Regular reporting of littering

It might not get noticed but barely a week goes by without one of us reporting areas which need litter clearance. Some gets done by local residents or ourselves, but more often than not, it is the Council’s clean and green team we have to call upon. BY being proactive we are making sure the area stays as clean and tidy as possible.

This week we have asked for action on Dryburn Way, Along the A167 from Pity Me to Sniperley, and around the Arnison Centre, where I have also contacted the site owners and Sainsbury’s about the inside of the site which is looking pretty rough around the edges with rubbish.

That’s the easy bit – checking and chasing up when it isn’t done is the time consuming part. So we rely on residents to let us know where there are hot spots which need sorting. Please do let us know of any parts of our area which are littered. The quicker we get on top of it the less litter materialises.

Orchard started at St Godric’s School

Following the recent creation of the 50 tree orchard between Newton Hall and Framwellgate Moor, which your Mamie, Amanda and I arranged and helped to plant with allotment holders and other local residents, we had a few trees left over.

After a quick chat with the head teacher at St Godric’s, we decided it would be great for them to start their own orchard, and so nine new fruit trees have been planted in the grounds, and we are working with the school to help them further improve their playing areas.

We are continuing to work to get more areas planted with hedges, trees or orchards, so please let us know of any site you think would benefit, and get in touch if you want to help out.

 

BT Broadband box still empty after 8 months

After finally running out of patience with BT Openreach and the Council we are now trying the press route to try and get some action to bring proper broadband to the area. Parts of Rosemount in Pity Me and Finchale Abbey Village have less than 1mb broadband.

A box I managed to get BT Openreach to install for Rosemount remains empty after 8 months of being installed and BT have failed in their promise that residents would have broadband by last summer. The story is on the front of today’s Durham Times, as well as in the Northern Echo.

A very senior BT Openreach manager told me last week that the reason the broadband was not installed was because they had to use all their resources to complete the Digital Durham program for the Council and that as a result their commercial program was further delayed.

A less senior employee told the Council and press that it was because of the cost of getting an electricity supply to the site, despite it being on the main road where there must be some supply available. I strongly believe that the Council could do more and also think that the government should intervene to make sure that all areas which have poor broadband should be treated equally.

We are trying to arrange a meeting with the Council head of service and the BT regional manager to try and get this concluded.

In addition we continue to fight to get improvements for Finchael Abbey Village where broadband speeds are even slower and residents ahve been told they should get Satellite broadband – which costs an arm and a leg.

Hopefully we can get both of these issues sooner rather than later for residents, despite the fact that actually it is not an issue for which councillors are responsible.

Northern Echo Story:

http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/14272227.Super_fast__Eight_months_after_broadband_unit_is_installed__all_Durham_residents_have_is_an_empty_box/

 

 

Reporting wind blown rubbish

Following requests from residents we have asked for various sites to be cleaned up including Kira Drive and Rylands Way. I am also speaking with Sainsburys about items blowing off their petrol station forecourt and repeating calls for action on Porterhouse Lane. We have also asked for Framwellgate School Durham to the action to tidy up their boundary fencing where a lot of litter has blown. If there is an area with a build up of litter please let us know so we can arrange either a community or a council litter pick

Community Orchard Planted – Lib Dem councillors get hands on in snow and rain

orchard-closeup

Mamie, Amanda and I have helped to plant a new orchard between Newton Hall and Framwellgate Moor. This first local community orchard has fifty fruit trees will provide a wonderful display of blossom in the spring. It will also benefit wildlife throughout the year and provide fruit for local residents to pick in the autumn.

We came up with the idea after securing a big discount on the fruit trees from the local Pity Me Nurseries on the A167. Local residents including allotment holders helped us plant the orchard on a cold, rainy Friday last week.

It was freezing out there but the digging, carrying, wheel-barrowing and hammering soon warmed us up. The new orchard looks great and I am certain it will be a great community asset long into the future.

Pic of some of the residents who helped:

orchard-closeup-groupThe Council agreed to allow the land to be used for the orchard and provided stakes and straps to keep the new trees secure. The £300 funding for the 50 tree orchard came from left over local funding. The Council also provided waste chippings to spread around the trees to protect them and remove the need for weeding.

Comment from Amanda Hopgood: “A big thank you to all those residents who helped with the planting, especially the allotment holders who also provided spades and wheelbarrows. To get all that work done in just a couple of hours was fantastic.”

We are looking at other areas where orchards and trees could also be planted and would like to see more action across County Durham to promote home grown fruit and veg as well as more tree planting to help cut flood risk.

Comment from Mamie Simmons: “We want to promote locally grown food and recommend everyone tries to grow something in their garden, patio or home. It’s good for the environment and helps to promote healthy eating too.”

We also helped provide fruit trees at some of the local schools in the area and after securing the plants from the Woodland Trust we recently planted 400 hedgerow trees with the help of local school children.

Horrendous path fixed on Farnham Road

When I was on a walkabout a few months back I was disgusted with the state of two of the paths on Farnham Road. Even by the poor standards in many streets, this was in an unacceptable condition.

Thankfully council officers agreed with me and rather than simply replacing dozens of broken paving slabs decided it was more sensible to redo the whole path. The result is excellent.

farnham paths

All Saint’s Church gets new windows with councillor help

We have helped with funding to make All Saint’s Church facilities even better. We provided £5000 from local budgets towards the cost of replacing windows and doors throughout the Church communal areas.

All Saint’s has been providing community facilities for over 40 years and needed double glazed windows as the old ones were in a bad state of repair.

By helping to get them replaced it will reduce energy bills for many years to come which will help to protect the long term sustainability of the centre so it can be kept warm throughout the winter.

In addition to the windows, the funding has helped to provide a new more energy efficient cooker in the kitchen which is helping the local luncheon club and other community groups.

Newton Hall Christmas Lights up and looking splendid

Newton Hall’s first Christmas decorations for years are going up at All Saint’s on Carr House Drive. Your Lib Dem councillors secured this working with the Church & Pity Me Nurseries.

We have used local funding to provide the tree lights and electric supply. The Church is providing the land and electricity.

A big thank you goes to Pity Me Nurseries (Next to the A167 Pity Me roundabout) for providing the tree completely free!

The nursery has 2500 Christmas trees for sale this year, with 3 new trees planted for each one sold. Next year your Lib Dem councillors hope to secure additional decorations in Newton Hall and would like to see new ones in other parts of the area too.

Pic of me helping up a tree with Amanda pretending to keep it steady. Steve the new minister did most of the tree climbing though whilst, I helped out with getting the lights around the fencing and fixing up the new Christmas tree.

christmaslightsnewtonhall

Relief as Lib Dems cut flood risk at Barrasford Road & Blue Coat School

barrasford

Residents on Barrasford Rd and everyone at Blue Coat School are happy after your Lib Dem councillors funded flood prevention measures.

This has been an issue for many years, making the playing field too wet to use and causing serious flooding for many households. I am really happy we have secured these improvements.

We were given a quote of £8500 by the council, so I contacted a NE company who have done the same work for less than half the price! Great news for residents.

barrasford road 2