Crossgate Village

Notes of meeting held on 24 th April 2006

7.30 p.m. at Waddington Street Church Hall

Conservation Area Appraisal

•  Michael Hurlow (Durham City Council) outlined the process for appraising all the District's Conservation Areas

•  The Crossgate area is likely to be appraised in 2007

•  A dialogue could be held with our group as part of the process

•  Michael also described the main areas of work and approach of the Conservation Department

•  Concerns were expressed about the ability to control unwelcome alterations or to ensure that property was adequately maintained

•  The changes to the bay window roof at 22 Lawson Terrace was cited as an example of unwelcome development

•  Although powers appear to be limited, the Conservation staff do a lot of work behind the scenes to alter and amend planning proposals

•  Residents with concerns may be advised to first approach the Conservation Department rather than the Planning Department (Michael Hurlow 301 8703)

•  Permitted Development Rights allow property owners to make minor changes

•  An Article 4 Directive can be used to remove Permitted Development Rights

•  Conservation Officers and residents are likely to be on the same side over the future of the area, and this can be brought out in the appraisal process

•  Other areas needing to be improved are:

•  St Margaret's Graveyard (there may be some funding available for this)

•  North Road

•  Railway Station

•  Station Approach

The Street Environment

•  Graffiti still needs to be cleaned up

•  Fences around Peskies Park and Byland Lodge need mending (Andrea to report this)

•  Bins still litter the back lanes, and are not returned to the proper place by the bin men

•  Danielle Hartley (Neighbourhood Warden) to be asked to attend the next meeting

•  Bob Wynn to contact Tom Punton over waste issues raised.

Planning Issues

•  The outhouses at Lawson Terrace were discussed

•  Revised application for 23 Lawson has been submitted

•  If recommended for approval, Councillors will ask for this to go to committee

•  Some residents who objected previously had not been informed of the revised application

•  The possibility of looking at the environmental health aspects of the outhouse at 27 Lawson needs to be clarified

Fun Day - 10 th June

•  This is to be held in Peskies Park

•  Aim to make it relevant to the whole community

•  Rough times will be 1 to 4 pm

•  Pre and post-publicity will be organised

•  Stephen and Andrea to meet to organise the details

Sustainable Communities Seminar

•  Colin attended the meeting on behalf of the group

•  Attendance was very good, with the interest groups being well represented

•  The need to tackle the issue of ‘studentification' is being taken seriously

•  There are several ways in which our concerns might be addressed:

•  Our MP will take up some issues with the Government

•  The need to consider 'studentification' issues in conjunction with the planned expansion of higher education

•  The possibility of changing the Use Classes order -so that Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) are treated separately in Planning Law

•  Review the Council Tax exemption on student properties

•  Durham University has no present plans to increase student numbers, and any future increase is likely to be at the Stockton campus

•  The president of Durham Students' Union is keen to establish better relations between students and permanent residents

•  The City Council intends to tackle the issues in the forthcoming Local Development Framework:

•  The 'continue present policy' option was actually meant to include the recommendations of the Balanced and Sustainable Communities Working Group

•  The strategies of other University towns will be looked at and applied to Durham if appropriate

•  The possibility of extending HMO licensing to 'non-mandatory' HMOs will be considered.

•  Other issues that need to be tackled are:

•  The need to attract students to areas that are not popular at present

•  Provision of affordable housing

•  Need to tackle the issue of student cars

St Margaret's Graveyard

•  Concern was expressed about the management of this important open space

•  An excessive amount of pesticide appears to be being used

•  The bench has been broken for a long time

•  A dead badger has been left for several days

•  Arthur Bannister will write a letter to the City Council outlining our concerns

•  Andrea will report the dead badger to the appropriate authorities

•  Notice Board

•  Parking restrictions are now planned in the Farnley Hey area

•  The existing double yellow lines are still not being policed effectively

Date of next meeting Monday 29 th May 2006