To notify the Chairman of any items that appear later in the agenda in which you may have an interest.

Members had no interests to declare.

To confirm as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting held on 1^st November 2005.

The Minutes of the meeting held on 1^st November, 2005 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

A representative from the Neighbourhood Services Department will attend the meeting to give a presentation on the above.

R. Broadbank, Senior Development Control Officer, was present at the meeting to give a presentation on the above document. Copies of the document were distributed to the Forum.

It was explained that the Supplementary Planning Document: Residential Extensions had been prepared as part of Sedgefield Borough Local Development Framework, which would replace the Local Plan.

The Supplementary Planning Document on Residential Extensions had been prepared in advance of the Sedgefield Borough Local Development Framework as there was an urgent need for improved guidance on residential extensions as the existing guidance produced in 2000 was now out of date.

It was reported that final year students from the University of Newcastle had been commissioned to review the existing guidance and identify National Best Practice.  Council officers had subsequently refined the work to suit local circumstances.

A Draft Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) was produced and presented to the Borough Council’s Cabinet in September 2005 where it was approved for public consultation.  The consultation period had now ended and it was anticipated that the document would be adopted by the Council in February 2006.

The Draft Supplementary Planning Document was more comprehensive than the existing Supplementary Planning Guidance and provided detailed advice and guidance on the following:

Ø                       General design principles

Ø                       Porches

Ø                       Forward, side, rear and rural extensions

Ø                       Conservatories

Ø                       Dormer windows and roof extensions

Ø                       Garages and outbuildings

Ø                       Walls and fences

Ø                       Other material planning considerations

A representative of Ferryhill Police will attend the meeting to give a report of crime statistics and initiatives in the area.

Sergeant K. Vincent was present at the meeting to give details of the crime figures and local initiatives for the area.

It was reported that the crime figures for the area over the following months were as follows: -

Sergeant Vincent informed Members of the Forum that Operation Ballade which targeted racial problems in the Chilton area, Operation Pelmet which focussed on anti-social behaviour within West Cornforth, Operation Darc which promoted household security and Operation Hawkeye which was launched in Ferryhill to highlight insecure vehicles were all ongoing and continuing to prove successful. Pedal cycle marking would also take place on 28^th January 2006 between 10.00 a.m. and 1.00 p.m. at the e-Café in Ferryhill.

Reference was made to an operation, which had been developed by Durham Constabulary Road Policing Department to target uninsured vehicles.  It was reported that there had been a number of vehicles in Area 2 that had been seized and crushed for the above reason.

Members of the Forum were reminded of the various ways contact could be made with the police in reporting problems/crimes. Contact could now be made via the non emergency telephone number 08456060365, the confidential reporting boxes which were situated within Area 2, the text a cop scheme 07981992242, the confidential hate crime hot line 01388722481 and crime stoppers 0800555111.

Members were also informed of the Pub Watch and Allotment Watch schemes that had been implemented together with the involvement of the police in the safer route to schools project and formulation of the school travel plan.

Detailed discussion was held regarding the number of incidents that had occurred around the local schools. Questions were also raised regarding the installation of speed humps. It was explained that it was a Durham County Council matter.

Concerns were also raised regarding the use of a right of way between Lindon Road, Salisbury Crescent and The Oval at West Cornforth. Residents of West Cornforth had raised the issue due to problems of anti-social behaviour and criminal damage to residents’ homes.

It was pointed out that a number of meetings had been held to discuss how the problems could be resolved. It had been suggested that the right of way be closed off. Copies of e-mails that had been sent to officers within the Borough Council and a copy of the letter sent with the petition developed by local residents were submitted to be passed to the relevant officer. It was explained that all concerns raised would be taken back to the Council and reported back to the Area Forum. Sergeant Vincent also re-assured residents that the police were aware of the problems and were updated regularly on any problems that arose.

Residents expressed their concerns as they felt that there had not been sufficient progress in targeting the above problems, which had been raised over a year ago.

A letter was also read out and distributed to various parties detailing the problems of anti-social behaviour within the area of West Cornforth.

A representative of Sedgefield Primary Care Trust will attend the meeting to give an update on local health matters and performance figures.

A. Learmonth, Director of Public Health and Health Improvement, Sedgefield Primary Care Trust, attended the meeting to present an update on local health matters and performance figures.

A. Learmonth explained that since the meeting held on 1^st November 2005 meetings had taken place between the members of the Workingmen’s Club at Chilton and the Chief Executive Officer of Sedgefield PCT regarding the development of the new health centre.

Consideration was given to the performance management report, which was attached with the agenda for members’ information. Copies of Sedgefield Primary Care Trust’s Your Local NHS together with notes from Sedgefield Primary Care Trust’s core team briefing were also distributed to the Forum. (For copy see file of Minutes).

Members of the Forum were finally invited to a public meeting regarding their proposed reconsideration of the Primary Care Trusts in the North East which would be held on Tuesday 24^th January, 2006 at 6.30 p.m. in Spennymoor Town Hall.

Concerns were raised regarding the decrease in the number of dentists, as they were choosing to go private.  It was agreed that the appropriate officer would be invited to a future meeting to answer any questions.

Arrangements have been made for an officer from the Council’s Regeneration Section to attend to give a presentation on the above.

A. Palmer, Head of Strategy and Regeneration, was present at the meeting to give details of the above Programme.

It was explained that the Borough Council had received a substantial receipt from the sale of land and had agreed to use the money to support activities that fell within the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister’s eligible expenditure definition of ‘Regeneration’ and ‘Affordable Housing’.

It was pointed out that schemes to be advanced through the Local Improvement Programme would need to demonstrate the following:

Ø               Conformity to the specified ODPM Regeneration and Affordable Housing Criteria.

Affordable Housing - ‘the provision of dwellings to meet the housing needs, as identified by the local authority, of persons on low incomes, whether provided by the local authority or a registered local landlord.’

          Regeneration - ‘any project for the carrying out of works or activities on any land where the land, or a building on the land, is vacant, unused, under-used, ineffectively used, contaminated or derelict; and

The works or activities are carried out in order to secure that the

         land or the building will be brought into effective use.’

Ø               Clear linkages to the delivery of the Council’s Community Strategy and its key aims and planned outcomes.

Ø               Appropriate levels of community consultation and reference to any Local Community Appraisal.

Ø               Provision of sufficient level of detail in the project submissions to show a specific quantification of the benefits to be achieved by the investment and to explain the process by which the scheme would be delivered and over what time period.

Ø               How any recurrent or revenue funding implications would be managed.

Ø               Value for money should be clearly demonstrated to include any match funding from other grant sources.

Allocations were based on the local area’s percentage share of households within the Borough. 

It was emphasised that there was no pressure to spend allocated budgets within any one financial year unspent money would be rolled forward into the next financial year and projected for that Area Forum. 

It was reported that Area Forums along with Town and Parish Councils community and voluntary sector stakeholders would be invited to consider schemes that would be eligible for support under the Programme.  Sedgefield Borough Councils’ Cabinet would make the final decision.

A team of staff at Sedgefield Borough Council would be available to support the development of schemes and would score applications received against the criteria.

The Chairman will take questions from the floor

21^st February, 2006 at 6.30 p.m. at Dean Bank and Ferryhill Literary Institute.