Keith Pounder joined the Parish Council in 2005. He passionately and assertively represented Quarrington Hill until his death on 22 May 2020 at University Hospital Durham. This was after two years of serious illness.

Keith was also a leading light at Quarrington Hill Community Centre. Here he led the asset transfer process of the building from Durham County Council to the Trustees and the fundraising campaign to refurbish the facility. Keith really became active in the community in about 2003 to 2004 with the community consultation on Parish Plan 1 and was a founder member of Quarrington Hill Community Partnership which went on to raise funds for a number of initiatives in the village. He played an active part in the Quarry Liaison Committees which affect our community and also East Durham Rural Corridor Area Action Partnership.

Keith served Quarrington Hill well on our Parish Council, always trying to make sure the village got its fair share of resources, although this was never an issue. He scrutinised the Parish Council finances meticulously and supported the Parish Council in growing into a more financially stable organisation for both of our villages.

Keith was also a member of the Durham Constabulary Choir and Secretary for St Helen’s Church Kelloe where again he supported in major fundraising activities. Keith was well known in the community and liked by a lot of people. Whilst he had a private family funeral during Covid-19, a Service of Remembrance will be arranged once the pandemic is over to remember and thank Keith.

 

The Parish Council has published its Annual Return for the financial year 2019 to 2020.

This is part of the process of Auditing of the Parish Council’s Accounts for the last financial year. You can access the Annual Return and supporting Documents from the following links:

Annual Governance and Accountability Return 2019 to 2020

This includes:

• Annual Return Internal Audit Completion 2019 to 2020
• Annual Return Section 1 Annual Governance Statement 2019 to 2020
• Annual Return Section 2 Annual Accounting Statement 2019 to 2020

Bank , Cash and Investment Reconciliation as at 31 March 2020

Trial Balance for Current Year

Explanation of significant variances

Internal Audit Report 2019 to 2020

The Annual Return and supporting documents for the year ending 31 March 2020 which are published on this website are unaudited until such time as they are approved by the Council’s external auditors:

Mazars LLP, Aykley Heads, Durham, DH1 5TS

C Llewelyn

Clerk & Responsible Financial Officer

The Parish Council are to hold a ‘virtual’ Annual Meeting on 10 June 2020.

The Press and Public are very welcome to ‘attend’ this meeting. However, due to the current Government measures for Covid-19, the Parish Council will meet virtually using ‘Zoom’ as the meeting cannot be held in public.

If any members of the press or public wish to;

• attend
• make a statement or
• raise a question

they should contact the Clerk. You can do this by email at clerk@coxhoeparishcouncil.gov.uk or by telephone on 07988 283287 by 12.00 midday on 10 June.

Details of how to access the meeting will then be provided.

You can access a copy of the agenda from the following link:

Agenda for the Annual Meeting for Coxhoe Parish Council on 10 June 2020

 

The Coxhoe Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC) reopened at 2pm on Monday 18 May.

A number of significant safety measures have been introduced by DCC to ensure the safety of all staff and residents during the coronavirus outbreak, including a one-way entry from the Haul Road only, not the Quarrington Hill Road. Specific site information is as below:

• Coxhoe HWRC opening times will be Monday to Saturday 2.00 pm-8.00 pm and Sunday 9.00 am to 8.00 pm
• Access for residents to be via the haul road only near Tarka and The Limes, not from the Quarrington Hill road
• Traffic routing will be enforced by signs and staff
• No queues will be allowed prior to 1.00 pm and there will be a control point at gates at the bottom of the haul road from 9.00 am
• From 1.00 pm Heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) will be diverted away from the haul road
• Once the queue is back to the haul road bottom gates vehicles are to be turned away
• No local residents wishing to use rights of way, for example Dog walker,s are to be allowed access to the haul road for parking at any time
• There will be a 5.30 pm cut off at the bottom gates. Then no cars will be allowed to join the queue beyond this time as they will not be able to gain access to the HWRC before closing time

Durham County Council (DCC) will introduce a number of significant changes to traffic routing including a one-way system to access the site. These have been devised by DCC Traffic Management Team and agreed with the Police.  DCC will have a combination of Wardens, Premier Traffic Management (specialist in traffic management, direction and signage) and Civil Enforcement Officers (Specialists in car park and traffic management) on all sites in order to ensure traffic is managed safely, efficiently and in accordance with the law.

Government guidance has emphasised that residents should only take waste to HWRCs if it cannot be stored safely at home and no alternative disposal options are available. If you are queuing please have regard to residents entering and leaving the different phase of The Limes Estate.

The site is expected to be extremely busy, so please only visit if necessary and expect queues. Bulky waste goods collections began again on 18 May.

To minimise a danger to the public caused by queuing traffic and to increase road safety in association with Coxhoe HWRC re-opening, it has been necessary to temporarily prohibit traffic from the following:

• Turning left and right from the B6291 into the Coxhoe HWRC access road and entrance
• Driving in a westerly direction in the westbound lane of the unnamed road from Coxhoe HWRC to junction with Prospect Place, Coxhoe

The emergency Temporary Prohibition of Left and Right Turn and Lane Closure, which is being effected by means of Notice under Section 14(2) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 is necessary by reason of likelihood of danger to the public, and to increase road safety.

The alternative route for vehicular traffic wishing to access Coxhoe HWRC from the B6291 is in a general south westerly direction on B6291, then northerly at The Corner House pub junction on B6291 and easterly on unnamed road after 16 Commerical Road East to Coxhoe HWRC.

The maximum duration of the Prohibition of Left and Right Turn and Lane Closure under this Notice is 21 days.

We are now pleased to announce that we have a much quicker and more stable website.

The County Council have undertaken essential  maintenance work  on the Parish Council website. This resulted in our site being moved to a better, faster and more efficient secure server. Pages now load much quicker. our site is now less likely to crash in the future

We hope that you experience in using our website is once again improved.

The  Draft Minutes of the Extraordinary Council Meeting held on 23 March 2020 are now available online. Please click on the link to view  and download them.

Coronavirus is of concern to all of us. Cases in this country are increasing significantly and the World Health Organisation has declared a global pandemic in the future should the virus not be contained.

The risk level to the public has been raised from low to high.

The government is requiring people to stay indoors. Pubs, club, gyms, cinemas, libarries sand restaurants are now closed. Parish Council services are restricted.

The symptoms of coronavirus are:

• a cough
• a high temperature
• shortness of breath

However, these symptoms do not necessarily mean you have the illness. The symptoms are similar to other illnesses that are much more common, such as cold and flu.

Advice is being updated regularly.

Anyone can be a victim of scams.

Scams affect the lives of millions of people across the UK and it is often the most vulnerable members of society who are targeted. People who are scammed often experience loneliness, shame and social isolation.

The aim of Friends Against Scams is to inspire action, highlight the scale of the problem, change the perceptions of why people fall victim to scams and make scams a local, regional and national topic.

Friends Against Scams aims to protect and prevent people from becoming victims of scams by empowering communities to take a stand against scams.

Would you benefit from a Friends Against Scams session? Please contact Julie Egan, Projects Officer for Friends Against Scams, at Julie.egan@durham.gov.uk tofind out more.

By attending a Friends Against Scams awareness session or completing the online learning below, anyone can learn about the different types of scams and how to spot and support a victim. With increased knowledge and awareness, people can make scams part of everyday conversation with their family, friends and neighbours, which will enable them to protect themselves and others from scams. Anyone can be a Friend Against Scams and make a
difference in their own way.

Check out the Friends against Scams E learning.

 

Coxhoe Parish Council have agreed to delegate some decisions it makes to its Parish Clerk.

This follows best practice and allows certain non – controversial decisions to be made without issues needing a report to committee. This frees up the Parish Council and its committees to concentrate on the most important decisions. It also speeds up some decision making. Details of the nature of delegated decisions available to the Clerk are set out in the Council’s Delegation Scheme. This was approved at the monthly meeting of the Parish Council in December 2019

You can access a copy of the Delegation Scheme December 2019

Our Playgroup Christmas Party will take place on Wednesday 18 December. It will be held in Coxhoe Village Hall between 10.00 am and 11.30 am. We have it on good authority that Santa has been able to fit us into his busy schedule and will make a visit.

The playgroup party is available to all toddlers and young children, parents and carers. If you wish to attend please could you register with numbers by contacting Claire by phone on 3773658 or 07988 283287 or email clerk@coxhoeparishcouncil.gov.uk..