The City of Durham Parish Council has written a letter of support in response to the planning application for the new Lowes Barn Community Centre.

If approved, this community centre will represent the culmination of over 3,500 volunteer hours of work carried out by a small, dedicated team of 6-7 Trustees of the Lowes Barn Community Project (LBCP) and 8 volunteers. Funding for this project has been made possible thanks to the allocation of a substantial amount of Section 106 Community Fund by Durham Area Action Partnership and a further £80,000 committed from the former County Councillors for the area towards the construction of this new centre. A great deal of time, effort, detail and consultation has been carried out ahead of this planning application and the Parish Council applauds the enormous community effort which has allowed the project to reach this stage.

See the Parish Council’s response to the application here:
DM/20/01008/FPA | Erection of community centre building with associated bin store and cycle parking | Lowes Barn Recreation Ground Off Park House Road Durham DH1 3QF

Durham County Council is proposing to demolish the existing bus station on North Road and replace this with a brand new building in the same location. This application is one of the most important in our parish for a number of years and the Parish Council hopes that this will be an important first step in regenerating North Road.

Anyone wishing to respond to the consultation can do so here:
https://publicaccess.durham.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?keyVal=Q878RTGDGSU00&activeTab=summary

Find the Parish Council’s response to this planning application here:
DM/20/00912/FPA: Demolition of bus station and erection of a replacement including office space, Bus Station, North Road, Durham City DH1 4SG

Durham County Council is currently consulting residents, businesses and interested local groups on the redevelopment of Aykley Heads. The County Council is inviting comments from the public prior to the submission of the planning application.

The County Council is proposing the submission of a hybrid application which comprises a detailed application for office use on Plot C and an outline application for phases one and two of Aykley Heads.

Further details of the consultation can be found here:
https://www.durham.gov.uk/article/22935/Aykley-Heads-update

A copy of the City of Durham Parish Council’s response to this consultation can be found here:
Parish Council response to Aykley Heads consultation

Anyone wishing to submit a representation on this important consultation can do so by e-mailing: aykleyheads@durham.gov.uk

A helpline, webpage and support network have been set up to help people in County Durham who are struggling during the Coronavirus pandemic. Help is available to local residents for thing such as food shopping, deliveries, general help and guidance, or someone who can listen and support.

People are advised to accept help from friends, family and neighbours where possible, but anyone in need of extra support can find a list of local groups on the council’s website http://www.durhamlocate.org.uk or fill in our Coronavirus help form at http://www.durham.gov.uk/covid19help

Alternatively, help can be accessed by emailing help@durham.gov.uk or calling 03000 260 260.

Anyone wishing to volunteer to support local residents can also sign up to do so via the Royal Voluntary Service here: https://www.royalvoluntaryservice.org.uk

The Parish Council has also created a helpful list of contacts of support services and local retailers offering food deliveries, etc. This can be found here: Key contacts during Covid-19 outbreak

Residents are asked to continue to follow Government and NHS advice during this pandemic and to seek support where needed.

Please see the following link below for the latest advice from Durham County Council on the coronavirus outbreak:

https://www.durham.gov.uk/article/22892/Coronavirus-latest-news-and-advice

Please see below a further update from Durham County Council on what actions they are taking on the coronavirus (update as of 18th March 2020)

2020 03 18 COVID-19 Press Release

In line with the County Council and other organisations, the decision has been taken to cancel all meetings of the Parish Council until further notice.

We will be reviewing this regularly and will take a view on events beyond the end of March. The Parish Clerk is still contactable via email on parishclerk@cityofdurham-pc.gov.uk

Thank you for your support with this.

The City of Durham Parish Council’s Grant Award window for 2019/20 is open from 1st April. Any organisation wishing to submit an application for funding may find a copy of the application form here: City of Durham Grant Application Form 2019-2020

Once complete, please submit this application form along with all other supporting documentation to us via e-mail at parishclerk@cityofdurham-pc.gov.uk

Please note that your application must follow the procedure as set out in our grant award policy; a copy of which can be found here:
City of Durham Grant Award Policy

The Parish Council is also keen to understand which of its key priorities your grant application is aligned with. Details of the Parish Council key priorities are set out below:

Priority 1: Enhancing the wellbeing and prosperity of our Parish
Priority 2: Creating a Neighbourhood Plan and representing the Parish on planning matters
Priority 3: Being a voice for the City and working with key partners
Priority 4: Supporting the business community and encouraging tourism
Priority 5: Enhancing the physical environment of our Parish

A full copy of our draft Parish Council strategy for 2019/20 can also be found here: DRAFT_City of Durham Parish Council Strategy 2019-20

Please note: the deadline for all grant applications is the 31st May and funds for successful applications will only be released following the Full Parish Council meeting in June.

Solicitors acting on behalf of the City of Durham Parish Council have written to the County Council to say that, if it were to approve the planning application for a new HQ building on The Sands on the basis of information currently before it, that decision would be unlawful.
This is because the proposal to build the new HQ on The Sands is an integral part of the much larger proposals for Aykley Heads. The accompanying Environmental Statement should have covered all of this. In not doing so it is inadequate and fails to meet both European and National regulations.
The lawyers also add that the proposals do not meet either National or Local plan policies. The consideration of traffic and air quality impacts is inadequate. The alternatives have not been properly considered, and the Council does not have enough information on which it can properly reach a decision.
The Parish Council decided to oppose the proposals at a special meeting on 5 September and lodged its first objection. The Full Council meeting on 27 September discussed this application further and unanimously decided to seek professional legal advice as to whether there are any grounds on which this planning application for the proposed new County HQ could be challenged. The Parish Council commissioned an experienced and well-established law firm in Richard Buxton Environmental and Public Law to provide the Council with legal advice.
“Our solicitors have advised that such grounds for challenge do indeed exist and set these out in a twelve page letter” explains Roger Cornwell, who chairs the Parish Planning Committee. “As the legal advice received also highlights that to determine the application at present would be unlawful, our Planning Committee decided unanimously on 4 January that the proper course of action was to submit this letter to the County Council. That was done later the same evening.”
The planning application is currently on hold, awaiting comments from the Environment Agency which has statutory responsibilities on flooding and air pollution issues.
In submitting this letter, the Parish Council hopes that Durham County Council will reconsider its proposals for the future location of its HQ and listen to the views of hundreds of residents from across the County and the many businesses who have submitted objections to this planning application.

A copy of the solicitors letter can be found here:

Solicitors Letter to DCC

The City of Durham Parish Council have submitted a proposal to amend the Durham City Neighbourhood Area boundary, in accordance with the Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations 2017 and the Localism Act 2011.

The amendment is being sought to ensure the neighbourhood plan area aligns with the new parish boundary.  An area to the north west near Aykley Heads is being removed from the currently designated neighbourhood area, while additional land in Gilesgate to the east of the proposed neighbourhood area is being included.

The consultation is scheduled to run from Thursday 13th December until Thursday 31st January 2019. Any comments in relation to this matter should be made to the County Council by 5.00pm on 31st January 2019.

If you wish to make a comment on this, the consultation is currently hosted on the county council’s website at: http://www.durham.gov.uk/article/18184/Neighbourhood-planning-what-s-happening-