HELP SAVE A POPULAR LOCAL WOOD (HOPPER’S WOOD EAST) FROM INFESTATION, SUNDAY 10th JULY, 10am till midday.

JOIN local volunteers working to support an initiative from the Wear Rivers Trust to remove invasive alien plants from the catchment area of the Wear. No special skills are required.
We are working to fight back a very damaging infestation of Himalayan balsam in part of a local wood, the area of where Hopper’s Wood extends EAST of the railway line, off the popular footpath that leads south over the railway from the very southern edge of Newton Hall to near Crook Hall. More directions are given below.

Not sure what this plant is? The Wear Rivers Trust has a simple guide. https://img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/e7d103c0-5d9a-4c98-88cc-9e194356fb78/downloads/Himalayan%20Balsam%20Pulling%20Guide.pdf?ver=1655303763116

It is thankfully easy just to pull up, being extremely shallow rooted, and now mostly tall enough to reach with little or no bending over. Just pull it up from the stem, then pile up the uprooted plants to dry out if you can.

INTERESTED?

If interested, just join the WRT on the morning of Sunday 10 July at 10.am. Gloves are advised, because of the occasional nettles.

DIRECTIONS. If you are coming from the direction of the City a group will gather at 10 am on 10th July where the footpath to Newton Hall starts, just outside Blagdon Depot (directions: turn left off Frankland Lane about 100 metres after Crook Hall — if you get to the sewage works turn back, you’ve just gone past it!). This the southern end of the public footpath to Newton Hall, passing through the wood (if you have access to an online map the coordinates are 54.782699,-1.572075, or just put those into Google).

Someone will be there to meet you and we’ll move on towards the wood after 5-10 minutes.

If you are coming from Newton Hall or the north, another group will meet at 10 am on 10th July at the more southerly of the two railway bridges on the eastern edge of the estate. This is the northern end of the public footpath from Newton Hall to the City, just off Lindisfarne Road. (if you have access to an online map the coordinates are 54.791319,-1.570786 , or just put that into Google).

Again, someone will be there to meet you and we’ll move on into the wood after 5- 10 minutes.

The balsam is now so widespread we may well not defeat it this year. The priority must be to stop it spreading further before it can cast seed, so people are invited to focus on edge places where the weed is still spreading outwards into the wood, on outliers or where is not yet so dense.

The landowner has been contacted and has given permission. People will be required to confirm that they are acting as volunteers for the Wear Rivers Trust. Small forms can be signed on the day, or in advance online if you prefer: https://wear-rivers-trust.org.uk/get-involved

We know of no particular hazard in these popular woods. There should be space to park near both starting points.

Please note: anyone under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult.

The annual meeting of the City of Durham parish has been called.

The annual meeting of the City of Durham parish will take place on Wednesday 25th May 2022 from 6:30pm in the Main Hall of Durham Town Hall.

A copy of the notice and Agenda for this meeting can be found here.

Please note: this is not a meeting of the Parish Council but a public meeting open to all residents.

We look forward to welcoming you to this meeting.

The City of Durham Parish Council has agreed to provide funding of £10,000 towards the continuation of the City’s recently established Safety of Women at Night (SWaN) hub.

The SWaN hub was established earlier this year and has proven itself to be a life-saving operation for the City, with its ever expanding night-time economy.

With increasing applications for late night venues in the City – most notably at major developments like Riverwalk and Milburngate – the Parish Council’s Licensing Committee has been lobbying for a cumulative impact policy and a late-night levy on the City’s late-night bars and clubs.

The funding request was raised by Durham County Council at the Parish Council’s March Full Council meeting on Thursday 24th March. At the meeting, Parish Councillors expressed their desire to see the service continue, highlighting the need to keep residents safe at night and thanked the officers involved in its creation.

Chair of the Parish Council Coun. Alan Doig said: “The Parish Council is absolutely delighted to be able to support the continuation of this invaluable safety hub in the City. This is a significant investment from the Parish Council and highlights our commitment to ensuring the safety and well-being of our residents and visitors in the City as they enjoy our night-time economy.”

“Durham County Council and others have done a phenomenal job in establishing this hub this year following a successful funding bid to Central Government last year. Whilst the Government may have afforded itself an attractive headline in providing funding for these services, the reality on the ground is that this central funding comes to an end at the end of March and these services are under threat. Further funding is therefore clearly an issue and the Parish Council is lobbying partners such as Durham University to provide the funding to keep this service going.”

He added: “thinking ahead strategically, I am pleased that the Parish Council has re-confirmed its commitment to lobby further for a late-night levy on licensed premises which remain open late at night. Our message as a Council couldn’t be clearer: if you wish to remain open late, make a lot of money from the thriving night life in Durham, you need to provide funding to police that night life. Neighbouring authorities like Newcastle City Council have already taken a lead on this and Durham County Council need to act now too.”

A recently restored Durham City mural dedicated to the famous anti-apartheid campaigner and Durham University lecturer Ruth First, has been unveiled.

The City of Durham Parish Council recently commissioned the restoration of the mural by one of the original artists Lotte Shankland and were delighted to unveil this at a joint event with Durham University on Monday 7th March.

The mural is located on the side of Ruth First House on Providence Row in the City. Ruth First was an exiled South African anti-apartheid activist, journalist and Sociology lecturer who lived in Durham between 1973 and 1978 and attended meetings in this building. Ruth was assassinated in Mozambique in 1982, where she was working while on leave from Durham University, by a parcel bomb sent by South African police.

The original plaque and artwork were erected to coincide with the first free democratic elections in South Africa in 1994.

The mural was unveiled at the event by Ruth First’s former University colleague Hilary Wainwright and the current Ruth First Scholar Shamiso Zamba.

Chair of the Parish Council Coun. Alan Doig said: “We are absolutely delighted to honour a wonderful person associated with our parish in this way. The original mural was looking very worn and the Parish Council is thrilled to have the restoration work commissioned by one of the original artists. This is such a great enhancement for Providence Row and a fitting dedication to a remarkable lady.

“This year marks the 40th anniversary of Ruth’s tragic assassination. We really hope this mural continues to keep the memory of Ruth and the tolerance and justice she fought for alive.
“It is also exceptionally fitting that the mural was unveiled in the same week as International Women’s Day.”

Michael Thompson, Chair of the Ruth First Educational Trust, said: “Ruth First’s teaching, research, writing and political activism have inspired many people in Africa and the UK. The University is proud to honour that legacy by supporting the Ruth First Scholarship in partnership with the Ruth First Educational Trust and Durham City and County. The mural is a vivid memorial to a remarkable woman and a creative symbol of Durham’s commitment to the values that she fought for.”

A new trail linking seven of the hills that cradle the historic City of Durham has recently been launched by the City of Durham Parish Council.

The City of Durham Parish Council is publishing a trail leaflet to enable both local residents and visitors to enjoy the beauty of the City from many viewpoints. The trail over the seven hills is seven miles (11km) long and takes about four hours at a gentle pace taking in ten of Durham ‘treasures’ including Wharton Park, Flass Vale Local Nature Reserve, The Miners Hall, the Neville’s Cross battle site and monument, The Durham University Observatory, the Oriental Museum, the Botanic Garden, Great High Wood, Maiden Castle Iron Age Fort, and of course the World Heritage Site of the Cathedral and Castle.

The first of the seven hills is Windy Hill, or Wharton Park as it is better known. The trail continues through Western Hill, Redhills, Observatory Hill, Windmill Hill where St. Aidens College stands, Bucks Hill or Mount Joy as most people know it, and finally Whinney Hill.

The Chair of the City of Durham Parish Council’s Environment Committee Coun. Carole Lattin said “The Parish Council is absolutely delighted to be publishing the leaflet. To make a great new outdoor opportunity for local people in this time of Covid travel restrictions is exactly what the Council should be doing. It is also just what the City’s economy needs to encourage visitors to stay longer and boost tourism expenditure. The walk is a wonderful experience and opens everyone’s eyes to the many great things can be enjoyed all round the City”

She added: “We are indebted to David Miller, a long-term resident, for devising the trail and designing the leaflet. It’s been a real labour of love for him and the Council has supported his efforts as part of the general mission to promote initiatives coming up from the local community.”

John Lowe, the Chair of the City of Durham Trust said: “The Trust is very happy to provide a grant towards publishing this fine trail which will a great introduction to many of the City’s heritage sites and buildings for a wide range of people. Each of these treasures is worth a follow-up visit, and we hope this trail will bring many more people to appreciate what the City has to offer.”

Eighty years-old David Miller said: “For years while walking these paths, I have thought they would make an exciting trail. Finally, I decided to make a leaflet for my family and friends, and then, happily, the Council stepped in to make it widely available.”

He added: “We all know Rome is built on seven hills, so I thought ‘why not Durham?’ Of course, Durham has more than seven hills but seven is enough to make this super walk. Perhaps Durham is the Rome of the North of England with its seven hills, its World Heritage status and fame, and its long and fascinating history?”

” Being a keen walker all my life and not a particularly good map reader, I wanted to make a map that is easy to follow and fun to use for all the family. I think that this walk will become popular. Given average fitness and enthusiasm for a good walk, it makes the perfect solo walk with the dog, a great family ramble, and even a super outing for a rambling club. For those who prefer shorter walks, there are many routes back because you are never far from the City centre. You can always do the rest on another day.”

“Where else can you see so many wonderful things along a trail that finishes in a World Heritage Site, one of the most beautiful places on earth?”

A hard copy of the trail map can be collected at Durham Town Hall.

Durham County Council, County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service, Durham Constabulary, the Mountain Rescue Service, Northumbrian Water, NHS bodies, Northern Powergrid and the voluntary sector have all been working together to support residents following Storm Arwen.

We are also aware of the support members of the community have been providing to friends and neighbours and would like to offer our thanks for the invaluable help that has been provided. If you require support, please call 03000 26 0000.

Are you still without power?
If your power supply has not been restored, contact Northern PowerGrid. Visit www.northernpowergrid.com If you are vulnerable, call 105.

Help to cover costs
If your property was without power on or after Monday 29 November, you can claim financial assistance from Northern Powergrid. This includes the reasonable costs of alternative accommodation and food – up to £15 per person per meal.

All customers are eligible. Customers’ circumstances will be considered on a case-by-case basis. For support, email StormArwen@northernpowergrid.com or call 105.

Northern Powergrid has also said that it will be contacting customers affected by the power cuts to advise them as to how their bills will be affected. This will start once power has been restored to all affected properties.

If you are experiencing immediate financial hardship, and a delay in reimbursement from Northern Powergrid will cause further strain on your finances, you may be eligible for a one-off voucher through Durham County Council’s welfare assistance scheme. Call 03000 267 900 for information.

Temporary heating
Northern Powergrid has installed temporary generators to restore power to some properties. These are either large generators providing a supply to a number of houses, or smaller units for individual properties.

Northern Powergrid is responsible for refuelling generators and householders should not attempt to do this themselves. If a generator stops working, either due to running out of fuel or a mechanical fault, contact Northern Powergrid by calling 105.

In order to reconnect those properties served by a generator, it is necessary to turn off the power supply for a short period of time.

Durham County Council has also supplied a number of temporary heaters and cooking stoves to residents without power. Once power is restored, the council will be in touch to arrange collection so that these items can be used again.

Thank you once again for your support and patience during this time

The City of Durham Parish Council made the following decisions at its meeting, held on 25th November 2021:

– The Parish Council agreed to submit a Section 106 funding application for the replacement of the existing bus shelters at Lower Claypath and to replace these with sedum roofed bus shelters.

– The Parish Council agreed to respond to the County Council’s Local Heritage List consultation nominating a number of assets within the City boundary area (as defined by the consultation’s map) for non-designated heritage asset status.

– The Parish Council agreed to object to a Section 106 application for a pedestrian underpass between Riverwalk and Milburngate, citing concerns over disabled access and health and safety.

– The Parish Council agreed its five key Full Council priorities for 2022/23 as follows:

1. Being an ambitious voice for the city

2. Enhancing the physical and mental wellbeing of our residents and addressing inequalities in our parish

3. Upholding the Neighbourhood Plan and representing the parish on planning matters

4. Creating a positive environment for businesses and encouraging tourism to improve prosperity of parish

5. Taking action to combat the climate and ecological emergencies.

– The Parish Council agreed to submit a joint letter with the City of Durham Trust calling on the County Council to continue live streaming all Council meetings relevant to the City of Durham parish area.
The Parish Council also agreed to submit a letter to CDALC (the County Durham Association of Local Councils) to share its views and to hear the views from other fellow local Town and Parish Councils on this matter.

– The Parish Council agreed to request that a full review be undertaken by the County Council setting out a range of options for landlord licensing schemes in Durham City.

– The Parish Council agreed to delegate responsibility to its Business Committee and the Chairs of its Environment, Licensing and Planning Committees to respond to DCC’s consultation on the Durham City framework.

A series of masterplans to enhance the vibrancy of County Durham communities was discussed by County Councillors at the Cabinet meeting of Wednesday 17 November.

Durham County Council has prepared draft masterplans for Newton Aycliffe, Peterlee, Stanley, and Crook, Willington and Tow Law, as part of its Towns and Villages programme. Together with a new regeneration framework for Durham City and an updated version of the Chester-le-Street Masterplan, the documents set out projects aimed at boosting the prosperity of each location for generations to come.

From improving transport links and infrastructure, including creating new pedestrian and cycle routes; to enhancing leisure facilities, repurposing vacant buildings, expanding employment sites, installing free town centre Wi-Fi, and exploring opportunities to provide more housing – both public and private sector projects are included.

Durham County Council has been preparing masterplans for larger towns in the county for a number of years, as part of its commitment to regeneration and attracting investment.

The next round of masterplans has been brought forward to support future funding bids and the region’s recovery from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Durham County Council is also consulting on a masterplan for land at Sniperley Park, an allocation for a sustainable urban extension to deliver 1,700 new homes along with associated services and facilities to create a vibrant and self-sustaining mixed community.

A public consultation will take place on the masterplans for all of the towns from Monday 29 November to Friday 14 January next year.

Following the consultation, the final masterplans will support the council and its partners to bid for funding, providing a strategic overview of regeneration plans for the area.

To find out more about public consultation events, and to read and comment on the documents please visit www.durham.gov.uk/consultation or please call: 03000 267335 or 03000 261908 or 03000 263967.

This year, the City of Durham Parish Council will once again be hosting Durham City’s ‘Best Christmas Business Frontage Competition’. The competition aims to add an extra level of sparkle to Durham City during the festive season and hopes to promote businesses in the City of Durham Parish area as a whole to shoppers and visitors of our great City. The winner of each of the business categories will win a prize of £500.

An application form to enter this year’s competition can be found here

Eligibility
Any business within the City of Durham parish area and which has indicated that they wish to take part in the competition by completing and returning the form attached is eligible to take part in this year’s competition.

Judging and Judging Criteria
The window display that is judged must be the same as the display that will continue to be in the business window(s) throughout the Christmas period.

The competition is between individual businesses in each of the following categories: an independent business, a chain store, an indoor market stall, a non-retail business. Whilst businesses may choose to adopt a theme of their own, it is individual business displays that will be judged.

We will judge against the following criteria:
• Innovation and creativity. How new or different is the window display?
• Spirit of Christmas and festivity. How well does the display convey the ‘Spirit of Christmas’ and a festive message?
• Merchandising (not included in the non-retail category) how well does the business show case its merchandise to shoppers.
• Overall impression and visual impact. E.g. how well is the window lit up?
Judges will award up to 5 points for each of the criteria (a total of 20 for independent business, a chain store, an indoor market stall and 15 for the non-retail business). Judges will work together and will agree the score against each criterion and therefore the total score. The highest score from each of the business categories will win a £500 prize.

Judging
Judging will take on Tuesday 7th December from 4pm so please have your windows complete by this time. The results will be announced on Wednesday 8th December 2021.

Awards Presentation
The Awards presentation will take place at the City of Durham Parish Council Christmas Civic event at Durham Town Hall on Thursday 9th December between 6:30pm and 10pm. All winning businesses in each category will receive an invitation to the awards ceremony with further details after the final judging.

City of Durham Parish area

Like every city across the country, Durham has its issues of cigarette litter. The City of Durham Parish Council is really pleased to be launching its pocket ashtray campaign to tackle this issue. These pocket ashtrays are light-weight, reusable, biodegradable pouches which allow the user to put out their cigarette safely and cleanly without having to throw this on the ground. These pocket ashtrays are free of charge and can now be collected from most businesses across the City in hotspot areas.

Keeping our public spaces and local community safe, clean and green is very high on the agenda.

More than 70% of streets in the UK are affected by smoking litter, with busy spots like high streets and transport hubs having even more of a problem. That’s why the City of Durham Parish Council is targeting hot spot areas in our city with our pocket ashtrays campaign.

• These pocket ashtrays are a reusable anti-litter device designed to store your cigarette butts until you can dispose of them properly.
• They are a soft lightweight pouch with a fireproof lining to extinguish cigarettes and lock in smoke odours.
• They easily fit into your pocket whilst you’re out and about.
• You can also use these devices to store chewing gum inside them.

Cigarette litter is often time-consuming and expensive to clean-up because of its small size, as well as being unsightly where cigarette butts are allowed to accumulate.

Cigarette-related litter causes significant harm to our environment and to our health.
It may look like cotton, but 98 percent of cigarette filters are made of plastic fibers (cellulose acetate) that are tightly packed together. The plastic fibers in cigarettes are non-biodegradable, meaning they won’t organically break down from living organisms. Littered cigarette butts leach toxic chemicals—such as arsenic and lead, to name a few—into the environment and can contaminate water. The toxic exposure can poison fish, as well as animals who eat cigarette butts.

Smoking is the biggest cause of preventable deaths in England, accounting for nearly 80,000 deaths each year. One in two smokers will die from a smoking-related disease.
Every 15 cigarettes you smoke will cause a mutation in your body; mutations are how cancers start.
If you could see the damage, you’d stop.

Remember: smoking has a very detrimental impact on your health and its always best to try and quit smoking. We have the Quit Smoking helpline number on your pocket ashtray.

The Parish Council is also funding an enhanced neighbourhood warden who is issuing on-the-spot fines of £70 for chucking your cigarette butt on the ground. Please use your pocket ashtrays.

Help us eradicate cigarette-related litter in the city of Durham parish once and for all.

The City of Durham Parish Council is partnering with local businesses to make these available across the city.
If you’d like your own pocket ashtray free of charge If you own a business premises and you feel that your customers could benefit from these pocket ashtrays, get in touch with the City of Durham Parish Council via e-mail on parishclerk@cityofdurham-pc.gov.uk

Find out more about our campaign via our Facebook page and together lets keep the City that wonderful, clean and green place we all love.