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.

Please sign the petition we have set up to try to stop the closure of Abbey Leisure Centre:

http://democracy.durham.gov.uk/mgEPetitionDisplay.aspx?ID=22&RPID=121725&HPID=121725

The council is making changes to the Care Connect Service and is contacting all residents who receive this service at the moment with the following information.

I am sure the Council will do all it can to make sure that the impact of these changes is fully understood by residents and expect it to monitor the impact of changes to a service which is clearly of great importance to a large number of some of the most vulnerable in our County.

In relation to the changes to payments I have enquired as to whether they can be spread over 12 months not 10 and will report back. The Council must take care to ensure that these payment changes are dealt with responsibly.

INFORMATION BEING SENT TO USERS:

Your Service from Care Connect

Your Care Connect service is undergoing some changes and we are writing to explain how these changes will affect you.  There have been reductions in government funding to services such as Care Connect, and as a result, the services will have to make some changes to save money.

The main change will be to the levels of service available from April 2011.  At the moment, there are four levels of service – 4th tier, High, Medium and Core (or Standard service).  From April 2011 there will only be two levels of service which will be a small number of people on a High Service and the majority of people on the Core (Standard) service.

You can be reassured that you will continue to receive the 24 hour / 7 day a week monitoring and response service which can help you with illness or emergency at any time day or night at the push of a button or by using your pullcord.

In addition, you will get at least a 3 monthly visit to check how you are and to test your equipment. However, regular weekly /monthly visits will no longer take place for those people who were previously on a Medium level service.  If you are on a High level of service then you will receive more regular visits.  All of this will be explained to you by a Staff Member when they next visit so there is no need to be concerned.

If your service is currently paid for by Supporting People subsidy then this will continue unchanged.  If you currently pay for your service then you will get further information in a separate letter about the charges ,payment methods and menu of services available.

Please be reassured that you will continue to be protected 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  Support staff will explain any changes during your next planned visit.  If you are not at home when they call please contact Care Connect to rearrange or ask any questions you may have.

Community alarm and Telecare services will be under review over the next 12 months to ensure that we are providing you with the best possible support; we will be seeking your views as part of this process.

If you wish to discuss any aspect of your service with Care Connect they can be contacted on 01388 728806 or e-mail care.connect@durham.gov.uk .

Further information about Care Connect is also available on the County Council website http://www.durham.gov.uk/Pages/Service.aspx?ServiceId=313

CHANGES TO PAYMENT TERMS:

Re: Changes to the Care Connect service

It is Durham County Councils aim to provide an equitable and fair service to our customers where ever they live within County Durham.

We are therefore harmonising the service and charges across the County the new weekly charges will be £3.80 + VAT (No VAT is chargeable if a VAT Exemption Form has been completed). If you previously paid for the service through your rent account this unfortunately ceases on the 31^st March 2011, you will now receive a yearly invoice for £197.60 + VAT if applicable this will be sent to you in April. We can now offer the facility to pay by Direct Debit Countywide and a Direct Debit form is enclosed for you to complete and return to us as soon as possible. The payments will run from the 15^th May to the 15^th February each year making 10 equal payments of £19.76.

Care Connect can also offer additional services over and above your identified need but these will be at an additional charge they are:-

Re-assurance call – 50p per call per week + VAT

• Weekly visits – £1.25 per visit per week + VAT
• Additional Pendant – 50p per week + VAT
• Smoke Detector – £1.00 per week + VAT

If you are in receipt of Housing Benefit, Council Tax Benefit, Job Seekers Allowance or Guaranteed Pension Credit then the service can be subsidised by Durham County Council (proof is required). If you think that you may fit the above criteria, or wish to have any additional services provided, or have any queries/concerns please do not hesitate to contact us and we will be happy to assist you.

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.

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.