Upgrade works to the Haswell to Hart walkway at Hesleden

I've received confirmation from the council's countryside team this afternoon that works to upgrade the Haswell to Hart walkway are scheduled to begin tomorrow.

The upgrade is due to take place in the Hesleden area between the former pit heap site and Hesleden and are in part a follow up to my recent enquiries about fencing and security around the site. Please see full details below:

Hello Cllr Crute,

I hope you are well.

I just wanted to make you aware that improvement works to the H–H railway line between the Quarry and Hesleden are scheduled to begin tomorrow. These works will involve resurfacing sections of the route with tarmac, carrying out drainage improvements, and implementing target-hardening measures to protect the path and surrounding infrastructure.

The contractors have advised that the programme is expected to take approximately 2–3 weeks to complete, depending on weather conditions and progress on site. During this period, there may be temporary restrictions or short closures of certain sections of the path, along with the presence of machinery and work vehicles along the route.

I will continue to monitor the works and will provide updates should there be any significant changes to the timescale or access arrangements.

Community Action Team litter pick sessions in Blackhall Colliery

As regular readers of these pages will know the council's Community Action Team carried out another 12-week project in a defined area of Blackhall Colliery earlier this year. Full background details can be found in this link: Local Issues & Casework Update for January 2025

As the CAT team's visit to Blackhall Colliery drew to a close they made a commitment to continue arrange a series of bespoke sessions in the village. The CAT team leader has sent me details this week of two individual litter-picking sessions to take place later this month and again next month.

In addition the team leader has confirmed this week that the CAT team will return to Blackhall Colliery in May next year to carry out a review of this year's project. I'll publish full details as soon as I have more information.

In the meantime I've published full details below of the litter pick sessions:

Further to the Community Action Team in Blackhall Colliery at the start of the year, please find attached a poster for upcoming litter picks:

Wednesday 26^th November

Wednesday 3^rd December

Both at 10am. Meeting opposite Parish Council building, 68 Middle Street, Blackhall Colliery. All welcome.

Care home manager clarifies rumours about Yohden Care Complex in Blackhall Colliery

Earlier this week residents got in touch with me asking if I had any information about rumours circulating on social media and throughout the community relating to residents being removed from the Yohden Care Complex in Blackhall Colliery. Full background details can be found in this article from Monday evening: Council clarifies rumours relating to the Yohden Care Complex

Some of those rumours implied that sections of the care home were being considered for closure, so naturally the people who had contacted me were quite alarmed. To make matters worse, within minutes of the rumours going live there were comments on social media claiming that the care home was about to close in order to accommodate 'illegal immigrants' and asylum seekers. Although there wasn't a scrap of evidence to support any of those claims they created additional confusion and caused unnecessary anxiety amongst residents in the care home and in the wider community. 

In the hope of reassuring the people who had contacted me, along with the staff, residents and their families, I made further enquiries with the county council's commissioning team and director to get confirmation of what was actually happening at the home. 

I've now received the following response from the County Durham Care Partnership which clarifies the current position. Please note that the response to the closure rumours is based on information supplied by the manager at the Yohden Care Complex:

Further update:

Our CO has spoken to the manager at Yohden again today (and was there himself on Friday completing a QBA action plan follow up). She has reiterated that there are no plans to close and has provided feedback that rumours were started on Facebook yesterday. The post in question has since been taken down.  Comms have been issued by the provider re closure of the first floor of the home with both letters going out and meetings with residents’ families taking place at the start of the process. The small number of moves to their local / sister home (Field View) are almost complete, noting that 3 individuals originally planned as in scope remain at Yohden as they are currently meeting the threshold for nursing care and / or Field View has been determined to not fully meet their needs. 4 of the 5 LD SUs have moved to new providers, again with 1 individual remaining at Yohden due to nursing needs.

9 residents in total have moved out, to either Field View or an alternative LD provider – 5 General Res and 4 LD. That is less than originally planned, which they informed us about as per previous emails, due to consideration of needs along with families and SWs.

** has been in contact with the Regional Manager and Head Office have advised that another letter will be sent out to families to further allay fears, and they are discussing placing a banner outside of the home to advertise that they are still accepting admissions. The regional manager also reassures us directly that the home is not closing and that the plans remain as they advised originally. They will share a copy of the comms with us. The regional manager believes that some comments have been posted on social media by ex-staff members, which is not helping. He has suggested internally that the provider instigate some company social media regarding the home to try and give reassurances to the wider community.

Council clarifies rumours relating to the Yohden Care Complex

A number of people have been in touch with me concerned about rumours they've heard this afternoon about residents being moved out of the Yohden Hall Nursing Home (the precise term used on social media apparently).

I hadn't been made aware of any details so I contacted the director of adult social care at Durham County Council to ask if they had any information that I could pass on to residents and the wider community.

The director has checked with the commissioning team in county hall and they have confirmed that the only information they have is that 5 residents are being relocated to Field View at the same complex. I've reproduced below the information I received this afternoon:

Hello Rob

The information we have is that they want to move 5 people to their other home in Blackhall at Field View. We have been in touch with the families of the 5 people [affected].

We don’t know of any further plans to move more people.

Regards

Hopefully that will clarify the issues raised and the rumours circulating in the community and on social media. However, I've asked the service to keep me in touch in the event their are any developments.

Believe Housing confirms repairs to the heating system at Bluebell Close

Over the weekend I was contacted by a couple of residents at Bluebell Close in Blackhall Colliery telling me that the heating and hot water system wasn't working again. This latest breakdown follows similar issues reported to me at Bluebell Close and Primrose Court last month when residents were left without heating and hot water for several days. 

I contacted officers at Believe Housing, the company responsible for Primrose Court and Bluebell Close, to make sure they were aware of the latest problem with the heating system and to ask for an update on progress with repairs. I received the following update this morning from one the directors at the housing company:

Hi Rob,

I hope this email finds you well. I wanted to provide you with a quick update regarding the heating issue at Bluebell Close. After speaking with my colleagues in the repairs team, I can confirm that we have the contractor back out on-site to carry out necessary checks and repairs. 

Please rest assured that we are closely monitoring this situation and working in tandem with our colleagues in Assets to devise a long-term solution to these intermittent failings. We appreciate your patience and understanding, and we will keep you posted on any further developments.

Best regards,

I'll continue to keep in touch with officers at Believe Housing until all repairs are completed and will keep residents up to date with developments as soon as I have more information from the company.

**EDIT** Latest update from 3.45pm on Monday:

Hi Rob,

I wanted to share a quick update with you regarding the heating issue at Bluebell Close. My colleagues in the repairs team have informed me that the system is now fully operational again, with heating and hot water fully restored.

Thank you so much for your patience and understanding during this time. We will continue to monitor the situation closely. Should you receive any further reports of issues from residents, please do not hesitate to direct them to Believe Housing.

Best regards,

A proud Blackhall community pays its respects at the 2025 Service of Remembrance

Once again our proud Blackhall community came together as one this morning for the Remembrance Sunday commemoration service held at the memorial in Blackhall Colliery Welfare Park.

The service, organised by Monk Hesleden Parish Council and officiated by council chairman Gaynor Crute and local minister John Kidd, drew another fantastic attendance from a community committed to remembering the fallen and honouring the sacrifice made by many in the defence of our country in two world wars and other conflicts over the years.

The buffet reception held in Blackhall Cricket Club immediately after the service offered the perfect opportunity for our residents and their families to meet up again with old friends and visitors to our village.

Wreaths were laid at the memorial on behalf of the Royal British Legion, Monk Hesleden Parish Council, Durham County Council, Blackhall Colliery primary school, St Joseph's RC primary school, Wellfield school, Blackhall RAFA, Blackhall Navy Club, the Women's Institute, St Andrew's church, Abbeyvale Care Centre, Durham police and a number of other local and regional organisations. There was also an opportunity for individual residents and visitors to make their representations on behalf of lost loved ones and family members.

As always thanks go to the clerk, members and staff of the parish council for organising the event, the staff and committee of Blackhall Cricket Club who made everyone welcome, Ian Harris for performing the Last Post and Reveille, Brian Drummond who once again devoted his time and energy in decorating our villages in the weeks running up to the service, the many organisations mentioned above who laid their wreaths at the cenotaph and of course the Blackhall community as a whole who came together to honour those who served, fought and died in the defence of our country and community against tyranny and oppression.

Access problems caused by DCC-imposed parking charges at Crimdon

In March this year the parking charges imposed at Crimdon by Durham County Council came into effect. Almost immediately I received complaints of access issues along the road linking the A1086 Coast Road to the sea-front so I asked the council to suspend the charges until a solution could be found. Unfortunately the council insisted that the charges would remain in place. Full background details can be found in this link: Durham County Council urged to suspend parking charges at Crimdon.

Over the spring and summer season I've been contacted again by residents and visitors reporting that instead of paying to park along the sea-front some people are opting instead to park along the approach road from the A1086 Coast Road junction. To be clear, there are no parking restrictions along that road, and no one is doing anything illegal. They're simply parking at a location that is convenient for them.

Residents and visitors told me that on a few occasions over the summer months the road has been difficult to access in parts - not because people are parking illegally, but because the parking charges imposed by the council along the sea-front have created a problem that didn't exist beforehand. After listening to the concerns raised I wrote to the council to highlight the problems they've created and I've asked them to let me know how they're going to put things right. This is the response I received:

'I must advise that the land encompassing the access road is the responsibility of Crimdon Dene Holiday Park. Durham County Council did initially make contact to discuss a wider scheme that would include enforcement of the access road as mitigation against any potential displacement, however we were not granted permission to include this area within our enforcement regime. We therefore advised that the holiday park should progress their own measures to prevent parking on the access road. 

'With the above in mind, any concerns associated with obstructive parking in this area should be reported directly to Crimdon Dene Holiday Park.'

I don't find this rather terse statement issued by the council to be particularly helpful under the circumstances, and in addition I think it's grossly unfair to pass this matter over to the owners of the Crimdon Dene Holiday Park. They didn't cause this problem, but they're being told by the council that they're going to have to deal with the consequences!

Without a full explanation from the council it looks as though they've imposed parking charges along the sea-front at Crimdon without any real understanding of the circumstances or consideration of the consequences elsewhere. I don't think this is good enough - and the residents and visitors I've met with agree.

After all it was Durham County Council who made the decision to impose parking charges earlier this year when the issue was discussed at a meeting of the council's Highways Committee. That decision was made against my wishes and despite the objections I raised at the meeting. Full details can be found here: Coalition to introduce parking charges at Crimdon

In trying to find a better way to deal with the issues raised in this post I'm aware that a resident has been organising a petition to put to the council asking them to scrap the charges altogether. I've met with the lead petitioner and I've given them my full support. As soon as the petition is ready I'll make arrangements for it to be handed over to the authorities in county hall.

If the council can be persuaded to rescind the charges we'll at least have a respite from the parking problems experienced at Crimdon Dene during the summer months. It would also give the council time to go back to the drawing board and come up with a better solution to the parking capacity problems they used as an excuse to impose the charges in the first place.

Community Activities Update for October 2025

Over the course of the past month I’ve raised over 62 queries with the authorities on behalf of residents and businesses across the Blackhalls & Hesledens ward. I've also been in direct contact with more than 50 individual residents. Almost all of these queries are personal and/or confidential so for obvious reasons details cannot be disclosed to the public.

In addition, I’ve dealt with a number of general queries raised with me by members of the public. These include issues raised at my twice-monthly ward surgeries, during street walkabouts, at PACT meetings and through other methods, including direct contact with me via telephone, email and my social media platforms.

The main issues covered over the past few weeks include residents' concerns about HMO rumours in Blackhall, a mixed response to parking restrictions at the Scheme Houses and the potential use of private land behind the Esso service station on the Coast Road. There are also details of this year's Remembrance Sunday commemoration service.

I’ve selected just a few of the articles about these issues for re-posting, just in case you missed them first time around.

Please follow the individual links below for full details, and as ever if you have any comments or queries regarding any local issues please get in touch with me direct and I'll see what I can do to help: rob.crute@durham.gov.uk

Unfounded rumours of an HMO in Blackhall (link includes background details from a post in November 2024): False rumours of an HMO at Thornton Terrace:

Additional background information on my campaign to regulate HMOs can be found in a post from July 2024: Regulating HMOs in our communities

Council urged to step up efforts to tackle private-sector housing issues: Calls for the council to step up its approach to dealing with private-sector housing issues:

Parking restrictions at the Scheme Houses: Mixed feelings over new parking restrictions at the Scheme Houses:

Arrangements for Remembrance Sunday 2025: 2025 Service of Remembrance in Blackhall Colliery:

Clarity on planning permission for land behind the Esso service station: Private land behind the Esso service station:

Environmental issues update: Update on this week's environmental and highways issues:

Update on this week's environmental and highways issues

I've followed up on all the highways and environmental issues raised with me by residents over the past week. I've already received replies to some reports and I'm still pursuing others, however I thought it would be helpful at this stage to give an update on some of the issues I'm dealing with.  

Last weekend, after the council had started to install double yellow lines on the lane ends at the Scheme Houses, I received reports from residents of several potholes in Shaftesbury Road which runs the length of the estate from Shaftesbury Crescent at the top to Wordsworth Avenue at the bottom. 

I was also told by residents that some of the lines installed last week extended from the main road into the lanes, while others were ended on the main road. Full background details of the Highways committee's decision to install parking restrictions can be found in this link: Mixed feelings over new parking restrictions at the Scheme Houses

First thing on Monday morning I raised a request with the council's highways department to inspect the road surfaces at the Scheme Houses - especially the most badly affected parts around Milton, Shakespeare and Tennyson Avenues - and repair any defects as soon as possible. I also asked the department to check the lines throughout the estate and ensure they were installed correctly and consistently. 

Also last weekend I was contacted by a resident reporting a badly damaged footpath surface on Broad Road in Blackhall Rocks. I submitted a request on Monday morning for the highways section to inspect the footpath and carry out repairs where necessary. I've since received a response confirming that the works will be carried out soon.

At the Blackhall PACT meeting held last week a resident raised concerns about drivers exceeding the speed limit on Eleventh Street. This section of the road is directly outside the entrances to the Welfare Park so the resident was understandably concerned there could be an accident and asked if additional traffic calming measures could be installed. I've contacted the relevant authorities to ask them to consider the resident's request, and I'll update on this query as soon as I have a response from the service.

A resident from High Hesleden contacted me during the week to tell me that builder's expanding foam had been splashed across the main road through the village near the junction to Monk Hesleden. The foam is proving difficult to remove so I've asked the council to intervene. In response I've received confirmation that the neighbourhood wardens are aware of the incident.

Finally, I received a request during the week for a waste bin to be installed at the bus stop at the top of Mickle Hill, near its junction with Ocean View in Blackhall Rocks. Unfortunately the council has declined on this occasion. However, I've been assured that the council will monitor levels of rubbish and dog fouling in the area and revisit their decision if necessary.

Private land behind the Esso service station

I was contacted recently by residents asking if there were any plans in the pipeline to build houses on land at the rear of the Esso service station just of the A1086 Coast Road in Blackhall. Apparently someone had spotted what appeared to be surveyors on the land and this piqued their interest, especially since similar concerns were raised not so long ago when rumours started to circulate that builders were on site to prepare the land for a housing development.

Background details can be found in this link: Land clearance works behind the Esso service station

I raised residents' latest concerns with the planning office and other departments at county hall to see if I could get more information about what was going on behind the service station. And the response I've received from the council confirms that there is still no planning consent in place for any kind of development, nor has a planning application been received by the planning section. I've reproduced the response below:

The Planning Team can confirm that site clearance had taken place. This included the removal of vegetation and possibly some levelling of the land. However, these activities were not classified as 'development' and no breaches of planning regulations were identified.

In relation to your query, the council can confirm that the land immediately to the rear of the Esso service station is no longer owned by Durham County Council. Furthermore, there is currently no planning application or enquiry on record for any development on this land. 

Should a valid planning application be submitted in the future, it will be published on the Council’s website, and the usual procedures will apply, including site notices and neighbour notification letters to affected residents. Please note that survey works typically do not require planning consent.

I'll continue to monitor developments on this matter and I'll update when there are any significant changes or if there is any additional information from the council.