City of Durham Parish Council

City of Durham Parish Council logo

Durham Children’s Book and Fun Day – 22nd July 2021

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Kids will love Durham Children’s Book and Fun Day …

This year, the City of Durham Parish Council is delighted to partner with the Durham Markets Company and local authors to co-host a book and fun day for children in Durham on Thursday 22nd July, 2021 | 10am – 5pm.

It’s all about bringing books to life for kids … and giving them a great day out in the heart of Durham.

With entertainment and activities in the Market Place, Prince Bishops Shopping Centre, Walkergate (in front of the Gala Theatre) from 10am to 5pm.

In the Market Place; enjoy the Authors’ Marquee, hear authors talk about their books, meet them, ask them those questions you’ve always wanted to ask! Join The Singing Elf for arts and crafts. Come and have your face painted, and find stalls selling drinks, take-away food, and treats.

On the Entrance Ramp to the Market Hall; meet the mini beasts with Bugs ‘n’ Stuff!

In Prince Bishops; meet the Illustrators and learn some tricks of the trade with Kylie Dixon, Jenny Ulyatt and Alfie Joey. Play Old Fashioned Fairground Games including Spin The Wheel, Hook-a-Duck, and Hoopla (land your hoop on the tail of Bertie from Bertie’s Play Barn) and make the most of free FacePainting too.

In Millennium Place; in the Marquee, join Durham Wildlife Trust for wildlife-themed arts and crafts. Meet Simon Berry and illustrator Miles Nelson of The Gilesgate Story Challenge. Take on the Story Book Treasure Trail and find out about their wildlife themed competition! And enjoy Kids Bee Happy SandArt with Jennifer.

All events and activities are free to attend – but if you wish to buy one of the authors’ books, then there will be a cost.

Some events/ activities will be 50% ticketed and 50% first come / first served on the day. See below for ticketing that has been launched.

This event is being run by Durham Markets in partnership with Jenny Pearson, Prince Bishops Shopping Centre and Walkergate Durham. It is kindly supported by City of Durham Parish Council, Durham BID and Radio Newcastle.

Schedule for Author’s Marquee in Durham Market Place

10.15am to 11.15am – Catherine Emmett, writer of King of the Swamp, and The Pet: Cautionary Tales for Children and Grown-ups. CLICK HERE TO BOOK YOUR FREE TICKETS FOR CATHERINE EMMETT NOW.

11.30am to 12.30am – Gabrielle Kent, writer of the Knights and Bikes series, and the Alfie Bloom books. CLICK HERE TO BOOK YOUR FREE TICKETS FOR GABRIELLE KENT NOW.

12.45pm to 1.45pm – Jenny Pearson, writer of The Super Miraculous Journey of Freddie Yates, and The Incredible Record Smashers. CLICK HERE TO BOOK YOUR FREE TICKETS FOR JENNY PEARSON NOW.

2pm to 3pm – Sam Copeland, writer of Charlie Changes into a Chicken, Charlie Turns into a T-Rex, Charlie Morphs into a Mammoth, and Uma and the Answer to Absolutely Everything. CLICK HERE TO BOOK YOUR FREE TICKETS FOR SAM COPELAND NOW.

3.15pm to 4.15pm – Thomas Rogers’ takes you to the World of Snorp, with storytelling and a creative writing workshop. CLICK HERE TO BOOK YOUR FREE TICKETS FOR THOMAS ROGERS NOW.

Schedule for Prince Bishops Illustrators Workshops
10am to 11am – Kylie Dixon, writer and illustrator of The Magical World of Mushroom Marvellous First Session. Advance tickets are sold out – but there will be ‘walk-up’ places on the day.

11.15am to 12.15pm – Kylie Dixon, writer and illustrator of The Magical World of Mushroom Marvellous Second Session. Advance tickets are sold out – but there will be ‘walk-up’ places on the day.

12.30pm to 1.30pm – Jenny Ulyatt Animal Painting Workshop. CLICK HERE TO BOOK YOUR FREE TICKETS ANIMAL PAINTING WORKSHOP NOW.

1.45pm to 2.45pm – Jenny Ulyatt Animal Painting Workshops. CLICK HERE TO BOOK YOUR FREE TICKETS ANIMAL PAINTING WORKSHOP SESSION TWO NOW.

3pm to 3.45pm – Alfie Joey, cartoonist with new book Dog’s Friends (and Radio Newcastle Breakfast Show presenter). CLICK HERE TO BOOK YOUR FREE TICKETS FOR ALFIE JOEY SESSION ONE NOW.

4pm to 4.45pm – Alfie Joey, cartoonist with new book Dog’s Friends (and Radio Newcastle Breakfast Show presenter). CLICK HERE TO BOOK YOUR FREE TICKETS ALFIE JOE SESSION TWO NOW.

Durham Team Speaks At UNESCO Meeting

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On Monday 21st June UNESCO in Paris held a Zoom meeting on the topic of the Historic Urban Landscape initiative for World Heritage Sites in urban locations. A team from the Durham Castle and Cathedral World Heritage Site and the City of Durham Neighbourhood Plan Working Party were invited to speak. They presented a case study ‘Neighbourhood Plans: supporting a World Heritage Site‘.

You can read the Durham presentation.

HUL-Anniversary-Durham-presentation

The meeting was recorded and is available on YouTube.

Previously the City of Durham Parish Council submitted the Neighbourhood Plan to UNESCO as an example of management practices, events, and activities related to World Heritage and historic cities. The Neighbourhood Plan contains policies to protect and enhance the World Heritage Site and the heritage and green and blue assets within the setting surrounding the World Heritage Site.

Theme 2(a): A beautiful and Historic City – Heritage
Theme 2(b): A Beautiful and Historic City – Green Infrastructure

The Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) is an approach to the management of heritage resources by recognising the wider context in which they are placed. This includes the broader urban context and its geographical setting, the social and cultural context and the interconnections between all these tangible and intangible elements.

Significance of the City of Durham Parish Council logo

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In support of the City of Durham Parish Council’s aims for the future of the parish, our logo celebrates the forces that have helped shape the Durham we see today.

its nationwide contacts via north- south road and railway routes
its unique townscape shaped by the river banks
its past associations with the black diamond of coal
its reputation as the ‘jewel in the crown’ forged by religion, university and commerce
its protection by the encircling green belt of open countryside.

Parish Council election and Neighbourhood Plan referendum results

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On 6th May 2021, residents of the City of Durham Parish area went to the polls to elect their new Parish Councillors and to also vote on the Neighbourhood Plan referendum.

The results of the local Parish elections have now been announced and a full list of all those elected can be found via the website link here: https://www.durham.gov.uk/parishelectionresults2021

At the Neighbourhood Plan referendum, residents were asked the question: “Do you want Durham County Council to use the Neighbourhood Plan for Durham City to help it decide planning applications in the neighbourhood area?”. At the referendum, 85.6% (4306 votes) voted in favour of adopting the Neighbourhood Plan. The Neighbourhood Plan has now been formally adopted as the Development Plan for the area.

A copy of the referendum version of the Neighbourhood Plan can be found online here: http://npf.durhamcity.org.uk/the-plan/the-plan-as-pdf/

The Parish Council wishes to thank all those who have supported the production of the Neighbourhood Plan.

Applications now open for Parish Council grant funding

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The funding window has now opened for grant applications to the City of Durham Parish Council and local community and voluntary organisations are invited to apply.

A copy of the application form can be found here: Grant application form 2021-22

A copy of the Parish Council’s grant awarding policy can be found here: City of Durham Parish Council Grants Policy

The funding window opened on the 1st April 2021 and a decision on all applications will be made at the Parish Council’s Full Council meeting on 24th June 2021. Applications must be submitted no later than 1st June 2021.

The City of Durham Parish Council is extremely proud to support local community and voluntary organisations through its grant awards again this year. There are an amazing amount on groups in our parish who are doing invaluable work to make the lives of our residents better and its right that we do all we can to support these hard-working dedicated volunteers who too often go unsung in our communities. This is really an avenue of support for these organisations which did not exist prior to the Parish Council being set up and this year the Parish Council has agreed a total fund of £20,000 towards grants for local groups. As with every year, we are keen to support as many groups as we possibly can, particularly in light of the obvious challenges which the Covid-19 pandemic has presented.

If you have any queries about the application process, please do not hesitate to contact our Parish Clerk Adam via e-mail at parishclerk@cityofdurham-pc.gov.uk