We have received numerous complaints that the grass in the ward has not been cut for 5-6 weeks. We have investigated this matter on your behalf and have a response from the council.
"extreme inclement weather of late which has led to the cancellation of grass cutting on numerous occasions over the last few weeks. Combined with warm temperatures, this has resulted in grass being longer than usual and, upon those days when we can commence cutting, this long grass exacerbates the problem slowing crews down further. Rest assured, that as soon as the weather breaks, we will have all available resources dedicated to the service and we hope to 'catch up' at the earliest opportunity"
Hope this helps to keep you all informed.

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As reported in todays Northern Echo, Labour Councillor Nick Wallis has once again attacked our efforts to represent the people of Harrowgate Hill.
Via his blog, he accused us of "courting publicity" and blasts us for simply requesting that the council at least investigate alternatives to simply scrapping the bus routes in the ward.

Perhaps Cllr Wallis has a short memory and needs reminding that the report issued to the Labour 'Cabinet' back in April noted that five areas of the town would be adversely affected by the [apparently] commercial decision by Arriva, to change the bus routes. A recommendation was made in the report that the council should consider subsidising routes to service these affected areas. The fact that the 5 wards would be so adversely affected by Arriva’s decision seems to have escaped the hapless Cllr Wallis and indeed his colleagues, otherwise one would assume they would have addressed this issue earlier with council officers, Arriva and indeed our ever absent town Labour MP Alan Milburn.

The biggest question for us, is given that Wallis and his colleagues where aware of Arriva’s plans to change the routes, why did they simply "note" the changes and not challenge the decision. Surely that would have been the sensible, proactive action of a responsible controlling group. But as usual, as with the "free pensioner travel before 9.30am" debacle, they respond with too little too late. Only now do they decide to challenge Arriva and indeed lobby MP (Missing Person?) Alan Milburn, after a public outcry.
In the meantime, whilst the Labour group once again attempt to deflect blame for this bad decision, the residents of Harrowgate Hill and indeed the other 4 wards in the town continue to suffer. We would suggest that Cllr Wallis and his colleagues spend more time helping the residents of Darlington as opposed to trying to cover up bad decisions by attacking opposition Councillors.

Surely this is another excellent example of the "listening council", suffering from deafness.

Related Articles:-
"Bus Service Changes"

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From 20th July Harrowgate Hill will no longer have a 23 or 26 services but will be replaced by the 6a and 6b.

The new service, the 6a+b will operate from the Town Centre to Whinfield via North Road Morrisons, Rise Carr, Harrowgate Farm and Springfield with effect from 20 July 2008 and will operate every 15 minutes during the day.

6A will start in the town centre at Prebend Row, travel up Northgate and turn left into Westmoreland Street, on to Whessoe Road and up Longfield Road - then up Alwyn Road to Burtree Lane and back down North Road from the White Horse - turning off down Salters Lane North, up in to Whinbush Way - down Brampton Lane over the roundabout and on to Stockton Road (Haughton Green) - then on to Hutton Avenue, Springfield Road, on to Thompson Street East and then Back down North Road to the Town centre.

6B will start in the town centre at Prebend Row, travel up Northgate... all the way up North Road and then follow the same route - in reverse to the 6A.

There's no stop along North Road from Thompson Street West/East to Salters Lane North... so if you live at the top of North Road (Premier shop end) travelling from the town centre your best option would be the 6A. And if you live the other end of North Road (within Harrowgate Hill) your best option would be the 6B.

Aditionally; on Evenings and Sundays the 6A will venture into Harrowgate Farm and back out again... in a circular fashion. But will not travel up Mayfair Road, along Laburnum Road, down Glebe Road

We have no need to ask what you think about this we have been inundated with calls, mails and personal visits.

You have told us the problems that is going to cause residents and we agree with all the comments you have made.

Please keep the contact coming, we are currently in discussion with various sources and collating information. We will contact you all again when we have some news.

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Leader of Darlington Borough Council, John Williams has finally given into pressure and decided to reinstate pre-9.30am bus travel for pensioners and other concessionary users.

The original decision by the Labour Leader of Darlington Council, John Williams to scrap pre-9.30am bus travel was reckless and had a significant adverse affect on some of the most vulnerible people in our town.

When petitions were gathered and sent to John Williams back in February, clearly demonstrating the strength of feeling against the scrapping of the free pre-9.30 travel for pensioners, we genuinely thought John might see sense and reconsider the decision. Sadly this was somewhat unrealistically optimistic on our part! (Northern Echo article)

When we wrote to John in March to ask him to reconsider his decision to scrap early morning travel, he categorically stated that "the policy will not be changed" (Northern Echo article). Worse yet, he would not even revisit this important issue in cabinet.

When we contacted John again in April to bring to his attention some of the adverse effects his decision had upon local charities, he once again refused to reconsider the decision (Northern Echo article).

Clearly though, ahead of the protest which had apparently been organised for next week, John finally relented and has decided to do the right thing.

The "listening council"? We think not.

*** Bus Pass Campaign Related links ***

Bus Fares to Rise

Bus Pass U-Turn?

Bus Pass update

Bus Pass scrapping affects charities

Council Leader John Williams says "No"!

Petition to save early bus passes

Gill's Blog regarding Bus Pass fiasco - Email the Prime Minister!

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A demonstration took place on Monday (9th July) to raise awareness of the direct negative effect the closure of Post Office's has on local communities.

Pierremont Conservative Councillor Kate Davies was joined by members of the public who will find themselves most affected if the Hopetown Post Office cannot be saved.

The protest march walked from Hopetown Post Office along to the next nearest Post Office branch on Albert Hill, where unfortunately the reception was less than welcoming.

The journey from Hopetown to Albert Hill was also far from easy, particuarly for those less mobile. Drop curbs for the wheel chairs and mobility scooters were few and far between.

Kate said "the overall experience demonstrated the journey from Hopetown to Albert Hill was unreasonable for many residents and would not be an option,clearly the Post Office managers had not done their homework properly."

Congratulations to all involved in this protest. It clearly highlighted some of the direct effects Post Office closures can have on a community and we (as a Council) should do everything within our power to keep Hopetown Post Office open.

Related Articles:-

Hope for Post Office

Hope for our Post Offices

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An agreement has been reached with the three original developers of Harrowgate Farm to provide a financial contribution towards new play equipment on Harrowgate Farm.

This contribution is likely to be in the region of £45,000 and could be used to re-provide play provision within the vicinity of the existing site.

Obviously we cautiously welcome the news that at last progress is being made regarding the play equipment. After receiving conflicting reports from various sources, I’m sure residents in the area will finally welcome more accurate information.

However, we are still somewhat concerned that to date we have not had sight of any information giving a firm reason as to why the play equipment needs to be removed/relocated in the first place. So far vague suggestions have been made concerning the state of the ground beneath the equipment, but as yet no evidence has been provided, despite this being requested several times.

We shall once again be contacting Council officers in order to obtain a copy of the information used by officers to determine that the play equipment actually needs to be removed. We would assume that an engineers reports or such like would have been commissioned and will presumably be used by officers as evidence to support the case for removing the equipment. We would also expect that this report was in existence prior to the decision being taken to remove the equipment and not generated afterwards as an after thought to support a bad decision.

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As we all know the cost of fuel is continuing to rise and there appears to be no immediate prospect of it reducing significantly in the short term. As a result of this, Arriva has announced that it is increasing the price of it's single tickets from Saturday 14 June.

Darlington Borough will be affected as follows:
Fares currently 90 pence will be 95 pence
Fares currently £1.20 will be £1.25 (unless they increased from £1.10 to £1.20 under the fares restructuring 30 March 2008)

Mike Cartwright (Harrowgate Hill Ward Councillor) said

"As a motorist I have seen my own fuel costs increase significantly under this Labour Government, so it comes as no surprise that the public transport providers are feeling the pinch"

"Unfortunately though I fear this latest announcement may affect once again some of the most vulnerable people in our society – the elderly. Having already lost their free early morning bus travel, this is yet another blow for any pensioners"

"Just this morning, we received a telephone call from one of our residents to say that a recent 8.00am GP appointment had cost him £5 in bus fares from his already stretched pension. With the rising cost of food and this new price increase in bus travel we are likely to witness our elderly residents suffer even more hardship."

"So much for John Williams recent announcement and promise to ‘negotiate’ with Arriva to try to arrange a discount for our pensioners. Perhaps his time would be better spent contacting his Labour colleague Gordon Brown and ‘negotiating’ a reduction in fuel duty and funding for free pensioner bus travel"


Gill Cartwright (Harrowgate Hill Ward Councillor) said

"It would be wrong to blame Arriva for this latest increase. With ever increasing costs, they clearly have no choice but to put up the cost of fares. In my opinion the blame should be laid firmly at the door of Number 10 Downing Street and it’s current occupant Gordon Brown for allowing this countries economy to spiral out of control."

"It is also time that the Labour controlled Council in Darlington acknowledges the bad decision it has made in withdrawing free early morning bus travel from pensioners and finally listen to the people of this town as opposed to just paying lip service"

Related links:-

Bus Pass U-Turn?

Bus Pass update

Bus Pass scrapping affects charities

Council Leader John Williams says "No"!

Petition to save early bus passes

Gill's Blog regarding Bus Pass fiasco - Email the Prime Minister!

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As announced in today's Northern Echo, Council Leader John Williams has finally agreed that pensioners should not be expected to pay full price fares to travel on the buses in Darlington before 9.30am.

He has agreed to "talk" to bus company Arriva in an attempt to negotiate a reduced price for early morning concessionary users. Although this is obviously a positive step forward (especially considering Cllr Williams has already said previously he wouldn’t revisit this issue), it is still far from satisfactory.

Pensioners in all of the other Local Authorities in the North East can travel at any time for no charge on the regions buses. Darlington is the only Town in the North East to charge pensioners to use the buses before to 9.30am.

In an attempt to justify the scrapping of free early morning bus travel for pensioners, Cllr Williams has suggested that financial savings can be made by scrapping free pre-9.30am travel for pensioners. In the same Northern Echo article Williams also claims that pensioners affected “have the option of travelling after 9.30”. You don’t have to be a mathematician to calculate that this situation obviously results in no savings!

Related links:-


Bus Pass update

Bus Pass scrapping affects charities

Council Leader John Williams says "No"!

Petition to save early bus passes

Gill's Blog regarding Bus Pass fiasco - Email the Prime Minister!

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Good news. Princess Road footpath is to be refurbished. We have received complaints from residents as to the condition.

Princess Road, Darlington (Nos 9 – 31 and 30 – 54)

The Borough Council will be undertaking footway refurbishment works at the above location, the details of which are as follows:-

The Contractor will be : Darlington Borough Council
Community Services Duration of Works : 3 weeks
Commencement : Week commencing 27 May 2008
Normal Working Week : Monday - Thursday 07:30 – 15:30 hours;
Friday 07:30 – 15:15 hours
Residents have received letters from the council detailing the above work.

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Please Note:

An agreement has been made with bus operators that old concessionary passes (pre April 2008) can be used throughout the NORTH EAST (Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, Durham, Tees Valley, Darlington) until the end of May 2008.

Old Darlington passes can still be used for travel within Darlington Borough until the end of September 2008.

If you have problems using your old pass please contact our Customer Services Department on 01325 388799 giving full details of the journey (time/date/bus service number).

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Leader denies claims that bus pass move will harm charities

Echo story

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RESIDENTS are being encouraged to find out more about the countryside on their doorstep and how they can go green.

The annual Green Fair will take place in South Park on Sunday April 27 from noon until 4pm.

There will be information available on a range of environmental issues and advice on how to adopt a more sustainable lifestyle.

Representatives from the Council’s Countryside and Recycling Team will be there alongside Friends of the Earth, The Ramblers Association, Darlington Wildlife Group and the Energy Savings Trust.

Young visitors to the fair will be invited to take part in arts and crafts activities including making recycled jewellery and mini beasts, as well having the opportunity to plant some seeds.

There will be a chance for parents to join the Council’s real nappy incentive scheme and enter a prize draw to win a real nappy starter park.

Darlington Libraries will also be at the event promoting ‘Beyond the Deepwoods’ by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell as part of this year’s One Book for Darlington scheme.

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Tesco, the supermarket giant pledged to sell the run-down former Shell filling station at Harrowgate Hill after three bids to open a new store were rejected by planners following complaints from local residents.
They have warned that the land may take time to sell Tesco warning on derelict site

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By Paul Cook from The Northern Echo 8th April.

Two councillors have demanded more play areas be opened in an expanding area of the town.

Husband and wife Mike and Gill Cartwright, who represent the Harrowgate Hill ward in Darlington, have claimed there is not enough provision for youngsters in the area.

They said soon there will be only one play area in the suburb even though planning permission has been given for another 101 homes and 27 apartments on the site of the former Beaumont School.

The couple said plans were being put forward to close a park at Harrowgate Farm because of anti-social behaviour.

The park was fenced off earlier this year following complaints from residents about the anti-social behaviour.

Coun Mike Cartwright said: "We have approached the council to explore the possibility of using CCTV, fencing and lighting to provide extra security for the site, although at the moment residents tell us that anti-social behaviour is not a current problem.

"This would allow the residents with young children to continue to enjoy the play facilities and would provide reassurance to those residents who have previously suffered with anti-social behaviour problems."

Last week plans for the redevelopment of the Beaumont School site were approved by the councils planning committee.

Coun Gill Cartwright told the meeting that residents had called for a play area to be built for local children.

She was also upset that money paid by the developer to provide local services will also go into a central pot rather than the ward.

She said: "If this play equipment is removed then, the whole play provision for the ward of 2,500 houses where a high number of children reside, will be at Bensham Park.

"This does not meet with the council's aspirations for the provision of play equipment as per the open spaces strategy."

The open strategy, which runs from 2006 to 2016 seeks to provide one play site for every 450 children and be within 10 minutes walk for the majority of children.

A council spokesman confirmed the council was considering a proposal to the planning committee to remove the play equipment because of problems with the condition and suitability of the site and not because of anti-social behaviour. Residents would be able to add their input at a planning meeting.

The spokesman added: "We are aiming to fulfil the open spaces strategy and if the opportunity arises for more play equipment in this area we will discuss it with residents."

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Darling will have to undo the damage done by Brown to low-earners

From The Times April 7th

Gordon Brown is rapidly becoming a man haunted by himself. It is increasingly clear that his electoral success or failure as Prime Minister will be determined by his record and actions as Chancellor of the Exchequer. His claim to have left behind an economy of exceptional strength by international standards will be severely tested as the “credit crunch” ceases to be something complicated happening over there in the American mortgage market and starts hitting would-be first-time buyers over here. In a similar vein, the decisions which he made on taxation and spending are now coming under the spotlight.

In his last Budget 13 months ago, Mr Brown introduced a significant change in the income tax system. He cut the standard rate from 22 pence in the pound to 20 pence, a shift which led him to declare proudly that it had fallen to its lowest level in 70 years. His apparent charity to the country was, though, only possible because he was abolishing a lower 10 pence band of income tax which he himself had created with considerable fanfare a decade earlier. Although the net effect was still a (modest) overall reduction in the income tax burden, Mr Brown had engaged in the classic exercise of robbing Peter in order to pay Paul.

Except in this instance Peter was notably poorer than Paul to start with. As this change starts to register in pay packets, Labour MPs sense an anger among these voters. It is utterly perverse for a Labour Government to have reduced the living standards of the hard-working poor in order to offer a little more comfort to those on higher incomes. Although Mr Brown and his successor, Alistair Darling, insist that there are other means, notably the tax credit process, by which those who have lost out could be compensated, this is not cutting the mustard with their colleagues. Many Labour MPs have the common sense to appreciate that PAYE - and any loss through it - is extremely simple to understand, whereas the tax credit structure which Mr Brown has devised is immensely complicated. In the real world, many taxpayers will not claim the money that they might be due.

The timing of this is awful. It will occur at a moment when the prices of many ordinary goods are accelerating and fears of an increase in unemployment are escalating too. It is exactly the wrong time for the Treasury to be raiding purses and wallets in this manner. But the blunt truth is that, in the short term at least, there is not a lot that Mr Darling can do to make the situation better.

Mr Darling's one chance to tweak income tax again in a way that would have directly assisted those about to be hurt was in his Budget last month, and for inexplicable reasons he did not choose to do so. He will not have another opportunity until the Pre-Budget Report in November or December. The best that Labour MPs can achieve now is vociferous lobbying for belated action at that date.

The broader lesson from this saga is this. If a policy proposal looks like it is too clever by half, then it probably is. If Mr Brown really wanted to cut income tax so that absolutely everyone benefited - which would indeed have been desirable - then he should have sought to balance the cost by new restraints on spending, not by offsetting it with a rise elsewhere. As it stands, having wanted to be seen as some kind of Robin Hood, he is about to be viewed as a new Sheriff of Nottingham.

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Many of you have contacted us as you have read in the Echo that an application has been submitted for the removal of the play equipment and residents were invited to make comments to the planning department

We can confirm that the adoption of the play area land (not the equipment) is anticipated to be completed in approx 2 weeks time,subject to their solicitors responding.

Then, a planning application could be submitted by the council for the removal of the equipment after the adoption. Residents will will then be sent a letter from THE COUNCIL (once an application has been submitted) asking them for their comments

We would welcome comments and suggestions from residents in order that we can represent your views to the council in full as we have done throughout this consultation process.
Our number is 01325 382276.

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Written by Steve Doughty

Pay as you throw: The more waste you put out to be collected, the more you will be charged
The power to raise and collect taxes on household rubbish is to be handed over to unelected waste quangos.

Ministers yesterday set out a scheme for rubbish-collection boards to take over the running of dustcarts, wheelie bins and municipal tips from town halls.

They will be given the right to set pay-as-you-throw rubbish charges, the controversial taxes Labour is introducing as a "financial incentive" to recycle more refuse and throw out less.

They will become the first unelected state bodies in modern times to get direct powers to raise their own taxes.

The Joint Waste Authorities will also take over from councils the armies of bin police who have the power to hand out on-the-spot fines to families who put their rubbish out at the wrong time or leave their wheelie bin lids open.

And they will be given all powers concerned with control of littering.

Plans for the authorities were set out by ministers at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Environment Secretary Hilary Benn called on councils that run waste collection and disposal to band together to form the new boards in order to make efficiency savings.

Unlike town halls, the waste authorities will not be answerable to voters.

Instead, they will be run by appointed members chosen by the local councils which have formed the quango.

That means that they will be beyond the reach of voters and immune to electoral reverses, such as those suffered in last year's local council elections by town halls that had introduced deeply unpopular fortnightly rubbish collections.

As many as 30 councils are thought to have changed hands in the voter protests that accompanied the Daily Mail's Great Bin Revolt campaign.

The proposal brought furious complaints from the Tories and taxpayer pressure groups.

Eric Pickles, the Conservatives' local government spokesman,said: "Labour are sidestepping the backlash to bin taxes and bin cuts by stripping the public of any direct say over the issues."

Matthew Elliott, of the Taxpayers' Alliance, said the plans breached the principle that no one should be taxed without representation.

He added: "Giving people the power to raise taxes without accountability leads to only one thing – taxes running out of control."

Trials of pay-as-you-throw taxes, which are included in the Climate Change Bill, are to start in five districts next year.

Labour says they will mean bills of up to £50 a year for those who fail to recycle enough of their rubbish. Many analysts think they will be more than £100.

Ministers have acknowledged that middle-class families, who throw out the most rubbish but do not qualify for benefits, will be hit the hardest.

Although the Government has insisted on calling the charges "financial incentives", Waste Minister Joan Ruddock admitted in December that the Treasury classifies them as taxes.

Pay-as-you-throw taxes have long been expected to be charged according to the weight of rubbish a household puts out.

But last week ministers admitted that they could also be charged to families as payment in return for the restoration of weekly rubbish collections.

Joint Waste Authorities would decide the form of the charges and how much they would be, and would bill householders in much the same way as water and power utilities.

Residents must be consulted by town halls on transferring rubbish collection to a JWA, but will have no vote on the decision.

Government looks to 'green tsar' after failing to meet environmental targets
• A "green tsar" paid up to £140,000 a year is to be appointed by the Government after it failed to meet its targets for helping the environment.

The Chief Sustainability Officer will help Whitehall departments do better after a watchdog said they had once again failed to meet their own targets for cutting waste, water use and carbon.

The Sustainable Development Commission said carbon emissions from government vehicles rose last year by 1.5 per cent.

The Government, however, was meeting its targets on recycling, energy efficiency and renewable energy.

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Street Scene Spring Clean

18/03/08 - RESIDENTS are being encouraged to help spring clean their neighbourhood with the help of their local Street Scene team.

The Street Scene Spring Clean will run from Friday March 21 to Saturday June 21.

During the initiative, people are being asked to report areas of the Borough that need cleaning up.

Any fly-tipping, graffiti or litter will then be cleared by the local Street Scene teams.

It is hoped that once this work has been carried out, residents will take more pride in the neighbourhood and take particular care of the area in front of their home.

John Williams, Leader of Darlington Council, said: “We all have a role to play in keeping our town tidy. Hopefully many areas of the town will be targeted and cleaned during the Street Scene Spring Clean and then residents will do their bit in the area near their home to make sure they are looked after in the future.”

For more information and to nominate an area for cleaning contact Street Scene on (01325) 388777

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Following on from our original article regarding target="_blank"> Post Office closures, it has been reported today that up to 50 local authorities are looking to take over post offices scheduled for closure.

target="_blank">BBC News - 50 councils may run post offices

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The Closure Of The Household Waste And Recycling Centre

12/03/08 - DARLINGTON Council is asking residents to store items for recycling as bad weather keeps closing the Borough’s Household Waste and Recycling Centre.

High winds have meant the centre, off Whessoe Road, has been repeatedly closed for safety and environmental reasons.

The site is next to Drinkfield Marsh Nature Reserve and if there is a danger of rubbish been blown onto the reserve, it has to be closed.

The recent high winds have also made it dangerous for residents to be at the site because of the possibility of large pieces of rubbish being blown around.

A Council spokeswoman said: “We appreciate how frustrating the closures have been for residents but the recent bad weather has left us no choice.

“As soon as we know the centre is going to close we post information on our website and tell the local press so as many residents as possible can find out.
”We are asking people to hang on to any items for recycling and bring them along when the site is open. Paper and glass items can still be left out for collection as part of the kerbside recycling scheme.”

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This is a bad news Budget. Alistair Darling is kicking Britain’s families when they are down.

- Darling has added £110 a year to every family’s tax bill. The tax take will be £2.8bn a year higher by 2010 – and if benefits are excluded, it will be £4bn higher.

- The new taxes announced in the budget will add up to £1.5bn extra on all alcoholic drinks, £1.6bn on drivers, and £1.7bn on businesses over the next three years.

Taxes and borrowing are up because Labour failed to use the good years to prepare for the bad years. After 15 years of global growth, Britain has the worst budget deficit in the developed world.

Even with the new taxes introduced in Darling’s budget, borrowing will be up £20bn over the next four years, including a £7bn rise next year alone.

The Government has no room for manoeuvre, so they are kicking families when they’re down.

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On Thursday 7th February a pupil from Harrowgate Hill Primary School was knocked down on Longfield Road. Apparently the pupil was crossing Longfield Road near to the telephone box to the North of the Longfield School site. This incident raised concerns for local residents some of whom witnessed the accident.

In response to residents concerns with regards to the traffic situation on the road outside Longfield School we contacted the School Travel Plan Officer.

Longfield School completed their School Travel Plan in March 2007. One of the issues that came out of the consultation for the Travel Plan was the need for better crossing facilities for pupils due to the width of the road and the need to slow down traffic. In addition to this, the section is looking at moving forward with proposals to implement 20mph zones outside of all schools in the Borough. As a result the Transport Policy Team will be putting together a Safer Routes to School brief for Longfield Road requesting traffic calming measures and safer crossings for pupils.

Travel modes have remained fairly constant over the last 3 year period with a slight increase in walking. The figures show that the majority of children walk to school. They are also due to install cycle parking for 102 cycles at the school within the next few months which they anticipate will have even more pupils traveling sustainably.

We obviously share the concerns of residents and childrens safety is of paramount importance to us. We will work with residents, the school and the council to facilitate the necessary action

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The thorny subject of anti-social behavior in Harrowgate Hill was raised again last week, so we decided to investigate further.

Last Friday we accompanied Durham Constabulary Sergeant Dave Kirton and his "Beat Team" as they patrolled in the Harrowgate Hill and North Road area.
Visiting the "hot spot" areas such as Harrowgate Farm, North cemetery, we were not surprised to discover no signs of anti-social behavior. Since being elected last May, we have received few reports of anti-social behavior within Harrowgate Hill. It is worth noting that wardens are allocated into areas where disturbances have been reported, therefore it is important that any incidents are reported. This targets resources into areas where they are needed most.

Given the recent concerns highlighted in the press recently, that Harrowgate Hill did not have a beat officer, we quizzed Sgt Kirton. He advised us that interviews for the position were due to take place very soon. He also emphasised that the lack of a beat officer DOES NOT affect Police cover within the area. Dave was also keen to emphasise that 2 PCSOs are assigned to Harrowgate Hill. The Police are also supported by the Community Wardens who are on duty until 10pm.

Statistics released for Harrowgate Farm from the Anti Social Behaviour Team detailing calls to the uniformed wardens show an improvement. There have only been 7 calls since June 2007 and generally the figures show a decrease in reported incidents compared to 2006. Figures from the Police showing different categories crime on a ward basis suggest that Harrowgate Hill is in the middle of the tables.

As well as touring the Ward on Friday night we accompanied the team on an inspection of licensed premises. There were 3 local pubs inspected by the team of approx 20 officers including the drugs dog and his handler.

Durham Constabulary have a team of specialist dogs including Springer Spaniels and Labradors that are involved in explosives and drugs detection.

Last summer we were invited by the North Road/Harrowgate Hill Police "Beat Team" to accompany them on a Friday evening as they carry out a "blitz" on underage drinking. We have continued to work closely with our beat team, wardens and residents to ensure that anti-social is kept under control.

Residents on Harrowgate Farm have told us that they are pleased with the improvement seen over the past 18 month since we highlighted the problems residents were experiencing on Harrowgate Farm at a public meeting in October 2006.

For more information about Durham Constabulary visit their web site
www.Durham.Police.uk


If you have any concerns regarding anti-social behaviour in Harrowgate Hill, please do not hesitate to contact us.

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The latest update is that the Leader of the Council has defended the decision to scrap early morniing bus travel for the over 60s. Councillor Williams says the policy will not be changed.

The link to the Echo article is below
www.TheNorthernEcho.co.uk

We are disappointed that the Cabinet has chosen not to review this important decision which clearly many residents are unhappy with. What ever happened to the pledge by the council to listen to residents? Residents have spoken and been ignored again. We would like to thank everyone involved in highlighting this issue and collecting signatures. Whilst we welcome the talking together event arranged to help people understand the benefits of the new passes, this does not detract from the fact passholders will have to pay for journies before 9.30am

We feel that the estimated savings are exactly just that, estimates based on current travel patterns. Pass holders that we have spoken to claim that they will, where possible, delay traveling until after 9.30am so that their journey is free. As payment is made to the bus company per trip, the council will not make a saving. As a consequence there may be a demand for travel by passholders after 9.30am leading to capacity problems.

Gill's Blog regarding Bus Pass fiasco - Email the Prime Minister!


Read more about the bus pass fiasco by clicking here

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Having already lost the local Post Office in Harrowgate Hill, both Gill and I feel very strongly that the key services provided by local Post Offices should be maintained and indeed extended....not closed down!

As I am sure you are all aware by now, former soldier Edward Legard is Darlington's prospective Conservative Parliamentary Candidate and yesterday he met the sub-postmasters from both Hopetown and Millbank Post Office's - both of which are threatened with closure.

During his discussion with both sub-postmasters he heard about the important life line the Post Office supplies to the community, in particular the importance of the service to the more vulnerable members of the community.

Already 4000 Post Offices have closed across the UK under Labour, with another 2,500 expected to close by 2009. As few as 4000 of Britain's 14,300 Post Offices may survive the decade. These truly are shocking statistics.

Please take the time to sign both e-petitions below:-


Campaign to keep our Post Offices open


Petition organised by Sue Allan-Hooks to keep our Post Offices open


*** UPDATE (12 Mar 2008): Hope for our Post Offices

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We have been inundated with residents contacting us, angry that they will not be able to use their consessionary travel passes until after 9.30am.

It was pointed out to us tonight at our ward surgery that how will it save the council money as all that will happen is that those who were going to travel before 9.30am will postpone their travelling until after 9.30am!

We are currently gathering signatures from residents in Harrowgate Hill to show disapproval to the plans

If you can help please ring us 01325 382276 or mail info@harrowgatehillfuture.co.uk and we will drop some forms off for you.

UPDATE: 19 Feb 2007, Gill presented the petition to Cabinet.
Click here to read the Northern Echo article

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We have a set of plans for the proposal for the old school site. We intend to operate a loan system to residents, so if you would like to view the plans please ring or mail us

We have suggested to the planning department that it would be good practice for ward councillors to have a set of plans for large developements in their wards, so they can operate a loan system to residents. This issue was brought to our attention by residents in the ward, that many people who work full time often out of town find it difficult to visit the town hall during working hours

Appointments can be made to view plans out of hours, however you would not have access to a planning officer to answer any questions. Contact the planning department to make arrangements.

How to contact Planning Department

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Dog fouling remains a persistant problem in the ward and we can confirm this to be the case as we now have a 17 week old Labrador pup called Daisy. We are out and about in the ward every day, particularly Drinkfield Marsh and we have been shocked at the amount of dog waste we have encountered on these walks.
We have contacted Streetscene to request another dog waste bin to be sited on the Marsh at a central point near the pier. Also we have reported that there is a lot of rubbish blown over from the tip at the far side of the water
At Full Council Meeting last night we have requested the figures for how many fixed penalty notices have been issued by the uniformed wardens and the dog wardens for dog fouling in the ward. We will also obtain the figures for verbal warnings given.

We know this is an issue that concerns many of you and will report the figures when we have them

If you wish to report a dog fouling offence, please contact the uniformed wardens on (01325) 388799

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From todays Echo -
SUPERMARKET chain Tesco has submitted a third application to build a mini-market on the site of a former garage.

Officials from the store met planning officials before the plans were sent to the council for the proposed Express store in North Road, Darlington.

Two sets of plans for the former Shell garage have previously been rejected by the council's planning committee. An appeal is due to be heard later this year into the second application.

The latest plans were sent to Darlington Borough Council's planning department yesterday.

Please contact us with your views. We will keep you updated.

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Questions asked by residents

Question What is happening to the old Shell garage site on North Road?

Answer Tesco have appox another 2 months in which they can appeal against the refusal of planning permission in May. There have been no further plans submitted. The site has been assessed by the Buildings Control Officer who found the site to be secure and of no danger to members of the public. The Local beat team are also regularly checking the site.

Question Can any measures be taken to clean up the old Shell Garage Site?

Answer Tesco promised to clean up the site in August. However this appears to have not happened. We are currently investigating as to the feasability of The Town and Country Planning Act being be used to encourage some action.

Question Can anything be done about the cars for sale on North Road outside of the Shell garage?

Answer This issue has been passed onto the anti social behaviour team to investigate.

Question There have been concerns about the boarded up house next to Jazzs Fishbar.

Answer The Buildings Control Officer has carried out an inspection of the property and while the building was found not to be in a dangerous condition. Access is possible via the rear garage door into the yard of the premises. This has been passed onto housing renewal to arrange for the door opening to be boarded up.

Question Are there any plans to harden grass verges in any areas in Harrowgate Hill?

The list includes Laburnam, Maple, Birch, Baytree, Middleham, Wayside and Davison. Please contact us if you feel there are any other areas that should be added to the list.

Question Why do the council not take away grass after cutting?

Answer Because the cost would be too prohibitive

Question What are the results of the Harrowgate Farm consultation re play equipment?

Answer We have arranged a meeting with the planning department to discuss the results of the consultation. We have been given views by many residents which we will put forward at the meeting.

Question Will we be getting wheely bins as there is a cost to residents to have to purchase bin bags

In 2000 the Council carried out a Best Value review of waste management that resulted in changes to the refuse collection service, whereby residents place their refuse on the kerbside for collection. At the same time the Council introduced its kerbside recycling service aimed at increasing the range of products and percentage of waste recycled.

At the present time the Council is reviewing its method of waste treatment and disposal, including recycling and composting, with a view to a new contract starting in 2009. Once the contract is procured the Council will be in a position to consider the future of refuse collection and to engage with residents to identify appropriate and suitable systems.



In the meantime the current system of collecting from black bags is cost effective. Whilst it is appreciated that residents have to buy black bags this would not necessarily produce a saving if a wheeled bin system were to be introduced as the vast majority of users of such bins still use bags to contain the waste and keep the bin clean.



On the subject of bags being supplied to residents of some parts of the Borough it is confirmed that this practice is not carried out.

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We are pleased to announce that at our request a dog waste bin has been ordered for Lowson Street. Hopefully this will help to improve the situation in the surrounding back lanes

There have been two lamp post bins ordered for the corner of the Leas and The Gateway. Again we anticipate that this should make an improvement to the litter problem

Do you have a problem with dog fouling or littering?
Please contact us and we will help.

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Following several complaints about the condition of some of the back lanes in the ward we decided to carry out our own inspection.

We found that most of them to be clean and tidy, but unfortunately this was not true throughout the entire ward. Sadly we found dog dirt, rubbish and grafetti in some areas.

Some of the road surfaces were found to unaccepatable and potentially dangerous also. In addition we also found a full rubbish bin.

Most worryingly, we found the Harrowgate Hill school site unsecure and discovered the burglar alarm had been activated. We obviously contacted the Police immediately.

Clearly this is not acceptable so we shall be taking immediate action.

This will include:-
* Contacting our Streetscene Team Leader to report the problem areas.
* Contacting DBC Highways Department to report the poor road surfaces.
* Report the school site to the buildings control officer.
* Request that our excellent beat team to regular check the school site.

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We have received complaints about the grass being overgrown in the cemetary.But after discussions today with Streetscene, we have been reassured that this will no longer be an issue. They have assessed the way that they work and have devised a plan to make sure this does not happen again. But please do keep it touch if any further issues arise.

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Due to an unforseen problem, the Mayoral Awareness Session originally arranged for 21st August has been cancelled.

The session has been re-arranged and will now take place on Wednesday 22nd August, starting at 6pm in Lowson Street Church Hall.

We look forward to seeing you all there.

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Our first Newsletter is finally finished and being delivered across the Ward during the next couple of weeks.

The aim of the Newsletter and our Website is to keep you informed of the work we are carrying out on your behalf and not simply to report on the work being carried out by the Council!

In addition we aim to keep you informed of activities taking place within Harrowgate Hill, so if you are aware of activities which you would like publicised, please get in touch.

We hope you find the Newsletter interesting and useful, but if you have any suggestions for additional content, please let us know!

Click on the Newsletter image opposite to see Newsletter
OR
Click here to download MS Word version of Newsletter.

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There has been a problem with a group of youngsters at the entrance to the cemetary on North Road throwing water bombs at passing cars. We have reported this directly to our local beat team who are going to monitor the site
It is very important to always report any incidents to the Police and Wardens. But if you have any information about any trouble spots then please do contact us as well and we can let the team know so they can do extra patrols. The intelligence led approach working pro-actively often yields good results.

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At the local elections in May the Conservatives polled the largest number of votes with the Liberal Democrats polling half as many as Labour. Through the vagaries of the first past the post system at ward level, Labour won most seats but with a greatly reduced majority. Turnout across the town was an average 40.51% and as low as 30% in some wards.

Politicians of all parties need to be concerned about this level of disengagement from politics. A healthy democracy requires the active participation of its citizens. To achieve this, new and imaginative ways need to be found which allows people to voice their opinions and indeed participate in decision making on the key issues which affect them. People need to feel that their vote counts and that their elected politicians will
work together constructively and consensually. They want to see grown up politics which is accountable and scrutinised in a robust and open way.

To meet these challenges the way we do politics needs to change. Indeed the new Prime Minister in his call for a cross party debate on the constitution said "the need for change cannot be met by the old politics"

A clear message from the May elections was that the people of Darlington want to see changes in the way that local politics is carried out. Many are disengaged and have no faith in the process. They see an excellent council at an executive and operational level but not in the way that its politics works. This is also reflected in the frustrations of many hard working councillors across the political spectrum. One expression of all of this is the campaign for a directly elected mayor.

As a result of these pressures proposals are being made to change the constitution of the Borough Council. Some interesting ideas are emerging to open up the process, to get local people more involved and to have the minority parties attend cabinet meetings. This needs to be taken much further to extend the participation of the public and of the elected members. It is here that we have specific and vital proposals to make.

The prime role of the opposition groups is to scrutinise policies being proposed by the executive and to monitor their development and performance. This role is fundamental in a healthy democracy and provides the checks and balances. Many local authorities see this very clearly and lay the responsibilities out in their constitutions. The chairs and vice chairs of scrutiny committees are seen to be the necessary domain of the opposition parties.

The House of Commons with its select committees provides a good model here. The select committees play a vital role in holding Government to account and many of the chairs are provided by the opposition parties. A notable example is Edward Leigh’s much admired chairmanship of the influential Public Accounts Committee.

Here in Darlington, apart from a token chair and vice- chair allocation to the two opposition parties, the ruling group holds the overwhelming majority of the chair and vice chair roles to itself. It holds all of the Cabinet portfolios as well - a fundamentally unhealthy arrangement. In practice this leads to a prime focus on after the event scrutinising of performance and rarely the scrutiny of policy and its development. Cabinet portfolio holders do not appear before the scrutiny committees and the Leader of the Council is never scrutinised in this way. This needs to change.

A fundamental right of any council member should be that they can ask questions in the Council Chamber on any subject relating to the portfolio of Cabinet Members. Under the current constitution they cannot do this and must restrict themselves to the specific subject that the Cabinet member chooses to report on. This is an abrogation of democracy and must be corrected.

So along with pressing on to achieve a much more participative involvement of local people, as we called for in May, the Conservative group are calling for changes in the constitution of our Borough Council to make it more democratic and accountable by:

- strengthening the checks and balances in the scrutiny process through all chairs and vice- chairs being made the responsibility of the opposition groups

- directing the work of scrutiny as a matter of course to incorporate policy review and development as well as performance

- making it the practice that the Leader of the Council and Cabinet members appear before the scrutiny committees

- making the Council a place of robust debate where every Councillor as of right can ask questions which are of importance to them and the people they represent.

Finally we believe that it is important to incorporate into the constitution a duty of public involvement which underpins the right of the residents of Darlington to be consulted about and involved in the decision making on the key issues which affect their lives.

Author: Cllr Alan Coultas [ Conservative group summary ]

Endorsed by: Cllr Heather Scott Conservative group leader

Endorsed by : Cllr Charles Johnson South Durham Conservatives Chairman

Taken from the Darlington Conservatives website at
www.DarlingtonFuture.co.uk

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Unfortunately it seems that a mistake has been made in some literature currently circulating in Harrowgate Hill concerning "The Teen Card". A concerned resident brought it to our attention and asked us to publish the correct information.

The Teen card is a must for all young people living in County Durham or Darlington. It allows reduced travel on most services at off-peak times and during most non schooldays. Teen card holders are only charged at half the adult fare up to a maximum of 50p. So no matter where you are going or how far it will only be a maximum of 50p. There are no return tickets available with this card.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS CARD CAN ONLY BE USED AFTER 6PM MONDAY TO FRIDAY, AT ANY TIME SATURDAY, SUNDAYS AND BANK HOLIDAYS. THE CARD MAY ALSO BE USED AFTER 9AM DURING MOST SCHOOL HOLIDAYS
There is a one off payment of 5 pounds and can be used up to 18 years old.
For more information visit www.arrivabus.co.uk or ring 0871 200 22 33

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On the evening of Friday 20th July, Gill and I were invited to accompany the North Road/Harrowgate Hill Police "Beat Team" as they carried out another blitz on underage drinkers in our area. The "blitz" involved the Police, The Community Wardens and Police Community Support Officers.

Given that Friday was the start of the summer holidays, we all expected that a significant number of underage drinkers would be wandering/staggering the streets and occupying the young drinker "hot spots".

We were all surprised, but delighted to discover this wasn't actually the case! During the 4 hour blitz between 6pm and 10pm, only a couple of children were picked up and taken to the Mobile Police Station (which was located on the Bus Terminus at the junction of Longfield Road and North Road).

Once the children were delivered to the Mobile Station, parents were contacted and asked to pickup their youngsters. The parents and youngsters were also invited to attend alcohol awareness sessions at a later date.

One possible reason for the small number of instances of anti-social behaviour on Friday, may have been the excellent Longfield Rave which had taken place the night before.

Approx 130 Longfield pupils attended the event and from what I witnessed, thoroughly enjoyed it! The event was organised by Longfield School pupils and staff in collaboration with the North Road Partnership and the Local Police Beat Team. The funding for the event was provided from Darlington Borough Councils Dosh Fund which is administered by Youth Services and bid successfully by Longfield School Pupils.

If anyone has any suggestions for future projects, please let us know.

Since we highlighted the anti-social behaviour issue in Harrowgate Hill back in October 2006, it certainly seems that incidents of anti-social behaviour in our ward have been reduced. This is in no small parts thanks to the dedication of our local Police, PCSO's and Wardens whom have worked together highly effectively. That said, nobody is naieve enough to believe that anti-social behaviour has been eliminated in Harrowgate Hill, but with a continued effort between the community and the Police, PCSO's and Wardens we can help to further improve the situation.

If you are aware of a “hot spot” area in our area, please contact us.

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We noted that there were not any awareness sessions for the Mayoral Referendum arranged for our ward. We have put forward some suggestions of suitable venues and this is to be pursued by the council. We will let you know when we get a session arranged.

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We have had flooding in the ward this week in Burtree Lane, North Road, Saltersgate Road and Brian Road. We are laising with Highways Department to make sure that gullies are cleaned and maintained. All credit to them, they are having a busy time at the moment with the appalling weather we are experiencing.
If you have any problems with blocked gullies, please contact us and we can report it for you.

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The Council and Groundwork are working in partnership to recruit volunteer local residents to keep an eye on their local neighbourhoods and report any issues with litter, dog fouling, graffiti, broken street furniture, overflowing bins, abandoned cars etc.
As a volunteer we would expect that the role be incorporated into your day to day life and would just ask that you spot issues in your chosen area once a week and report them to a designated council officer on a regular basis. In return you will receive a rapid response to deal with the problem and feedback to you about that issue.
There is no obligation for you to be high profile, you can remain anonymous if you wish and report from the comfort of your home
All volunteers will be offered an induction programme which will cover how Streetscene works and will include meeting with various staff that deliver the service as well as staff such as dog wardens and environmental wardens
For more information contact streetscene@darlington.gov.uk or tel 01325 388777. You can also contact us on 382276.
As we live in the ward we do report any issues we come upon, however it is impossible for us to be everywhere all the time. Taking part in this scheme will help us to make Harrowgate Hill a cleaner place to live and a cleaner environment promotes pride in the local community.

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ALWYN ROAD Overnight June 28th - 29th a parked car has been broken into, a window has been smashed to gain entry.
LONGFIELD ROAD Overnight June 28th - 29th a parked van has been broken into, the inside of the van is described as 'trashed'.
Have you noticed any suspicious activity which may be connected with the following crimes?
If so please do not hesitate to bring this information to the attention of local Police on 0845 60 60 365 stating that you are responding to a Neighbourhood Watch message
Alternatively information can be passed to CRIMESTOPPERS on 0800 555 111

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Heavy rainfall this weekend has caused significant issues throughout our town and region, including areas of Harrowgate Hill.

Saturday afternoon saw torrential rain affect areas of Darlington resulting in access to the town centre being virtually impossible (click here for more).

As you can see from the photo's, Harrowgate Hill did not escape the torrents - North Road became somewhat wet during Saturday afternoon.

This flooding near to the White Horse appears to be caused by poor drainage (presumably a partly blocked drain?). Suffice to say the Highways Department at Darlington Borough Council has been contacted.




UPDATE: 28/6/07 - The Highways Department have contacted us and advised that the affected drain will probably just require clearing. If this does not cure the problem, a "drain camera" will be used to diagnose fault.

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From 19th-27th May there was a week of action in North Road and Harrowgate Hill wards involving the Police, Streetscene, VOSA, DVLA and Customs and Excises. Projects tackled were removal of graffiti, tackling untaxed vehicles and those causing annoyance and anti social behaviour.
The results were that approx 105 litres of alchohol were confiscated, 22 cars were clamped for tax evasion. There were a large number of youngsters stopped and has their details taken. They were invited to a drugs and alcohol awareness session, with their parents on Saturday 10th June. Several youths were brought to the mobile Police station and had to be collected by their parents, who were then interviewed by the anti social behaviour team.
Well done to all those agencies involved.

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We can confirm that Mitchells and Butlers Leisure Limited has applied for a licence for the White Horse Hotel for the hours of 10.00-00.00
This is obviously very welcome news and we will keep you informed of progress.

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Our ward surgery will be held on the first Tuesday of every Month 6-7pm at Longfield School. No appointment needed, just come along and have a chat. We can also be contacted on 382276 to deal with ward issues.

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I can confirm that the plans for the Tesco Express on the old Shell Site on North Road have been rejected by the planning committee this afternoon.
There was a unanimous vote by all members against the plans and i will post details later of exactly why the plans were rejected.
I was asked to speak to behalf of residents of Harrowgate Hill to put their case to the committee to give them a voice. My presentation was based on material planning considerations such as the size of the store and transport issues. An excellent presentation by a resident was also given to the committee putting forward residents objections and drawing attention to issues.
At the time of posting Mike is still in the planning commitee meeting.
Gill

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We would like to say thank you to the people of Harrowgate Hill who voted Conservative during the local elections on Thursday. We both really appreciate the opportunity to represent the ward and will work hard during the next 4 years to ensure that Harrowgate Hill is given the representation it deserves.
Mike & Gill

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Thanks to everyone who gave us feedback re anti social behaviour on Harrowgate Farm
We have approached the Police with this information so hopefully some improvement should be seen soon

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Following an enquiry from a local residents in Longfield Road re problems with anti social behaviour and damage to property in the back lane opposite Longfield School, we contacted the council.
The Council does not have written policy on gating of public highways alothough there has been informal discussions ar various times in the recent past.
They will investigate each case that arises and consider all the evidence and then decide on whether any action is required, that includes considering gating or closure of highway.
The Anti Social Behaviour Manager will undertake a survey of residents to get more information than is currently available from the recorded crime and ASB.
The results of the survey will be advised to us in due course.

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Plans for a Tesco Neighbourhood Convenience Store have been submitted to Darlington Borough Councils Planning Office.

The proposed store would occupy 330sqm (3,552sqft) with an 243sqm (2,615sqft) sales area and includes parking for 15 motor vehicles including and 2 disabled bays which are situated on the corner of the site on Bensham Road/North Road.

The building, which would also include a 24hr free cash dispensing machine, is to be constructed in red and brown bricks to match adjacent building with soldier coursing above windows and doors, eternite composite slate tiles and white UPVC self finished fascia.

The plans also show a landscaped buffer zone between resident’s rear gardens on Bensham Road and a new retaining wall with close boarded fencing surrounding the development.

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