Crossgate Village
Notes of meeting held on 25 th July 2005
7.30 p.m. at Waddington Street Church Hall
Community Support
Jason Turnough (Community Development Officer, County Council) outlined his role. He can act as a conduit between our group and the County Council, bringing any problems and issues to the attention of the relevant officers. Jason also works to improve the quality of consultation and supports elected members to help develop and strengthen links with the County Council.
Partnership working is very important, and Jason works closely with community development officers in the city council and with Durham Council for Voluntary Service. It will not be possible to attend all meetings because Jason covers the whole district, but he will provide as much support and advice as possible.
Leaflets describing the approach to Community Development in the County Council were distributed.
Among the issues that the group wanted to be raised with the County Council are:
• Smoking at the entrance to the bus station (air pollution, litter).
• The provision of toilets in the bus station.
• Details of the park and ride bus routes.
• Poor quality of pavements, footpaths and roads in the Conservation Area.
Jason will arrange for an officer to attend our next meeting to discuss pavements, footpaths and roads and explain the replacement and maintenance programme.
Tim Clark from the recently formed Save the Valley group described this proposal which is included in the draft Local Transport Plan and the ‘2020 Vision' that is going to be debated next Wednesday evening at the Gala Theatre.
Tim was concerned that there has not been enough public awareness of the proposal until recently. The road would cause environmental damage which also equates to economic damage in a city that relies heavily on its quality of life and tourist attractions.
The road would affect the DLI Museum, Crook Hall, and Kepier Hospital, in addition to the natural beauty, peace, and wildlife of this part of the River Wear valley.The consultant's report indicates that 78% of traffic would still cross Milburngate Bridge.
The discussion focussed on the alternatives: the earlier Northern By-Pass proposal was criticised by the Inspector for the Local Plan. The Durham City Travel Study found that through traffic accounted for only 15% of traffic in the study area. An alternative strategy could be to encourage east-west traffic to access the motorway at the Chester-le-Street junction.
There was a meeting to discuss the Local Transport Plan in April, but this was not very well attended. At this meeting it was stressed that the Northern Relief Road was a ‘last resort' measure. The Park and Ride scheme, School and Workplace Travel Plans, and a congestion charge on Milburngate Bridge could all be tried as alternatives to a new road.
The City of Durham Trust and members of the Crossgate Village group have already made representations expressing concern about the proposed Northern Relief Road.
It is possible that the road could lead to more traffic being generated, and the expansion of the built-up area into this part of the Green Belt.
Members of the Save our Valley group intend to raise the issue at the 2020 Vision debate and will keep Crossgate Village informed about their campaign.
Stephen Light gave an update on the position. He hopes to organise another Action Day and barbecue during September (date to be confirmed). This would provide an opportunity for locals and students to get together. It would also be a strong statement that the community is very committed to Peskies Park. This would be important in relation to the pending sale and development of Byland Lodge.
This is a very sensitive site, and we need to have an input to try and make sure that the development includes social housing, community facilities, and public open space.
The developer will need to provide facilities under section 106 requirements.
We need to think boldly about the possibilities and people are invited to bring their ideas to the next meeting. Ideas already put forward are:
• A community building or café.
• Expansion of the area covered by the park
• Link the development to a wider theme and programme for the area based around the theme of the Battle of Neville's Cross.
There are good opportunities for participation. Volunteers could be provided by King's Church to work with local residents. We could also involve Durham Johnson School, particularly as the area is on a walking route from the school to the town centre.
It was agreed that we should contact our Councillors to find out how we can involved in shaping the planning brief for the Byland Lodge development. Colin Green, Stephen Light and John Parker (via Chris) volunteered to take this forward.
Various issues were raised:
• Warning signs for roadworks always seem to be placed so as block pavements. This is especially a problem for disabled access.
• Parked cars in Crossgate routinely overhang the pavement.
• Overgrown hedges are a problem, particularly in Neville Street.
• Attractive flagstones have been replaced with asphalt at the bottom of South Street.
• Could it be possible to improve Margery Lane/Quarry Heads Lane for walkers and cyclists?
• Crossgate Traffic Lights have been a success, although there may be some issues concerning the phasing and the confusing pedestrian signals on the Margery Lane side.
David Wood and Roger Cornwell reported that there are currently many applications being made by local pubs and clubs to stay open into the early hours of the morning. Among these are Walkabout (hearing date set for 17 th August), the Coach & Eight, the Water House, DH1 and Studio.
Blue Notices are posted at the site, although these are sometimes difficult to read. The licensing authority is now the City Council, although there is the right to appeal to Magistrates.
Landlords now need both a personal licence and a premises licence. The City Council's new Licensing Policy states that the impact on residents should be considered, the normal closing time should be 11pm, and that the saturation and cumulative effect is to be taken into account.
These applications will be an important test of the effectiveness of the City's Policy, although there was some debate over whether or not the Policy has been approved.
The Claypath Residents have been active in opposing extensions to licensing hours, as has the City of Durham Trust and individual members of Crossgate Village.
‘ 2020 Vision' for Durham City:
A debate will take place on Wednesday 27 th July (6.30 for 7). Residents were encouraged to attend and to complete the questionnaire. It was agreed that Colin should make a written representation referring to the Agenda for Change that we compiled last year.
The procedure for removing large household items was discussed.
Large household goods for disposal are normally collected on the usual bin collection day. Items, that can be recycled, however, may be collected at other times. This is normally Friday for white goods.
All such collections should be booked by phoning 301 8669, and should not be left out in the street or back lane before the appointed collection day.