Agenda item

The Council noted a report from the Leader of Council as follows:

·        The Leader thanked all Council staff who provided vital services over the festive period including social care staff, bin crews and road maintenance teams.

·        The Leader also recognised the efforts of staff, Members, partners and residents for their support for Christmas charity collections.  More than 500 advent calendars were donated at council offices and then distributed by foodbanks across the county to children.  Traditional food donations were also collected and delivered to local foodbanks.  As well as providing emergency food parcels to families throughout the year the foodbanks also helped celebrate Christmas by supplying special festive hampers.  Meanwhile, hundreds of new toys for children and gifts for teenagers were donated to the Salvation Army and staff raised almost £1,000 for the Chairman’s charity, Age UK County Durham by taking part in the Council’s Christmas Jumper Day.  The Leader thanked everyone who contributed to help those in need.

·        Following the success of last year’s Year of Culture, 2020 had been designated the Year of Pilgrimage.  More details of the activities as part of the year would be unveiled over the coming weeks.

·        2020 looked to be another great year for the Council’s culture programme.  The dates for this year’s Food Festivals had been announced as 18-19 April for Bishop Auckland and 13-14 June for Seaham.  Durham City Run, which would take place on 16-18 July had been launched.

·        The Leader referred to consultations which were currently taking place.  A public consultation on plans to replace Durham Bus Station started on 17 January and ran until 9 February.  The Council was keen to hear the views of residents and commuters on the plans which would see the existing North Road Bus Station demolished and replaced with a modern transport hub.  Once the consultation closed the design would be reviewed ahead of a final planning application being submitted.  If planning permission was approved, it was anticipated the new bus station could be completed and open to the public in late 2021.

·        In the east of the County residents were being asked for their views on the future of the former Easington Colliery Primary School in Seaside Lane which had stood empty since 1997.  Due to the lack of interest from developers and the continued failure to find a viable use for it the authority was considering demolition of the buildings and looking at temporary solutions for the site such as a pocket park until a permanent use for the land was found.  Consultation concluded on 29 January.

·      Castleside Cemetery had been awarded silver in the National Cemetery of the Year Awards 2019, granted by The Memorial Awareness Board which campaigned for compassionate and sympathetic services.  In deciding the awards cemeteries were judged on how staff created environments and services which were safer, more welcoming for those visiting their loved ones and which complied with current legislation.  The award added to the recent success of Castleside Cemetery being presented a Green Flag Award, the benchmark for national standards for parks and green spaces in the UK.

·      Mountsett Crematorium had launched a new website which enabled people to view inscriptions online and pay their respects to their loved ones.  It included images of its book of remembrance as well as information about the venue and services.

·      A blue plaque had been unveiled at The Citadel in Sherburn Terrace, Consett the home of the world’s first Salvation Army band.  Consett Citadel Band was formed in 1879.  The building was the latest to receive the honour which the Council was promoting as a way for applicants around the county to commemorate historic links between a location and a famous person or event.

·      Holocaust Memorial Day would take place on 27 January and this year marked 75 years since the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau and the 25^th anniversary of the genocide in Bosnia.  Organised events during the week would include an exhibition at Peterlee’s East Durham College with an event on Monday evening.  There would also be an educational event during the day at Durham Cathedral for secondary school pupils from across the county which the Leader would introduce and which would feature a talk by holocaust survivor Tomi Komoly.

·      The Council’s community arts team had launched a special visual arts commission to celebrate the reopening of Bishop Auckland Town Hall this spring following a £1.5 million refurbishment.  The competition would give artists the opportunity to exhibit their work at the gallery over the summer.

·      Last month, just over a year since it opened to visitors on Saturdays, Durham Town Hall received its 11,000^th visitor.  The Town Hall enabled the public to visit for free and to discover the building’s rich past, treasures and tales housed within the impressive structure.

·      A Swedish delegation recently visited a number of Council sites to see first-hand the innovative software employed to reduce energy use and were now planning to roll out some of what they learned back home.  The visit was arranged through the European Union’s Interreg Europe LOCARBO project, a partnership programme which sought to improve the energy efficiency of businesses not just in County Durham but Italy, Hungary, Lithuania, Romania and Portugal by exchanging best practice and experience.

·      The Gala Theatre had reduced its environmental impact thanks to newly installed eco-friendlier LED lighting, saving 20 tonnes CO₂ per year and contributing to the Council’s wider aim to reduce carbon emissions following the Council’s declaration of a climate emergency.

·      The former Spennymoor Day Centre in Dundas Street was being refurbished with support from the council’s property team and would re-open as an Irish dance studio and headquarters of a family business.  The building has been vacant since 2012 and was planned to open in March.

·      District Nurses and Social Workers had relocated to the Richardson Centre in Barnard Castle to ensure closer working between health and social care.  The move was part of a continuing commitment by County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust, the Council and NHS commissioners to strengthen the role of the hospital.  By basing the teams at the hospital they were closer to the community wards allowing them to liaise with ward staff to ensure patients could return home quickly and safely and help avoid unnecessary admissions to hospital.

·      As had previously been reported Ian Thompson, Corporate Director for Regeneration and Local Services would leave the Council on 25 January to take up a position with the new unitary Buckinghamshire County Council.  Steve Howell, Head of Culture, Leisure and Sport retired on 17January.  The Leader thanked them both for their service to the Council and wished them well for their future.

·      Following approval by Council, recruitment was taking place for Corporate Directors for Regeneration, Economy and Growth and for Neighbourhoods and Climate Change with assessments and interviews taking place in February.  The Council was also in the final stages of recruiting a new Head of Leisure, Culture and Sport.

·      The annual Guide to Council Services would be delivered to all households across County Durham from the end of January.

·      Durham Vocal Festival would take place from 25 January to 2 February.  As well as performances from world class artists such as Orchestra for the Age of Enlightenment and Sir Thomas Allen the festival would premier an opera written by young people from Wolsingham School and the OAE featuring over 250 performers.  The event was supported by Arts Council England, the Department for Education, the Council and Darlington Borough Council.

·      Time to Talk day would take place on 6 February and encouraged everyone to talk about mental health.  As a Time to Change employer the Council would be supporting this awareness day with reminders of the importance of having conversations around mental health.

Councillor Shuttleworth referred to the consultation on the former Easington Colliery Primary School which the Council had previously sold for £1 and asked how much the Council had bought the site back for.  The Leader replied that he would provide this information to Councillor Shuttleworth after the meeting.