Notes from the Blackhall PACT meeting for September 2024

The PACT meeting for September was held last week in the Parish Offices (formerly the Resource Centre) on Middle Street in Blackhall Colliery. 

As usual the PACT (Police & Communities Together) was preceded by a meeting of the parish council’s monthly environment committee where I’m invited to come along and update on any local issues I’m dealing with that coincide with the work of the parish council. As you would expect some of the issues raised at the environment committee meeting are also covered at the PACT meeting. Consequently there’s likely to be some overlap between the issues covered in this report.

Despite the damp and dreary weather conditions there was another strong and positive turnout from residents who came along to talk about their local concerns, get updates on issues raised at previous PACT meetings and those who came along for the craic or to just to see what was going on. 

Issues raised by residents on Wednesday evening ranged from reports of abandoned vehicles and parking concerns to highways defects and an update on the bollards at Park Avenue that were removed on a temporary basis a few weeks ago.

Safe Parking Scheme: I gave an update on plans to install bollards outside the shops along Middle Street to prevent vehicles from driving along the public footpath. This follows several reports from pedestrians of 'near-misses' as drivers pull onto the pavement to park.

The plans were finalised earlier this year and we had already made sure the funding was in place to enable the scheme to go ahead. I reported that a works order had now been raised with the county council last week, meaning that the bollards should be installed soon. 

Once the scheme is completed the parking enforcement team at DCC has confirmed they’ll take additional measures to prevent illegal parking at this location. There are sufficient parking facilities nearby but some motorists are taking up parking spaces that are meant to be limited to legitimate users such as delivery vehicles and those drivers who have mobility issues.

There have been quite a few unavoidable delays with this scheme and background details can be found in my monthly issues and casework update for July: Local Issues & Casework Update for July 2024

In addition, several residents, motorists and pedestrians have been in touch with me to tell me of their concerns about parking issues, particularly at Airlie House and on the Hesleden Road junction with Middle Street. I was asked if the council could install double yellow lines at both locations to divert drivers to park safely elsewhere and also avoid congestion and visibility issues so I raised residents’ concerns with the highways department and works have been included in the current works programme. 

However I've been advised that there's currently a significant backlog of works of this nature. I'll continue to press the highways department to get this work completed as soon as possible.

Mobile CCTV: At a previous PACT meeting the police reported on a scheme to provide bespoke mobile CCTV cameras in the Blackhall and Hesleden area. I offered to assist with funding to help move the project on, so an officer from the PCC's office who was at the PACT meeting on Wednesday night has agreed to get an update on progress.

Untaxed or abandoned vehicles: There were reports from residents of a number of abandoned and potentially untaxed/tested vehicles in both Blackhall Colliery and Blackhall Rocks. The neighbourhood wardens are liaising with the police to investigate further.

Private housing issues and fly-tipping reports: The neighbourhood warden in attendance at the PACT meeting gave an update on a number of housing-related issues, particularly in the rows of former colliery houses in Blackhall Colliery. 

I've been encouraging residents to contact me with any reports of fly-tipping in the back lanes recently, and also send me any reports of rubbish dumped in the back yard of empty and unsecured back yards. This has led to an uplift in reports over the past few months, but on the positive side it's leading to more accumulations of rubbish being either cleared away or investigated by the neighbourhood wardens. The selective licensing scheme has also become involved where issues relating to private-sector properties are reported. 

The Crescent: Following repeated calls for the highways department to carry out much needed repair works to the cracked and damaged road surface at The Crescent I have received the following response this week confirming that repairs have now been added to the works programme as part of the micro-asphalt resurfacing scheme:

This request has been reviewed and identified that further action is required. Your report has been added to the ongoing work programme and will be processed in line with the repairs policy

Although I have yet to receive a timescale for the works I'll maintain contact with the highways team until the road is resurfaced.

Park Avenue: It had been reported that rumours were going around the village lately that the bollards at Park Avenue had been removed and wouldn’t be reinstalled. This would explain the contact I’ve had recently from several residents concerned that the public footpath along Park Avenue would once again be left open to vehicles, putting pedestrians and residents at risk of an accident or injury.

I assured residents that these rumours are false. The bollards were removed on compassionate grounds, and on a temporary basis only. Given this is a sensitive issue I declined to go into any further detail.

Following suggestions from residents I’ve submitted a request that ‘no parking’ lines to restrict parking at the bottom and top of the public footpath be considered by the highways section. It would seem reasonable that if access is ever needed after the bollards are reinstated both access points should remain clear of parked vehicles.

Bridle Gates at Crimdon Dene: I gave a brief update on plans to install bridle gates at the eastern and western access points to Crimdon Dene. These will replace the gates already in place which were put there to prevent off-road bikes and quads trespassing but have had the unintended consequence of restricting access for horse riders, pushchairs and mobility scooter users.

Following enquiries I made again with the clean and green team last week I've been told that the design works are completed, the paperwork is well underway and the scheme will now be costed. I don't expect any unnecessary delays once this latest phase is completed, so hopefully the gates will be installed soon. Background details can be found in this link: Addressing access issues at Crimdon Dene

Blackhall PACT meeting update for September 2024

The PACT meeting for September was held earlier this week in the Parish Offices (formerly the Resource Centre) on Middle Street in Blackhall Colliery. 

As usual the PACT (Police & Communities Together) was preceded by a meeting of the parish council’s monthly environment committee where I’m invited to come along and update on any local issues I’m dealing with that coincide with the work of the parish council. As you would expect some of the issues raised at the environment committee meeting are also covered at the PACT meeting. Consequently there’s likely to be some overlap between the issues covered in this report.

Despite the damp and dreary weather conditions there was another strong and positive turnout from residents who came along to talk about their local concerns, get updates on issues raised at previous PACT meetings and those who came along for the craic or to just to see what was going on. 

Issues raised by residents on Wednesday evening ranged from reports of abandoned vehicles and parking concerns to highways defects and an update on the bollards at Park Avenue that were removed on a temporary basis a few weeks ago.

Problem parking issues: I gave an update on plans to install bollards outside the shops along Middle Street to prevent vehicles from driving along the public footpath. This follows several reports from pedestrians of 'near-misses' as drivers pull onto the pavement to park. 

The plans were finalised earlier this year and we had already made sure the funding was in place to enable the scheme to go ahead. I reported that a works order had now been raised with the county council last week, meaning that the bollards should be installed soon. There have been quite a few unavoidable delays with this scheme and background details can be found in my monthly issues and casework update for July: Local Issues & Casework Update for July 2024

When several residents got in touch to tell me of their concerns about parking issues at Airlie House and on the Hesleden Road junction with Middle Street I was asked if the council could install double yellow lines at both locations to divert drivers to park safely elsewhere and also avoid congestion and visibility issues. I raised residents’ concerns with the highways department and works have been included in the current works programme. However I've been advised that there's currently a significant backlog of works of this nature. I'll continue to press the highways department to get this work completed as soon as possible.

Mobile CCTV: At a previous PACT meeting the police reported on a scheme to provide bespoke mobile CCTV cameras in the Blackhall and Hesleden area. I offered to assist with funding to help move the project on, so an officer from the PCC's office who was at the PACT meeting on Wednesday night has agreed to get an update on progress.

Untaxed or abandoned vehicles: There were reports from residents of a number of abandoned and potentially untaxed/tested vehicles in both Blackhall Colliery and Blackhall Rocks. The neighbourhood wardens are liaising with the police to investigate further.

Private housing issues and fly-tipping reports: The neighbourhood warden in attendance at the PACT meeting gave an update on a number of housing-related issues, particularly in the rows of former colliery houses in Blackhall Colliery. 

I've been encouraging residents to contact me with any reports of fly-tipping in the back lanes recently, and also send me any reports of rubbish dumped in the back yard of empty and unsecured back yards. This has led to an uplift in reports over the past few months, but on the positive side it's leading to more accumulations of rubbish being either cleared away or investigated by the neighbourhood wardens. The selective licensing scheme has also become involved where issues relating to private-sector properties are reported. 

The Crescent: Following repeated calls for the highways department to carry out much needed repair works to the cracked and damaged road surface at The Crescent I have received the following response this week confirming that repairs have now been added to the works programme as part of the micro-asphalt resurfacing scheme: 

This request has been reviewed and identified that further action is required. Your report has been added to the ongoing work programme and will be processed in line with the repairs policy

Although I have yet to receive a timescale for the works I'll maintain contact with the highways team until the road is resurfaced.

Park Avenue: It had been reported that rumours were going around the village lately that the bollards at Park Avenue had been removed and wouldn’t be reinstalled. This would explain the contact I’ve had recently from several residents concerned that the public footpath along Park Avenue would once again be left open to vehicles, putting pedestrians and residents at risk of an accident or injury.

I assured residents that these rumours are false. The bollards were removed on compassionate grounds, and on a temporary basis only. Given this is a sensitive issue I declined to go into any further detail.

Following suggestions from residents I’ve submitted a request that ‘no parking’ lines to restrict parking at the bottom and top of the public footpath be considered by the highways section. It would seem reasonable that if access is ever needed after the bollards are reinstated both access points should remain clear of parked vehicles.

Bridle Gates at Crimdon: I gave a brief update on plans to install bridle gates at the eastern and western access points to Crimdon Dene. These will replace the gates already in place which were put there to prevent off-road bikes and quads trespassing but have had the unintended consequence of restricting access for horse riders, pushchairs and mobility scooter users.

Following enquiries I made again with the clean and green team last week I've been told that the design works are completed, the paperwork is well underway and the scheme will now be costed. I don't expect any unnecessary delays once this latest phase is completed, so hopefully the gates will be installed soon. Background details can be found in this link: Addressing access issues at Crimdon Dene

Coalition rejects opportunity to join Labour’s Winter Fuel Payments campaign

It may well be the understatement of the year so far, but it’s fair to say that the government’s proposal to means test Winter Fuel Payments has not been well received. That’s perfectly understandable given the impact it could have this winter in meeting household heating costs but also in terms of increasing anxiety for elderly people who shouldn’t have to worry about how they’ll be able to make ends meet.

Unfortunately it’s always been the case that when decisions are made at the centre by government we’re left as local councillors to use our own initiative and put measures in place to mitigate any local impact. A look back at the past 14 years of unnecessary austerity unleashed by successive Tory/Lib Dem governments on our hard-pressed communities proves the point. We had no help at all from the government throughout those harrowing and damaging times - we just got on with it as best we could and continued to work in our communities with what we had.

Bearing that local dimension in mind everyone expected that the Tories, Lib Dem’s and ‘Independents’ in coalition control of Durham County Council would have taken immediate action to put measures in place to limit the impact of the government’s proposal on Winter Fuel Payments.

But that didn’t happen. Instead coalition cabinet members sat on their hands for weeks and then eventually decided it might help to ‘write a letter’ to the government. Not exactly the proactive response the people might expect from their local council.

While we were doing whatever we could to help residents potentially affected by the WFP withdrawal the coalition cabinet took a back seat. It took them until this week to wake up, look around and realise they’d missed the opportunity to actually do something to help. So then, in an attempt to cover the tracks of their incompetence, they pointed the finger at opposition Labour members as a distraction.

To be clear, what the coalition proposed to council on Wednesday morning was far too little and far too late. We’d already seized the initiative to offer practical help to those potentially affected in our own communities so there was no way we were going to put our plans on hold just to give them time to catch up with us and try to save face.

Predictably there’s been a lot of deliberate misinformation circulated on social media about this issue, so what follows is a first hand account of what actually happened before and during the full council meeting held in county hall earlier this week. I’ve also published a draft transcript of what I said at the meeting to try and bring the coalition cabinet to their senses.

To be clear, Labour members of Durham County Council offered members of the Tory-led coalition in county hall the opportunity to join them in their campaign to ensure that no one in the county loses out unnecessarily from the government's proposal to withdraw the Winter Fuel Payment from those pensioners who are not in receipt of Pension Credits.

During the debate we even withdrew our own motion on grounds of similarity, fully expecting coalition members to support our campaign to help pensioners most in need, and at the same time open up dialogue with government decision makers to express our concerns about the impact of the withdrawal plan.

Labour has been running a campaign for weeks now aimed at making sure that those most affected get the help they need as quickly as possible. In other words we've been doing for weeks what the coalition had only just realised needs to be done. It simply wouldn't have made sense for us to take a step backwards just so that the coalition could catch up with us.

As it turned out, the coalition rejected our offer outright, preferring instead to 'write a letter'. That kind of response will come as no surprise to anyone who has witnessed the coalition's performance over the years when they've simply sat back and accepted their own Tory/Lib Dem governments’ savage austerity cuts that have brought local council budgets and public services to the brink of collapse. 

Those cuts were underpinned by Tory government corruption and incompetence that ended up crashing the national economy and sending interest rates soaring through the roof just two years go, so it's clear for all to see that we've been heading towards a financial catastrophe for years. That's provides the backstory to where we are today. 

However, if the coalition had come onboard with us on Wednesday they might have avoided the inevitable charge of craven hypocrisy from members of the public who expected and deserved a much more vehement response than simply 'writing a letter'. Under the circumstances only direct, practical action will help. Performative grandstanding and crocodile tears from a clapped-out coalition devoid of any urgency will be seen for what it is - opportunism and rank hypocrisy.

This is a draft transcript of the notes I used when I spoke at Wednesday’s meeting:

Whilst we understand the concerns and sentiments expressed in the coalition's motion, what we can’t support are the actions proposed in the final section. And that’s because they come far too late and simply don’t go far enough in addressing those concerns.

Anyone watching this debate this morning is going to expect something a bit more robust than simply ‘writing a letter’. What is needed is dialogue with government ministers and an immediate, coordinated response from this council - not performative handwringing from a coalition that has sat back in silence while their government’s used years of austerity cuts to bring our council budgets and public services to the brink of collapse. Those same cuts - alongside reckless mismanagement of the national economy that sent interest rates soaring through the roof just two years ago - have brought us to the point we’re at today.

Writing a letter simply doesn’t cut it. Writing a letter won’t reverse the catastrophic impact of successive Tory governments pandering to wealth and privilege while the rest of us are left behind. What we need is direct practical action, and that is exactly what this amendment demands.

People watching the debate this morning are bound to question the motives of the coalition in tabling this motion today. Whilst Labour has been in opposition for the past three and a half years we’ve given the coalition plenty of opportunities to support us in kicking-back against Tory government excess. We got nothing in return.

In fact, three years ago this week we tabled a motion condemning the Tory government’s decision to remove £20 each week from Universal Credit claimants – that comes to £1000 each year snatched away from vulnerable families and children – that is indeed heartless, unforgivable, and profoundly unfair as the Tories and Lib Dem’s themselves have admitted this morning. What we got in return from coalition members at the time is pretty much mirrored in their motion this morning. And the impact is guaranteed to be the same. Nothing will change.

Never forget. We are where we are today because past Tory governments have failed us.

What we need to do now is open up dialogue with decision makers, not simply ‘write a letter’ then pat one another on the back and fool ourselves that we’ve done our best. The people of County Durham will expect a more animated response from their local councillors, not performative nonsense designed to catch the headlines or pick up a few clicks on social media posts.

So write your letter if you think it’ll achieve anything, but we will not be playing along with any puerile party-political games at a time when we are focused entirely on providing solutions. Our residents need practical, effective measures. Members on this side of the aisle (Labour) started that process weeks ago, so this morning we will not be taking a step backwards to support the coalition’s motion.

The people we represent deserve better than empty rhetoric from a coalition that has barely lifted a finger in defence of the hard-pressed people of this county throughout 14 arduous years of damaging Tory austerity. We’re not falling for this sham of a motion, and neither should anyone else.

I urge all members this morning to support Labour’s amendment. Put away your pens and instead join us in actually doing something to help our residents.

After the coalition rejected our invitation for them to join us in our campaign we had no option other than to abstain on their substantive motion - and that’s because we were already doing what they were asking us to do. It’s as simple as that.

As local activists we have built well established connections in our towns and villages and we’ve got many years of experience in dealing with issues like this. We are not prepared to take any lectures from coalition members who sat back with their feet up while we fought back for years against government incompetence, corruption and spiteful austerity cuts aimed at bringing our communities and public services to their knees.

If they think ‘writing a letter’ will make any difference they can crack on. We’ll continue to work in our communities to get help as quickly as possible to anyone who needs it.

Coalition members give the green light to parking charges at Crimdon

Although I'm not a member of the Highways Committee I submitted a request to address committee members at its meeting this morning to consider the council's proposals to introduce parking charges along the sea front at Crimdon Dene. 

As regular readers of these pages will know I've opposed plans to introduce parking charges at Crimdon since they first came to light. I don't believe they will do anything at all to tackle the central problem of obstructive parking at a specific location to the southern edge of the sea front, and furthermore I'm convinced that the council's intention is not to manage or control traffic at Crimdon. In my opinion their only purpose in introducing parking charges is to open up a revenue stream to off-set gaping holes in the council's budget and raise cash from our communities in East Durham to fund the coalition's pet projects in Durham City. 

In truth these proposals are nothing but a cash-grab, and the proof lies in the council's own MTFP (Medium Term Financial Plan) and Budget papers published last year in which it is estimated that the council can raise almost £450k by introducing parking charges at Seaham and Crimdon. Incidentally the MTFP also refers to an additional cost burden of £600k every year to keep the new art gallery and restaurant at the former DLI building ticking over - so you can work out for yourself that we're suffering parking charges in East Durham to subsidise a high-end restaurant in Durham City!

I spoke at length this morning about the damaging impact that parking charges would have on visitor numbers and the local economy. Despite my arguments however, every coalition member on the committee supported the council’s plans to introduce parking charges at Crimdon. For the record every Labour member on the committee agreed with my position, stood by my comments and opposed the parking charges. 

In accordance with the council's constitution the committee’s recommendation to approve the charges will now be passed to the corporate director for a final decision made under delegated authority. Unfortunately the last line of local resistance fell today and the final decision is a foregone conclusion.

Finally, my thanks go to the hundreds of people and businesses who have supported the campaign, especially those who took the time to contact me directly or respond to the council’s public consultation. Although we haven’t managed to get over the line on this occasion the campaign has been a success in bringing our community together in opposition to these unfair proposals.

Background details to this complex and often confusing issue can be found in this link: Objections to revised parking charges at Crimdon

I've reproduced below an initial draft of the comments I made to the highways committee this morning:

Crimdon Dene Coastal Car Park

Comments to Highways Committee, Tuesday 17 September 2024

Committee members will have already had sight of my written response to the public consultation exercise on the introduction of parking charges at Crimdon Dene, so my comments this morning will cross reference the points I raised in that response.

It’s fair to say that there have been one or two reports of obstructive parking at Crimdon, but these are isolated to one specific location and are infrequent – and certainly nothing of the magnitude to warrant this kind of response.

To begin with, over the past year or so I’ve raised residents’ concerns about obstructive parking in one particular location along the southern edge of the sea front in Crimdon, but these incidents occur infrequently at only at one or two peak times and apply mainly to the summer months and on the occasional Bank Holiday. 

I discussed potential solutions with the highways team at the time and recommendations were made to prohibit obstructive parking at the junction to the bungalow and at the approach to the beach from the Ponyworld building at the southern edge of the site.

Critically, back then parking charges were never once suggested as part of that proposed solution, which begs the questions - why now?

I’ve noted officers’ comments this morning on their reasons behind the potential introduction of parking charges, but to me the proposals completely miss the point and fly in the face of reason and public opinion.

My main concern is that after the measures we’ve put in place to attract more visitors to Crimdon, including the council-owned Dunes café and visitor centre, the council now appears determined to drive visitors and tourists away.

Crimdon as a visitor attraction holds a fairly unusual position in our neck of the woods in that it is one of the only remaining visitor destinations where people can come to the coast and park for free. But instead of using that as a unique selling point, and promoting Crimdon as a welcoming destination, the council risks displacing visitors elsewhere for the sake of raising revenue.

To me that is a short-sighted approach that is completely at odds with the need for a long-term ambition to bring the good times back to Crimdon and at the same time attract more visitors to the Durham coast.

Without exception, every member of the public and every local business that has taken to time to contact me directly about this issue agrees with me that we should promote the coast as a tourist destination alongside a developing nature reserve, and at the same time take the opportunity to boost the local economy.

Consequently they view these parking charges as a retrograde step that will have a negative impact by repelling visitors and taking custom away from shops and other businesses in nearby villages like Blackhall Colliery – at a time when local businesses would love the opportunity to welcome more visitors through their doors.

If proof is needed on this point I would draw attention to the impact that parking charges have had recently on businesses and visitor numbers just up the road in Seaham. Once thriving businesses, and some newer enterprises, are now struggling to make ends meet as potential visitors bypass the town and go elsewhere.

Finally, I have concerns that parking charges at Crimdon Dene are being used as a cash-raising initiative, rather than an exercise in actually managing or controlling traffic flows and obstructive parking.

A look through the MTFP (14) papers published last year will show that a shortfall of over £400k is to be met by the introduction of parking charges along the Durham coast. This reinforces the point I made earlier that a regressive measure like introducing parking charges at Crimdon Dene is an ill-conceived intervention that will have a long-term impact on visitor numbers and the local economy in nearby villages like Blackhall Rocks and Blackhall Colliery, and also in others right across East Durham.

I acknowledged earlier that there are occasional incidents of obstructive parking at one specific location, but if there are persistent and widespread problems associated with over-parking at Crimdon I haven’t been made aware of them. Besides there are others means of addressing that issue. Either way, the approach recommended by the council appears to be taking a sledgehammer to crack a nut. It appears to me (and many others) that this a regressive, revenue raising exercise that risks driving visitors away from Crimdon, and one that could well have dire consequences for the wider economy in East Durham.

For the reasons I’ve set out this morning I would urge members of the highways committee to reject the proposal to introduce parking charges at Crimdon Dene and recommend that the relevant director reaches the same conclusion under delegated authority.

Rob Crute

Blackhall Ward

Durham County Council

PW&S 2024 - Supporting our local horse riders in their road safety campaign

It was my pleasure to once again support our local horse riding group at their annual Pass Wide & Slow campaign event, held earlier today at South Blackhalls Farm in Blackhall Rocks.

This morning’s event was one of many held right across the country, and the intention of both local and national campaigns is to highlight the dangers horse riders face when drivers pass at speed or fail to allow sufficient space when overtaking. 

The main aims of the campaign are to promote awareness of the dangers faced by horses and their riders and to encourage drivers to reduce speed to a maximum 10mph and allow a gap of at least 2m when passing individuals or groups of horse riders. Full details can be found on the Pass Wide & Slow website here: Home | Pass Wide And Slow (passwideandslow1.wixsite.com)

More details about the local Pass Wide and Slow campaign were published by the Hartlepool Mail on Thursday evening. Their article can also be found on the Mail's online website: ‘We just want to be safe’: Blackhall horse riders organise ride to raise awareness of road safety (hartlepoolmail.co.uk)

Please take a moment to have a look at the local and national campaign material and think about how you can play your part in helping to promote better road safety for horse riders.

High Hesleden footpath abandoned once again!

Residents in High Hesleden will have noticed recently that all the footpaths throughout the village have been resurfaced. This follows an unnecessarily long and complicated campaign Stacey and I have run for years on behalf of residents.

However, residents will also be absolutely staggered to have seen that the stretch of footpath between The Elms and the Black Path has once again been by-passed by the highways team. 

Regular readers of these pages will know that I've been pressing the council for several years to get this short length of footpath resurfaced, but for a number of reasons (amongst them a farcical error a few years ago when the council included the works in their resurfacing programme, but subsequently resurfaced the wrong footpath) the works were never carried out.

Concerns over unacceptable delays to highways repairs in the Blackhall area

I've been in touch again with the highways service this afternoon to get an explanation on why this footpath has been ignored once again. I'll update on progress as soon as I have an answer. 

Update on reported highways issues

Over the past week or so I've been dealing with a number of highways-related issues after residents in Blackhall Rocks and Blackhall Colliery raised their concerns with me about the poor condition of some of the roads in their neighbourhoods.

I've published the latest known details of some of these issues below, and will update as soon as I have more information from the service:

The Crescent, Blackhall Colliery

Once again I’ve asked the highways team to carry out an inspection of the road surface at The Crescent and carry out repairs where necessary.

After two similar requests over the past year or so for some reason the inspector seems to think that there are no ‘actionable defects’ on this road. The images attached to this post tell a different story. Hopefully it’ll be third time lucky!

Shortly after I submitted the request above I submitted an additional request for the damaged footpath in the back lane between Park Avenue and The Crescent to be inspected and arrangements to be made for repairs where necessary.

I’ve now received confirmation that repair works are now in the council’s highways works programme and will be carried out within the next three months in line with council policy on the type and severity of defects.

Meadow Avenue & Maureen Avenue, Blackhall Rocks

Following contact with a resident recently I’ve asked the highways section to carry out an inspection of the road surface in the lane between Meadow Avenue and Maureen Avenue and repair any defects as necessary.

I was advised last week that repair works are now in the council’s current highways works programme.

Attlee Avenue, Blackhall Rocks

A resident from Attlee Avenue got in touch with me earlier this week to tell me about the poor condition of the grassed area in the cul-de-sac at the top of the street.

I called along there the day after to take a look for myself, and as you’ll see from the images in this post there have been quite a few of the embedded paving stones lifted out of the ground and scattered across the green.

I’ve raised residents’ concerns with the authorities with a request that the stones are either replaced or removed altogether. I’ve also asked that the open space is tidied up and that the perimeter fencing is either replaced or repaired wherever necessary.

I was advised last week that the council’s clean and green team has been issued a request to tidy up the land, replace or remove the block-paving and repair or replace the perimeter fencing where necessary.

Princess Close, Blackhall Rocks

Following a request recently from a resident at Princess Close I've asked for a salt bin to be installed in the street. The entrance and exit points at Princess Close are quite steep so I would expect a positive response from the service.

If you have any streets in your neighbourhood that don't currently have a salt bin at either end of the street but would benefit from one please send me location details, and images if possible, to rob.crute@durham.gov.uk and I'll issue a request to the highways department.

Absent private sector landlords and London Borough councils caught up in relocation scandal

An exclusive report in the Northern Echo recently exposed the 'disgusting' practice of private-sector landlords and their letting agencies collaborating with London Borough councils to transfer vulnerable people from the capital to County Durham without bothering to inform local councils or charity organisations first. I've posted a link below to the article published on Friday 6 September 2024.

MPs slam act of homeless Londoners moved to North East | The Northern Echo

The report comes at a time when a handful of people in our village are posting made-up scare stories on social media platforms about 'illegal' immigrants being offered housing in places like Blackhall Colliery because of 'official' government policy. Those claims are completely false of course, and appear to have been circulated simply to create a diversion to the real issues facing our communities, and also to distract public attention from the fact that organisations like Reform UK and their allies on the Thatcherite wing of the Tory party have nothing to offer in terms of realistic policy ideas. I responded to those claims in an article on these pages last week which highlights the actual facts of the matter:

Misleading information and ignorance of the facts is being used to generate fear and division in our communities

It'll be interesting to see the reaction of the scaremongers and fake news agents to this latest report of 'vulnerable' people being sent into our communities by private-sector landlords without even the courtesy of letting the local councils know about it in advance, especially when it's acknowledged that none of these people are either 'illegal' immigrants or that they were moved here because of any 'official' government policy. They've been abandoned purely in the interest of private profit. Meanwhile our local councils and residents will be left to pick up the tab.

It's certainly something to ponder for those who've expressed their outrage and alarm recently at non-existent 'illegal' immigrants coming into our County Durham towns and villages, yet appear to be relaxed about this deplorable practice of absent private housing landlords and their managing agencies manipulating vulnerable people and raking in the profits at the expense of our residents and hard-pressed communities still reeling from 14 years of Tory government austerity.

Misleading information and ignorance of the facts is being used to generate fear and division in our communities

A resident contacted me recently to express their concerns about a post on the Blackhall Have Your Say Facebook page in which misleading terminology was used to imply that the government had somehow come up with an ‘official’ policy to house ‘illegal’ immigrants in places like Blackhall Colliery. The person publishing the post then goes on to ask if local residents agree with a policy which doesn’t actually exist.

Given the issues raised in the post it can only be assumed that the person publishing it intended to either deliberately mislead the public and unsettle the community - or the post was published in complete ignorance of the facts.

It will be glaringly obvious of course to anyone with even the most basic grasp of politics that the content of the post itself was complete rubbish. Even if it wanted to, no government could even begin the process of establishing official policy based on something illegal - simply because it would be illegal! 

With that in mind it’s likely that the post was circulated for no purpose other than to create alarm, suspicion and division in our village - and there’s a reason why.

When organisations like Reform UK and their allies in the Thatcherite wing of the Tory party have no policies or ideas of any substance their supporters tend to go low and seek to generate discord and fear in our communities instead. It’s intended as a distraction, but it can only work when there’s a void left behind after the facts have been concealed.

Unfortunately alarmist posts about 'illegal' immigrants do tend to get traction on social media, simply because no one bothers to challenge the misleading information or question the terminology used. Perhaps worse, it also works against anyone who might have genuine concerns about community safety and cohesion. We've all heard the tale about the boy who cried wolf.

So in order to get the facts out I’ve published below a response I received to a query from a resident who had asked recently how many immigrants had been housed in Blackhall.

The fake news agents might not like what follows, but it’s factual and it stands up to scrutiny.

**** passed your query over to me as it really isn’t a straightforward one to answer unfortunately.

We can tell you from Census 2021 how many people in Blackhall were born outside of the UK.

We estimate that’s about 57 people out of a population of 2,723 (so around 2% of the resident population). Of course, that’s Census 2021 so doesn’t really answer the question about ‘immigrants moving in to the village recently’.

This is where it gets tricky as it's a really difficult one for us to answer.

I’ve spoken to our Resettlement and Humanitarian Support Manager and can say that we haven’t resettled anyone into that area.

There are publicly available statistics which are available at Immigration system statistics data tables.  But they don’t go to LA level never mind any sub LA geography (some of it is by region).

Finally, someone with a right to enter the UK and relevant status could relocate to an area and we simply wouldn't know (several people are living in the east of the County who are international students or living in the UK with a work visa, for example).

I’ve also contacted a colleague in Assessments and Awards to see if there was any way of looking at this via that route, but most would probably be claiming UC** and we wouldn’t see any immigration status on a claim. Potentially we could look at new accounts and cross reference with the Resettlement team but as I said earlier, I’ve already been in touch with them and they haven’t resettled anyone in that area recently.

I’ll keep digging to see what I can find. There is possibly a flag in GP practice medical records that relates to migrant status. I’ve asked a colleague at NECS about it. It might be useful although not all non-UK residents will be registered with a GP either.

**it should be noted that illegal immigrants cannot claim Universal Credit or any other benefits.