ABBEY LEISURE CENTRE UNDER THREAT

Abbey Leisure Centre is in the target of the County Council cuts. The centre currently costs around £180,000 to run after costs and revenue.

The council has failed to consult with councillors before releasing this information, indeed it was leaked to the press – hardly the way to do business. I will work with other councillors to find out what is really going on here as it is clear the council have been doing all they can to try and run down the centre,  stop investment in it, and even as late as January this year appoint a business development manager despite knowing they were going to consult on closing the centre.

If anyone wants to see the reports which are going to cabinet next week outlining the closure consultation they can see them here:

http://www.durham.gov.uk/Pages/minutesinfo.aspx?ItemId=dXznWyuvP0k=

I do not believe that this closure is necessary and think that a sensibly run council would be making this facility break even. Local Lib Dem councillors will do all that they can to keep this centre open.

COUNCIL AGREES BUDGET FOR COMING YEAR

The County Council agreed a budget to day for the coming year which includes proposals for fortnightly bins collections, the closure of leisure centres and the cutting of funding to the CAB and Welfare Rights – too name a few.

Labour voted down a proposal from the Lib Dems to cut the County News newspaper to protect the Welfare Rights and CAB budgets, and also voted down our proposal to provide subsidised transport for over 16’s, which is being cut.

In addition, it is clear that they have failed to carry out any proper negotiation with Unions on job losses.  Many staff this year will receive four figure pay rises, yet we are cutting jobs.  These incremental pay rises could be cut back to protect those on the lowest incomes, services and jobs.  Labour has once again failed to listen to any of the opposition, or calls from residents.

Hopefully they will take on board some of our requests in the coming year – though I expect not.

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

CARRIAGEWAY RESURFACING – FOOTPATH SUCCESS

footpath-a167.jpg   footpath-a167-2.jpg

Part of the A167 including Pity Me roundabout will be resurfaced between 28th Feb and 22nd March. This will almost certainly cause some delays.

As part of the scheme I have managed to secure the resurfacing/ cutting back of some of the footpaths and cycle paths around the roundabout which at present are in a dreadful state. Another footpath success! Hopefully when all this is finished and the daffodils we planted come up it will look fantastic.