An independent group of local resident and leisure centre users have set up a steering group aimed at putting forward a bid to take over the Centre. Your local councillors from Newton Hall and Pity Me are assisting the group.

As part of this bid they want to know what local residents and users of the centre want to see there and how they would like it to be run. Please complete the survey. If the survey reappears, there will be some answers you need to check.

Click here to take survey

I also enclose a pdf version of the survey if you would rather print it out. Please return to the community centre around the back of Abbey or post it. Details on the survey: Abbey Survey-FINAL

The petition to keep the centre open can still be signed at www.durham.gov.uk/petitions

Tongue in cheek look at some of the achievements so far.

http://whatthehellhavethelibdemsdone.com/

I was contacted this week by a resident asking why he should pay for a new wheelie bin if his is stolen. Clearly he shouldn’t! The council are introducing a charge of £20 for lost or stolen bins.

I asked for  response from the relevant director and the following was provided. I think it would we worth everyone putting a number on their bin just in case! If anyone does have a problem please let me know.

Council response:

The most common reason why people lose a wheelie bin is that a neighbour inadvertently takes the bin into their property, or that it is not put back in the right place by the refuse collectors. For this reason we usually advise wait a few days before replacing a bin, as a high proportion of the time they do turn back up.

The vast majority of households have no need to replace during the “lifetime” of the bin. Where they are damaged, our crews will attempt to repair. The decision to charge for bins that was not an easy one, and follows the practice in many other Councils. I do recognise that there would be a charge for those that have had their bins stolen, but this needs to be put in perspective, and the risks of it can be reduced by markings on the bin and bringing it in after collection. As you would expect, we will keep the impact of these policies under review (as I am sure Scrutiny will do) taking further measures if necessary, and monitoring the levels of stolen bins in conjunction with the police.

The additional £2.3m provided by the coalition government for potholes and road repairs is double what was provided last year by the Labour government.

Hopefully we will see some improvements off the back of this.

Following on from last weeks consultation at Abbey Leisure Centre on outdoor facilities (not to be confused with the cetnre closure issue), it was clear that Bowling Clubs across the county had some very specific issues with the county council.

I contacted the director of service and new meetings are to be set up specifically for bowling clubs. If you are a member, please make sure that your club gets involved. The officer in charge of this is Nigel Dodds at County Hall.

I will shortly be posting some forms which clubs can use for providing details to the county council which were also available at the evening meetings.

They must be returned by the 11th April.

There appears to be an increasing problem with flytipping around our area. Following on from residents complaints, I have been working with the council to clear up the mess, particularly in the Pity Me area. Other areas with  problems include Brasside and Bearpark.

If you spot any flytipping please contact me straight away so we can keep on top of it. It will be interesting to see if the trend continues in our area as other evidence indicates that across the old DurhamCity and Easington Districts flytipping is on the rise, as many of us said would be the case following the imposition of the charge on households for collection of bulky waste.

What makes it so infuriating in Pity Me is that the Household waste site is only round the corner.

Well done to the council workforce for doing a great job of dealing with these problems. 

ONGOING LITTER PROBLEMS

I am also workng with the council to deal with areas of extensive littering in the area at the moment on top of the regular work they do. In addition New College is doing work on recycling and litter and I have raised problems again with the board of governors at Framwellgate School Durham about on going problems in the area at lunchtimes which appears to be getting worse again.

As well as this new larger bins are on order for Front St in Framwellgate Moor, where work with the college has been so successful that the bins are overflowing somedays. A couple of damaged bins which were removed last year are also to be replaced.

Finally I am continuing to request regular clear ups of many of the country lanes in our area particularly between Pity Me and Witton Gilbert, as well as action on working with the takeaways in the area, and requests to the refuse site to keep the surrounding area tidy as per their contract.

Flytipping in Pity Me

Garden waste collections start in two weeks. A leaflet will have gone through your door this week with the dates.

Collections are Fortnightly.

Pity Me and Framwellgate Moor are Tuesdays starting 5th April

Brasside is Monday starting 4th April

Witton Gilbert starting 7th April – Thursday

Bearpark starting 8th April – Friday

If you do not have a garden waste bin you are entitled to free collections of garden waste of upto 6 bags a month – call 0191 301 8669 to arrange a collection or to find out more information.

If other residents on your street have a garden waste bin (Brown Lidded Wheelie Bin) and you don’t have one call the above number. If one doesn’t arrive or you have any problems contact me.

The Council also allows each household upto 2 boxes and two bags for recycling. If you don’t have any or need another one, call the same number – any problems get in touch with me

The County Council, through the Area Action Partnership are carrying out a pilot programme showing films in local communities.

The first in Bearpark will be this coming Monday 21st March at 6pm and will be Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part 1). Tickets are only £2 and can be bought in advance or on the door.

Location: Bearpark Community Centre, Auton Stile, Bearpark. The pdf below provides these details as well.

bearparkmobilecinema

The County Council is consulting widely on proposed changes to the Home to School / College Transport Policy.

You can view these proposals by clicking on this link to the Council’s website: www.durham.gov.uk/transportconsultation

The closing date is 10 May.

If you require a printed copy of the proposals and response form please let me know.

Jane Jack
Admissions and Transport Entitlement Manager
Children and Young People’s Services
County Hall
Durham
DH1 5UJ

Green waste collections will restart the week commencing 4th April. Stickers will be placed on bins shortly. If anyone does not have a garden waste wheelie bin and is in an area where other residents have one please let me know. If you are in an area not currently serviced, the council will collect upto six bags of garden waste with no charge in any one month, simply call 0191 383 3000.