If you are interested in working for the County Council, there are nearly always jobs advertised on their website. You can find more information by visiting this link:

http://www.durham.gov.uk/pages/Service.aspx?ServiceId=337

I have been pushing to get garden waste bins for Durham Terrace, Garden Avenue, North and Newcastle Terraces in Framwellgate Moor as well as Front St, Pity Me.

The council says it does not have the resources to do this at the moment which I think is unacceptable.

However credit where it is due, if you call the County Council on 0191 383 3000 and ask for a garden waste collection if you don’t currently have a bin, they will collect up to six bags once a month of garden waste.

This applies to any household without garden waste bins across the area. I will continue to chase up on this  as I feel anyone in the area who wants a garden waste bin has the right to one, after all we all pay council tax.

The ice rink at Abbey Leisure Centre, Pity Me will continue to be open until the end of the month. We have asked the council to look at either extending this or bringing it back at other times of the year, but while it is here, worth a trip down to see – it’s 20 years since I tried this so I guess it’s time to give it a go!

It is run by the same group which organised the rink in Durham earlier in the year – website is here: http://www.durhamicerink.co.uk/

The Durham Area Action Partnership has a pot of money for small grants to support the voluntary and community sector. If you are part of a group in Bearpark, Witton Gilbert, Framwellgate Moor, Brasside or Pity Me, please get in touch if you would like help in trying to gain a grant. Alternatively if you are confident with filling in applications for funding, I enclose the grant application form as a pdf: durham-aap-small-grants-funding-application-and-guidelines.pdf

Grants from £50 to £1000 will be considered and the scheme is running until March 2011. The scheme is available for any group carrying out activities in the AAP area which includes the villages mentioned but also, Belmont, Gilesgate, Durham City, Shincliffe, Sherburn, Neville’s Cross, Newton Hall and a number of other villages. AAP area map can be seen here: AAP Map

If your group has activities in other parts of the County, some other AAPs may have funding available. Details of other AAPs here on County Council website: http://www.durham.gov.uk/Pages/Service.aspx?ServiceId=6379

The following groups in Durham AAP area can apply:

• Any local not for profit group working in the Durham AAP area
• Be volunteer led (i.e. with largely volunteer based input)
• Groups can apply on behalf of an individual, but the group should
benefit in some way for doing this
• Faith based groups who operate activities and services which are not
purely for religious benefit
If your group fits any of the above you must also have:
• A constitution or governing document (help can be provided where
these do not exist)
• Have a bank account in the groups name that requires at least two
people to sign each cheque withdrawal
• Produce annual accounts
• Use the grant within 6 months

If you have any problems with the form or need any help please get in touch, and if you are successful please let  me know so I can see if there are other possible funding streams for your group in the future.

Work has started to clear out the area to the rear of Folly Terrace and Front St in Pity Me which has been in a terrible state for years. After local residents complained and nothing had been done by the council, i was able to push this on and the first part of this work has been completed. I will be pushing for the rest of the area to be tidied up including clearing out weeds along the back street  which look a mess.

Your Lib Dem councillors have been helping local groups in Witton Gilbert.

Councillor Crooks has assisted the Allotment Society with funding to keep competitions and shows going, as well as money to help with youth coaching and equipment for the youth football club at the Glendinning Arms.

Councillor Mark Wilkes has helped out making sure that the Community Centre saved thousands of pounds on a new electric door, making the Centre easier to access for disabled residents, and ensured new boards were provided for the bowling greens.

We have also helped Witton Gilbert Play Group with funding for arts and crafts materials

Councillor Mark Wilkes is asking everyone to use the new crossing patrol he helped secure at Witton Gilbert Primary School.

He commented “I was so happy when after so long without a patrol, our work to get a new crossing patrol was successful.

“However, I still see some people crossing at different locations near the school and we need to change this urgently.”

“So many people wanted something done here to improve safety, and we will continue to monitor the situation to see if anything else can be done to improve road safety.”

“As the main story in this leaflet shows, there are still problems with speeding in the village, but we must also make sure that at the start of the new school year, the patrol is used by everyone.”

It seems that not a week goes by now without me seeing a sofa, fridge, mattress or other large object sat in someones garden, or someone tells me about one. Ever since the council decided to start charging for the collection of such items at a cost of over £10, I am convinced that flytipping, and a massive increase in such items lying in gardens and garages has started to occur. making our gardens and estates look more and more untidy. The council doesn’t believe this to be the case. This could be in part because their warden service is in such chaos that we have less staff proactively out and about checking on things such as flytipping, but more likely because no one is checking in peoples gardens. Tell me if you have seen a garden with such waste in it for more than a few weeks.

County Council members are currently investigating the bulky waste charges. If you disagree with the charge (which I do), please make sure that your feelings are known – equally, let them know if you agree with it. Details below of how to do this. The council are also interested to know if you feel that the charge should be based on income or ability to pay, and whether you have seen flytipping increase, or more sofas etc in peoples gardens.

I personally think that we pay enough in taxes to the council and that Labour’s Sofa tax is unjust and a waste of money. It would not surprise me if the total cost of collecting these payments is higher than the £10 charge, thus making it one of the most ridiculous taxes of all time.

Council consultation:

A Scrutiny Working Group has been set up to consider a review of the collection of bulky waste. This is a joint review between the Corporate Issues Scrutiny Committee and the Environment and Sustainable Communities Scrutiny Committee.

The Council has recently established a Scrutiny Working Group to consider:

• The fees charged for the collection of bulky household waste items and whether concessions should be introduced.
• Whether there is a link between the collection charges and incidents of fly tipping.
• The dumping of unwanted furniture, electrical and bulky goods in gardens and backyards and what actions can be taken to remove them.

If you have any views on the above, we would like to hear from you. You can contact us using the details below or complete our online form.

Your local Lib Dem County Councillors have secured more major improvements to our roads and footpaths.

Councillor Wilkes commented “We pushed for the junction of Front St and Sacriston Road to be resurfaced and this has now been carried out.

“Work will shortly start on repairing and resurfacing a large stretch of the footpath along Sacriston Lane, as well as parts of Front St, West Lea and Tile Shed Cottages in front of the newsagents.

“In some cases the paths are so bad they need rebuilding. In addition, we expect patching work on Findon Avenue to be done and have pushed for work on Rose Lea to improve the road surface which continues to get worse.”

Councillor Crooks added “In total over 2000 square metres of footpath are being repaired and improved this year on top of all the work we have already arranged to be done in the last two years.

“And that is just in Witton Gilbert. More work has been carried out and is being done in Bearpark, Pity Me and Framwellgate Moor.

“For so many years no one paid attention to fixing this. In the last two years since Mark and I were elected, so much more resurfacing work has taken place in Witton Gilbert, turning around years of neglect.”

The length of time it is taking the Labour-run County Council to deal with speeding problems on Sacriston Lane is a disgrace.

Your Lib Dem County Councillors have now been pushing for more than two years for this to be dealt with.

We are continually told that our request for a gateway and 30mph signs into the village is in hand, yet nothing happens.

Your councillors have now elevated this complaint to the highest level and are demanding action.

Councillor Mark Wilkes commented “We know there is a problem from speed tests we have requested in the past, which is why we arranged the Community Speedwatch some months ago.

“This again proved that there is a serious issue with cars speeding coming from Sacriston into the village.

“We also arranged for a post to be installed for the speed visor equipment and feedback from residents is that this speeding really is a big issue in the village.

“But our attempts to get the County Council to install a 30mph gateway into the village from Sacriston are stalled for no apparent reason than the Council not having the time to arrange it.”

Councillor Redvers Crooks added “Our initial confirmation that we wanted this to go ahead was in July 2008 after meetings with officers just a few weeks after being elected.”

“Two years is simply too long to wait for this work to be sorted. It isn’t even that expensive a job. We are now demanding that action is taken immediately.

Councillor Wilkes added “In many other ways we have been able to work with the County to improve our roads and footpaths and arranging the crossing patrol for example, but this delay is unacceptable.”