I’ve had two responses to my complaint to Peter Reynolds at Derwentside Council about tipping at the back of the Empire.

The first was a promise of action, together with some new pictures showing the willingness to dump stuff anywhere. Did they climb the ladder specially to dump stuff up there?

The second I print below, telling me that the area has been cleared.

“I understand that this site has now been cleared.  The complaint was dealt with by Ian Redshaw within Environmental Health who used our powers under Section 78 Public Health Act 1936 (Scavenging of common courtyards).

The yard was cleaned up on Wednesday 20th by our General Services operatives and the costs charged to Environmental Health.  They will in turn reclaim that sum by billing all the properties who open onto the area for a proportion of the amount.  This has been done in the past on a number of occasions when refuse has built up in the area.  Discussions will continue on the case as it is expected that we may need to do it again in the future.  A lot of the problem seems to be caused by market traders using this area as a dumping ground for their refuse on market days.”  

I’ll be down with my camera tomorrow to see if I can let you have a shot of the improvements. Obviously, though, we’re going to keep an eye on the problem. It won’t go away unless there is a long term resolution.

There are a number of events taking place in Derwentside to mark International Women’s Day, some in Consett and some in Stanley. I’ve listed the Consett ones here but if you want to know what’s on offer in Stanley, just let me know.

On Tuesday March 4th Gosford Park will be shown at the Empire Theatre, with free admission for women, and tea/coffee included after the film.

 On Thursday March  6th there’s free entry for women at the Swimming Baths from 1.00 to 4.00, to take part in the normal public swinm session.

On Friday March 7th there’s an event from 9.30 to 3.15 at the Civic Hall with talks, stalls, drop-in sessions, a free lunch and a free creche. There will also be a balloon release  at 11.00 a.m. compered by Century FM Radio presenter, Judie McCourt. To find out more, ring Toshie Habu on 01207 218207 or email her at t.habu@derwentside.gov.uk .

On Friday March 7th there’s also a bike ride from the Civic Centre from 12.15 to 1.45. All equipment including a bike, helmet, gloves and water are supplied. To reserve a place please contact the Derwentside Lifestyle Initiative Office on 0127 218871.

 The events in Stanley will include an exhibition by, and an art workshop with, Susan warlock (Tel 01207 218899 for information), a free swim and a self defence class (Tel 01207 218871 for information).

Distributing Focus leaflets last weekend I handed one to an elector I had not met before. He looked at it before commenting, “Ah, Liberal Democrats. The only active political party in the area.”

As you might guess, I was pleased with this response and looking forward to confirmation that this was an as yet unrecognised supporter. I was less encouraged by his next comment, however, which was “What’s the point?”

He went on to explain how he felt that having the unitary council forced upon us despite our local “referendum” was having the powers that be “spit in the face of democracy”.

I don’t know whether he and his partner, deeply concerned about whether Belle Vue will get built on when the new sports centre is built, will vote in the May election. If they do, I don’t know who they’ll vote for.

What I do, know, though, is that unless local political parties connect with people and allow them to feel that they can have an influence over what happens in their communities, local government will lose all pracical and moral authority. It’s a serious challenge.

It’s depressing to walk down the street to the rear of the Empire. You are confronted by a jumble of bins, rubbish and waste that spill onto the street.

So who is responsible for the the mess, and what are they going to be made to do about it?

Those are the questions I have put to Peter Reynolds, Director of Environmental Services for Derwentside Council.

The situation must be a hazard, whether in terms of fire risk, danger to children exploring, or the health hazrd of what appear in places to be rotting materials.

It’s not a new problem, and clean ups have occurred before, but it is essential that we move forward to a situation where the people responsible for the site take their responsibilities seriously and earn the respect of the people of Consett.

I hope they can be persuaded to do so. If they can’t, they will have to be forced to.

Apparently the order which will enable elections to take place for the County Durham Unitary authority has not yet been made. So here we all are, councils, political parties and would-be candidates, gearing up for an election on May 1st that might never happen.

It’s all down to the Department for Communities and Local Government. So that’s alright then. It’s the one John Precott used to run so it’s bound to be competent.

It’s been encouraging. A steady increase in the number of hits on the site, and then last night when I logged on to administer the site there were four comments waiting to be moderated.

I was suprised if the loose railing outside Lloyds TSB had roused so much interest, but perhaps someone was going to tell me what was causing the phenomenon.

Sadly, all four comments were offers of some dubious pharmaceuticals, probably considered suitable for a man of my age. But they did remind me to ask any readers, “who are you?”

I’d really be interested in the answer to that, and in the idea of this website being open to two way conversation. Just drop me a comment, and say if you want it to be anonymous. Let me know what has interested you, what has bored you. Let me know if yours is a one-off visit or you drop in regularly.

At the moment I don’t know if this website is any more use than the councillor’s surgery I have run each month for six months, with just one visitor in that time. So that’s why I’d really like to hear from you.

This is the second railing in a month that I have seen in Consett where the bolt is missing and the railing therefore dangerously loose.

The last one was outside Boyes store opposite the Library. This one is outside the former Lloyds TSB on the corner of Sherburn Terrace and Station Road.

I don’t know what has caused it, but I certainly hope for a quicker response this time. I reported the last one to the Highways Action Line ( http://www.durham.gov.uk/durhamcc/usp.nsf/pws/8025694D002ACDA4802571C300433915?opendocument ) but got no feedback and the railing was lying in the gutter a week later.

I reported this new one today and will let you know what happens this time. I’d appreciate anyone letting me know what their own experience has been of the Highways Action Line. My first experience was excellent, the second not. I’d like to build up the picture.

I’m sorry that no-one else has commented on Dominic Haney’s call for a referendum on the projects for the Capital Initiative Fund which makes £60,000 available to spend on a project in Consett North Ward. However, as prmised here’s my reply:

Dear Dominic,

Thank you for your email and the excellent research you have done in this area.  As you know, I attach great importance to the principle of community involvement in the decision making process, a process which requires regular communication and effective media. Representative government can only occur where there is a free and two way flow of information. On the other hand representative government cannot work if each and every decision is made by a universal popular vote because in that case representative politics has ceased. Clearly representative government is not the only form of government that could work, though I think it is fair to say that it is the method almost universally adopted by those nations that are normally described as democratic, with referenda used only in a relatively small number of situations, mostly those with a simple binary Yes/No decision. In the

UK there have only been eight major referenda in the last 35 years.

  Actually I do support the use of referenda for very important decisions, especially constitutional ones, which is why Liberal Democrats called for a referendum on the question of whether

Britain should remain a part of the European Community. I would support a referendum on the issue of compulsory ID cards which, in my view, would fundamentally change the relationship between the individual and the state. I would not support one on whether income tax should be set at 20% or 22% because such a decision is essentially temporary and well capable of being decided by representative democracy through popular elections.  In the case of the particular situation we face, the figures you have supplied give a total cost, inclusive of VAT, of £7,172 or 12% of the money available. In fact this is likely to be a significant underestimate of the cost because it involves only the costs of the electoral reform society, excluding the costs to the local authority in officer time in the preparation and provision address data electronically (probably quite a small cost) and the preparation of an attractive and informative 4 page A4 information sheet (probably rather more).   For me the issue of the Capital Initiative Fund fails the test of whether a referendum would be appropriate on two grounds. The decision is not fundamental enough to justify a referendum; the cost of a referendum is disproportionate to the potential gain in terms of popular involvement.  That still leaves the question of how best we can inform the public of the existence of the fund, and invite their input into the decision making process. As you know, I have raised the existence of this fund at both the Berry Edge Residents Association and the Consett North Partnership. I have also published it on my website. I will ensure that it is included in my next Focus leaflet to be delivered to every home in the ward. I know this will not in itself be enough, and wonder therefore whether you could assist the publicising of this fund by letting the local media know that in your role as Chairman of the Berry Edge Residents Association you have called for a referendum on the issue. I think it would be an interesting new angle for the local press, and could well get some additional publicity for the issue and stimulate further debate in this way. You can contact the Advertiser via gavin.havery@nne.co.uk or the Derwentside Chronicle Extra via kerry.wood@ncjmedia.co.uk .Whatever you think of the referendum call, I’d be really interested to know what you think a single block of £60,000 could best be spent on in Consett North, allowing for the fact that it is a one-off capital expenditure with no requirement for ongoing payments (after the district council has ceased to exist at the end of March 2009).

I and my fellow ward councillors received the following email from my good friend Dominic Haney, Chairman of the Berry Edge Residents Association:

“ Dear Councillors of Consett North,

I am writing to you with regards to the Community Initiative fund set up by the council. As you are aware, there will be £20k per councillor in each ward, meaning a total of £60k in Consett North, which sadly all has to be spent on one project. I fear that there are insufficient mechanisms in place to ensure that every elector knows about this money. It hasn’t been well advertised (I think I remember seeing something about it in the local paper), and I feel that the only reason I know about it is because I’m quite active in local politics. Average Joe out there, however, may have no idea that there is money available to be spent on a project in the district. It is therefore a nigh on impossibility to make sure that sufficient people are consulted and contribute to the proposed project. I feel that the only suitable solution to this problem is to have a referendum. I applaud the council on its decision to have a referendum on the proposed unitary council, moving towards more direct democracy can only be positive. I ask if you would be supportive of a referendum on what the Community Initiative Fund money should be spent on?

The referendum would run as follows. A number of projects would be proposed, and the viable options would be the ones that are to the public in the ballot. A ballot paper would be sent out to every house in the ward with a booklet containing information on each of the proposals. Electors would then vote for what they feel the money should be spent on in order of preference by putting numbers from 1 to x. This would be a prefential ballot, similar to the Single Transferable Vote. The electoral system would then calculate the most popular option. The referendum would be a postal vote and could be conducted by the electoral reform society. Attached is an estimate of how much the referendum would cost, based on the turnout of the last local election in this ward. Alternatively the council could conduct the referendum.

I sincerely hope that you will consider this proposal, as it is a means of really getting through to the grass roots of democracy. It is a chance to truly spark a public debate and show people that our elected representatives really value our views and opinions. Otherwise I fear that only a certain section of the electorate will end up being consulted on this, and the rest will probably never even know about this scheme. It is time that more and more decisions were put to the public, in order to create the enlightened political culture that we seek. Thank you for your time, I look forward to hearing your response shortly.

Dominic Haney

Chairman, Berry Edge Residents Association.”

 I have already replied to Dominic, and will post my reply in a couple of days. In the meantime please click on the comment label at the head of this piece and let me know what you think of his idea. That way I’ll find out how in touch or out of touch I am with what you think.

I don’t expect many of my readers to be able to enlighten me, but if you know what this graffiti stands for, please let me know.

Unfortunately it has been appearing around Consett in a spate of low level but extremely depressing petty crime. If you can enlighten me, please do.

It would be nice to think that when the Audit Committee asked me to take on the role of data champion it was because they thought I had the brain, the eye for detail and the tigerish tenacity they were looking for. Actually they probably just thought it would keep me occupied and divert me from sticking my nose into other more important things. Fat chance!

Whatever the reason, I’m happy to take the job on. Accurate data is crucial to good decision making. It’s like what they say about computers - Garbage in, Garbage out.

 If there’s any data that you feel would be really useful to have, please let me know. In the meantime I’ll take seriously the job of ensuring that Derwentside’s data is as accurate and reliable as possible

Gales have caused hacoc with County Durham’s waste disposal activities, closing a number of landfill sites and waste transfer stations.

As a result the county has closed some of them, which means that the districts’ wagons cannot off-load their contents easily, or in some cases at all. When that happens the system just grinds to a halt.

Derwentside refuse collection teams managed to get all their loads off-loaded on Thursday and expect to keep working through Monday, but will have to keep the situation under continuous review whilst hoping that the weather improves.

If you want to keep an eye on the situation I am told that information will be posted on the council’s website at http://www.derwentside.gov.uk/

My understanding is that recycling waste is not affected.