council, held on Wednesday 17 July, members discussed the cabinet's proposed new housing strategy. Following a lengthy debate the policy was voted down by Labour members who raised concerns about how effective it would be in fulfilling its potential. 

There were a number of reasons for rejecting the strategy in its current form, amongst them the almost entire absence of a plan to tackle the growing problem of Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) in the pit villages of East Durham and other parts of the county. 

The housing strategy under consideration on Wednesday morning had been previously discussed on three separate occasions by the economy and enterprise overview and scrutiny committee, yet when the policy was introduced at the full council meeting for endorsement it was found that many comments from scrutiny committee members had either been diluted or disregarded entirely. In short, the strategy did not fully reflect the views expressed by scrutiny members.

These issues included considerable confusion about the actual number of new houses built by the local authority and a call by scrutiny members to recognise the importance of Targeted Delivery Plans (TDPs) as a way to address housing and regeneration matters in our villages. 

In addition there was barely a mention of the emerging issue of HMOs. Although this has been a problem in Durham city centre where there has been a proliferation of HMOs it is recognised that in changing times there are growing concerns expressed by our residents in villages like Blackhall Colliery that HMOs could have a regressive impact in their neighbourhoods too, primarily in terms of anti social behaviour and over-crowding. 

Clearly there is a need to nip this issue in the bud, and the only realistic way to do that is to take an overview of all the evidence, alongside the facts and figures, to develop a policy that prohibits, or at least limits, the establishment of HMOs across a defined area. It’s possible that this can be done by using existing Selective Licensing criteria, and perhaps those areas already covered by TDPs, as a template to issue pre-emptive Article 4 Directives which would essentially ban HMOs in a particular area before they become a problem. I'm sure most people would agree that prevention is better than cure.

On a separate but equally important matter, several members of the thematic scrutiny committees expressed their concerns that the cabinet appeared to have disregarded their concerns about a number of issues they’d raised in scrutiny committee meetings in the consultation phase of policy development. As chairman of the council’s Overview & Scrutiny Management Board I see this as a particularly concerning issue, not least because if the executive function (cabinet) feels comfortable in dismissing the views of scrutiny members the likely outcome is bad policy. This benefits nobody, in particular the residents of County Durham who deserve strong and effective council policies to address their concerns. 

For the reasons set out above the Labour group members on the council proposed a motion without notice that the policy be referred back to scrutiny for further consideration. The resolution was passed by 48 members to 45, with every single member of the Labour group voting in favour. On the other hand, almost every member of the Conservative/Liberal Democrat/Independent coalition running the council voted against it. So at least we know where they stand on this issue.

To be clear, the Tory/Lib Dem/Independent coalition members in control of the council voted against seeking a way to introduce effective measures to address emerging issues around HMOs in our villages - and ultimately they voted against a way of coming up with better, more effective housing policy decisions that can have a real impact in our communities in East Durham and beyond.

A named result of the vote was requested, so if you’re interested in how your local councillor voted on tackling HMOs head-on and introducing more effective housing policy look out for the published list of which way members voted.

If you want to watch the full debate at yesterday’s council meeting you’ll find a full video recording of the live coverage here: https://democracy.durham.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=153&MId=15643

Trials give the green light to safety bollard scheme on Middle Street

From previous articles on this site residents will be well aware by now of a safe parking scheme under development to prevent vehicles from driving along the public footpath outside the shops in Middle Street. Background details can be found in this link: https://robcrute-blackhall.blogspot.com/2024/05/safe-parking-scheme-for-middle-street.html

The original aim of the scheme was to prevent vehicles parking on Middle Street, but from consultation carried out to gauge support for the scheme it became obvious that the problem wasn't so much to do with illegal parking, but rather that residents and business owners were more concerned about vehicles pulling onto the pavement and driving along it to park up. Several near-misses have been reported by residents who have had to avoid cars and vans as they drive onto and along the pavement looking for somewhere to park.

In the interests of public safety this practice had to be stopped so the original scheme developed into one that would primarily prevent dangerous driving practices on a public footpath, while at the same time deter illegal and careless parking in this busy shopping area. 

Without exception, everyone who has contacted me or the council about this issue agrees that vehicles driving along a public footpath is dangerous and unacceptable. Residents have also been clear that they believe this practice presents a real risk of injury (or even worse) to pedestrians and others using the shops on Middle Street. 

For that reason alone the scheme was amended to focus solely on preventing illegal and careless driving practices. In addition, in order to deter parking on the double yellow lines, the safety bollard scheme will be aligned with a more visible presence by the parking enforcement team to ensure that only those drivers permitted to park on double yellow lines are allowed to do so - thereby leaving parking spaces free for those who have a genuine need for accessibility purposes.

Unfortunately there have been a number of delays caused by factors largely beyond the council's control. Full background details of the delays can be found here: https://robcrute-blackhall.blogspot.com/2023/10/revised-safe-parking-scheme-for.html

However, last week I asked for an update on progress and, following a series of trial holes bored into the pavement to identify whether any underground utilities could cause a problem, the scheme is now back on track. I've published the service response below and will post additional updates as the scheme progresses.

Good Morning Rob

I have spoken with *** and the trial holes have been completed. Although there are some services present, it appears they can be worked around. 

There is a meeting scheduled with the officer who arranged the trial holes to review the findings. Following this meeting, he will provide me with the next steps as soon as possible. I will continue to push this forward and keep you updated.

Kind regards

******

CANCELLED: Hesleden Pit Heap planning appeal hearing

Within hours of publishing details of the planning appeal hearing scheduled for later this month, I’ve now received confirmation that the appeal hearing has been cancelled by the government's planning inspector:

Please see additional information below as supplied to the council. I'll update on any revised arrangements as soon as I have more information from the Planning Inspectorate.

Dear LPA, 

I write regarding the above appeal. Following a review of the case file, and notwithstanding the initial validation by the Planning Inspectorate, the Inspector is concerned this may not be a valid appeal. 

An email setting out the Inspector’s concerns and requesting responses from both main parties will follow separately. The Inspector also notes the correspondence from the Planning Inspectorate’s Environmental Services Team to the appellant regarding the submitted Environmental Statement. 

The Inspector considers that addressing the matters raised appropriately prior to the scheduled commencement on 30 July would be very difficult if not impossible to achieve. Furthermore, given the issues and the level of local interest in the appeal, and with reference to s319A of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended), the Inspector considers that if the appeal is found to be valid, it should be addressed by way of an Inquiry, rather than a Hearing. 

Consequently, the Council should immediately notify all interested parties that the scheduled Hearing for this appeal on 30 July 2024 will not take place, and that further details regarding this appeal will be made available in due course.

Hesleden Pit Heap planning appeal hearing details

I've received confirmed details of the planning appeal hearing for the former pit heap site at Hesleden. Please see full details below, including contact details for the case officer dealing with any queries.

Please note: The appellant is appealing against the county council’s decision to refuse planning permission. The appeal hearing falls under the jurisdiction of the government’s Planning Inspectorate, and not Durham County Council.

TOWN AND COUNTRY PLANNING ACT 1990 (as amended) SECTION 78 – NOTIFICATION OF HEARING DATE 

Application reference: DM/22/00010/MIN 

Appeal reference: APP/X1355/W/24/3340343 

Name of appellant: Mr Robert Surtees 

Site: Former Colliery Spoil Heap Hesleden TS27 4PN 

Proposed development: Continued restoration of colliery spoil heap, including extraction, processing and export of combustible material, limestone and sand for a period of 10 years 

Appeal Start Date: 24 May 2024 

I am writing to notify you of the arrangements that have been made for the hearing to be held regarding the appeal by Mr Robert Surtees against the Councils decision to refuse planning permission. 

The hearing will start at 10 am on Tuesday 30th July 2024 at Hesleden Working Men's Club, Front Street, Hesleden. 

The hearing is expected to take 2 days. The Inspector appointed by the Secretary of State under paragraph 1(1) of Schedule 6 of the Town and County Planning Act 1990 will attend to hear representations and thereafter will decide the appeal. 

Members of the public may attend the hearing and, at the Inspector’s discretion, express their views. Hesleden Working Men’s Club has access for disabled people. However, if you, or anyone you know has a disability and is concerned about facilities at the hearing venue, you should contact the Council to confirm that suitable provisions are in place. Public parking is available. 

Copies of the questionnaire completed by the County Council, the Council’s and the appellant’s Statements and any future comments are available for inspection online at http://publicaccess.durham.gov.uk/online-applications/ using the reference DM/22/00010/MIN. 

The decision will be published on the link above and on https://acp.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/

Should you require any further information please contact the case officer Chris Shields:

Direct Tel: 03000 261394 email: Chris.shields@durham.gov.uk

Local Issues & Casework Update for June 2024

Over the past few weeks I’ve raised queries with the authorities on behalf of 47 residents and businesses across the Blackhall ward. I've also made direct contact with over 60 individual residents on personal matters. These queries are largely confidential so for obvious reasons details will not be disclosed to the public.

In addition, I’ve dealt with a number of general queries raised by members of the public. These include issues raised at ward surgeries, during street walkabouts, at the monthly Blackhall PACT meeting and through other methods, including direct contact with me via email and social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram and Twitter).

These issues range from unauthorised/illegal access to public footpaths and open spaces to general environmental issues. I’ve selected just a few for re-posting, just in case you missed them first time around:

Hesleden planning appeal update: https://robcrute-blackhall.blogspot.com/2024/06/hesleden-pit-heap-planning-appeal-update.html?m=1

Notes from the Blackhall PACT meeting for June: https://robcrute-blackhall.blogspot.com/2024/06/notes-from-blackhall-pact-meeting-for.html?m=1

Highways issues at Station Road, Blackhall Rocks: https://robcrute-blackhall.blogspot.com/2024/06/highways-issues-at-station-road-in.html?m=1

Off-road bikes on the Haswell to Hart Walkway at Hesleden: https://robcrute-blackhall.blogspot.com/2024/06/improvement-measures-to-prevent-off.html?m=1

Addressing access issues at Crimdon: https://robcrute-blackhall.blogspot.com/2024/07/seeking-solutions-to-access-issues-at.html?m=1

Improved community safety measures: https://robcrute-blackhall.blogspot.com/2024/07/joining-dots-on-community-safety-issues.html?m=1

Hesleden Primary School children’s visit to county hall: https://robcrute-blackhall.blogspot.com/2024/07/hesleden-primary-school-children.html?m=1

Safety bollards at Park Avenue temporarily lowered: https://robcrute-blackhall.blogspot.com/2024/07/lockable-barrier-temporarily-lowered-in.html?m=1

Lockable bollard in Park Avenue temporarily lowered

On Monday night I was contacted by residents in Park Avenue, and a few others from nearby streets, asking why the safety bollard at the bottom of the public footpath running down the middle of the street had been lowered. I explained that the bollard had been dropped down temporarily on personal grounds.

By way of background to this issue, last Friday afternoon (5 July) I was contacted by a family member of a resident from Park Avenue asking if I could arrange temporary access to the footpath. Considering the personal circumstances I contacted the highways office at county hall immediately to ask if they could make arrangements for the bollard to be lowered on a temporary basis.

I was told on Monday that the bollard had been lowered for the time being.

In response to residents’ concerns I’ve been assured that the bollard will be raised again at the appropriate time. In the meantime please make every effort to keep the footpath in the middle of Park Avenue clear of obstruction and open to emergency access at all times.

Since last Friday I've been in direct contact with a family member dealing with this issue and I will continue to maintain direct contact with the family member until this matter is resolved. 

Given there appears to be some confusion about how and why the bollards were installed in the first place I've re-posted background details in this link. The link includes further links to additional information about this issue: https://robcrute-blackhall.blogspot.com/2022/11/drop-down-bollards-at-park-avenue.html?m=0 

If you have any comments or specific queries about this matter please contact me direct at: rob.crute@durham.gov.uk

Hesleden Primary School children speaking up for their communities

Yesterday was perhaps one of the most uplifting days in a long time when a group of pupils from Hesleden Primary School visited county hall in Durham to meet with me, Stacey and Gemma to talk about some of the issues affecting them in their village and the wider community.

We began the afternoon with a tour around county hall, including the council chamber where the children loved talking into the microphones to amplify their voices - with most of them talking a great deal more sense than some of the regulars in county hall!

After that we met in one of the committee rooms to get down to the nitty-gritty of the day where the children spoke about some of the things they would like to see improved in their community. These issues were related mainly to community safety, public health and the environment, with many of them reflecting the priorities of the people we speak to regularly at PACT meetings, residents’ association meetings and our monthly ward surgeries.

Issues ranged from concerns about quads and off-road bikes having access to our public footpaths and open spaces and causing damage to the flora, posing a risk of injury to pedestrians and endangering wildlife, to general environmental concerns about the impact of dog fouling and littering in the streets. However, rather than just talking about the things that concerned them, the children also offered solutions - something that suggests a positivity from the children that they can make our communities better places by identifying issues and working together to put things right.   

After the discussion the children voted on which of those issues were a particular priority for them, and notably what they would like to see happen next to address their concerns. 

Apart from listening to the children talking to us about their issues and priorities, for me the most uplifting aspect of yesterday’s visit was the way the children wanted to engage in solving problems, along with the confidence they had to get their points across. 

I’m sure the parents, carers and staff at Hesleden Primary School know this already but their children are fantastic ambassadors for their school and a real benefit to their communities. They'd clearly taken the time to look around their villages to see what was good - and what needed improvement - and most importantly they made the effort to come and tell us about what they saw as their priorities to make their neighbourhoods safer and stronger. 

Finally, I’ve got to mention the impeccable behaviour of all the children. They were polite, considerate and eloquent in putting their views across - something we can all be proud of as we look to the next generation as custodians of their villages and communities.

I hope the children enjoyed their day as much as I did.

New community safety initiatives in the pipeline

I took the opportunity to meet in Blackhall Community Centre yesterday afternoon with the two Community Safety Coordinators from the office of the Police & Crime Commissioner (PCC) to discuss some of the issues we talk about with residents at the monthly Police And Communities Together (PACT) meetings in Blackhall Colliery, at monthly ward surgeries and at other public-facing events in our communities.

Background details to many of the issues covered at recent PACT meetings can be found in my regular monthly reports elsewhere on this site, but in summary a typical meeting will hear reports from residents about the poor condition of properties in some of the private-rented houses in the numbered streets and off-road bikes and quads in and around our villages, amongst other fairly isolated incidents of anti-social behaviour.

The role of the Community Safety Coordinators is to join up the police and PCC’s response to local reports of crime and anti-social behaviour in our communities, and they’re visiting community centres and meeting with community representatives in targeted villages across the county as a first step towards meeting that objective. These initial calls are intended to be broadened out in future with attendances at monthly PACT meetings and other community-based events.

One of the main issues concerning residents, and one that’s raised at almost every monthly PACT meeting, is the time it takes to get through to the police when they’re called on their non-emergency 101 number. The prevailing opinion seems to be that reporting anti-social behaviour in this way is hardly worth the effort. The coordinators in response told me that the PCC is rolling-out a QR code scheme in which callers scan a QR code to report an incident which then triages the report and sends it direct to the relevant people for their attention. If this works in practice it could be of huge benefit to residents who want to report anti-social behaviour with confidence that their issues will be dealt with quickly and by the right people.

In addition, I raised the concerns of many residents about the impact of off-road bikes and quads using our streets and open spaces as race tracks. Apart from the environmental impact of these machines, residents have real concerns about the safety of pedestrians and other road users. I’ve suggested that the police look at ways to track the overnight storage of off-road bikes which would enable the police to get direct access to the owners. The coordinators suggested that plans were already underway to use drones to track off-road bikes to help the police trace the riders and owners, hopefully something that would allay residents’ fears about the impact of this problem.

I also mentioned to the coordinators that I was working with the local neighbourhood policing team to purchase mobile CCTV cameras that would be helpful in tackling a number of issues in our community, ranging from off-road bikes, anti-social behaviour, fly-tipping and shoplifting in some of our shops.

It was also suggested that the community safety coordinators would work closely with housing companies like Believe Housing and other registered social landlords, along with property owners and landlords in the private-rented sector. Adopting this approach, and particularly working with officers from the council’s Selective Licensing Scheme, could reap significant benefits in tackling crime and anti-social behaviour in our villages, and also act as a catalyst to improve the condition of some of the properties in the sector.

Finally, I suggested that the community safety coordinators could come along to a PACT meeting at some point in the near future to listen first-hand to some of the issues raised by residents. They acknowledge that the PACT format is a great way for residents to raise their concerns directly with the police, neighbourhood wardens and local councillors like me, and they’ve assured me they have plans in place to come along to one of our PACT meetings soon.

In summary, the visit by the community safety coordinators was very well received by everyone at events in the community centre yesterday afternoon, who spent some time chatting about their experiences of life in the village. For my part I welcome any initiative that brings our communities closer to the organisations and agencies they depend on to keep their villages and residents safe. In taking the time to visit us yesterday the PCC’s office, and in particular the two community safety coordinators I met yesterday, have shown that they have a genuine interest in our communities and are keen to work alongside us to achieve together a stronger and safer future for our villages.

I look forward to meeting the coordinators again soon to develop the initiatives we talked about yesterday, and as usual I’ll update on any significant developments.

In the meantime if you have any related issues you would like me to know about please get in touch with me at: rob.crute@durham.gov.uk

Addressing access issues at Crimdon Dene

I was back at Crimdon this morning for a follow-up meeting with the clean and green team. This was arranged after our initial site meeting last week to take a look what could be done to address public concerns about access to the Dene area. Full background details can be found in this link: https://robcrute-blackhall.blogspot.com/2024/06/tackling-illegal-access-issues-at.html?m=1

Along with an officer from the clean and green team a fabricator from the company that installed the barriers and anti-bike gates came along this morning to see which options were available to either modify or replace the gates to prevent illegal access by off-road bikes and quads whilst maintaining access to mobility scooters, horse riders and other legitimate visitors.

The fabricator is confident that a solution can be found - either by replacing the existing boom gate with a bridle gate that would restrict access to bikes and quads but allow horses to step over. It is also proposed to replace the anti-bike gate at the side of the barrier with a modified gate that will still prevent access to bikes but at the same time give open access to pushchairs, mobility scooters and wheelchairs.

The fabricator has been asked to come up with a design that would meet the requirements set out above, and also give an estimated cost of the works to be carried out.

In addition, I’ve asked the fabricator to take a look at how similar access issues at Park Avenue in Blackhall Colliery could be dealt with. He has agreed to visit the site and come back with suggested measures that would restrict vehicular access to the public footpath along the middle of the street and also allay concerns about access for emergency vehicles where access is required by individual services. 

I’ve also written to the North East Ambulance Service in relation to this issue and I’ll update on progress as soon as I have more information from the service.

In the meantime if you have any similar access issues that you would like me to know about please get in touch with me at: rob.crute@durham.gov.uk and I’ll raise any concerns with the relevant authorities for their attention.