Harrowgate Hill

Meeting of Harrowgate Hill R.A.I.D

Gill Cartwright — Thu, 17 May 2012 09:22:27 +0000

Last night we had another meeting of the residents against inappropriate development group. This group was formed to protect the local community and the greenbelt land from any planning applications or schemes that we feel may be of harm to Harrowgate Hill.

We welcomed the news that the Council are focusing on extending the two current sites and a small number of other sites.

We have had two public meetings to discuss the councils proposals which raised many issues about the unsuitability of the site at the end of Glebe Road.

From the meeting we identified the following action points -

We feel that it is important that the Council leader Bill Dixon continues to work with the other Tees Valley local authorities to increase their Gypsy & Traveller provision. I asked Councillor Dixon at the last full council meeting to move this forward.

When the smaller sites are identified and made public, it is important that there is another public consultation to allow comments about these new sites as they were not included in the original consultation.

Traffic movement monitoring at Glebe Road and the entrance to Honeypot Lane have been requested to the council. These will demonstrate the potential for increased traffic volume.

The wildlife and Ecology of the site. There has been much work done around this with the group consulting with various organisations. This work is continue and is to become a permanent record of wildlife residing on the site.

Perhaps the most significant findings from all of our consultation is that this site has been used a right of way for at least 50 years. Therefore, we have decided as a group to apply to the council to make this a public right of way. As part of the process we will need to gather evidence from local people that this has been used for this purpose. From many discussions we have had we can provide evidence going back 50 years.

The group will next meet to discuss the evidence gathering to apply to the council for a public right of way.

This post was written by Gill Cartwright

Owner of Little Coffee Van

Housing plan for Harrowgate Hill infants site

Gill Cartwright — Sun, 06 May 2012 21:21:25 +0000

PLANS to build 14 new houses on the site of a former school are to be discussed by councillors next week.

The application for the L-shaped site, on the corner of Thompson Street West and Bowman Street, in Darlington, which also includes two flats, has been submitted by Walter Thompson Construction.

http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/local/darlington/9687653.Housing_plan_for_Harrowgate_Hill_infants_site/

This post was written by Gill Cartwright

Owner of Little Coffee Van

Harrowgate Hill R.A.I.D

Gill Cartwright — Sun, 06 May 2012 19:46:25 +0000

Following the first meeting of the campaign group to oppose the councils plans for the Gypsy & Traveller site at the end of Glebe on Wednesday 2nd, we have formed a residents action group named Harrowgate Hill R.A.I.D. (residents against inappropriate development).

Some of the issues that the group is going to investigate further are -

Wildlife/Defra/Natural England

Environment Agency

Network Rail

Countryside Rights of Way

Planning Policy

Gypsy & Traveller Policy

Highways Issues

Local Services – Dentist, Doctor & Schools

Provision of Gypsy pitches in other councils

Rationale for extension of Honeypot & Neasham

This post was written by Gill Cartwright

Owner of Little Coffee Van

Temporary Road Closure

Gill Cartwright — Tue, 01 May 2012 16:50:14 +0000

DARLINGTON BOROUGH COUNCIL

ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT 1984

(TEMPORARY ROAD CLOSURE) 2012

GLEBE ROAD, DARLINGTON

Whereas the Borough Council of Darlington, being the Highway Authority, is satisfied that such restriction is necessary to allow maintenance works by Darlington Borough Council, The Council in exercise of its powers under Section 14(2) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, hereby gives notice of the temporary closure as follows:

GLEBE ROAD From its junction with Salters Lane North, northwards for 140metres

OAKLAND GARDENS At its junction with Glebe Road

VERNON GARDENS At its junction with Glebe Road

An alternative route will be signed via Salters Lane North, North Road, Mayfair

Road, Laburnum Road and vice versa.

The maximum duration of the temporary closure under this notice is 5 days commencing from Monday 14^th May 2012

Dated 1^st Day of May 2012

R Alty

Director of Place

Town Hall

Darlington

DL1 5QT

This post was written by Gill Cartwright

Owner of Little Coffee Van

Proposed Changes to A167 Speed

Gill Cartwright — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 20:48:32 +0000

The PROPOSED changes are as follows;

There will be a 50mph ‘buffer zone’ commencing at or near the borough boundary. It was considered too much of a change to reduce it to 40 so soon after leaving the motorway. That will apply for about 400 yards over the brow and past the pub. It will then reduce to 40mph before the first house on Durham Road and will remain at 40 until it meets up with the existing 40. Durham Police have said they will enforce the new limit.

Residents have waited many years for this and are delighted.

This post was written by Gill Cartwright

Owner of Little Coffee Van

Response to the Gypsy Proposals for Glebe Road

Gill Cartwright — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 20:59:38 +0000

Following a meeting on Thursday 19th April in Harrowgate Hill Club to discuss the councils proposals for a Gypsy & Traveller site at the end of Glebe Road, we have from all the comments discussed at the meeting produced a letter to the council pointing out the unsuitability of the site.

To confirm validity the council require the letter to be signed with name and address. There are copies in Harrowgate Hill Club, Premier Shop on North Road, Marcel Hair Studio and Carries Salon which can be signed. I am presenting the letter to the planning department at the Town Hall on Monday.

Alternatively, you can print a copy of the letter below and mail to steve.petch@darlington.gov.uk

Gypsy & Traveller Proposals for Salter’s Lane West (GT041) in Harrowgate Hill Ward

On Thursday 20th April Councillor Gill Cartwright held a public meeting to discuss the proposals for the site known as GT041 Salter’s Lane West situated at the end of Glebe Road in Harrowgate Hill Ward.

The community opposes the Councils plans for a Gypsy & Traveller site at Salter’s Lane West on the following grounds –

1 The proposals are contrary to the Borough Council’s Policy CS 13 Accommodating Travelling Groups. Specifically:

a) Have appropriate access and are in a sustainable location for schools, shops, employment opportunities and other local facilities and services;

b) Are located and designed so as not to have an unacceptable negative impact on existing residential amenity or existing landscape character;

c) Are appropriate to provide a safe and healthy environment for residents;

d) Are located in areas not at risk from flooding.

2. CS 13 Accommodating Travelling Groups

(a). There is a shortage of school places in the area where the proposed site will be located. Harrowgate Hill Primary School and Whinfield Primary School are heavily over-subscribed and will be so for a number of years. Longfield Academy the nearest secondary school is also heavily over-subscribed. There are no schools within walking distance of the site which can accommodate children from the proposed site. Therefore this will result in children being bussed outside the area to school. The nearest doctor’s surgeries are at Whinbush Way which is 1.5 miles away from the proposed site and Denmark Street which is 1.1 miles from the site.

3. CS 13 Accommodating Travelling Groups

(b). The proposed site in a predominantly rural area will have an unacceptable negative impact on the rural landscape of the area and will be visually intrusive especially properties in Harrowgate Village on the A167.

4. CS 13 Accommodating Travelling Groups

(c). The land will not provide a safe and healthy environment for residents especially children because electricity pylons cross the land and the site is bounded to the east by the East Coast Main Railway line and there will be noise from the railway. There are areas where the fence protecting the railway line is insecure and could be accessed by children and horses.

5. CS 13 Accommodating Travelling Groups

(d). The land is at risk from flooding and is boggy and is unsuitable for pitches for gypsies and travellers on this basis.

6. The site is a green field site and we believe that the site should remain as a rural green field and continue to be used for allotments only. This site has been previously ear marked for allotment use and the allotment holders would like to see this land utilised for their use. There are over 500 people on the waiting list in Darlington waiting for an allotment allocation.

7. There is no indication in the proposals about how effluent from the site will be dealt with.

8. Ecology – There is extensive wildlife living on the proposed site. Deer, Hares, rabbits, ducks, geese, frogs, newts, Heron, coots and Mallards. We intend to liaise with DEFRA & Natural England to seek their views about the site.

9. The Council report states that the nearest residential properties are Birch Road and Maple Road. This is incorrect, the nearest properties are on the new estate built on the old Beaumont Hill Site.

10. Access to the proposed site is through a built up residential area and generated traffic movements from the site would cause significant disruption to Glebe Road and other roads in the area.

11. The access to public transport is 1km which is outside Darlington Borough Councils own policy which states that the distance should be ideally 200m and a maximum of 800m.

12. There are no children’s play facilities in the local area.

13. The site has been used as a common right of way through presumed dedication. We have evidence from many local people that they have been using this route for many years. Beaumont Hill School used this route to allow the children to enjoy the countryside.

14. We urge Darlington Borough Council to discuss with the other Tees Valley Councils the provision of more gypsies and travellers sites in their areas and the provision should not fall on Darlington to have largest number of pitches. We note that Hartlepool does not have any pitches at present but would have 9 sites, Stockton would have 65 sites, Redcar and Cleveland would have 20 sites and Middlesbrough 20 sites by the end of 2012 whereas Darlington is expected to have 82 sites by the end of 2012

In Conclusion

We believe that the current sites at Honeypot Lane & Neasham Road should be extended to provide the extra pitches needed. This makes common sense as the infrastructure is already in place and would be less of a burden to the Darlington Taxpayer. These two sites are well established Gypsy & Traveller sites and widely accepted within the communities in which they reside.

This post was written by Gill Cartwright

Owner of Little Coffee Van

Harrowgate Hill Highways Issues

Gill Cartwright — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 18:53:45 +0000

Following my briefing with Highways Department today, I can provide some updates on schemes & issues that affect Harrowgate Hill.

Longfield Road.

Some time ago the council consulted on a proposed 20mph scheme for Longfield Road. The majority of residents were against the plans because of the speed bumps. The scheme has now been revised to include NO speed bumps but instead there will be crossing points and an upgrade of the islands with illuminated bollards. There will an official briefing in 2 weeks which will include public consultation. More details to follow.

Longfield Road crossing island near Premier shop.

This island and the safety barrier have been victim many times to HGVs unable to negotiate the left turn from North Road onto Longfield. Several options were drawn up to address this problem but some of them involved the loss of residents parking. The option favoured by Highways and supported by myself is the erection of a no left turn for HGVs from North Road onto Longfield. It is interesting that I first made this suggestion over 2 years ago but was told at the time that it was not possible!

North Road Bus Shelter

Following the completion of the cycle path scheme on the corner of North Road and Salters Lane, the bus shelter was removed and the bus stop moved to outside of the new houses on the old Shell Garage site. The new bus stop does not incorporate a shelter and many residents told me that they were unhappy about not being provided with shelter whilst waiting for a bus as this is a well used bus stop.

I consulted extensively with residents and was told that they favoured the stop being moved back to its original location with a shelter provided. The council produced 3 options for the provision of a bus shelter, none of which were deemed appropriate. Any enquiries about this can be directed to andy.casey@darlington.gov.uk

Burtree Lane Roundabout

The mini roundabout at Trevone Way remains an issue for people living on Harrowgate Farm. This has been an ongoing issue for over 6 years now. I have asked the council to review this again.

Burtree Lane Speed

During the next 12 months all roads are having their speed limits reviewed. Burtree Lane as a C Class road will be reviewed during the next 12 months. I am going to request some Community Speedwatch sessions at the next PACT meeting.

Glebe Road

Following the completion of the 3 new housing estates on the sites of the old Beaumont Hill Schools, Glebe Road is at last being re-surfaced. This is great news as Glebe must the worst road in Darlington!

Harrowgate Farm

I have asked the Highways Inspector to check for wear & tear to the speed bumps and the red textured areas on the roads.

Harrowgate Village

I have asked Streetscene to clear the blocked gully outside No1 as this causes North Road to flood.

Verge Hardening

The council no longer have a budget for verge hardening. This is not good news for Harrowgate Hill as we have the most streets in the Darlington on the waiting list.

Mayfair Road Bus Service

During my year away from the subsidy to provide the bus service for Mayfair Road, Laburnum & Glebe Road has been removed. From June residents living in that area will have to walk to either North Road or Salters Lane to catch a bus. This is disgraceful as their are many elderly and disable people in that part of our ward. I gathered 2 petitions to stop this happening and provided the council with a good case to maintain the subsidy of this service.

This post was written by Gill Cartwright

Owner of Little Coffee Van

Welcome back and thanks

Gill Cartwright — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 17:18:38 +0000

On the 12th April I was re-elected as ward councillor for Harrowgate Hill Ward.

Thanks to everyone who voted for me, its great to be back.

Harrowgate Hill was in need of a councillor who lives locally and understands the local issues.

It has been a busy 2 weeks with 2 meetings already about the Gypsy & Traveller plans for Glebe Road. A letter highlighting the unsuitability of the site is being handed into the council on Monday.

This post was written by Gill Cartwright

Owner of Little Coffee Van

PACT Meeting

Gill Cartwright — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 20:19:31 +0000

Minutes of Harrowgate Hill PACT meeting held at Harrowgate Hill Institute, Salter’s Lane North, Darlington at 1830 hrs on the 19th January 2011

Present: Community Police/Partners
Six present �
PC Dawson 1363
Gill Cartwright (DBC)
John Herdman (DBC Dog warden)

1. Minutes of previous meeting
The previous minutes were agreed as correct.
2. Previous months PACT Priorities

PC Dawson gave an overview of the results of the PACT priorities for last month as follows:

Longfield Road Speeding.

Deployed speedwatch once, 110 vehicles monitored no offences. 7 Patrols at key times undertaken including RPU no offences.

It was decided by all present to close this priority as it was felt this priority had been addressed as far as possible.

Burtree Lane speeding.

5 patrols at key times were undertaken no offences.

Speedwatch deployed once, 80 vehicles monitored no offences.

Traffic offences monitored on 6 occasions at the mini roundabout.

It was decided by all present to close this priority as it was felt this priority had been addressed as far as possible.

Dog fouling in Glebe Road/Green Lane

6 Patrols by police early morning and evenings. Dog warden numerous patrols undertaken 3 fines issued, discussions with walkers, it was noticed that dog walkers were also arriving in vehicles out the area.

Actions from previous meeting

Gill Cartwright stated that the various queries for the Highways had not been answered and that they can not attend PACT meetings due to staff shortages. All agreed this was not acceptable; however the following queries will be chased with Highways to a successful conclusion.

Actions:

The depression in the road behind the bus terminus in North Road, survey details required.

A local resident pointed out that vehicles are not stopping at the mini roundabout at the top of Burtree Lane which could cause an accident with traffic from Harrowgate farm. Suggestions put forward were to raise the hump, at the roundabout, check signage approaching the roundabout, speed humps in the road for speeding and ban HGV vehicles

.A discussion took place about the narrowness of the road at the junction of Longfield Road and North Road for HGV vehicles even when there are no obstructions by vehicles. It was decided this would be added to the list of issues for the Highways to address.

Gill confirmed that the only issue that had some feedback was a letter from Durham Constabulary traffic management. It stated that due to no accidents occurring here that no plans would be put in force.

2. January/February PACT Priorities

PC Dawson invited comments from the floor regarding ideas for setting this months priorities.

Therefore the priorities for the month were set as follows:

Deter dog fouling Washbrooke Drive.

Deter ASB/under age drinking Bowman Street.
Deter dwelling Burglaries Longfield Road/Whessoe Road

3. Any Other Business

A resident highlighted a parking obstruction on Salters Lane North opposite the Harrowgate Club between 8 and 9am most most days.

Action: Police to patrol, monitor and deal with offenders.

Pc Dawson gave detailed crime figures for December 2010 with an overview of figures as below:

Harrowgate Hill Recorded Crime rate (December 2010)

Number of Crimes:

22, decrease of 15%

46% detection rate

Number of Burglary Dwellings:

4, up 264%

25% detection rate YTD

Number of Theft of Motor Vehicle:

1, Increase 100%

50% detections

number of Theft From Motor Vehicle:

1, decrease of 60%

40% detection rate

Number of All Criminal Damage:

6, increase 3%

19% detection rate

Number of theft of a pedal cycle:

1, increase of 233%

24 incidents of ASB in the area last month.

This post was written by Gill Cartwright

Owner of Little Coffee Van

Whessoe Road Legal Case Update

Gill Cartwright — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 11:32:41 +0000

To bring you up to date with the legal proceedings by the Environment Agency against Anthony Shepherd in relation to the activities that we are all familiar with that had been taking place at the site next to Drinkfield Marsh known as 630 Whessoe Road.

Friday 21^st January is the plea and case management hearing at Teesside Crown Court at 10.00am. There are three defendents, Brain Shaun Wright, Raymond Anthony Shepherd and Albert Road Skip Hire; they will all be invited to make separate pleas, guilty or not guilty.

If the plea is not guilty, then a date will be set for a hearing where the EA will present the evidence that they have gathered.

If the plea is guilty, then a date will be set for sentencing. In the Crown Court there is no limit on fines and there could be a custodial sentence.

The hearing is open to members of the public.

There have been critisim made in the past at the lack of action and the slow response by the Environment Agency to the actviites that have been taking place at this site. On November 14th Harrowgate Farm Residents association arranged a protest in order to highlight what they thought was lack of action by the Agency.

So, it is a positive step forward that the case is finally to be heard on Friday this week. We await the outcome with interest.

This post was written by Gill Cartwright

Owner of Little Coffee Van