GENERAL MEETING - Bowburn & Parkhill Community Partnership - Charity Number 1112151
Tuesday 17 April 2018 from 6.00pm
Present: M Bell, J Blackburn, R Cowen, J Geyer, M McKeon, G Parker, S Raine, J Richardson, M Ridley,
M Syer In attendance: Cllr Stuart Dunn, James Taylor (Lichfields)
1.Apologies: None
2. Declarations of interest: Declarations of interests would be made as required throughout this agenda.
3. Integra 61 Update: Hawk Group are on site and have started the groundworks for Phase 1A and 1B to
construct the roads to the residential properties and the road east/west into the site; these works will take
approximately 14 months. Vegetation has been cleared; an archaeological search has found nothing so far,
but a member pointed out that no trenches had been dug in the field most likely to contain important remains;
there is photographic evidence of buildings that have been demolished and James again promised to send
copies to the local history society; Citrus have decided to revert to the original plan for Right of Way No. 10
which will be palisaded and planted with shrubs.
The entrance road into the site will be single carriageway, not dual as in the original planning application.
Although there were strong objections from the members for this reduced width, James argued that the single
carriageway will be wide enough to take all future traffic, and there is sufficient space to widen the site traffic
road if a future Relief Road is financed from other sources.
Durham County Council has agreed with Highways England to deliver the changes to Junction 61 on the A1M;
DCC are in the final stages of the design. There have been positive enquiries from one contractor to occupy
the largest ‘shed’; if this happens a second roundabout will need to be constructed to take these haulage
wagons only.
There was considerable discussion about this and the merits of keeping the dual carriageway along the
section of the road joining the A688 and James was asked to take these into account with his clients.
If Phase 1 houses sell, then Phase 2 would follow immediately. A café operator is interested in taking a unit on
the site, but a pub no longer has any interest.
The S106 monies from the houses have been allocated to education, but it was asked that the S106 monies
from the ‘sheds’ is not overlooked for projects in Bowburn.
James will make arrangements to have a joint meeting with the Parish and Partnership if a prospective
contractor agrees to lease one of the ‘sheds’.
James was thanked for his attendance and left the meeting at 6.55pm.
4. Security: (i)PACT: ‘Walkabouts’
Friday 11 May at 10.00am Cavell Drive, Robert Terrace; meet outside Bowburn Hall
Friday 8 June at 10.00am Colliery Roads; meet at Bowburn Community Centre.
PCSO Butterfield emailed the following incidents for Bowburn from 16 March to 12 April.
4 incidents of theft in Bowburn; all thefts have been from businesses. 18 Anti-Social Behavior reports for
Bowburn, 6 of these have been reported by the Staff at Durham Services.
There have also been 3 incidents of vehicles being burnt out on the road to Old Quarrington from Bowburn.
Cllrs Dunn and McKeon had a walkabout on the road to Old Quarrington and have reported the anti-social
behaviour along this road.
5. Minutes: Minutes of the General Meeting 20 March 2018: The minutes were approved and agreed.
6. Annual General Meeting 15 May 2018: A nomination form for the AGM was given to members to nominate
for the trustees on the management committee for 2018 / 2019.
7. Finances: i) Treasurer’s report: Mike presented a summary of accounts for the year end.
At this meeting £39 has been paid to Bowburn Community Association for affiliation fees and £13 has been
collected in Tea and Raffle monies.
Youth Club application to the Community Fund: Still awaiting notification of the payment for the Xmas Party.
Seats near toddler play area in the park: The Partnership sent a voluntary contribution to DCC equivalent to
the cost of a steel seat minus VAT and ask DCC to buy the seat and retrieve the VAT on their own account.
There has been no reply to-date.
Coop community funds: Mike has made an application to the Co-op Local Community Fund for kitchen and
sports equipment in the Youth Club to help with the organisation of the holiday playscheme. MIKE
7ii) Raffle: J Blackburn won the prize kindly donated by F Salisbury. Joyce Geyer will donate a prize in May.
7iii) Quiz: The new quiz ‘Astronomy V Astrology’ is on sale at £1 with a closing date of 12 May 2018.
8. Item for Any Other Business: Advertise event in Quarrington Hill; Gas boxes; Estate agent signs
9. Current Masterplan: 9A Regeneration Fund:
Project Notes
Pick up a weed and a piece of paper every day to keep your pavements clear
9B. Future projects: Dog toilet area – fenced off area with a gate to restrict the area for dog fouling.
Recycled items to promote the Partnership e.g. rulers and pencils.
10 COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT: Future community engagement ideas: Cllr McKeon has arranged an
‘Enterprise Drop-in’ for local businesses in the Community Centre on 23 April. The Partnership will engage in
this event.
11. LOCAL REPORTS:
11i)Planning issues:
Durham services to extend toilet block – Richard has written about this. He has not objected to the proposal
but has reminded the Council that the Partnership requests that all traffic turn left from the services when the
new roundabout on the A688 into Integra 61 is constructed.
Carlin Close: The Partnership hope to resolve the problem of the damaged mesh fence alongside the
boundary of the Carlin Close site.
Hill Top View: DCC Planning Enforcement Department have found nothing in the planning application to
construct a footpath outside the red boundary line of the site.
Highways England has been contacted about the footpath and the legal department will be consulted. MAURA
Parkhill development: The development is underway. Members were concerned about mud on the road
Bowburn Hall: Richard has written in respect of the lodges, but there has been no response to the siting of the
biomass boiler.
Anaerobic digester: At the time of this meeting no trees had been planted to screen the digester. CLLR BLAKEY
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 Rd
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
17/04/2018: With permission, agreed to paint a new white gas box black to match the others in the road.
Let by signs
For Sale
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.
17/04/2018: Agreed to ask for the removal of 5 house ‘for sale’ signs on the C12A and
the A177.
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.
16/01/2018 The first replies to the consultation are in favour of the seat.
20/02/2018: DCC to price a seat suitable for the park.
20/03/2018: Partnership to donate £620 to DCC to buy and install a seat in the park.
17/04/2018: A voluntary contribution of £620 has been sent to DCC equivalent to the
cost of a steel seat minus VAT and DCC asked to buy the seat and retrieve the VAT
on their own account. There has been no reply to-date.
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 - a joint meeting with the Youth Club, Community Centre and Library led by Cllr McKeon.
16/01/2018: Survey of holiday requirements for Bowburn is online.
Jane Bellis informed that an AAP grant application will be available for the summer holidays.
20/02/2018: Joint talks - Youth Club, Community Centre and Partnership for the Easter Holiday Activities.
20/03/2018: There is a good response places to places being booked for this Easter.
17/04/2018: The pilot playscheme has been a success both for the children and the
staff who enjoyed working with the younger children and would continue the
scheme if the resources are available.
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.
16/01/2018: Apply for grant to CDCF to plant trees to the south of Mary Terrace.
20/03/2018: Application made to CDCF to plant 19 trees in Mary Terrace.
17/04/2018: The outcome should be known in the next 8 weeks.
Camera bird
boxes
Co-op local Community Fund success – spend on Co-op products up to October
2018, will increase our fund for camera bird boxes in the schools and Youth Club.
Hedgehog
boxes
Agreed to ask HM Prison Durham to make 6 hedgehog boxes for the Youth club,
Infant School and Junior School; up to a cost of £50.00
Pick up a weed and a piece of paper every day to keep your pavements clear
11ii) Ongoing: Bowburn Industrial Relief Road: Reference has been made to the Relief Road in Item 3.
Air quality on A177 – Await a result in September 2018; MW A1(M) junction 61 – Refer to Item 3.
11iii) Community Centre: The councillors are funding the floor in the LHG room; the art group are painting
murals in the lounge alcoves.
11iv) Youth Club (Contact 0778827732): 13 to 17 year olds have used beer goggles to allow the young people
to experiment the effect of alcohol on their coordination and allow them to see the dangers this can cause.
They have been learning CPR, how to stay safe and look after each other. The young mam’s baby first aid
course started this week.
Playscheme: Maura reported that the holiday playscheme was a success; Joanne enjoyed working with the
younger children and would hold another scheme if the resources were available.
11v) Primary school: A public exhibition will be held on 18 April in Bowburn Community Centre to display the
plans for the new primary school. CISWO have agreed in principle to the new road above the football field;
unfortunately all the trees and bushes have been stripped out along the C12A next to the football field to
accommodate the access road.
11vi) Shops: The agent reported that up until last week no retailers were interested in the old Coop, so it is
going to be split into 2 units which should be of more interest to retailers, and a revised application is going in
to the next planning meeting. Tenders are going out to include the revised plan; 4 contractors are interested so
there is 'movement'. The Partnership agreed with the principle of this proposal.
12. CORRESPONDENCE: None
13. REPORTS IN THE WIDER AREA:
13i)AAP: Key Messages for the meeting held on15 March in Cassop community centre
Stuart Dunn was in the chair; Chloe Brown, Investing in Children, gave a verbal update on the work for the
AAP; Joseph Chandy from DDES CCG delivered a presentation on Care Navigation where receptionists
receive training to enhance their ability to connect patients directly with the most appropriate source of help;
Lyndsey Hunter and Jane Bellis gave a verbal update on the current situation with project spend and
development. All the Area Budget for 2016/17 has been allocated, and work is commencing via the Joint
Priorities Task Group for the coming year. Due to the AAP area having the highest rate of teenage parents
across the County, and the figure being higher than the national average its Board is discussing a project
around that; other ideas are welcome. Inspector Sarah Honeyman gave a verbal update on local policing
information. Neighbourhood Budget application details were provided for the following - Bowburn Community
Association Dance floor to ballet room and kurling; Kelloe Parish Council commemorative benches; Active
Centre for Life gym extension. The Board agreed to take forward the above projects. No comments were
received.
At this meeting the councillors reported that they had already funded the pantomime and defibrillators, and any
unspent money could be carried forward to the next financial year.
13ii) County Councillors: Cllr Dunn proposed to ask the Parish to provide salt bins; said that tree planting is
available; stencils and spray paint to highlight dog fouling is to be offered to the Parish; a Xmas tree at the
roundabout for Parkhill is proving difficult, but there could be a tree for Cassop.
Cllr McKeon was involved in a litterpick and coffee morning. Cabinet guaranteed interviews for veterans and
NHS services are to be improved.
13iii) Cassop-cum-Quarrington Parish Council Meeting 21 March 2018: The Parish objected to the lodges in the
grounds of Bowburn Hall because of noise disruption and root damage. A new risk assessment schedule has been
agreed. The litterpick for the Big Spring Clean was very successful with more people taking part.
The Neighbourhood Plan will be updated before the Parish meeting on 18 April.
There is a new increased estimate for the Coal Column, but there is another source of funding for the shortfall.
13iv) Quarry Liaison: The next meeting is 26 April at 10.00am.
14. Group Noticeboard:
(i)Banner: The Back Room Boys and Pittington Brass will play at the Eve of Gala Concert.
(ii) BVC Interchange: The latest issue of Bowburn Interchange had a positive response.
The next Quiz Night will be held on Friday 18 May 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; there is an article in the Interchange re Christmas.
(iv) History: The Resources Room is open every Wednesday 1pm till 3pm.
(v) Fun Day: The Fun Day will take place this year with the funding already in place.
13. AOB: 21 April coffee morning in Quarrington Hill community centre and walk around Kingswood.
Gas box and For Sale signs – See Item 9A
14. Next Meetings: AGM followed by the General Meeting 15 May at 6.00pm in the Community Centre.
Pick up a weed and a piece of paper every day to keep your pavements clear