Minutes:
The Chair informed Council that since the last Council meeting, she had attended various events, including attending The Mindful Garden at Park View Academy on 21 September 2023, visiting The Faith Museum at the Auckland Project on 27 September 2023 and attending a 100th birthday party for a local lady on 7 October 2023 at the Haswell and District Mencap premises.
The
Chair was pleased to announce the following which had taken place
since the last Council meeting:
· The construction of a £37million primary and secondary school campus that would provide "world-class" facilities for more than a thousand County Durham children was underway. The campus would accommodate new buildings for Belmont C of E Primary School and Belmont Community School, on Buckinghamshire Road. The three-storey secondary school and two-storey primary school would be built on the existing sports field, before the current buildings were demolished. The project would ensure school provision in Belmont kept pace with growing demand for places.
· County Durham entries had thrived in this year’s Northumbria in Bloom competition. Judges for the annual awards, which were run by the Royal Horticultural Society, visited the county earlier this year and they were clearly impressed by what they saw, as entries from across the county dominated winners' lists in several categories.
Among the many successes were the following entries submitted by the County Council and local partners:
· Durham City - Gold and winner in the Small City category
· Chester-le-Street - Silver in the Large Towns category
· Riverside Park and Wharton Park - Gold in the Best Parks category
· Durham BID - Gold and winner in the Best Town Centre Retail Area/Business Improvement Districts category
· St Cuthbert's Hospice - Gold and winner in the Best Care/Residential/Convalescent Home/Hospice or Day Centre category
· Durham Botanic Gardens - Gold and winner in the Best Tourist or Visitor Attraction or Country Estate category
· Crook Hall and Gardens - Gold in the Best Tourist or Visitor Attraction or Country Estate category
· St Cuthbert's RC Church in Chester-le-Street - Gold and winner in the Best Religious Establishment category
· Durham Cathedral - Gold in the Best Religious Establishment category
· St Margaret's Allotments - Gold in the Best Allotments category
· Lumley Castle - Silver in the Best Hotel category
There were also accolades for entries from local communities, town and parish councils and schools, with Durham Gilesgate Primary School scooping yet another win, Seaham taking first place in the Coastal Resort category and Stanley getting Gold in the Large Town category.
The Chair placed on record her thanks to all of the community groups, schools, local councils, businesses and organisations that came together to showcase their efforts for this year’s competition.
Finally, the Chair extended a warm welcome to facilitators of Climate FRESK. Climate Fresk 'Quiz Version' was a stimulating educational game concerning Climate Change first developed in France and was now being rolled out globally.
The Climate Fresk was on display in Council Foyer and Members were encouraged to see what was being offered, ask questions to the facilitators and feedback information on groups or individuals in their area who may be interested in participating.