Date of announcement:   13 June 2020

Each year the Council’s Annual Return, which we published yesterday, is audited by an auditor appointed by Public Sector Audit Appointments Limited.  Any person interested has the right to inspect and make copies of the accounts to be audited and all books, deeds, contracts, bills, vouchers and receipts relating to them. For the year ended 31 March 2020 these documents will be available on reasonable notice on application to:

C Llewelyn, Parish Clerk Coxhoe Village Hall, Front Street East, Coxhoe, Durham, DH6 4LF 0191 3773658 or 07988 283287 or by email at clerk@coxhoeparishcouncil.gov.uk

commencing on 15 June 2020

and ending on   24 July 2020.

Local Government Electors and their representatives also have:

• the opportunity to question the auditor about the accounts; and
• the right to make objections to the accounts or any item in them.

Written notice of an objection must first be given to the auditor and a copy sent to the Council. The auditor can be contacted at the address below for this purpose during the inspection period identified above.  The audit is being conducted under the provisions of the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014, the Accounts and Audit (England) Regulations 2015 and the National Audit Office’ Code of Audit Practice.  Your audit is being carried out by:

Mazars LLP, Salvus Aykley Heads, Durham, DH1 5TS

This announcement is made by Claire Llewelyn, Parish Clerk

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

Works on the improvement on the cricket ground are progressing well.

The Parish Council has already replaced the roof on the Pavilion. Grants totalling £26,260 have been sought from the East Durham Rural Corridor Area Action Partnership (AAP), Durham Community Trust and Durham Football Association. These will be used to restore the grounds and pavilion and double the amount of public playing space in the village. Work has started on rotovating and reseeding the whole site as well as the installation of a new artificial cricket wicket. This will allow for multiple uses of the field, not just cricket. A seven a side and nine a side football fields will be developed on either side of the wicket. Alongside this local builder Ray Lawson is completing refurbishment of the Pavilion.

When the works are complete we will host a re opening event. This will rename the facility as the ‘Shaun Henderson Community Sports Ground’ in memory of the recently deceased former Secretary of the Coxhoe Cricket Club.

Residents are asked not to walk through or let their dogs onto the field while the works are ongoing.

 

 

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

 

All at  Coxhoe Cares would like to say a massive thank you to all our current volunteers in Coxhoe and Quarrington Hill. They are currently supporting our community who are vulnerable, self-isolating and needing some support during these challenging times. We would also like to say a massive thank you to Coxhoe United for their very kind donation.

We have a number of volunteers making weekly phone calls to service users for a friendly chat, and doing shopping as and when required.  We also have volunteers doing deliveries such as leaflets and care packages. This week we will be delivering our Holiday Activities Healthy Food (HAWHF) Project for children. This project has been supported by a grant from the East Durham Rural Corridor Area Action Partnership (AAP).

We still have a number of volunteers available to support you, if you feel you are:

• isolated
• struggling to get your basic food needs
• have other difficulties, or
• would just like to chat to someone

Please do not sit at home worrying, call us and see what can be done. We will do our best to help you.

We continue to work with Coxhoe Village Hall and Quarrington Hill Community Centre to provide you support. If you live in Coxhoe please contact Claire or Angela by text or by calling 07988 283287.

If you live in Quarrington Hill, as well as Claire above, please contact Linda on 07766 385544

You can email Claire on clerk@coxhoeparishcouncil.gov.uk

If you can’t call the mobile numbers, call 0191 3773658. In the event of no answer please leave us a message and we will be monitoring this number as much as possible.

For more information on Coxhoe Cares go to Coxhoe Cares Coronavirus Community Response Volunteers Scheme page

[Read more…]

Help us cover Coxhoe and Quarrington Hill in colour  this Spring Bank Holiday.

Working with Coxhoe Village Hall and Quarrington Hill Community Centre we have received a small grant from East Durham Rural Corridor Area Action Partnership (AAP) . This grant is part of the AAP’s Holiday Activities with Healthy Food (HAWHF) project.

We are delivering packs of a pot, soil and seeds to grow your own sunflowers for children. We are including a treat pack with fruit and sweets. The delivery is planned to take place in half term week.

Would your child like a pack? Let us know by emailing clerk@coxhoeparishcouncil.gov.uk or text or call 07988 283287.  We will do the rest. Packs are available on a first come first served so please let us know as quickly as possible to avoid disappointment. We will have a cut off time of  5.00 pm on  Wednesday 27 May. Please do not message us or comment on facebook as we do not monitor facebook on a 24 hour 7 day a week basis. Any requests through messenger or facebook comments will not be accepted we are afraid..

We will  let you know roughly when to expect us. The packs will be delivered by our Corona Virus response volunteers. The packs are possible through funding from East Durham Rural Corridor Area Action Partnership and also Coxhoe United.

We are sorry but this offer is only available to residents of the Parish of Coxhoe Parish Council. If you live outside the parish, including, for example, Parkhill, check with your own Parish Council to see what they have available.

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.

Works at J61 Bowburn are progressing ahead of schedule and the first phase of the work programme is now expected to be completed on Tuesday 19 May. Phase 2 of the works, which was originally programmed to commence from Tuesday 26 May, has now been brought forward to start on Wednesday 20 May with day times closures until the work is complete on Sunday 31 May. Full details are available on the  Junction 61 Page of the Durham County Council Website

Owing to an unsafe carriageway surface it has been necessary to temporarily close to vehicular traffic a 130 metre length of A688 between its junctions with A688 and B6291 Roundabout at Coxhoe and the circulatory carriageway of A1(M) Junction 61 Interchange.

The 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 or further damage to the highway and to permit carriageway resurfacing works to be carried out.

The alternative route for vehicular traffic is from the south eastern side of the closure from B6291 and A688 Coxhoe Roundabout northerly on A688 to A181 Roundabout at Byers Garth then westerly on A181 to Sherburn House and continuing on B1198 Shincliffe Lane to Mill Lane to A177 junction at Shincliffe then:

1. Turning south on A177 through High Shincliffe to Bowburn and Junction 61 to the north western side of the closure and vice versa
2. Turning north westerly, westerly and south westerly on A177 to A167 Cock O’The North Roundabout then southwards on A167 to Thinford then

Firstly, Continuing southwards on A167 to Rushyford then easterly on A689 to A1(M) Junction 60 Bradbury

Then secondly Eastwards, toward Durham Services

To the western side of the closure and vice versa.

There will be associated restrictions on exit from the A1 (M)

The southbound entrance and exit on the A1(M) Bowburn will be closed with no access to the B6291 towards Coxhoe and A177 towards Bowburn from the southbound entrance from today for eight days until Wednesday 20 May while work is undertaken.

The Northbound entrance and exit on the A1(M) Bowburn will be closed with no access to the A177 towards Bowburn or Roadchef services on the A688 from Thursday 21 May until Sunday 7 June while work is undertaken. There will also be no east to west access from Coxhoe to Bowburn during this period.

Diversions will be in place throughout the duration of these works and those making essential journeys that would ordinarily take them along these roads are advised to take account of possible delays to their journeys.

The maximum duration of the closure under this Notice is 21 days. However, it is anticipated that the closure will be effective from for an anticipated period of 10 days between 6.00 am and 6.00 pm per day unless government guidelines change in which case the working hours will be 8.00 pm to 6.00 am.

The community is advised that following completion of this there will be a second phase of work which will significantly affect the A1 (m) interchange. Further information on this will be provided in due course.

If you have any issues regarding this please contact Durham County Council Highways.