Minutes:
The Leader of the Council wished all Members and Officers a happy new year and highlighted that, despite ongoing austerity cuts, there was much to look forward to in the year ahead.
Against the backdrop of Brexit uncertainty and ongoing austerity, the council would continue to be fiercely ambitious despite having already faced budget cuts of £200 million.
The Council would continue focus on the key priorities of encouraging continued growth of the economy, making Durham a safe, clean and green place to live and promoting a thriving visitor economy and cultural sphere.
The Leader informed the Council that in December he had visited the Hitachi plant at Newton Aycliffe where the first train, assembled on the production line, was unveiled.
Many companies from the county supplied components for the trains and this was a great example of how working together could bring huge benefits to the county, which justified the many years of hard work that brought Hitachi to County Durham, beating off competition from more than 40 other sites across the UK.
Hitachi was just one of several success stories the county had to celebrate, including the creation of 1,200 jobs by ResQ in Seaham following support from Business Durham, the council’s business arm. The County was looking forward to more good economic news in 2017, including the start of the next phase of expansion at NETPark in Sedgefield and a new facility to expand GlaxoSmithKline in Barnard Castle.
Redevelopments were underway on the riverbanks in Durham City which would enhance retail and cinema offers; and would mean more job opportunities for local people and these were key to the Council’s plans for a brighter future for County Durham.
Those plans included updated masterplans for Durham City and major towns throughout the county, which would go to Area Action Partnerships locally following consideration by Cabinet. Each was unique and detailed the work undertaken so far, and what was still to come.
Operation Spruce Up was also to take place within each of the 14 AAP’s as the Council continued its programme of spring cleans across County Durham so that the county was seen in its best possible light.
Additionally, the Council worked to support some of the UK’s most popular and ground breaking events. Kynren, which had been described as the country’s largest outdoor performance since the London Olympics, was to return in the summer and last year attracted 100,000 visitors.
Beamish, already the UK’s most popular living museum would commence its expansion to encompass a reconstructed 1950’s town this year. The project to improve Seaham marina would continue as well as a new activity centre set to offer water and land sports. The popular annual festivals which included Bishop Auckland Food Festival, Brass and the Durham Book Festival would again entertain locals and bring in many thousands of visitors.
Finally, Lumiere would return to Durham for a fifth time in November. Lumiere was now the UK’s largest light festival and this year would be accompanied by a major international lighting conference which last year took place in Seoul in South Korea.