Visit www.durhamkeyoptions.co.uk
Properties at:
Vicarage Flats Brandon – 3 bed upstairs flat
Cuthbert Av Sherburn Road – 3 Bed House
Cypress Park Esh Winning – 1 Bed bungalow
Green Crescent Coxhoe – 1 Bed Bungalow
Ann Avenue Kelloe – 3 Bed House
Council refuses to advertise externally for new Chief Exec
Our esteemed Labour-run council has refused a Lib Dem request to advertise the position of Chief Exec outside of the Authority.
This was with the support of at least one of the independent group leaders and the Conservative group leader. Only the Lib Dems pushed for transparent process.
I fail to understand what the council has to lose by advertising to get the best person for job. None of the internal applicants would have anything to worry about if they are up to the position. There are senior officers who may be capable of being Chief Exec but it is unacceptable for local residents to not have a fully open selection.
The council has reduced the salary for the position from just over £200k down to £185k. However this is unlikely to save any money since the existing Chief Exec hasn’t been getting pension contributions from the Authority for a few years, and there is a good chance whoever comes next will get those contributions which could cost up to £35,000 a year.
It is time that Durham County Council reduced the number of Directors. If it is to select a Chief Exec from inside, there should not be a replacement position for the vacant Director position, but rather a reorganisation.
The council could operate quite comfortably without the Assistant Chief Exec position and one less director – many others do. The position of Director of Adult and Children’s Services has a budget and responsibility which is many many times that of other departments, so there is plenty of scope to make savings which could amount to £1m a year and help to protect other front-line services.
We have suggested this for many years and if it had been done already, millions of pounds would have been saved. Sadly our Labour-run council is ALWAYS behind the curve, and never a week goes by without it wasting money.
No answer to housing question at Cabinet – And no social housing either
Our Labour-run council is planning to build some private housing which it will then rent out. Great on the face of it. But it will not allow anyone on a low income to rent the properties. Rents will be as much as £200 a month over the local housing allowance rate.
I asked if after six years of my asking they would work with me to get some social housing built in our area. No answer was given to my question.
So we have a Labour run council happy to build luxury homes with taxpayers money and refusing to rent them out to anyone on housing benefit, whilst at the same time refusing to invest in social housing.
Meanwhile the Tories are putting social housing at risk through forcing the sale of homes without the money being made available to build new ones.
Begs the question “What’s the Difference between the Tories and Labour?
Forcing the sale of social housing without the money to reinvest is a madness – I expect that from the Tories. The Labour Party refusing to invest in social housing – that goes beyond madness, it is nothing short of disgraceful.
I will continue to push for social and affordable housing in our area on brownfield sites regardless of what our Tory-lite-Labour council does.
Council reserves rocket to £208 million
I attended the Cabinet meeting today to challenge the Council on its finances.
Total reserves have increased by £48.5m more than was predicted last April. and by £24m more than was forecast back when this years budget was determined in March.
This has now reached the point of lunacy. I am really surprised that the Government hasn’t intervened.
What is very clear is that not only was there no need for the council tax rise this year, but other requests for additional investment from Lib Dem county councillors into Schools and Highways budgets could have been met, and money could still have been added to reserves.
Labour councillors once again cited the government cuts, but none could really justify hiking reserves. Indeed my request for a full review of all earmarked reserves did not appear to be taken up, so we will be looking at taking this matter further. The council for example now has over £15m in an insurance reserve – double that of many larger councils.
Labour are creating ways to hide money – 58 reserves and cash limits, some of which haven’t seen a penny spent for years or continue to see increases.
If the situation continues at its current rate the council will soon have half a billion pounds in reserves whilst our footpaths and roads fall apart and schools see wind blowing through their windows.
I noted during the meeting that council plans also include council tax increases every year for the next few years. So take money out of the economy by fleecing County Durham residents, then put the money in the bank, do nothing with it and earn next to no interest.
This really is a shocking state of affairs.
County Hall to be demolished
The Council is planning to tear down County Hall. And have a slimmed down version. They want it in the City Centre. Not sure this is sensible given the horrendous traffic and pollution issues, but open minded to hear what they propose. Here is the email from the Chief Exec:
Dear colleagues
Next week Cabinet will consider a report on the council’s approach to office accommodation.
As you know, over recent years our top priority has been to stimulate economic growth and regeneration, creating jobs and attracting investment to the county. We are making good progress, with major investments such as Hitachi in Newton Aycliffe and Atom Bank in Durham City.
Cabinet will consider a proposal for the council to move its headquarters from County Hall, at Aykley Heads in Durham City so that the area can become a ‘strategic employment site’, capable of attracting thousands of jobs and millions of pounds of investment to the county.
Aykley Heads has already shown its potential in recent years, with Sunderland Marine and Durham Constabulary developing new head offices on the site. They will soon be joined by Atom Bank, who are going to build their UK headquarters on the site, having taken up temporary accommodation in a former council building which we made available to get them to invest in the city.
Depending on the outcome of the discussions over the County Durham Plan, we believe that the proposed strategic employment site could create between 2,500 and 6,000 private sector jobs.
We will also be proposing to Members that in moving off the site, they should consider relocating the council’s headquarters to Durham City centre, in order to support the local economy and to trigger further city centre development and regeneration. This would be accompanied by accommodating more of our office-based staff in the four main office bases we have established in recent years – Crook Civic Centre, Meadowfield Direct Services, Green Lane in Spennymoor and Spectrum 8 in Seaham. This approach would make the most of the council’s property assets across the county and help to spread the economic impact of the council’s operations.
As many of you will know, the existing County Hall is a very large complex, developed in the 1960s when local government was very different. As well as being costly to run and maintain, it is too big for the current size of the council and if we move, we need to ensure that we develop more affordable and suitable accommodation, capable of meeting our future needs. This includes the County Records Office archive, where we are running out of space and need to improve storage.
Office workspace and working practices have moved on considerably since the council’s main offices were established, so we are also suggesting that if we move, the council should adopt more modern working practices which will improve the way we work, achieve cost savings and ensure that the moves are affordable.
The proposed move is clearly a major project and will take some time.
Next week, Cabinet will be asked to agree in principle to moving County Hall to Durham City centre to free-up our Aykley Heads site for job creation and investment. If Cabinet agrees, we would then develop an outline business case to look at potential options for the move.
Members would consider this towards the end of this year, and if they decide to proceed, we would then develop a detailed business case on their preferred option.
A final decision on that, would be made in Spring 2016, after which time we would begin planning in detail for the relocation and moves and changes to the way in which we would need to work.
If Cabinet agrees, then I envisage that we are looking at up to four years before we vacate County Hall and we start to see development work at Aykley Heads.
We will of course keep you informed as the proposals progress with regular updates and bulletins. We are already planning another round of CMT staff roadshows later this year, when we hope to be able to provide you with more detail, once Cabinet has considered the proposal next week.
Best wishes
George Garlick
Milburngate Bridge closures
Below is the press release from the County Council about the closures planned for Milburngate Bridge. We did raise a variety of issues and suggestions with the Council about this asking that they do more to help reduce traffic in the City centre during the repair works and to look on this as a possible trial for longer term traffic reductions.
The council pretty much ignored us when we held a meeting with the Head of technical services a while ago. We asked for amongst other things:
Use of County Hall car park at weekends for free for visitors to the City.
Getting as many staff as possible to work from home at the Council and other large employers in the City.
Making the park and ride free for vehicles with multiple occupants.
Moving council meetings out of Durham City.
A huge number of other possible traffic reduction measures could have been looked at, but it was clear they didn’t want to listen to us.
Council press release:
People are advised of how they can help keep disruption to a minimum ahead of work starting on Milburngate Bridge in Durham.
The essential project, which will involve a major renovation of the bridge, gets underway on Sunday 12 July.
It will continue throughout the school summer holidays, when traffic using the route in peak hours usually falls by around 20 per cent, in order to minimise disruption as much as possible, although delays and congestion, particularly on other routes in and around the city, will be unavoidable.
Work will normally be carried out between 7am and 10pm, seven days a week, but working hours may be prolonged, if needed, to reduce the time it will take.
One lane will remain open at all times throughout the scheme and a footpath will also be provided.
The project will be delivered in three stages (see attached maps) – the first will see work carried out on the south lane and footpath, the second will be the north lane and footpath and the third will be the two centre lanes.
Start and end dates of each stage will be publicised as the scheme progresses.
The Claypath slip road will be closed throughout the works and the Walkergate slip road, which is off the south of the bridge on the same side as The Gates shopping centre, will be shut throughout the first stage of the project from Sunday 12 July until around 30 July. Diversions will be in place.
The footpath underneath the bridge between The Gates shopping centre and the Passport Office will be closed for part of the project – further updates will be provided closer to the time.
Access to Pimlico from Quarryheads Lane will be closed to all traffic for the duration of the works to prevent the road being used as a rat run. Local traffic will be able to access Pimlico via Grove Street and the parking bays will remain open.
It will also be necessary to close Milburngate Bridge completely for at least five nights, normally between 8pm and 6am – dates and alternative routes (see attached diversion map) will be publicised nearer the time but the first overnight closure will take place on 12 July.
The council is now advising motorists, public transport users and pedestrians of a number of steps they can take while the work is carried out.
John Reed, head of technical services, said: “We are doing our best to minimise disruption as much as we can by working from first thing in the morning to last thing at night as well as working overnight on some occasions.
“However, people need to be aware that there will unfortunately be delays in and around the city so we are urging everyone to help us keep this disruption to a minimum by only travelling if it is absolutely necessary.
“You can also consider alternative travel arrangements such as park and ride, avoiding peak times when travelling, thinking about changing working patterns, planning extra time for your journeys and planning any deliveries around peak times.
“We hugely appreciate the public’s understanding and cooperation in advance of this really important work.”
Cllr Brian Stephens, Cabinet member for neighbourhoods and local partnerships, added: “This work is essential and has to be done in order to secure the future of this vital route through the city for both those who live and work here and visitors.
“We completely understand that delays and disruption on the roads can be frustrating and we would like to thank motorists for their patience and encourage them to think about what steps they can take during the project.”
The bridge, which is nearly 50 years old and carries about 48,000 vehicles every day, is still safe but the work is now needed as it has been nearly 20 years since its last major renovation.
The work will involve new drainage, parapets, resurfacing, concrete repairs and a replacement waterproofing system.
Once the project has been completed the bridge is not expected to need any further major maintenance for around 15 to 20 years.
The scheme is expected to take around seven weeks to complete and cost up to £1m in total.
To keep up-to-date with the work, including live webcam streams, visit www.durham.gov.uk/milburngate and use #milburngate on the council’s Twitter and Facebook pages.
Ends
Call from council to be on your guard against rogue traders
Residents are being warned to be on their guard against rogue traders after a string of reports of doorstep crime.
Up to 10 incidents have been reported to our consumer protection team and police in the last few weeks.
Most have featured householders being offered bogus property improvement services, such as roofing and garden work – also known as fair weather crimes.
In some of the cases victims have reported that the rogue traders have driven them to the bank to withdraw cash.
Who is being targeted?
The incidents have taken place throughout the county and victims have been of all ages, including elderly and vulnerable people and women living alone.
Victims have reported handing over between £300 and £2,000 for the work, as well as jewellery. Nearly every case has resulted from cold-calling.
Cold calling
Rogue traders will typically call uninvited at people’s homes and offer goods and services on the doorstep.
More often than not, they exert extreme pressure on householders, charge inflated prices and display poor standards of workmanship.
The summer months often see a spike in these types of incidents as many people think about having work done around the house.
This is when rogue traders are at their busiest and, in many cases, they will target the elderly and vulnerable.
Look out for your neighbour
Trading standards officers from the consumer protection team are now calling on friends, relatives, neighbours and carers to look out for others in their community.
We are advising everyone to be on their guard against rogue traders and we would also ask residents to keep an eye out for any suspicious roofing or gardening work taking place at the homes of elderly or vulnerable family members and neighbours.
Rogue traders have a significant detrimental effect on the most vulnerable in our society and our officers will take robust action against anyone found to be taking advantage of people in this manner.
Our advice:
- DON’T accept the services of uninvited, doorstep callers.
- DO seek recommendations from friends and family.
- DO try and use members of a trader’s scheme, for example Durham County Council’s Registered Trader Scheme.
- DO call the police or trading standards if you suspect that rogue traders are operating in your community.
It’s time for Utilities to fix their damage permanently
It is increasingly annoying to see utility and other companies leaving our area looking a mess. They make huge profits, and as the example here on Dryburn Road shows, they are ruining grassed areas. The Council does’t seem to bother taking action until we intervene. Here, BT is parking regularly on the grass and has damaged it to such an extent that there is now standing water most of the time. I have asked our highways department to get them to fix this properly. If no other option is available they should create a hardstanding at this location so that when they access the broadband box they do not leave a mess. If you know of a similar location in Framwellgate Moor, Pity Me, Brasside or Newton Hall, please let us know.
Petition to save the Human Rights Act
|
Six House Planning Application in Pity Me
The piece of land which used to be a woodland at the entrance to Pity Me currently has planning permission for five houses. This was challenged by your Lib Dem councillors as over development but passed by the Labour majority planning committee. There were numerous faults with the way in which that planning application was managed by the council which resulted in a Level 2 complaint and a report from the council at my request. There would have been a total of 23 bedrooms in the houses and insufficient parking in the previously approved application.
The new application has now come in for SIX houses. These are individually smaller than the houses passed in the previous application but serious concerns must be raised.
You can view the application here:
And can comment using the online system or by emailing dmcentraleast@durham.gov.uk
My concerns at the moment are, not exclusively:
1. Parking provision
2. Safety of access and egress at this very tight cul de sac
3. Safety and parking provision during construction
4. Ensuring the remaining trees which had Tree Preservation Orders placed on them can be properly protected as part of this application
5. Whether the building of six houses on a piece of land just 30m wide by 9 meters deep is over development!
6. Safety /utility for potential occupants of the properties – there will be no access to the rear of four of the properties other than through the house – the end house will have a TPO’d tree hanging over it, with little light, this is going to result in blocked drains and slippery paths and pressure on the council, at their cost in the future to remove the trees, which will also further damage the look of the area and upset residents.
7. The applicant proposes to use additional land for the development which is currently owned by the county council which has not been made surplus to requirements, including a grassed area.
Clearly if existing residents are to lose parking area as part of this development, and the community is to lose this grassed area, then the council must ensure that alternative provision for parking is provided and that the revenue from the sale of the council land is used to improve the parking situation for residents in this area.