Last year I started asking why we were not using brownfield sites in our area for housebuilding and particularly for affordable/social housing working with organisations such as Durham Villages Regeneration Company. I visited a couple of sites with a director and head of housing and have brought this up with various other councillors and officers.

Today I sent an email to the Director of Regeneration, Head of Housing and Head of Planning asking whether any of my requests have been taken on board. It seems crazy to be proposing to build in the greenbelt, when we are not using council owned brownfield land to build some housing and boost the economy. I await the reply.

Message from council:

Just to let you know that the Unc road 19.7 has been closed due to the condition of the side wall which supports woodland.

The emergency will be followed by an Order and the closure may be in place for some time.

The alternative route for vehicular traffic is shown on the plan attached.

CharlawPlan

I received the following email from Nick Clegg today:

Reform of the House of Lords is a key commitment in the Coalition Agreement – the contract that keeps the coalition parties working together in the national interest.

The Liberal Democrats have held to that contract even when it meant voting for things that we found difficult.

The Conservative Party is not honouring the commitment to Lords reform and, as a result, for the first time part of our contract has now been broken.

When part of a contract is broken, it is normal and necessary to amend that contract in order to then move on. So that is what we are doing.

I have told the Prime Minister that when Parliament votes on boundary changes for the 2015 election Liberal Democrats in Parliament will oppose them.

Coalition is a two-way street. I cannot permit a situation where Conservative rebels can pick and choose the parts of the contract they like while Liberal Democrats are bound to the entire agreement.

The Liberal Democrats joined the Coalition, in good faith, in the national interest at a time of crisis. We will continue to work in the national interest.

We will continue to focus on the central task that brought the Coalition together: Rescuing, repairing and rebalancing our economy.

And we will continue fighting for and delivering the things we believe in – making the tax system fairer; the Pupil Premium; green energy; and jobs and opportunities for our young people.

In my discussions with the Labour Party leadership, they have made it clear that while they continue to back Lords reform in principle, they are set on blocking it in practice. Supporting the ends, but – when push comes to shove – obstructing the means.

I invited Ed Miliband to propose the number of days that Labour believe is necessary for consideration of the Bill. He declined to do so.

Instead he confirmed Labour would only support individual closure motions – which could bog down Parliament for months.

Regrettably Labour is allowing short-term political opportunism to thwart long-term democratic change.

So Liberal Democrats will continue to pursue our values in government and we will continue to campaign for democratic renewal.

My hope is that in the next Parliament we will return to it emboldened by the overwhelming vote in favour of our Bill at second reading and that Lords Reform will eventually be a reality.

I have been in Witton Gilbert today with officers to look at work already done and work required to be done to reduce the risk of future flooding. Officers have agreed to arrange for further work to be carried out on the Burn which caused so much trouble last month.

We also found more blocked drains and it is very clear to me that the regular maintenance work the old district council used to carry out on its sites and indeed which the county used to do around the area are no longer being done. Almost a dozen drains were blocked when the last flooding came and this clearly contributed to problems. The council should be ensuring regular checks are done, but until this happens, please report any blocked drains to 01913706000 or hal@durham.gov.uk

Let me now if work isn’t carried out so i can chase it up.

Have been issued for heavy rain across the county. Please check that the drains outside your house are cleared of debris. If you find any blocked drains or need sandbags let me know or call 01913706000 or email hal@durham.gov.uk

Most gulleys will always have some water sitting in them, so don’t automatically think that they are blocked unless the water level is up to the top of the gulley/road/pavement.

Residents trying to call the council’s benefits enquiry line are again being met with a “We are too busy to speak to you” message. I checked myself this morning and it is very clear that the problems which have been rumbling on for over a year now have still not been full addressed. If you have any serious, urgent issues please let me know and I will try and help.

I carried out a speedwatch with the local police in Pity Me last week and a nubmer of vehicles were recorded travelling over 30mph on the Front St. Letters are being sent out to some of these motorists and I am looking at what additional measures can be taken to address speeding issues both here and in other areas.

If anyone wants to carry out a speedwatch with the police, please let me know and I will pass on your details to the relevant officers.

Football training sessions are being held at Abbey Leisure Centre during the summer holidays.

The sessions, organised by Durham County Council, include On the Ball junior football coaching for young children and pay and play sessions for older kids.

On the Ball junior football coaching camps are for children aged six to 11.

The three-day courses, which cost £15, are aimed at helping youngsters – including the most inexperienced players – to learn football skills and build their confidence in a fun and exciting environment.

They are being held throughout August on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, at the following leisure centres:

• Abbey Leisure Centre – 3pm until 5pm (times may vary so please check in advance).

I again requested work to be done to improve the road surface on these roads yesterday. I have now been asking for over three years.

As you can see it really is beyond a joke now and the pavements aren’t much better.

Perhaps if the council had listened to Lib Dem proposals to increase the highways budget using unallocated funds, the majority of which have still not been allocated, then we wouldn’t be in this situation.

Click on the image – the close up shows how bad it is!

Work is well underway to modernise council bungalows on Woodbine Road in Pity Me. I had been pushing officers for three years to take action even having Head of Housing and other senior staff visit the area following repeated failures to upgrade boilers. Thankfully my pressure has paid off and two dozen bungalows are seeing major modernisation works, which will include new heating systems which should cut fuel bills.