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This page contains news and other information provided by Brian Jones, the
Darlington Borough Councillor for Sadberge & Whessoe.
Brian will be updating this page on a regular basis, so it's worth coming
back from time to time to get his perspective on issues affecting
Sadberge. If this is your first visit to this page then click
here to see Brian's
welcome message.
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Ward Councillor's News
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The Best of Darlington Awards
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I was fortunate enough to spend a very pleasant evening on Friday in the company of Millie Scaife, Alastair Mackenzie and Rich Hurst on the occasion of the 'Best of Darlington Awards' at Darlington College. The event was compered extremely professionally by Peter Barron, Editor of the Northern Echo, and supported by a variety of local businesses and organisations.
I had nominated Sadberge Parish Council in the 'Contribution to the Environment' category which was sponsored by Groundwork West Durham and Darlington and we had reached the final three alongside The John Wade Group and Chris and Liz Hodgson who run an Organic Farm Shop and Cafe at Piercebridge. Tough competition indeed!
A video clip showing the achievements of each entrant was shown so the audience could see their individual merits and everything was going fine until it came to Sadberge. I was shown on the large screen beginning my introduction when the video suddenly stopped and left me motionless with my mouth wide open in mid sentence! Despite a couple of attempts to run the clip the equipment was having none of it so there I was, frozen in time, much to the amusement of some.
However, my embarrassment soon disappeared when Peter announced Sadberge as the winner and all four of us went on stage to receive the award and we were able to see the clip later in the evening. The award is testament to the good work being done in the village by the Parish Council and the Energy Saving Trust.
Sadberge was also well represented by Robin Blair, the outgoing 'Citizen of the Year' and Josh Phillips who won the 'Academic Excellence' award. Well done Josh!
But perhaps the most enjoyable part of the evening was meeting and talking to 10 year old Brandon Holloway who not only took the 'Young Person's Contribution to the Community' award, but also scooped the 'Young Citizen of the Year' for which he received a standing ovation.
All in all a very successful and satisfying evening for all those Darlington residents who work so hard for little or no reward.
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Added: 28-Feb-2010
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Community Speedwatch
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It comes as no surprise that in less than 3 hours of monitoring traffic speeds on Norton Crescent (17 vehicles) and Hillhouse Lane (15 vehicles), 32 vehicles were detected travelling in excess of 35mph in a 30mph area. Because they have exceeded the Police prosecution level all will now receive warning letters advising them of their indiscretion.
This is only the beginning of Community Speedwatch which will be supported by other Police methods and hopefully the message will soon register with drivers that Sadberge is a 'no go' village for those who are not prepared to conform to the legal speed limit.
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Added: 19-Feb-2010
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PACT
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The meeting last Tuesday evening was hugely successful with 30 residents filling the coffee lounge in what was a busy and mostly good humoured discussion of Sadberge residents' problems. I chaired the meeting with support from PC's Chris Horner and Julian Brown.
The two priorities chosen for Police attention were excessive vehicle speeds on all main roads through the village and dangerous and inconsiderate parking in a variety of locations. Several residents volunteered to be involved with Community Speedwatch and this will be organised by PC Horner.
I have spoken to resident Alan Burrows who has kindly agreed to take over as chair of PACT. The next meeting will be held at 6-30pm on Tuesday 9th March in Sadberge village hall when there will be an update on issues raised.
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Added: 14-Feb-2010
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PACT
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A Partners and Communities Together meeting will be held in Sadberge village hall at 6-30pm on Tuesday 9th February.
This is an opportunity to meet your Neighbourhood Policing Team and to discuss any issues affecting your quality of life. This is an informal discussion with the police to resolve the issues where you live.
Other Partners can be involved if necessary and arrangements can be made to discuss issues privately.
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Added: 31-Jan-2010
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Ward Surgery
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My next surgery will be held in Brafferton Village Hall at 6pm on Tuesday 23rd February.
I am available on 01325 332820 or brian.jones@darlington.gov.uk
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Added: 11-Dec-2009
Updated: 31-Jan-2010
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Wind Farms / Sadberge Parish Council / Talking Together
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I will be attending a meeting of SPAG (Seven Parishes Action Group)at 7pm on Monday 5th October in Sadberge village hall to discuss the way forward in connection with the Banks' wind farm proposal for the erection of ten turbines at Moor House.
I will also be attending the meeting of Sadberge parish council at 6-30pm the following evening.
There will be a Talking Together event at 5-30 on Thursday 8th in the Dolphin Centre to discuss Renewable Energy and I will be attending with members of SPAG.
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Added: 3-Oct-2009
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Moor House Wind Farm
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Banks Developments intend to hold two exhibitions in connection with their proposal for a wind farm at Moor House to the north west of Sadberge. These will be held on Monday 14th September in Sadberge village hall and Tuesday 15th September in Harrowgate Hill Working Men's Club, both between 3-7pm.
It seems quite clear that Banks are now very close to submitting a planning application which I understand is likely to be for 10 turbines of between 100 and 110 metres tall, so this is probably the last opportunity to question the developer and to make your feelings known.
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Added: 30-Aug-2009
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Rural Policing
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Following some controversy in the local press recently about policing in the villages surrounding Darlington, I was delighted today to be able to walk around Sadberge with PC's Julian Brown and Chris Horner. Julian has been doing a great job for some considerable time now trying to cover all of the rural areas, an almost impossible task, but he has now been joined by Chris and they will work together to provide effective rural policing. This has been achieved in no small way thanks to the efforts of the Middleton St George ward councillors who I have supported with their efforts for an additional rural beat officer.
Chief Inspector Paul Unsworth of Darlington Police has given an undertaking to make rural policing an important part of his remit and has been true to his word.
The rural area of Darlington may not be the 'hotbed' of crime compared to other parts of the town, but nevertheless, problems do exist and residents deserve the necessary police attention to provide some peace of mind.
It should also be remembered, that in addition to the dedicated beat officers, there are dozens of officers based in Darlington who can be called upon to deal with any kind of incident 24 hours a day, every day of the year.
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Added: 17-Aug-2009
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Developments along the Eastern Transport Corridor and A66
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At a recent planning applications committee meeting, two huge applications adjacent to the Darlington Eastern Transport Corridor (DETC) and the A66 were duly given the go ahead (subject to conditions). The news may be good for employment in the town and farther afield but I still maintain that not enough has been done to mitigate the potential problems that will be caused by the huge increase in traffic from the two sites. Great Burdon and beyond to the west and Sadberge to the east will bear the brunt of those problems.
I have been promised a review of the traffic situation in Sadberge and will work with Darlington Borough Council and Sadberge Parish Council to minimise the effect of these developments on the village. Further information is available on the Sadberge web site.
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Added: 11-Aug-2009
Updated: 12-Aug-2009
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Developments along the Eastern Transport Corridor
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I've looked very carefully at the two applications for the significant development along the Eastern Transport Corridor. The applications for the Dean and Chapter land and Lingfield Point represent a massive combined development which, if approved, will present challenges to the highways infrastructure which I believe have not been properly addressed.
I believe the Sustainable Transport Study has failed to address the potential problems that would be created by the additional traffic movements from these developments, particularly with regard to the effect on Sadberge, Great Burdon, Salters Lane North and Harrowgate Hill.
There are suggested highway improvements to certain areas such as Little Burdon roundabout, but no amount of improvement at the roundabout will improve traffic flows through Great Burdon or along Salters Lane North where there is no solution to the existing bottleneck. Neither will the suggested improvements have any effect whatsoever on the inevitable use of Sadberge as a rat run.
Instead, the Transport Study concentrates on the land use and the financial contributions which will do nothing to assist those rural residents who will suffer from an unacceptable increased level of traffic.
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Added: 24-Jul-2009
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