Cash on offer to villages From Durham Times

RESIDENTS of 16 villages are to be asked what projects they would like to receive funding.

The Mid Durham Area Action Partnership (AAP) has £80,000 to spend and is looking to give £5,000 to each of the communities it serves.

Earlier this year members of the partnership, the parish council and county councillors held surgeries in the villages across Mid Durham and using the views of 800 residents they created 16 Village Action Plans. From these Action Plans project proposals have been identified which would benefit from a £5,000 boost.

Events will be held in each village at which residents can vote on which local scheme should be funded.

The £5,000 per village has been funded by contributions from the Mid Durham AAP, the Northern Clinical Commissioning Group and county councillors’ neighbourhood budgets.

Attendees will also be asked to help Durham County Council shape its budget in the coming years.

The sessions are: Burnhope, Ivy Leaf Club, Thursday, October 10, 4.30pm to 6.30pm; Lanchester, Community Centre, Saturday, October 12, 10am to noon; Castleside Village Hall, Saturday, October 12, 2pm to 4pm; New Brancepeth Village Hall, Tuesday, October 15, 4.30pm to 6.30pm; Langley Park, Woodview Community Centre, Saturday, October 19, 10am to noon; Quebec and Esh, Quebec Village Hall, Saturday, October 19, 2pm to 4pm; Ushaw Moor and Broompark, Ushaw Moor Catholic Club, October 23, 4.30pm to 6.30pm; Brandon, Meadowfield and Langley Moor, Meadowfield Leisure Centre, Saturday, October 26, 10am to noon; Esh Winning and Waterhouses, Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Church Hall, Saturday, October 26, 2pm to 4pm.

For more information call the partnership on 01207-529085 or e-mail mdaap@durham.gov.uk

via Cash on offer to villages From Durham Times.

River Deerness Restoration Project | Wear Rivers Trust

The ongoing River Deerness Restoration Project aims to restore habitat connectivity for fish species by creating and monitoring fish passage solutions at a series of manmade barriers on a tributary of the River Wear.

As a result of the Deerness feasibility studies, a successful application was made to Defra’s Catchment Restoration Fund in order to carry out a three-year River Deerness Restoration Project. In partnership with Durham County Council and Durham University, this project will address the fish passage barriers identified during the feasibility studies and, equally importantly, will assess the impact that the easement solutions have.

This assessment will be achieved by ‘before and after’ surveys and monitoring at each easement site, carried out by a PhD student from Durham University’s Biology Department. Electro-fishing and fish-tagging, habitat surveys and invertebrate samples will all be carried out upstream and downstream of each site both before and after easement work. It is expected that the abundance of migratory fish passing the barriers will increase and the PhD work will be used to confirm whether this is the case. The study of fish populations and movements through a series of long culverts in the Old Durham Beck catchment is also part of the three year programme.

The barrier at Cornsay Colliery, the furthest upstream, has now had a fish easement installed and more details are available on the Cornsay project page. By the end of the project we hope to see the whole course of the River Deerness opened up to all local fish species.

via River Deerness Restoration Project | Wear Rivers Trust.

Ushaw Moor Action Group – The Hive

 

The Hive is a flexible place for people to meet, and enjoy a variety of activities and services for people of all ages living in Ushaw Moor. These activities will promote health, well being, intergenerational activity, access to services, social cohesion, and community safety.

The activities will cut across all ages, encourage engagement with key projects to continue throughout the year and showcase positive community action.

via. http://www.umag.org.uk/hive/

Durham homes plan ‘just what’s needed’ From The Northern Echo

A PROJECT to build 29 houses on a former school site is just what a village needs, councillors heard today.

Gleeson Homes and Regeneration’s plans for the former Ushaw Moor County Infants School site, on Temperance Terrace, in Ushaw Moor, were unanimously approved by members of Durham County Council’s central and east planning committee, meeting at The Glebe Centre, in Murton.

Earlier, Councillor John Wilkinson, whose ward includes Ushaw Moor, said: “It gives me great pleasure to support this application.

“I’m pleased to see a site of little real ecological value become new houses – mainly with two or three bedrooms, aimed at owner occupiers with small or modest incomes.

“This is just what Ushaw Moor needs. It will contribute to the continuing regeneration.”Coun Wilkinson, who began his teaching career at the now-demolished school, said the site was on a bus route, near to shops and schools, the house designs would complement the local area and praised Gleeson for only selling to owner occupiers.

The homes will have two, three or four bedrooms. There will be a mix of detached, semi-detached and terraced properties.

The estate will be accessed from the West, off Cockhouse Lane.Brandon and Byshottles Parish Council backed the project.

via Durham homes plan ‘just what’s needed’ From The Northern Echo.

Community Garden Takes Shape (Photos) – Ushaw Moor Action Group

Work started  on the development of the Ushaw Moor Community Garden on Wednesday 11th January 2012 and is expected to take one month to complete.

The aim of the project is to:

• provide a quality community open space which will benefit people of all ages regardless of where they live in the village.
• establish a learning resource for children and schools in the village, raising awareness of green and environmental issues.
• promote the development of a “Pride of Place”
• develop community cohesion and enhance community spirit.

The garden will provide:

• space to grow
• space for events and play
• space for quiet reflection
• space for wildlife
• space to learn

Check out more PHOTOS, by following the link below.

Community Garden – Ushaw Moor Action Group.

Community garden takes shape in Ushaw Moor

A GARDEN aimed at creating a learning resource for children while helping strengthen links between the generations in a north Durham community is starting to take shape.

Ushaw Moor Action Group has got the keys to Ushaw Moor Community Garden in the village near Durham City, following preparatory construction work on the site – allowing Friends of the Garden to begin planting.

Action group chairman John Booth: “Our group is extremely grateful for all the support we have had from residents and partners in developing this fabulous facility which will serve the needs of the community well into the future. “The garden will provide a quality community open space which will benefit people of all ages regardless of where they live in the village.

“Our aim is to develop a totally inclusive facility and we are delighted to support the Durham Agency Against Crime HAGGRID Project, which is a positive youth diversion programme based around horticulture and agriculture for young people – as well as their aims to build stronger communities through intergenerational activities.”

During the planning of the project the group engaged with the wider community through a series of consultation events to come up with a final design and to meet the aspirations of residents.

Mr Booth added, the project managed Groundwork North East would help improve people’s health and mental well-being by providing enjoyable outdoor physical activity, social contact and learning opportunities and a space for quiet reflection.

Christine Corker, senior project officer with Groundwork North East, said: “This community garden is a perfect example of what communities can achieve through working in partnership.

“Ushaw Moor Action Group is active group with drive and passion to improve the area in which they live and worked very hard to involve the wider community in this project. As a result of this success the group are now planning their next project”. The development was made possible after land was released by Durham County Council and The Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle and with grant funding from The Big Lottery Community Spaces fund, The County Durham Environmental Trust (CDENT) and Durham county councillor John Wilkinson’s Neighbourhood Budget.

Opportunities for volunteering will be created create in the on-going planned activities. For example food growing, garden maintenance, play, celebration and fundraising events.

via Community garden takes shape in Ushaw Moor (From The Northern Echo).

Ushaw Moor Action Group

The Ushaw Moor Action Group has been established to engage with the whole village community to address issues which affect us all as residents, by working together to implement improvements that make a difference in Ushaw Moor.

Over the last two years residents have supported successful campaigns which have received regional and national recognition through the Neighbourhood Watch Network. We have also fought hard to put road safety and speeding through the village high on the agenda, resulting in positive enforcement campaigns, and soon to be seen visual improvements to road safety supported by the police with the installation of “Gateways” to entrances to the village, and further traffic calming measures on Station Road being approved by the Area Action Partnership.

Find Out More Ushaw Moor Action Group.

Ushaw Moor Action Group Community Garden Concept Plan

Community Garden Concept Plan

The plan below is for consultation purposes only and reflects ideas from initial consultation illustrating how the garden could be used to provide:

• space to grow
• space for events and play
• space for quiet reflection
• space for wildlife
• space to learn

 

 

Ushaw Moor Action Group.

Durham Railway Paths Event

The Ushaw Moor Action Group submitted a bid to the Area Action Partnership to develop the Broompark Picnic area and connecting rail paths as a family recreation open space.  Consultants and Landscape Architects are drawing up a master plan and would like to hear the views of the local community.

Date, time and venue details are outlined below.

Brandon and Byshottles Parish Council

A scheme at Oakridge Road, Ushaw Moor to provide 6 hard standing parking bays has been identified due to complaints from local residents about the lack of parking and damage to local roadside verges. The Parish Council has pledged £2,000 to the scheme. The Age Concern Hall at Ushaw Moor will also benefit from an upgraded footpath to enable elderly residents to access the facilities more safely.There are plenty more projects in the pipeline between now and the end of the financial year including traffic calming and speeding measures, village appraisals, youth activities and children’s play.For more information on your AAP contact the Co-ordinator, Andy Coulthard and his staff team who are based at Park House, Durham Rural Community Council building, Lanchester on 01207 529085.

via Brandon and Byshottles Parish Council Home.brandon and byshottles parish council,announcements