CONSULTATION MEETING ATTRACTS OVER 250

Over 250 residents attended the consultation event at Framwellgate Moor Community Centre on the County Durham Plan on Tuesday.  It is very clear that the council has to do much more to make sure that residents are involved in the process.

The next stage of consultation will start in May, but before then please visit the link on the left of this page for updates and to get links to the relevant documents.

FRAMWELLGATE MOOR PARKING UPDATE

FROM FOCUS
The County Council is currently consulting on proposals for limited waiting in the parking bays on Framwellgate Moor Front St. This follows on from a commitment from Councillor Mark Wilkes to tackle the parking problems in the area.
Mark comments “There has been an ongoing problem with parking on the Front St. I have been successful in getting the community centre carpark resurfaced and the club car park open for everyone needing to visit the area. However, many people park all day in the bays and don’t even use the local shops. By ensuring a faster turnover of spaces, businesses & visitors will benefit.
With the extra car park provision and changes to the parking bays there will also be no excuse for parking cars on pavements. Some businesses have commented that 2 hours waiting would be sufficient, though this could cause problems for others,” Mark added
Councillor Wilkes has asked for a separate scheme to be consulted at the shops on Priory Rd/Beech Rd where there is also a problem with hospital visitors taking up all the spaces for residents, business owners and users.
This is expected to be consulted on in the spring with a view to implementing a scheme later in the year once local views have been taken into account.

Fortnightly bin collections round the corner?

FROM FOCUS LEAFLET:
Although the Council haven’t openly said it yet, savings in the budget for the coming year include upwards of £1.5 million for moving to fortnightly bin collections and changes to more improved recycling.
Over the last few months, though some may have missed it, the Council has been consulting on waste collection and recycling.
This topic divides opinion as Councillor Mark Wilkes comments “On the one side some residents talk about their general waste bins being more than half empty, and their recycling overflowing.
“On the other side, households with larger families are concerned about hygiene, others are worried about the smell in the summer or the collections being missed in the winter. And quite a lot of people say to me it’s all the council does for the council tax.”
“Clearly the council does far more than just collect waste, but more and more residents say to me that they would be happy with fortnightly collections if recycling is improved. Indeed many residents would like to see weekly recycling.”
“The council is considering options including for all recycling to go in a separate wheelie bin instead of bags and boxes, but has to take into account that not everyone has space for two or three big bins.”
In Derwentside residents have had fortnightly collections for years, with recycling one week, general waste the next week.
Mark added “Whatever happens, Durham County Council has to increase recycling rates as the cost for landfill is rising every year. The more recycling is done, the lower the costs.
“One thing is certain, changes are on the way and regardless of pressures on the council budget, I can see this being implemented in the next twelve months in one form or another.”

PACT MEETING DATES

PACT MEETINGS DATES:

The dates for the police and communities together meetings for the coming months are listed below for each area. I try to attend as many of these as I can. The police, neighbourhood wardens and other council officers attend with local residents to set policing priorities for the area.

3rd March 2011
Framwellgate Moor and Pity Me PACT Meeting

14th April 2011
Framwellgate Moor and Pity Me PACT Meeting

26th May 2011
Framwellgate Moor and Pity Me PACT Meeting

7th July 2011
Framwellgate Moor and Pity Me PACT Meeting

18th August 2011
Framwellgate Moor and Pity Me PACT Meeting

9th March 2011
Witton Gilbert PACT/Residents Meeting

13th April 2011
Witton Gilbert PACT/Residents Meeting

11th May 2011
Witton Gilbert PACT/Residents

8th June 2011
Witton Gilbert PACT/Residents Meeting

13th July 2011
Witton Gilbert PACT/Residents

17th March 2011
Bearpark PACT Meeting

12th May 2011
Bearpark PACT Meeting

7th July 2011
Bearpark PACT Meeting

1st September 2011
Bearpark PACT Meeting

27th October 2011
Bearpark PACT Meeting

BEARPARK ROAD C17 – TO BE RE-RE-SURFACED

No not a typing error – Re-re-surfaced. I raised the issue of the failed work on Bearpark’s main road with officers.

I can confirm that the failed resurfacing on the C17 main road through Bearpark will see remedial work. Parts of the newly coated road have failed over the winter, partly due to the work being carried out late in the year when the weather was turning. The remedial works will not cost the council anything as the contractor will be doing this as part of its contract.

I am continuing to push for work to be done to improve roads across the area and will report back on this once the council has completed its surveys and informed councillors.

OFFICIAL NOTICE OF COUNTY PLAN MEETING

I recieved the offical notice of the county plan meeting today:

County Durham Plan Community Engagement Event

Time: 2pm to 8pm on 22nd February 2011

Venue:  Framwellgate Moor Community Centre, Front Street, Durham DH1 5BL

Preparation of the County Durham Plan is underway and we now wish to engage the local community further in the Durham City area.

The Council Planning Team are holding an engagement event on Tuesday 22nd February at Framwellgate Moor Community Centre between 2pm and 8pm. This event will form a part of the engagement process in order to get people’s views on the issues raised in the emerging County Durham Plan.

The event will comprise of :

·         a presentation on local planning matters followed by a question and answer session (this presentation will take place at 2pm and it will be repeated at 4pm and 6pm); and,

·         throughout the afternoon and evening members of the Council Planning Team will be available to discuss matters in regards to the future development of Durham City; including the future location of new housing; new employment sites to provide opportunities for local people; transport matters including the development of new relief roads and work underway to consider suitable areas within the Green Belt to accommodate new development.

Should you require any further information please do not hesitate to contact a member of the Planning Policy Team on 0300 123 70 70

WITTON GILBERT PARISH PLAN MEETING

The results of the residents survey for the parish plan for Witton Gilbert are being reported to residents at a meeting at Cooper Hall on Thursday 17th Feb, starting at 6.30pm. All residents welcome to attend.

The parish plan is being developed through a residents group, and is funded through the Parish Council.

COUNTY DURHAM PLAN UPDATE

I have created an exclusive page on the left using the link COUNTY PLAN where I will place updates on the County Durham Plan as we go forward.

The consultation on the County Durham Plan which was cancelled before Christmas to go ahead on the 22nd February at Framwellgate Moor Community Centre. There will be presentations at 2pm, 4pm and 6pm with a separate room displaying the proposals. (Newly resurfaced carpark at rear, but please come by public transport, car share or walk if possible)

Since December new documents have been released showing the two large greenbelt sites around Framwellgate Moor, Pity Me and Brasside as being of the highest potential priority for housing should the plans go ahead. If the whole area was developed it could result in 4000 new houses on land near the Arnison Centre and on the other side of the Pity Me bypass.

The new consultation I have asked for should just be the start – and I have made this clear to the County Council – potential changes on this kind of scale must be fully debated. The loss of so much greenbelt around Durham City would be very controversial – and far too often existing local residents do not see any benefit from these kind of proposals. This must not happen on this occasion.”

The overall County Durham Plan Proposals include a northern relief road from Brasside to the A1 and the redevelopment of Aykley Heads.

The latest document released relates specifically to Housing. The following links will take you to the various documents. If any of these links don’t work, please let me know. If you require a paper copy of the housing document let me know before the 22nd February and I will try to get a copy to you.

To view the housing document please visit:

http://durhamcc-consult.limehouse.co.uk/portal/planning/cdp_ce/gb_sa

To view other documents relating to the County Durham Plan on the County website:

http://www.durham.gov.uk/Pages/Service.aspx?ServiceId=856

To view other consultations by Durham County Council visit:

http://www.durham.gov.uk/Pages/Service.aspx?ServiceId=867

If you still have problems please feel free to get in touch.