GENERAL MEETING - Bowburn & Parkhill Community Partnership - Charity Number 1112151
Tuesday 21 November 2017 from 6.00pm
Present: M Bell, J Blackburn, J Blakey, R Cowen (From 6.30pm), J Geyer (From 6.30pm), Karen Griffiths,
M McKeon, D Paget, G Parker, S Raine, J Richardson, M Ridley, M Syer, S Walworth
In attendance: J Taylor, S Dunn
1.Apologies: F Salisbury
2. Declarations of interest: Declarations of interests would be made as required throughout this agenda.
3. Security: (i)PACT: The next ‘walkabout’ is Friday 22 December at 10.00am in Romain Square.
4. Integra 61: James Taylor, planning consultant, explained the latest news about Integra 61.
Phase 1A (reserved matters planning application for which was approved on 8th November): 1.1 Tenders had
gone out for work for several million pounds worth of infrastructural work in phase 1A of the project. A preferred
contractor would soon be engaged. It could not yet be announced who that would be, but a start on setting up
on site would be made before the end of this year. Work would begin in January and be completed by
December 2018, which would include:
The new roundabout on the A688, just south of the motorway service station; The spinal road within the Peat
Edge area, which will link to the first housing development (behind the top of Durham Road West), with a
pedestrian link to the A177; Drainage – including sewerage to the sewage treatment works (STW), and surface
water attenuation swales (ditches) or pipes, at various locations and an outfall into the beck at the NW corner
of the STW. (See below re phase 1B); Groundworks to level much of the area to be developed; Some
buffering next to the village – though detailed landscaping would be up to the house builder.
1.2. Contracts are about to be exchanged with a house builder as the preferred contractor for that first housing
development. This would be a well-known operator, but it would not be possible to say which one until well into
2018. Work would not start till late 2018 at the earliest so, houses will not be for sale before 2019. The speed
at which they are then built (perhaps 50 at a time) will depend on market conditions.
1.3. Several technical conditions on the original outline permission had now been discharged. These included
Archaeology: Trench investigations had been done over about half of the site (including all of the Phase 1
area) – as agreed with the County archaeologist, David Mason – none of which had revealed anything of
significance; Ecology: A bat roost (with a single bat) had been found in the Peat Edge farm buildings. This
would be re-located to near the STW, by methods and at a time to be agreed with Natural England.
1.4. Demolition of Peat Edge buildings had been held up by the bat finding. It was part of the Phase 1A
infrastructural contract and would go ahead when the bat roost had been moved.
1.5. James was aware of an objection to the proposed diversion of footpaths 1 and 10 across the Phase 1A
area, however that was being dealt with by SYSTRA, the highways consultants engaged by Citrus.
Phase 1B: A reserved matters application was being submitted w/e 25/11/17 for further roads, landscaping and
drainage which would include: A detailed plan of drainage arrangements (including the Phase 1A area); The
second new roundabout – the one within the site, which would be a big one… with five arms; A new road as far
as the beck, but not across it, to the north. Phase 1B would be another multi-million pound project.
Apart from the works mentioned above, James answered questions about three other matters.
a. There was not expected to by any pelican crossing on the A177 Durham Road, as the Highways department
of DCC had said it was not needed.
b. No mention had been made of a No-right-turn restriction to be imposed on traffic leaving the motorway
service station on to the A688. This had been suggested as part of the Ravensworth planning application for a
pub off the A688. (That application had been withdrawn.) James thought it was unlikely that such a restriction
would be imposed, but that would be a matter for DCC.
c. Citrus had no say over when work would start on re-aligning lanes etc. on the Jn 61 roundabout. Highways
England had allocated funding which had to be spent by 2020. The work was expected to be complete by the
end of 2018. Citrus hoped it would be sooner rather than later, as its completion would be a good selling point
for Integra 61 sites, with the threat of later disruption removed.
No big occupier had yet been lined up for the commercial units but there had been a lot of interest. The “big
shed market” was looking good and James thought the situation was very positive.
With no big commercial occupier yet, and no capital yet from house builders, the developers were putting a lot
of money into this project. This was a very serious investment.
The proposed site of the pub and hotel planned to be part of Integra 61 will now be west of the A688, not just
south of the motorway services, as originally proposed. That site will be for other associated uses, but no
planning applications have been submitted yet in respect of either of these.
James agreed to attend the May meeting of B&PCP – i.e. on 15th May 2018.
James was thanked for attending the meeting.
5. Minutes: Minutes of the General Meeting 17 October: The minutes were approved and agreed.
6. Finances: Treasurer’s report: Mike presented a list of transactions to date.
Pick up a weed and a piece of paper every day to keep your pavements clear
Youth Club application to the Community Fund: Trustees agreed to the Youth Club application for £100 to give
a Xmas party for children from birth to 10 years old; planned and organised by the older Youth Club members.
6ii) Raffle: J Blackburn won the prize kindly donated by F Salisbury. Mal Bell will donate a prize in January.
6iii) Quiz: The prize-winners for ‘Down on the farm’ were 1st C Chantler, 2nd K Thompson, 3rd D Humble
The new quiz ‘Up, up and away’ is on sale at £1 with a closing date of 17 February 2018.
7. Item for Any Other Business: None
8. Current Masterplan:
8A Regeneration Fund:
FUTURE IDEAS: Additional seats in the park area to include dedications.
7B Reports:
7Bi) Planning issues:
Surtees Avenue: A decision to build 10 houses has been deferred until more information is given on the traffic
issues along Surtees Avenue which will lead to the new primary school. RICHARD
Carlin Close: Cllr Maura McKeon continues to liaise with DCC officers to resolve the problem of the damaged
mesh fence alongside the boundary of the site. CLLR McKEON
Hill Top View: The application to change the planning permission to remove the proposed footpath between
the estate and the A177 has been refused. To date the path has not been constructed. CLLR BLAKEY
Miner’s bungalows PH: Awaiting a possible planning application.
Parkhill development: Works have not started but an application has been submitted for a temporary access –
there were no objections from members.
Bowburn Hall: Agreed to object about the increase in noise when guests gather under the pergola. RICHARD
Trees at Kirby’s Drive: Came to the decision, reluctantly, to fell the trees if they were in a dangerous condition.
Park bungalow: The park bungalow was demolished on 31 October 2017.
Co-op Crowtrees Lane: The new shop opened on 16 November following the closure of the old shop.
7Bii) Bowburn Industrial Relief Road: Ongoing as we await the Durham Plan.
7Biii) Air quality on A177: Collections in Durham Road will be made over at least the next twelve months, and
after that time a result will be known. JANET
7Biv) MW A1(M) junction 61: Ongoing. See also Item 4 ‘c’ Integra 61.
Project Notes
Pointing
Durham Road
DCC conservation does not recommend raking out pointing which is satisfactory as it could harm the bricks and
allow water to seep in.
Grass
strimming
and weed
strimming
18/04/17: DCC Operation ‘Spruce Up’ tidied verges, planted trees, reduced litter, installed new litter/dog bins
along Mary Terrace and outside the Community Centre in Bowburn.
C HIndmarch can provide incentive schemes to encourage the children to continue ‘sprucing up’.
06/09/17: Trustees discussed the possibility of funding to pay a part-time project officer to work with schools.
Gas meter
boxes in
Durham Road
After agreeing that the Partnership could contribute a reasonable sum towards improving this problem it was
agreed to contact all residents in Durham Road to gain ideas as to how to smarten up the gas boxes. 8 new
gas boxes were fitted 20 to 30 June, and all 32 painted by 17/07/2017
Let by signs Request to remove ‘Let by’ signs in Durham Rd is being followed up.
17/10/2017 Thanks to Sylvia for highlighting the problem and thanks to Cllr McKeon for aiding the removal of
the ‘Let by’ signs on Durham Road.
Seats in the
park
17/10/2017 Agreed to consult residents in Beaumont Close and Lansdowne Crescent on installing a seat below
the children’s enclosed play area.
Children’s
holiday
activities
A meeting is being arranged with Victoria Grieves (AAP) to discuss ideas for activities for children.
23/10/2017: Meeting with Jane Bellis provided examples of holiday activities throughout the AAP.
21/11/2017: Agreed to hold a joint meeting with the Youth Club, Community Centre
and Library led by Cllr McKeon.
Trees on
Mary Terrace
19/09/17: The Partnership has applied to the APP Participatory Budget for environment projects to plant trees
beside the A177 opposite Mary Terrace; provide hedgehog boxes and a weather station to the schools.
17/10/207: An application has been submitted and confirmed to go through to the PB event on 25 November.
21/11/2017: ‘Tree Week’ funding of £150 for a tree in Mary Terrace.
Camera bird
boxes
Co-op local Community Fund success – spend on Co-op products up to October 2,
you will increase our fund for camera bird boxes in the schools and Youth Club.
Pick up a weed and a piece of paper every day to keep your pavements clear
7Bv) Community Centre: Martin will attend the Participatory Budget on Saturday in Trimdon; 30 December -
Panto is £1 for all comers thanks to the generosity of our councillors; 31 December - New Year’s Eve Family
Night adults £4 and children £2. A tree surgeon will remove two possibly dead trees, trim and check other
trees, DCC will check the condition of trees on the main road in front of the centre.
7Bvi) Youth Club (Contact 0778827732): The older young people will organise a party for the young children of
the village, and sing carols at the Care Home. Two young people laid a wreath on Remembrance Sunday.
Gym: New members always welcome. Times: Mon to Sat AM 9.15-11.30am; Evenings Tue to Thur 6-8.30pm
7Bviii) Primary school: DDC propose to build a single primary school in the grounds of the Junior School and
the four-week consultation period ends on 21 December. RICHARD
School parking; Walking bus: Cllr McKeon continues to progress the various schemes. There will be a January
launch with an assembly and mascot for the walking bus. CLLR McKEON
7Bix) Coop Bowburn south: The new shop opened on 16 November.
Members at this meeting commented on how attractive and spacious the shop looked, but that there were
problems with the entrance and exit points at the car park, plus a serious litter problem at the front of the shop.
8. Correspondence: None at this meeting. All email correspondence has been sent out to members.
9. Reports and matters arising:
9i) East Durham Rural Corridor AAP:
Investing in Children provided an update report on three projects which the AAP have funded –
a)Connecting Young People; b) Campaigning Project; c) Mentoring Project. Lorraine O’Donnell, Director of
Transformation and Partnerships DDC, delivered a presentation on the O’Donnell, Director of Transformation
and Partnerships, Durham County Council delivered a presentation on the Council Budget 2018/19
Consultation. The survey is online at www.durham.gov.uk/consultation ends on 1 December 2017. Update
on the progress of the Joint Priorities Task and Finish Group. Board members agreed in principle that the
remaining £18,750 of Area Budget (capital element) be allocated to a youth project(s) and as match to the
£9,902 AAP Youth Fund. The AAP received 22 completed It’s Up 2 U application forms by the closing date
equating to £69,430 of Area Budget for the £40,000. One project withdrew from the funding process. Joseph
Chandy provided a detailed update on the temporary closure of Skerne Medical Group Practice in Trimdon
policing information and on neighbourhood issues previously raised by local residents. Next meeting: 25
November - Participatory Budget voting from 10.00am to 2.00pm. Please support the projects from Bowburn.
This meeting was informed that at 11am there will be a bus from the Community Centre to Trimdon and at
12.30pm a bus will leave Somal’s car park for Trimdon.
Thank you to all those who supported the PB, but unfortunately the Bowburn projects were unsuccessful.
9ii) County Councillors:
Re permissive path: Cllr Dunn said that the councillors had asked Tarmac to negotiate with the landowner for a
right of way.
OQ unauthorised track: Cllr McKeon explained that the fly tipping on the unauthorised track to the OQ road will
be cleared and the fence will be rebuilt with a soil bund in front of it.
Bowburn Beck: Cllr Blakey has requested that dogwood plants are cleared from the beck. and she confirmed
that there are no water voles in the area of the beck.
Councillor walkabout: The councillors will be in Parkhill on 24 November at 10am, and 4 December at 2pm.
Report environmental offences on 03000 261000 or to DCC or to your local County Councillors Jan Blakey
(03000 268685), Stuart Dunn (03000 264342) and Maura McKeon (03000 268789).
9iii) Report of Cassop-cum-Quarrington Parish Council Meeting, 18 October 2017: The Parish supported
objections of local residents to planning application for 10 houses on land at Surtees Avenue. (n.b. Decision
deferred until more information about traffic along Surtees Ave is available). Members discussed the proposed
amalgamation of Bowburn Infant/Nursery and Junior School into a primary school on one site. The proposal
was supported, but members expressed concerns about drop-off points for pupils arriving by car, traffic
congestion during building works, and general road safety issues owing to poor access to the site.
Joanne Eden and David Bonarius attended the meeting, and gave a report about how the Youth Club was
progressing now that it is receiving funding from the Parish. Their report was welcomed and they were invited
to attend future meetings whenever possible.
Report of Cassop-cum-Quarrington Parish Council Meeting, 15 November 2017: (n.b. Minutes not yet agreed
so only general discussion reported). A suggestion had been made at the previous meeting that an Assistant
Clerk could be beneficial to the Parish. It was agreed to defer discussion of this until the new year. The Parish
agreed to wait until after Christmas before agreeing to any repairs of gravestones at Bowburn Cemetery, as
relatives often visited graves at that time of year and might become aware of any repairs they needed to fund.
A member reported that one local footpath (FP no 1) had been ploughed up, despite having been strimmed
using a grant from the County Council. Despite Parish objections to the re-routing of FP10, proposed by the
Pick up a weed and a piece of paper every day to keep your pavements clear
developers of Integra 61, there had been no apparent change to the plan. The clerk was instructed to write to
the County Council objecting to the diversion by the currently proposed route.
Next Meeting: 20 December; Litterpick: 6 January 2018 at 9.30am in Bowburn Community Centre car park.
Neighbourhood Plan (NP): The Parish NP Committee continues to work on the development of draft policies
for the NP. Currently there are three major topics which are being developed, namely:
1) the establishment of settlement boundaries to ensure that the current communities are not swamped with
excessive housing development which close the gap between parish communities and communities in
neighbouring parishes
2) the identification of green spaces which should be ring-fenced to maintain the rural nature of the parish
3) the type and volume of housing development so that the parish remains a place where housing
development reflects the rural nature of the parish and resists urban sprawl.
The Council is keen to complete this phase of the NP preparation in time to produce a draft plan in the Spring
of 2018 leading to consultation with all interested parties including the local community.
Coal column: Groundwork NE have estimated the cost of the coal column and further investigations are being
made.
9iv) Quarry Liaison: See Item 9(ii)
10. Group Noticeboard:
(i)Banner: The Centenary banner was taken to the Remembrance service on 12 November then the banner
will be taken to Norfolk to be repaired and have new faces painted on it.
(ii) BVC Interchange: Issue 85 is being prepared for the printers.
The next Quiz Night will be held on Friday 8 December in Crowtrees Club at 7.30pm.
(iii) Credit Union Bank: The bank is open on Fridays from 11 am to 12 noon in the Community Centre.
Both Bowburn schools also save through the Credit Union.
(iv) History: The Resources Room is open every Wednesday 1pm till 3pm.
(v) Fun Day: The Fun Day will take place next year with the funding already in place.
11. AOB: None
12. Trustees meeting: 5 December 2017 at 6.00pm in Bowburn Community Centre
Next General Meeting: 16 January 2018 at 6.00pm in Bowburn Community Centre
Pick up a weed and a piece of paper every day to keep your pavements clear