Hi all. Last year when my mother fell ill with cancer I paused making posts on this site to concentrate on looking after her and cracking on with the day to day work as a councillor.

Sadly my mother passed away in February after a long fight with lymphoma. The help she received from carers, hospitals and at the hospice was incredible and reminded me just how important our health services are, just one of the reasons i campaigned so hard on saving our NHS during the General Election.

I am restarting my blog and also have a facebook page set up now during the General Election: Mark Wilkes for City of Durham

Delighted to see that work to fully resurface the pavements and carpark at the Salutation (Coop/Greggs) is underway. I spoke with the owners a few weeks ago raising concerns about the carpark and pavement surfaces and the gravel being flicked up too.

All credit to the site owners for listening and doing a full scale job which is also going to make the whole area look better which is especially great given the work ongoing t regenerate Front Street.

Great news. After a decade of Labour doing nothing to improve Framwellgate Moor Front Street, we can confirm that work is due to start at the end of the month/start of March.

Renewal of all the pavements and streetscene in front of the shops will be done.

Traffic calming will help slow down traffic to the 20mph needed and formal adoption of the 20mph zone will take place.

The road surface is also set to be replaced (not resurfaced for over 30 years) as well as all the collapsed drainage being fixed, and the parking bays which are so uneven and a trip hazard are also being resurfaced.

Raised platforms at either end of the Front Street will slow traffic down and make it easier to cross the road.

And the bollards so many people want opposite Sainsburys will be installed to stop pavement parking blocking the pavement with safer crossing points along the street.

We’ve worked hard to get to this point over the last year and I’m delighted as your Lib Dem councillors that we are able to improve thevillage for everyone.

The work is being phased over several months to avoid parking areas being blocked off and to reduce disruption to residents living on Front Street.

There will also be a further consultation on reducing the parking time allowed in front of the stretch of parking in front of Sainsburys to help increase spaces for quick shopping and cut the number of people parking for many hours when there are alternatives.

Delighted to report that the work to upgrade the old wagonway path from Pity Me (Front St) to Newton Hall (Old Pit end) is well underway. The new path will be 3m wide, so finally we will have a path which isn’t waterlogged and muddy. It has taken a while to get this work done after we secured the improvements on the other side of the road from the substation to New College.

Work should be completed by the end of the month.

Works to install the permanent traffic lights in Brasside are nearly complete. We just got an update and barring any last minute issues work will take place as follows. Great that we have managed to make it safe for pedestrians getting into and out of the village and it also helps slow down traffic.

Monday 20^th February – Road marking changes.

Tuesday 21^st to Monday 27^th February – Signals installation/Commissioning.           

Monday 27^th February – Site Switch on.                                                   

Over the last year or so I’ve been working to get the main weir in Durham cleared of material. This year we included for the first time funding for regular work in the Council’s budget.

Under Labour no funding was provided each year and the weir was left to deteriorate to such an extent that it is now going to cost over £1m to repair it. Shame on Labour for neglecting the weir. The weir allows electricity to be generated via a hydro plant bringing £100,000 a year of income to the council which makes Labour’s failure to maintain the weir for decades all the more stupid.

Thankfully now that we are running the council many of the things Labour failed to do in Durham are being dealt with. More on this to come.

Please submit your support for the DLI Museum and Art Gallery project today! The plans are to double the footprint of the current building, providing even more exhibition space than before along with a cafe and restaurant and a second floor art galley. This is the pre-planning consultation – we want your views.

Don’t forget, Labour closed the museum and left it to crumble, we are bringing it back to life, providing a fitting tribute to the Durham Light Infantry as well as making sure Durham has a World Class Arts Facility.

You can complete the consultation at www.durham.gov.uk/consultation

I’m delighted to report that Labour’s Palace on The Sands has been sold to the University. The legal documents were signed off yesterday and the council has not only recovered all the cost of the building but made a significant profit which will be invested into services.

Labour should never had spent £50million of taxpayers money on the unnecessary building. The joint administration your Lib Dem councillors are part of have sold the building to the university, protecting hundreds of jobs and helping to creat hundreds more.

The Wear River Trust has an event this weekend to clear Himalayan Balsam from this area – the plant is invasive and takes over, stopping other plants from surviving.

Join the event on Sunday 10th July. More info here:

https://wear-rivers-trust.org.uk/get-involved/ola/services/himalayan-balsam-management-hopper-s-wood-east-of-railway-durham