Hunwick Rec Asset Transfer: January Update

Those of you who came out in such phenomenal numbers to the meeting in early December will no doubt remember that we were only able to ask a fraction of the questions which residents had and many of those who were able to get a question were told that a proper and formal answer would be forthcoming, in writing, via our councillors Olwyn and Fraser.

At the close of that meeting we received some courteous emails from council officers, thanking you all for your time, patience and the questions you posed. Olwyn and Fraser collected and emailed (18th December) additional questions from residents (see below) and officers replied quickly, suggesting that starting a 3-way discussion with residents, councillors and the football club would be a good next-step. The steering grounp went into the festive period hopeful of a flurry of activity in early January and have been looking forward to the firm, fair questions you all raised being answered in full.

Sadly, replies have not been forthcoming and despite several attempts to a wide range of council officers (including the CEO) we’ve had no further contact – not even an email acknowledging our own emails. It now feels naïve to assume that this is anything other than a deliberate attempt to ignore us.

Both Fraser and Olwyn continue to share mini-updates about their own attempts to secure a response, but as it’s hurtling towards the 2 month anniversary of our meeting in the Hunwick WMC I believe it’s now time to begin the process of escalation within the council to ensure that we get answers to the important questions which have been posed. Once I know more about that, I’ll update you all again.

It’s a shame that we’ve been unable to build on what felt like a change of tone from the council in December; but I’ve no doubt that the proud people of Hunwick will continue to ensure their views are heard.

As always, if you have questions please do direct them towards our elected councillors.

Olwyn Gunn : [email protected] / Fraser Tinsley : [email protected]

Questions for councillors below:

• It was noted that no long term lease has been granted but have  Durham County Council (DCC)  Culture, Sport, and  Tourism , Corporate Property and Land (CPAL) and the Cabinet Member  responsible agreed in principle to grant a long term lease to Bishop Auckland Girls Football Club (BAGFC) ?
• Did DCC Officers support the Home Advantage Football Foundation application and, if so, please provide details of the support provided? Is a successful  Home Advantage application dependent on  the granting of a long-term lease and has DCC advised in support of the application that a lease has been agreed in principle?
• Did DCC Officers advise BAGFC not to attend the residents meeting on 9^th November?
• It was stated at the meeting by the Head of Culture, Sport and Tourism that there was no intention to fence off the football pitches which appears to be contradictory to the requirement of the Home Advantage Programme to ensure grassed pitches are protected from vehicular access. How would that  Home Advantage Programme requirement be achieved?
•  DCC Officers stated that BAGFC ‘has to demonstrate a strong business case’ and that nothing is agreed yet. What is the time frame for the DCC decision to grant a long term lease to BAGFC and, bearing in mind that the meeting attended by DCC Officers on  30^th November was organised by County Councillors and Hunwick resident, Rob Smith, what plans are in place for consultation with residents?
• How many traffic surveys have been carried out in Rough Lea Terrace and Hepworth Lane and when?
• What traffic calming measures and traffic management measures have been investigated?
• Has investigation been carried out into hard surface parking areas around the football pitches?
• What assurances can be provided that there will be no building on  Hunwick Playing Fields  associated with the granting of a long term lease to BAGFC ?
• Given that some ‘members’ of BAGFC have told some Hunwick residents and the Hunwick Harriers that they cannot use the pitches please provide written information to our County Councillors  that residents can currently have access to  the pitches.
• What assurances can DCC provide that residents will have access to the football pitches if a long term lease is granted?
• A member found the attached, I believe, on the planning portal showing a detailed diagram of the area of the rec reserved for parking. We’d be grateful if you could confirm your understanding on this and clearly articulate where you believe cars should be parking when using the facility. 
• We recall having correspondence forwarded to us from one of the BAGFC mum’s from a private Facebook group showing that the Club was in a ’10 week period’ of creating the business plan. We feel it’d be useful for the club + appropriate council officers to provide us with a ‘decision roadmap’ showing historic discussions and decisions, as well as those which lay ahead. I appreciate that it may not be possible to furnish this roadmap with accurate future dates, but we assume that the council must know quite a lot about this process and I know we’d all appreciate it being shared. 
• Within the community we know how frequent the near misses are with traffic on match days, but it feels as though that information isn’t being accurately logged with the council and is thus providing an inaccurate view of this important issue. Would asking the community to provide a retrospective view on issues with traffic be useful? We’d also be interested to know of any logs you are maintaining and the provision of any anonymised statistics you hold.
• It was mentioned during the meeting in December that the proposed lease may include restrictions. Could you confirm whether that lease could be modified in the future to remove those restrictions or are they legally immovable for the total duration of the lease?