Crossgate Community Partnership: Minutes

Minutes of the meeting, 7th September 2023

1. Attendance

Roger Cornwell (in the Chair): Lesley Aers, Robert Banks, Gillian Banks, Ann Evans, Margaret Jefferson, Brendan McKeown, Pat Mussett, Simon Priestley, David Ramsden, Jean Rogers, Ann Stokes, Sarah Wilkinson.
Cllr Esther Ashby.
Cllr Liz Brown.

2. Apologies for absence

were received from: Joan Adams, Emma Backhouse, Morag E. Crichton, Chris Hugill, Vicky Mattless, Malcolm Reed, Judi Webb,, Joe Witherspoon
Cllr Victoria Ashfield, Cllr Alan Doig, Cllr Carole Lattin, Cllr Susan Walker.

3. The minutes of the August meeting

were amended a) to add the name of Cllr Esther Ashby to the list of those present and b) to clarify that building work was not currently in progress at 24 Nevilledale, but that builders working on other properties were currently residing there. With these changer the minutes were approved as a correct record.

4. Appointment of Secretary

Simon Priestley has been proposed, and there were no other candidates. The meeting unanimously approved the appointment of Simon Priestley as Secretary.

5. Draft Conservation Area Management Plan

The Durham County Council Conservation Team are consulting about planned changes to the Durham City Conservation Area. The proposal is to split the city-wide conservation area into six or seven smaller areas; the meeting confined its discussion to the Crossgate area.
We attempted to discuss the highlighted points in order, but kept returning to problems arising from the map provided, which was generally felt to be unhelpful: the reduced size did not help, but even at full size the complicated boundary was difficult to follow; the use of shading to indicate the conservation area would have facilitated discussion. Bob Banks pointed out that the complexity of the border suggested a desire to maintain a single continuous demarcation line, with no enclaves or exclaves. There was a risk that buildings which would have been included in the CA on merit were being excluded in the interests of maintaining a continuous border. In addition, the map did not show whether areas outwith the boundary were included in other conservation areas in the city, or were excluded from conservation area status altogether; we would react differently to these two cases.

1. Northern boundary: while the railway line is an obvious boundary, the drawing of the line had the curious effect of giving conservation status to a stretch of railway line; perhaps this was justified by the inclusion of the cutting. Cllr Liz Brown regretted the exclusion of the former petrol station site. Jean Rogers commented that the characterisation of the area as part of the nineteenth century industrial expansion of the city understated the green and leafy nature of the area, and prepared the ground for some later exclusions.
2. Boundary between Crossgate / North Road Conservations areas: this point referred to burgage plots, but Bob was not convinced this was appropriate. Simon pointed out that there was also a proposal to bring Sutton Street within Crossgate, and this was generally thought to be appropriate.
3. The removal of Farnley Ridge etc. was generally unpopular. Liz felt that Farnley Hey had some good Edwardian houses, and that Farnley Ridge was not without interest: Gillian Banks had a vague memory of associating it with a well-known modernist architect. More generally, as a recent planning decision has demonstrated, this area is of value as part of the setting of the World Heritage Site, and its inclusion in the Conservation Area gives some protection to the trees and gardens which contribute to this (and to the more immediate setting of the viaduct). There was also an argument that the richness of the mix of housing in this area is a reason for, rather than against, its inclusion in the CA.
4. The inclusion of St John's Church and war memorial was not controversial.
5. Proposal to remove St Margaret's school buildings and grounds: no-one argued for the architectural merit of the school buildings, but the grounds were felt to be of value. There was a general suspicion that removing CA status from the buildings would leave the surrounding greenery very vulnerable. What was the benefit of doing this? (We realised our discussion was hampered by not having a clear idea od thew purpose of the whole exercise).
6. The two remaining highlighted totpics were outside our area of activity.
7. However, we were concerned that St John's Road was only half in the CA: this is a very historic route, formerly part of the Great North Road. There was also concern at the omission of Percy House. (Other locations whose omission caused concern - the cemetery and lodge, Grays Terrace, Redhills - were included in the adjacent area).

Roger would draw together the notes of the discussion, and would then consult with Simon, Chris Hugill and Ann Evans.

6. 4 Nevilledale Terrace and 1 Beechcrest - unauthorised works

a) A planning application has been received for 4 Nevilledale with respect to the windows, but not for other works. The property is on the market, listed as a 5-bedroomed house with potential to rent. Liz has referred this to Enforcement.

b) An application had been received to concert 1 Beechcrodt to 3 flats (use class C3). Liz was sceptical that the height of attic rooms would meet legal standards. The ground floor flat has already been let.

7. 24 Nevilledale Terrace - update

Additional plans have been uploaded to the planning portal; these seem mostly concerned with waste bins and bicycle storage. There is no written material, so this does not answer queries about access. Roger will draft a further letter of objection, in consultation with Sarah Wilkinson,

8. Faded road markings in Allergate and elsewhere

Margaret Jeffersin reported that the concrete surface of Allergate is breaking up, and the yellow lines are very faded. Traffic is going through very fast. She has reported this to ward councillor Richard Ormerod, but has not heard back from him.
Pat Mussett added that the line at the foot of the Peth is badly obscured; Liz has already reported this.
In general, Liz recommended reporting faded road markings via the Coucil's 'Do It Online' service.

9. Report from County Councillor

Liz was delighted with the new fence at Flass Well.
She had met with Megan Patterson about her studentification project, which she had brought to our July meeting.
St Leonard's school, suffering extensive closures because of RAAC concrete, had been offered interim teaching space by the University and at County Hall; some teaching was also taking place at the Radisson Hotel.
Robinson had used concrete tiles on Colpitts Terrace.
She urged members to attend the Planning Committee at County Hall the following Tuesday.

10. Report from Parish Councillor

Esther was very concerned about the Bus Station: she had visited CCTV HQ with Liz, where she had learned that it was no longer planned to have a constant police presence at the bus station.
The Miners' Hall in the North Road was soon to be a nightclub / karaole bar called "Happiness". This requires Listed Building consent. The application is for illuminated signage, which is described as "very subtle".
The Business Committee and Environment Committee are working very hard on Back Silver Street / Fowlers Yard.
The Parish is also working towards a better procedure for spending section 106 money.

11. Other Business

Roger drew members' attention to the memorial plaque to Captain Isidore Newman which has appeared in Hawthorn Terrace.

12. Date of next meeting

The next meeting will be held on Tuesday 3rd October 2023.