Crossgate Community Partnership: Minutes

Minutes of the meeting, 3rd October 2023

1. Attendance: Roger Cornwell (in the Chair): Joan Adams, Lesley Aers, Max Arnold, Emma Backhouse, Gillian Banks, Robert Banks, [Alexis Cleveland], Alastair Edge, Ann Evans, Donna Grant, Martin Hiles, Chris Hugill, Drew Lowrie, Brendan McKeown, Pat Mussett, Simon Priestley, David Ramsden, Jean Rogers, Alan Shearer, Ann Stokes, Rachel Toes, Glen Walker, Judi Webb, Sarah Wilkinson, Joe Witherspoon,
Cllr Victoria Ashfield, Cllr Susan Walker.
2. Apologies for absence: were received from: Morag E. Crichton, Vicky Mattless, Malcolm Reed,
Cllr Esther Ashby, Cllr Alan Doig, Cllr Grenville Holland, Cllr Carole Lattin,
Cllr Liz Brown,
Chris Hindmarsh.; The meeting sent birthday greetings to John Ashby, this being the occasion for the absence of Cllr Esther Ashby.
3. The minutes of the September meeting: were approved as a correct record.
4. 4 Nevilledale Terrace and 1 Beechcrest - unauthorised works: a) Sarah Wilkinson reported that 4 Nevilledale was on the market at a price which had been reduced but was still above the going rate. It was possible that someone was living in the house, as the back gate had now been secured. She had not seen a site notice for the retrospective application for planning consent: this meant that the deadline for comments was not yet set. Both the City of Durham Trust and the Parish Council had already submitted very solid objections.; b) Alastair Edge had been assured by the purchaser of 1 Beechcrest that "my parents are going to move in." It was clearly divided into two flats, and the application to convert to three was suggesting that this had already been the case when the property was purchased. Roger Cornwell pointed out that the "self-contained" flats would share a front door; this was a factor which had carried weight in the refusal of a similar application at 4 North End. Cllr Susan Walker added that the Parish Council had asked for the application to to be called to committee. She noted that access to the top floor kitchen appeared to be via the bedroom. Drew Lowrie noted that parents of pupils at St Margaret's school were of the opinion that, for the first time in memory, the school is undersubscribed: this suggests a demographic change in the neighbourhood.
Roger was asked to consult Alastair, and to draft an objection to this application on behalf of the CCP.
5. 24 Nevilledale Terrace - update: The application had been refused, on the grounds of loss of amenity. The number of members of the public present to support the objection appeared to have carried weight, and members were urged to attend Planning Committee when it considered applications of this kind.
The property is apparently for sale, but there are reports (more than one) that people seeking details are being told that the house is actually not for sale but to rent.
6. Tesco Market Place: shortage of staffed checkouts: Emma Backhouse pointed out that Tesco in the Market Place has now only one staffed checkout; all other tills are automated, and card-only. This is discriminatory: at the very least, automated checkouts are able to accept cash as well as cards, and ought to do so. While increased autimation might be seen as an attempt to appeal to the student market, it was noticeable that the long queue for the sole staffed till consists of students as well as permanent residents.
Members agreed that this is an unwelcome change, but were uncertain what action the CCP could take. Roger suggested that the issue affects the whole City of Durham parish, and will write to the Parish Clerk about it.
7. Update on works in Rushford Court: Chris Hindmarsh, Durham University's Project Manager for Rushford Court, had planned to attend the meeting and give an update on the imminent building works, but had been prevented by a family crisis. Works were scheduled to run for 62 weeks from August 2023, so presumably the aim was to open in the new form in October 2024. Members had questions about the management of traffic during building works, hours of work, piling, potential for noise; should we seeks a site visit? Chris had offered to defer his visit for a month, and it was agreed that, despite the possibility that Mary Foy MP may be able to attend, we should accept this offer.
8. Parking issues: a) Emma reported that residents in Hawthorn Terrace and adjacent streets had been given four days notice of resurfacing work, for which they were asked to move their cars; some were absent at the time, and returned home to find work had been carried out round parked cars. Having had all summer to do this work, the Council had elected to wait until student houses were occupied, and streets filled with parked cars. The yellow lines had not (yet) been reinstated, and students were treating this as license to park anywhere, including close to road junctions. Emma had attempted to raise the issue with DCC, but her case had been logged as "issue resolved." Cllr Liz Brown was aware of the problem.
In addition, the quality of the surface was very poor: Avenue residents compared it to the resurfacing work done there, which was already in need of further repair.
Roger would liaise with Liz about the best way to advance this through the Council's formal procedures.; b) Ann Evans had received a circular letter addressed to 'Dear Avenue residemt' asking for the loan of a parking permit, and asked, how do students obtain parking permits? Students arrive at the start of the year, bringing cars with them and assuming that parking will be available: how can this expectation be modified? Bob Banks clarified that the deciding factor in eligibility for residents' parking permits is not the permanent / student status, but the date of the development in which you live: houses converted to HMO after 2000 are not entitled to parking permits, whoever lives there. Alexis Cleveland thought that the Parking Shop do not implement this rule. Sarah confirmed this: she had counted 31 student cars, and had sent a list of homes converted after 2000 to the Parking Shop, who denied that there was any difference.
Roger would liaise with Liz about persuading the Parking Shop to enforce.
9. Utility Companies - failure to make good after works: Brendan McKeown has been following this issue for some 25 years. It is particularly noticeable in Neville Street, where the Conservation Area status means that the cobbled road surface must be reinstated, while the gradient of the street makes this a particularly difficult task. There has been a progressive process of decay, with utility companies laying tarmac to replace the surface they have disturbed, although this is not an adequate replacement, and causes underground leaks. The damage has become worse since the closure of the North Road re-routed heavy trucks up Neville Street. This is not the only location in the City where the Council is incurring the costs of repairs because it has failed to ensure that utilities companies meet their obligations, yet there appears to be no council officer whose responsibility it is to ensure this is done. Since Cllr Richard Ormerod has a double interest in this issue, both as ward councillor for Neville Street and as Chair of the Highways Committee, Brendan was encouraged to raise the issue directly with him.
10. Report from Neighbourhood Wardens: A written report had been circulated earlier that day. A response from those who had seen it was that they seem to spend much of their time looking after students. Cllr Victoria Ashfield praised their work.
11. Reports from Parish Councillors: a) Toria reported that the Safety of Women at Night (SWaN) hub had come to the end of its government funding. The Parish will provide seed funding, and hope to encourage others to contribute.
She had been unable to persuade the owner of an unsightly gable end to allow her to conceal it with planting; but they would accept a mural. She had identified a potential artist, and was now looking for ideas for a subject; b) Susan reported that the land at the end of Laburnum Avenue had been cleared, and the fruit trees for the community orchard ordered.
12. Date of next meeting: The next meeting will be held on Thursday 2nd November 2023.