Present:
Bowburn & Parkhill Community Partnership
Tuesday 15 March 2005 at 6.30pm.
W. Bates, R Bellis, J Blackburn, J Blakey, K Calvert, S Colquhoun, R Cowen,
P Dawe, N Dixon, J Gray, K Haigh, A Lunn, R Millerchip, M Robinson, A Shutt,
W Temporal, J Thompson, S Thompson, R Walsh, C Whitfield, D Whittaker
In attendance: S Bell, L Boyd, C Brown, B Cockburn, M Hickson, P Raine,
M Ridley
Apologies for absence:
J Beck, A Blakey, F Brettwood, L Hinton J Kane, S Millerchip, Maggie Robinson, S
Robinson, M Syers, S Thackeray, C Thompson
PC Cockburn was invited to report on the concern about a lack of police response
in the Philip Avenue/David Terrace area.
First, he introduced the Community policemen Steve Bell and Philip Raine.
Then PC Cockburn told us that it is impossible for him to be on site all of the time
because of his other work commitments, but the area is patrolled by him and the
Community police whenever possible. Unfortunately, both the parents and security
guards are telling children that it is OK to ‘mess about’ in and around the empty houses,
which is totally irresponsible. Anti vandal paint and signs have been put up to deter the
children but it is going to be an ongoing problem until the properties are demolished.
At a meeting a month ago he was told that the houses would be demolished and it would
take 4 weeks for the services checked.
Paul and Mike will take the matter to the Regeneration Working Group meeting.
PC Cockburn and PCSO’s Bell and Raine left the meeting.
The Partnership welcomed Margaret Hickson, representing the Red Cross Society.
She received a cheque from the Coffee Morning Appeal for the Tsunami Disaster.
Although the event had not been well supported, it made £604.42, which will be boosted
to £750 when it is ‘Gift Aided’ by Janet Blackburn.
Margaret Hickson said that the International Red Cross was at the scene of the disaster
first and has already spent £13m out of the £16m on relief. She thanked Bowburn for
their generosity and said that all monies collected were extremely helpful.
Robin informed the members that the publicity surrounding the ‘Closure of the Disaster
Appeal’ only applies to the Disaster Emergencies Committee Appeal Fund. The Red
Cross and the major charities are still, and will be for a long time, accepting money for
the Tsunami Disaster.
Minutes of the last meeting, 15 February, 2005:
It was moved that the minutes were a true record by Ken Calvert and seconded by
Martin Ridley.
Matters Arising:
It was queried why the Master planner, Fiona Brettwood, had not been to any meetings
for some time. See correspondence.Correspondence:
Brian Spears was thanked for coming to the last meeting.
Mrs. Carol Wood was invited to the Partnership meetings.
Those who donated to the Coffee Morning have been sent a ‘thank you’ letter.
The Chair wrote to support the 12 Villages bid for training courses in the villages.
Linda Hinton, of Three Rivers Housing Group, will not be attending future meetings
as her job has changed from ‘community’ to ‘development’. She may be
accompanying Jonathan Gibson occasionally to the Regeneration Working Group
meetings. Linda wishes the Partnership every success. The ‘community’ post is not
being replaced.
Fiona Brettwood is in Liverpool when the Partnership meets. She hopes this does
not cause too much inconvenience.
The secretary was asked to invite Fiona to the Partnership at a time convenient for her.
Carol Brown discussed the funding bid for the ‘Home Front Recall’ to celebrate the end
of WW11, which must be applied for by 31 May.
These ideas have been suggested: a trip to the North Yorkshire Railway for young and
old; an Open Day, a street party and a 40’s Dance Band.
Dawn Whittaker proposed that the Partnership agree to take the bid forward. The
motion was seconded by John Gray and carried unanimously.
Jan Blakey, Nicola Dixon and Dawn Whittaker volunteered to take the bid through.
Bowburn Community Spending Requirements:
A discussion took place to ask the City Council to raise the sum to £100 000 to cover the
smaller bids for the Community Organisations. As Witton Gilbert have already been
allocated this amount from the Flourishing Villages Community Fund it seems
reasonable that Bowburn should be given a similar sum.
Some groups could apply directly to the Flourishing Villages Community Fund, which,
Brian Spears suggested at the last meeting, as three bids have already been successful.
Members were told that there would be no more payments from this Fund until
September but that would have to be confirmed.
A member felt that the bids needed to be co-ordinated through the Master Plan.
However it was decided to prioritise the smaller bids at this meeting and apply for those.
Reports:
Treasurer: Balance at the end of February 2005 was £2189.01. A computer cable
costing £5.92 has been bought, which leaves a balance of £2183.09
Regeneration Working Group: Mike sent this report. The Group has not met since the
last BPCP meeting on 15th February. The next meeting is 7th April.
Re-housing: all except one tenant in the 1st phase has been offered accommodation
to their satisfaction, but 10 have still to move. Tenants in the 2nd phase are now to
be approached with offers, as appropriate accommodation becomes available.
Demolition: Twenty dwellings (approx.) are expected to be demolished this month.
Security: Mr. Spears has liased with Chief Inspector Hogg and insisted that all DCC
Heads of Service co-ordinate future action under the Executive Director (David
Marrs).
The site has been cleared and the rest of the plywood sheets over windows and doors
were painted with vandal paint, earlier this month. The impression is that this has
reduced problems considerably – though it has certainly not removed them completely.12 Villages/SRB Rep: Carrie agreed to let Jan Blakey give the report.
Training: the Racial Equality course was both well attended and received. The
Building Confidence through Music course has ended and the attendees have ‘cut’ a
CD demonstrating their work. The Web Design course is ongoing.
Lyn and Jan were successful in gaining a bid of £6200 to run further courses.
Clive Lawson is to speak on the Sensory Trail at Cassop on Thursday.
There will be two Adult Learning Open Days, one in New Brancepeth on 24th May
and the other in Bowburn on 26th May, which will celebrate the launch of Broadband
and past successful courses. It is hoped to have a range of taster courses at the
event.
The restructuring of SRB6 will be discussed on Thursday, 17th March, at Ludworth.
Group Reports
Banner: A special edition of the Interchange reported on the return of the two banners as
well as inviting everyone to contribute information and memories about the banners and
generally to be involved. The Reg Vardy concert was very successful and other activities
will be discussed at the next meeting (22nd March). Estimated costs of conserving the
original banners are expected soon, and an application to the Heritage Lottery Fund is
planned for the end of the month.
BVC: The next Interchange will be out in April and further contributions are still welcome.
Centenary Group: It is hoped that members will form a committee to co-ordinate
activities for this group.
Community Centre: It was essential that the Asbestos and Disability Surveys are carried.
An all day event was being held for the children on Good Friday.
Both Maggie and Stan Robinson are unwell and Dorothy is acting as carer.
The Julie Graham Trust is closing on Friday owing money to the Community Centre.
There is a special meeting on Monday 21st March at 3pm to discuss this.
History: This year’s programme is not yet complete. Last month’s meeting concentrated
on Bowburn Colliery backed up with some old documents and the wonderful memories
of Bob Bellis. The March meeting will look at the Northern Echo’s version of Bowburn’s
history, which drew heavily on the Group’s book ‘Past Times’. The next major activity is
the ‘Yesterday Belongs to You’ event in County Hall on Saturday 14th May.
PARC: the group has been going for 4 years and there are still complications. There is a
problem with the position of a fence in Broadmeadows. The City Council holds the
Charity Commission for the Park, which means that PARC cannot get a Charity Number.
There will be a Race Night to raise funds.
Youth Project: the Youth Club has been closed after serious behavioural problems on 3rd
March and the subsequent resignation of one of the qualified Youth Workers. The
management committee is arranging a public meeting on 30th March to discuss the way
forward. There is a shortlist for Beverley Philip’s old post, which is based in Bowburn
and covers Coxhoe and Quarrington Hill, but it could be some months before a new
appointee takes up the post.Representative for Community Centre Management Committee:
It was proposed by Paul Dawe and seconded by Jan Blakey that Ken Calvert should be
the representative. The proposal was carried unanimously.
Closure of Community Rooms:
DCC decided to close all laundry facilities in the district including Marlene Ave, but the
communal hall will stay open and its use will continue to be developed ‘through various
partnership arrangements’. However the communal halls in Bede Terrace and Lawson
Road. have only been given time to prove that they are needed. The matter will be
assessed within a twelve-month period.
It was proposed by Carrie Whitfield and seconded by Bill Temporal that a letter of
support is sent to the DCC for the Lawson Rd communal room.
AOB:
Richard Cowen flagged up the rural interest as some of the surrounding areas are in
danger. The top bridle path has been closed officially and the bottom bridle path is not
recognised. He would like the Partnership to take some interest in this. It was agreed
that these areas are a major resource and encourage people to live in Bowburn. It was
suggested that someone from the City Council could come along to explain the situation.
Date of next meetings:
Future meetings will be held on the third Tuesday of each month;
The next meeting is 19 April.
The Annual General Meeting is planned for 17 May.
The Partnership welcomes your attendance at every meeting, which is open to
all. Please bring a companion.
A lot is going on that everyone needs to know about.
Copies of the minutes are in:
Community Centre, Library, PO and Surgery