Since the beginning of austerity this is the first budget where we’ve had an increase in Government funding. A series of one off spending commitments meant the Council had around an additional £17 million to use. Particularly aimed at dealing with the funding issues around care of the elderly, higher needs funding, and looked after […]

A revision of the bus timetables has resulted in the 21 service running between Durham and Newcastle to be reduced in half during the day on weekdays. While the X21 is to be increased in return, a service that does not operate from any bus stop within the North Lodge area. I cannot support such […]

During the last meeting of County Council we voted on a new vision for Durham County Council for the next 15 years. It has 3 key aims: More and Better Jobs, People Live Long and Independent Lives, and Connected Communities. I’ve been campaigning to ensure that this vision is lot fairer than our previous one. […]

Durham County Council has been celebrating its continued success in providing training experiences within the organisation. There are now 327 apprentices working for the Council, increase from last years figure of 121. I questioned what the Council is doing to ensure that they have a job to go to following their training. As too often […]

Following the Council’s 2018-2019 financial year, it reported an underspend of £11 million. This resulted in an increase in earmarked reserves of £5.6 million, with the rest being held within the individual departments. This money is being held for the Aykley Heads development, PFI costs, Acadmisation of schools, and Capital projects. I questioned the Council […]

July’s Cabinet tabled a report requesting just over £1 million from Durham County Council to refurbish Redhills. This miner’s hall that hosted the Pitman’s Parliament is in major need of substantial repairs. The funding is part a bid totaling almost £7 million, with money expected to come from the National Lottery Heritage Fund. We discovered […]

The living Christmas Tree located on Northlands roundabout has sadly died. What was left of it has been removed. The planting of a permanent tree was intended to be a more sustainable and cheaper alternative to having a disposable one. The Council’s Clean and Green team do not like to watch a project fail and […]

Durham County Council’s long-awaited second attempt of getting a planning policy faced its first electoral test in front of County Councillors. On 19th June a vote was held on whether the plan should be moved onto the next stage for independent review. This was approved with most opposition Councillors voting against it. I couldn’t support […]

This will be resuming during July. Highways England held an event for residents to drop into and have their question answered. They stated that the difficulties they faced they didn’t genuinely know how to solve them. This is the reason we haven’t heard anything from them in a while. They have entered into an agreement […]

Proposals have been put before the council to declare a ‘climate emergency’ and set targets as to when Durham County Council will become carbon neutral. These have been set to 60% carbon neutral by 2030 and 100% carbon neutral by 2050. Myself and the Lib Dems believe these aims lack ambition and we should aim […]