GENERAL MEETING - Bowburn & Parkhill Community Partnership - Charity Number 1112151
Tuesday 15 July 2014 6.30pm to 7.30pm
Present: M Bell, J Blackburn, Cllr Blakey (Till 7pm), R Cowen (Till 7.15pm), J Geyer, G Kitson, D Paget, C Reed, M Ridley, F Salisbury, M Syer
In Attendance: Cllr M Plews (Till 7pm)
1.Apologies: K Griffiths, S Raine, S Walworth, PC Cockburn
2i. Police: PC Cockburn sent a report - as he was on duty.
Parkhill – 1 theft of hanging baskets, theft of electric fence and battery, 1 damage to window, 1 assault involving young children against each other; Cassop - 1 damage to vehicle; Bowburn – 1 theft from a shop, 1 damage to vehicle, 1 damage to window, 1 interfering with vehicle, 1 making off without payment from a petrol station.
2(ii) PACT meetings for 2014 are – 17 Sep and 12 Nov: 6pm in Bowburn Community Centre.
2iii. Neighbourhood Wardens: No report for July.
3. Minutes: General Meeting 15 July – The minutes were approved as a true record and agreed by members.
Matters Arising – Litter at Bowburn Industrial South has been reported, Zip wire is being attended to, and a Picnic bench for the Youth Club has been found and delivered to the club.
4. Finances:
>There was no income or expenditure since the last meeting in June.
>Fun Day finances: Predicted expenditure about £1500 (Rides £1000, Climbing wall about £350, Creepy crawlies about £150)
Income: Brought forward £220, Youth Club grant £500, Cllr Plews £200;
Predicted income Stalls £300, Rides @ 50p £250. At the moment there is a small deficit.
>Raffle prize: M Ridley won the prize, kindly donated by F Salisbury
>Quiz: The new quiz, at £1, for prizes of £20, £10, and £5 is ‘Jobs’. The closing date is 15 November.
5. Item for Any Other Business: Smoke from an allotment in Durham Road
6. Current Masterplan:
6A. Regeneration Fund:
Community Centre: The stage electrics are to do when the electrician returns from holiday.
6B Reports:
6B(i) Planning – The Daisy Field public meeting was held on 14 July with an outcome to wait for evidence from DCC’s education and planning department to show that a new primary/nursery school from 0 – 11 years can be built with the same footprint as the present Junior School and its playing field without causing unacceptable disruption, and to campaign further to save the Daisy Field if the evidence seems unsatisfactory. (Janet)
It was agreed at this meeting to wait for the evidence (above), and call on the campaign sub-committee if necessary. (Janet)
A resident of the Hallgarth Estate listed anomalies in the Local Plan including the use of the Localism Act to support the case to protect the Daisy Field.
RC reported that he did not mention the Localism Act, deliberately, at the public meeting but realised that it could be used along with other strategies depending on the response from County.
There is also the option for County not to sell the land known as the Daisy Field.
7.00PM Cllrs Plews and Blakey left the meeting
Parkhill outline planning application for 190 houses, reduced from 230, is listed in this week’s planning list.
At this meeting members were minded to oppose the development in principle.
The Parish Council is to consider a report on the application at their meeting on 16 July 2014.
It was decided that if the Partnership agrees with the findings of the Parish Council, our submissions would support those.
6B(ii) Highways: A177 Speed surveys: Over the last 6 years the traffic calming measures have been effective at the Library, and enforcements have remained the same at the SE of the village.
It was agreed to ask if the surveys had been done at exactly the same time of year.
A177 to 30mph at Gulf filling station: The speed limit along the A177 in front of Mary Terrace has been reviewed in accordance with many criteria and is the correct limit. But given that there is no up to date speed information along this length of road due to the generally good compliance with the posted speed limit, DCC are requesting that surveys are undertaken in the near future.
Re planters: Our local councillors gave support to provide the planters but it may not be in this financial year because of other commitments in a revised larger Coxhoe Ward and 1 fewer councillor with a loss of £33 000.
The Parish Council agreed to consider the future indemnity and maintenance of the planters if there is favourable advice on their design and location from the County Council.
DCC – K Jameson (Traffic asset manager) said that the Council would need to undertake a risk assessment and a meeting is to be arranged with Stephen Jones. (Janet)
Road surfaces: Henry Ave: The ponding opposite the new houses on Henry Avenue is being investigated.
Pot Holes: DCC policy is to fill in pot holes as soon as they are reported – please inform of any pot holes. (All)
Water run off on MW Bridge: C Mortimer of A-one+ who maintain MWs re the Cassop Grange structure.
We are aware of the discharge and believe it is due to water draining off the approaches to the bridge via service apparatus which passes over the bridge deck. Although unsightly the water does not pose a significant problem to the serviceability of the bridge, but its cause will be investigated in August/September with a view to implementing works to prevent any further discharge down the abutment faces.
The gulley at the former newsagents in Durham Road West has been cleared and water has stopped leaking.
Safe crossing points: Durham Road West: D Battensby is to look at the junctions and do some observations.
Infant School: There is still concern about the parking on both sides of the C12a at and around the bend of the Infant School, and possible Daisy Field and Heath Close developments could compound the problem.
6Biii Parkhill: No report this month (Janet)
6Biv Community Centre: Bookings have increased and working hours are now diary led.
The bi-monthly meeting is 23 July at 6.30pm in Bowburn Community Centre.
6Bv Youth Club (Joanne Eden): The club is running well and is fully staffed, allowing for good quality youth work to be delivered in Bowburn. We have a holiday programme planned which includes trips to Lightwater Valley, South Shields, Wet n Wild and Seaham (Lickety Splits); this will be with Quarrington Hill, Kelloe and Coxhoe youth clubs and this joint partnership work has been very successful in recent years. In addition we will be opening on a Tuesday evening at Bowburn during the school holidays. A lot of the work has been around health and fitness and has included using the gym, fitness classes and healthy eating sessions. Drug and alcohol awareness is always on the agenda and sessions around these issues run in an educational and structured way to ensure young people can make informed decisions on issues that affect them.
6Bvi Environment: There has been no response from Mr Armstrong. More enquiries will be made. (Janet)
6Bviii Housing in general: A consultation has taken place to build houses on land at Heath Close.
6C Area Plans
6Ci Masterplan: Ongoing. The ideas that met the criteria could be incorporated into a future Neighbourhood Plan or Parish Plan, and they could form the basis for a questionnaire.
6Cii Co. Durham Plan: Submitted to the Planning Inspectorate and the Examination in Public is due to start on 29 September. There is an open pre-meeting on 31 July at 2pm in the cricket ground at Chester-le-Street.
6Ciii Neighbourhood Plan: The Parish Council is now the designated body. There will then be a meeting with officials from the local authority. See Item 8ii, Parish Council.
7 Correspondence: Local residents will be encouraged to nominate in 13 categories which include 'Sports Club of the Year', 'Volunteer of the Year' and 'Physical Activity Achievement of the Year'
http://www.countydurhamsport.com/Be_Involved/awards_scheme .
8. Reports and matters arising:
(i) AAP: >Projects which have been financed in this year’s budget include: Youth Mental Health First Aid, Emotional and Mental Health (EAMH) Expansion of Service – Pilot, Health Buddy or Befriending service. Task Group members decided to fund year one of this project with £10,000, Livin agreed to fund the remainder of £2,500 providing the evidence outcomes and they link with the Health Buddy Scheme.
>J Bellis reported that she’s now County lead on behalf of the 14 AAPs to attend meetings looking at strategies dealing with mental health; including development and implementation of action plans.
>There will be one event on 28 October as part of the Young Peoples Participatory Budgeting event at Sedgefield Community College.
>Terry Collins described County’s strategy for highway maintenance.
Date/time of next meeting – Wednesday 3 September from 5.00 pm – 7.00 pm at Kelloe.
8ii Parish Council: Report of Cassop-cum-Quarrington Parish Council Meeting, 18th June 2014 – Sylvia Raine
Planning application for "Crossfit" (gym) on Bowburn S Industrial Estate was discussed: no objection in principle, but Councillors pointed out that the business had already opened, before change of use was granted, and advertising signs had been attached to highway signs.
The Community Partnership proposed to install some flower planters on Durham Road, to discourage parking on the pavement, which was causing damage to the new paving. They had asked if the Parish would accept responsibility for maintenance, including seasonal planting and watering. Members were reluctant to offer an open-ended commitment and asked for further detail as to the size and quantity of the planters.
Following the Parish Council's offer to fund a meeting regarding the retention of the Daisy Field plot for a new primary school, the Chairs of the Infants and Junior School had organised a meeting and all Councillors were invited to attend.
A meeting about a possible Neighbourhood Plan had taken place with Chris Anderson and Shaun Hanson of Planning Aid. They recommended a meeting with officers from the County Council Spatial Planning team as soon as possible after June 30th (end of the 6 week consultation period for plan registration).
Next meeting 16th July; Litter-pick 2nd August - all welcome! July litter-pick: 5 pickers filled 13 bags.
8iii Quarry Liaison: The next meeting is proposed for October.
9. Group Noticeboard:
(i)Banner: Thanks were given for a fantastic gala weekend on 11/12 July. The Eve of Gala concert was well received. The weather was perfect on the Saturday but the press reports were disappointing on one of the busiest Gala weekends since the 1950’s.
It was noted with pleasure that the young people from the Youth Club were involved in the Banner parade,
(ii) BVC Interchange: The June edition has been distributed. A member reported that a new resident to Bowburn said the paper was fantastic and far superior to those in other towns she had experienced.
Please submit articles for the September edition as early as possible.
(iii) Credit Union Bank: The bank is open on Fridays from 11 am to 12 noon in the Community Centre.
(iv) Football: No report
(v) Fun Day: Please book your stall at a cost of £5 payable to Martin Ridley, as soon as possible.
(vi) History: There is to be a walkabout on Thursday evening. A guided walk has been arranged through the DCC is arranged for 12 August from 2pm at a cost of £4.00
(vii) Website: www.bowburn.net carries information about the Partnership.
10. Any Other Business: A member is concerned about black acrid smoke from an allotment opposite the Community Centre which was potentially dangerous to traffic and did cause an offensive smell in the Centre.
11. Date and Time of Next Meeting: 6.30pm 19 August 2014
Actionable items
6Bi – Daisy Field action
6Bii – Planters
6Biii – Park Hill residents
6Bvi – Environment art work