As part of The Great British Spring Clean Seaham Wombles have organised a litter pick to be held on Tuesday 28 March 2023 at Seaton.

Everyone is welcome and if you would like to join the litter pick please meet at Seaton Supply Store at 5.30pm.

For more information please click on the Facebook link below;

https://www.facebook.com/groups/763565024588527/permalink/1243232033288488/

This year’s Big Spring Clean is now underway. The Big Spring Clean is an annual community litter picking campaign and events are taking place between 20 February and 17 April across the county, inviting community groups, schools and individuals to get involved in cleaning up their areas.

There are plenty of opportunities to get involved. People can organise their own litter-picks and Durham County Council’s civic pride team is able to loan equipment on request and arrange collection of the rubbish. Alternatively, there is a series of open days across the county, where people can sign up to a litter picking initiative and will be given their own set of equipment to keep.

Litter is a terrible blight on the landscape and the environment and this is a practical way for people to help out in their own neighbourhoods.

For more information, please visit the Big Spring Clean website here, or contact litterfreedurham@durham.gov.uk

A programme of events is set to take place across the county to celebrate the Coronation of His Majesty King Charles III this spring. Durham County Council have updated their Street Parties policy (see below) to make it easier for residents to join in.

Street Party Policy

Organising a street party is a great way for residents to join their neighbours in celebrating the Coronation, alongside the rest of the nation. The County Council has made the task of organising the event easy for residents by providing guidance and best practise to ensure they are safe for everyone attending.

The policy means that it is now quick and easy to apply for a temporary road closure licence, and to help more people enjoy the occasion, they have also made it free to apply. Residents are advised to apply for their licence no later than 7 April, which is four weeks before the Coronation weekend.

To apply for a temporary road closure, or to find out about insurance, licensing, noise control and clean up after for your street party, residents should visit:https://www.durham.gov.uk/article/22025/Apply-for-a-temporary-road-path-or-public-right-of-way-closure-for-an-event

To apply for a licence to install bunting over the public highway residents should complete the attached ‘S178 Licence Bunting Application’ and return it by email toStrategicHighways@durham.gov.uk

S178 Licence Bunting Application Form

For information about national events and celebrations taking place over the Coronation Weekend between Saturday 6th and Monday 8th May 2023, residents can visit:https://www.royal.uk/coronation-weekend-plans-announced 

The Local Government Boundary Commission is undertaking a 10-week public consultation inviting proposals for new council divisions and division boundaries for Durham County Council.

The consultation will close on 30 January 2023.

Once they have considered all representations made to them during this consultation, they will publish draft recommendations in April 2023.

They will then hold a further period of consultation on the draft recommendations. Final recommendations are expected to be published in September 2023.

The new electoral arrangements will come into effect at the local elections in May 2025.

If you represent a local organisation or community group in Durham, please pass this message on to your members or anyone who you think might be interested in the review.

What is an electoral review?

The electoral review will recommend new electoral arrangements for Durham County Council. It will propose:

• the total number of councillors elected to the council in the future;
• the number of divisions;
• the number of councillors representing each division;
• division boundaries; and
• the names of divisions.

How to get involved

This is a public consultation seeking views from individuals and organisations across Durham on where they think new division boundaries should be drawn.

They are minded to recommend that 98 councillors should be elected to Durham County Council in the future. This is 28 fewer than the current number of councillors.

They are now inviting proposals to help us draw up a pattern of divisions to accommodate 98 councillors.

In drawing up new electoral divisions, they must balance three legal criteria, namely:

• to deliver electoral equality: where each councillor represents roughly the same number of electors as others across the county;
• that the pattern of divisionsshould, as far as possible, reflect the interests and identities of local communities;
• that the electoral arrangements should provide for effective and convenient local government.

They will treat all submissions equally, and judge each case on its merits and against the legal criteria.

If you wish to put forward a view, we would also urge you to ensure that evidence supports your submission.

For example, if you wish to argue that two areas should be included in the same electoral divisions, make sure you tell us why they should be together, providing evidence about community facilities, ties, organisations, and amenities, rather than simply asserting that they belong together.

There is more advice on our website about how you can get involved in the consultation.

Their website features technical guidance that explains the process and policies, as well as guidance on how to take part in each part of the process.

We have also set up a webpage dedicated to the review of Durham, where you can find all the relevant information.

You can also access interactive maps of the current ward boundaries across Durham on our specialist consultation portal. The portal also allows you to comment and upload documents directly to the site.

Get in touch

We welcome comments on division arrangements by 30 January 2023. Representations should be made:

– Through their interactive consultation portal, where you can explore the maps of the recommendations and make comments;

– By email to reviews@lgbce.org.uk;

– Or in writing to Review Officer (Durham), LGBCE, PO Box 133, Blyth, NE24 9FE

“Wheels2Work County Durham” is a County Durham based charity that provides access to employment and education for County Durham residents who are in, or have secured work or training, and find it a struggle to get there and back.

Their aim is to support people into better economic situations through access to employment and upskilling, and effectively helping them help themselves find a pathway out of poverty.

They have recently added electric mopeds to their fleet (new SEAT Mo 125) and these are available for hire.

For more information, please see the attached leaflet Wheels2Work Leaflet 

Further information is available by contacting Liam Weatherill on 0191 303 8442 or email: liam.weatherill@w2wcd.org.uk

Residents are advised that Hedley Planning Services are submitting a planning application on
behalf of new homes by Believe Housing for the construction of 52 dwellings, including four affordable bungalows on land at Hillrise Crescent, Seaton Village.

Before Hedley Planning Services submit a planning application to Durham County Council they would like your views on the proposed development. The proposal includes new build housing for sale, with a number of affordable properties.

The leaflet below outlines details of the proposed development and residents are invited to
complete the survey, found via the website link or QR code on the leaflet. Views are being sought on the proposed homes, access, appearance, landscaping, layout and size.

An in-person consultation event will be held on Monday, 31 October 2022 between 2:30pm-6pm, at Seaton Community Centre, Seaton, SR7 0NA.

If you are unable to attend the consultation event, please use the QR Code to visit Hedley Planning Services’ website and complete the survey to provide your feedback.

Comments in writing can be forwarded to
Hedley Planning Services,
Unit 3 Hexham Enterprise Hub,
Burn Lane, Hexham
Northumberland
NE46 3HY

Web link: https://bit.ly/hillrise-crescent
Email: Alexander@hedleyplanning.co.uk

The deadline for comments to be submitted is Friday, 25 November 2022

Seaton Village Public Consultation Flyer

Seaton with Slingley Parish Council is putting civility and respect at the top of its agenda and is committed to treating Councillors, Officers, employees, members of the public, representatives of partner organisations, and volunteers, with civility and respect in their roles.

At the Parish Council meeting held on Wednesday 19 October 2022, Seaton with Slingley Parish Council signed up to the Civility and Respect Pledge set out by The National Association of Local Councils, the Society of Local Council Clerks and One Voice Wales.

Seaton with Slingley Parish Council has registered and agreed to the following statements:

·   Seaton with Slingley Parish Council has agreed that it will treat all councillors, the Clerk and all employees, members of the public, representatives of partner organisations, and volunteers, with civility and respect in their role.

·   Seaton with Slingley Parish Council has committed to training Councillors and staff.

·   Seaton with Slingley Parish Council has signed up to Code of Conduct for Councillors.

·   Seaton with Slingley Parish Council has good governance arrangements in place including, staff contracts, and dignity at work policy.

·   Seaton with Slingley Parish Council will commit to seeking professional help in the early stages should civility and respect issues arise.

·   Seaton with Slingley Parish Council will commit to calling out bullying and harassment if, or when, it happens.

·   Seaton with Slingley Parish Council will continue to learn from best practice in the sector and aspire to being a role model/champion council e.g., via the Local Council Award Scheme.

·   Seaton with Slingley Parish Council supports the continued lobbying for the change in legislation to support the Civility and Respect Pledge, including sanctions for elected members where appropriate.

Civility and Respect Pledge Certificate

For more information from the National Association of Local Councils please visit https://www.nalc.gov.uk/our-work/civility-and-respect-project

The Scotland to England Green Link (SEGL1) is a High Voltage Direct Current Link, “electricity superhighway” which will transport clean green energy produced in Scotland to England. The link will run under the sea for most of its length, between the Torness area in East Lothian and Hawthorn Pit.

Arrangements have been made for a briefing on SEGL1 to be given to the Parish Council on Wednesday 18 May 2022 at 6pm  in the Community Centre, Seaton Village.

There will be a 30 minute briefing on the proposal followed by a 30 minute question and answer session.

Residents are welcome to attend the briefing and there will be an opportunity to ask questions during the question and answer session.

For more information on the proposal please see below.

SEGL1 Public Information Events | National Grid ET

Our commitment to ocean recovery

Overview

Seaton with Slingley Parish Council made an Ocean Recovery Declaration on 16 March 2022. This means we are committed to take action to improve the health of the ocean.

A healthy ocean is vital for our:

• climate,
• health and wellbeing
• our future prosperity.

At present the ocean is not in good health because of human activity and climate change. We are committed to playing our part, but local government can’t solve the ocean crisis alone. You can also take action to improve the state of the ocean.

What we are doing – Our commitment to ocean recovery

We have declared an Ocean Recovery Declaration and support a global Motion for the Ocean campaign. We have committed to doing all we can to recover the health of the ocean.

This is to:

• protect our beautiful coast and precious wildlife.
• improve residents’ health and wellbeing and reduce pressure on the NHS.
• boost the local economy and create new jobs for local people.
• reduce the inequality in who can access the ocean and support the most disadvantaged in our community.
• provide the best future we can for our children and grandchildren.

What we have already done

Taking action to protect our ocean is new to the Council, and we acknowledged that we want and need to do more. We recognise the value of the ocean in helping us to protect our beautiful coastline. We recognise and acknowledge the work of the SeaScapes scheme, the first of its kind in the UK, which is better connecting our local communities with the ocean.

What we will do

As a result of our Ocean Recovery Declaration, we will take action, wherever possible to assist with ocean recovery. As a small Parish Council we are limited in what we can do but moving forward we pledge to enbed ocean recovery in everything we do from our strategic decisions, budgets and planning. We will also work with partners to assist in ocean recovery. We are committed to playing our part, but local government can’t solve the ocean crisis alone. 80% of marine litter comes from the land and we all have a role to play to reduce this.

What you can do

Below are some examples of what you can do to make a real difference.

What businesses can do

You can:

• end the use of balloons for promotion and don’t get involved in any balloon releases.
• reduce the use of single use items such as plastic knives and forks.
• reward customers, such as providing them with an incentive if they bring their own reusable containers or cutlery.
• pick up litter in and around your business.
• encourage or support local community activities such as litter picks.
• reduce your carbon footprint.
• ensure that the correct items go down the drain – i.e. no cooking fat or wet wipes.
• sell only sustainable seafood, ideally caught locally and in season.

What residents can do

Residents can make a difference to our environment and our towns and neighbourhoods.

Please try to:

• put all your litter in a bin or take it home with you.
• recycle your waste – there’s lots of items you can recycle.
• join an organised beach clean or litter pick.
• don’t release balloons or sky lanterns, they can harm or kill birds and marine wildlife. Instead consider a memorial or celebration event that includes an activity such as bubble blowing.
• shop local and buy only sustainable seafood ideally locally caught and in season.
• reduce single-use items at home or when you are out and about. For example, if you’re going for a picnic take your own reusable containers or cutlery with you.
• ensure only the correct items go down the toilet or drain – no cooking fat, wet wipes or other items.
• walk or cycle to reduce your carbon footprint.
• don’t light fires on beaches or in parks – only have BBQs where signs say it is allowed.
• bag your dog waste and put it in the bin (any litter bin will do) – never hang a bag on a tree or leave it on the ground.
• volunteer with an organisation such as SeaScapes. Individuals, community groups or schools can get involved.

Even if you don’t live at the coast your actions will have an impact. For example, litter dropped anywhere (even as small as a cigarette end) can eventually end up in the sea.

What visitors can do

If you are visiting the coast you can help protect the beautiful coastline and countryside by following the Countryside Code.

• put litter in the nearest bin or take it home with you – if you brought it, take it home.
• don’t feed or harm the wildlife.
• follow any guidance messages about the use of disposable BBQs.
• leave only footprints on our beaches.

You can also encourage your council to make their own Ocean Recovery Declaration and to take action to protect the ocean. For more details, see Ocean Conservation Trust: Motion for the Ocean.

What we want the government to do 

We have asked the government to:

• properly fund Inshore Fisheries and Conservation authorities.
• develop national policy in collaboration with coastal communities.
• appoint a dedicated Minister for Coastal Communities.
• produce a national Ocean Recovery Strategy.
• stop plastic pollution at source.