A few local issues I have chased up on which are in the process of being dealt with or have already been seen to.

Road Repairs: Residents complained about the state of the road to Finchale Abbey which was in bad need of patching work. After a few weeks of chasing up officers I am happy to say that a lot of patching work has been done on the road and many residents are happy with the results. Good to see the highways teams doing a good job.

Leaves and pavements: I have chased up on getting all the leaves cleared up in Pity Me and Framwellgate Moor this week. The pavement in Pity Me is watlogged and slippy in places so be careful but i am assured the teams will be out to clear them and unblock drains where necessary.

Trees: The Council Teams which work on tree surgery are working extensively across the area to remove dead and dangerous trees and branches at the moment after a number of years of perhaps not enough work being done. For any residents who have raised issues with trees with me, if there hasn’t been action yet, it isn’t that it wont be done, just that there are a number of emergency works which need doing. When you consider that there are only half a dozen tree surgeons working across the whole of the North of the County, with thousands of trees to deal with it is a wonder so much is getting done, but it may be after Christmas before some work gets dealt with. If there are trees on council land which anyone thinks are a problem by all means report them to hal@durham.gov.uk or let Mamie, Amanda or me know about them and we will ensure that they are dealt with where necessary – but allow a bit of time for the Council to get round to it.

Pity Me regeneration: The remaining section of Front Street from 52-58 is due for renewal in the coming weeks with new pavements and parking areas being regenerated. I am working with Mamie and Amanda to try to get more areas done across the whole area.

Hudspeth Streetlights: I have contacted the Head of Technical Services to ask him to find out why the new lighting on Hudspeth Crescent hasn’t been turned on since it was installed last week. I am assured this will be addressed asap.

Grit Sack update: The 20 or so locations where we are getting grit sacks for the winter will get the sacks  within a few days of the weather forcast indicating the first snow, hopefully not this week.