Minutes:
The Council noted a report from the Leader of the Council as follows:
· Following the heavy snow and freezing temperatures experienced earlier in the month it was good to see the first signs of Spring appearing in County Durham. The green shoots of recovery could also be seen in the battle against Coronavirus with the County’s infection rates continuing to fall and the Government’s roadmap out of lockdown giving an indication of how restrictions could be eased in the weeks ahead. On behalf of the Council the Leader thanked communities for everything they were doing to help stop the spread of the virus. It was vital to keep up these efforts to help save lives, protect the NHS and allow us to return to a more normal way of life.
· One of the first changes announced by the Government was the return of all children to school. It was worth highlighting that County Durham schools had remained open during lockdown to educate the children of key workers and those with additional needs. School staff had also been working very hard to assist pupils and parents with home learning. The Leader thanked them all for their amazing efforts and reassured them that the Council would do everything it could to support them in the months ahead.
· News that more than 15 million of the UK’s most vulnerable people had received their first dose of the Coronavirus vaccine was most welcome. In County Durham 95% of people aged over 70 had received their first dose along with 82% of clinically vulnerable residents. This week the north-east’s third large vaccination centre opened at the Arnison Centre near Durham. This would allow NHS colleagues to vaccinate up to 1,000 people each day and complimented the work already underway at GP surgeries and smaller vaccination centres across the County. The vaccination programme was a team effort with the NHS working alongside local authorities, the armed forces, emergency services and community volunteers. During the heavy snow the Council’s Clean and Green Team assisted GP surgeries by helping to clear paths and car parks to allow appointments to continue.
· It had been a busy period for the highways team and gritting crews who had worked hard to keep the County’s roads safe during the winter weather.
· As well as supporting residents and businesses through the immediate challenges of the pandemic, the only way to ensure the long-term resilience and recovery of communities was to forge ahead with the Council’s ambitious regeneration plans. By investing in County Durham and attracting additional investment from partners the Council would help create and safeguard thousands of jobs.
· Cabinet had approved plans to invest a further £5m into the Towns and Villages Investment Plan. The Plan already committed £20m to the County’s most disadvantaged communities and the additional £5m would be divided between the 14 Area Action Partnerships for projects identified by local residents following the successful consultation events which were held over the autumn. Towns and Villages were a key part of the Councils regeneration strategy and the Council aimed to ensure that the money spent delivered the best possible outcomes for communities, from improving the quality of housing to revitalising high streets. The long-awaited revamp of Festival Walk in Spennymoor was just one example of a project which had benefitted from Towns and Villages funding. The demolition of the derelict Kwik Save store on the site had commenced which would be replaced by a new town centre car park.
· Also part of the Towns and Villages programme was the Council’s £70m five-year plan to build 500 new homes for rent in County Durham at a time when there was a real need for affordable housing. The first phase had been approved by Cabinet which set out plans for 155 new homes on Council owned land in seven locations across the County.
· Work had commenced on a much needed state of the art bus station in the heart of Durham City.
· There was also cause for optimism in Bishop Auckland. After the Council’s successful bid to the Government’s Future High Street Fund last year the Council had submitted a bid to the Stronger Towns Programme. Bishop Auckland was selected by the Government for this scheme and if the bid was successful funding would be allocated to regeneration projects in the town.
· The Council remained committed to tackling climate change and had strengthened this commitment with a statement of ambitions which outlined how the Council would continue to work towards positive environmental change. Last year the Council’s Business Energy Efficiency Project was able to support nearly 100 businesses to make changes in their operations to reduce carbon emissions. The Council had also planted thousands of new trees across green spaces in County Durham as part of the Forestry Commission’s Urban Tree Challenge Fund.
· The Council had successfully hosted the County Durham Environment Awards online to celebrate environmental guardianship and community spirit during the pandemic. The Leader congratulated all of the winners and nominees for the fantastic work they were doing.
· Covid 19 would be with us for a long time to come but County Durham remained very well placed to recover quickly and sustainably. This would require the continued efforts of all communities and the Leader again thanked everyone for what they had done so far. The Leader asked residents to continue following the rules and maintain the hands, face, space guidance.
Councillor A Bell asked whether the Council could assist in fast-tracking the offer of vaccination to school staff. The Leader replied that he would raise this with the Council’s Public Health Officers, however the groups for vaccination had been decided nationally.