Forest Giraffe moves in to Yarm's Leven Park!

Earlier today, Leven Park welcomed a new resident - a Forest Giraffe!

In recent months, Yarm councillor Andrew Sherris and I have sought feedback from residents on the new play area at Leven Park.

Almost without exception, residents replied they wanted to see equipment suitable for younger children.

Responding to this we drew up a shortlist of potential new pieces of equipment and asked youngsters at Levendale primary school to select their favourite. Their overwhelming favourite was the Forest Giraffe which Cllr Sherris and I agreed to order, paid for from our Community Participation Budget.

With work having commenced earlier today, it is hoped the new equipment will be 'bedded in' and open for use well ahead of the school holidays.

With Yarm Town Council having wasted over £40,000 of the council's reserves on a futile judicial review grossly mishandled by two Conservative councillors (and then a further £13,000 spent on the cost of the by-election forced by the two councillors' resignations), the council is sadly no longer in a position to replace, renew or add to the town's facilities in the coming years.

It therefore makes it all the more pleasing we have found room within this year's budget to provide this welcome addition to Leven Park.

Although there remains little scope for further schemes this year - with funds having been set aside to replace many of the small, post-mounted litter bins throughout the town which are not fit for purpose - please feel free to contact me with any suggestions for further projects.

Post by Cllr Mark Chatburn.

Yarm Residents Association - Missing in Action

At last night's Yarm Town Council meeting, the so-called residents' association demonstrated that all their talk is exactly that - talk.

In readiness for Yarm Gala held each June, Yarm Town Council is obliged to fence off the part of the High Street the Gala occupies. This work has previously been undertaken by volunteers, although numbers have dwindled in recent years.

So much so that last year only two other town councillors in addition to myself (cllrs Andrew Sherris and Bob Wegg) turned up on the day to erect the barriers, and the following day to remove them. (It's worth noting that there were more relatives of Mrs Milburn, the council's clerk, helping out than there were councillors!)

Concerned at the lack of volunteers, Yarm Town Council sensibly asked Stockton Borough Council to quote how much it would cost us to pay them to do the work for us. The answer: a staggering £580 plus VAT.

Given Yarm is still licking its financial wounds incurred in the disastrously mishandled Judicial Review (mishandled by disgraced ex-cllr Jason Hadlow, the 'brains' of Yarm's so-called residents' association no less), it was out of the question that we inflict this additional cost on our town.

So, as last year, I suggested that we undertake the work ourselves, and as last year councillors Sherris and Wegg readily offered their services.

However, when I asked for further volunteers from the members of the public present - including the three candidates in this month's by-election standing under the banner of the so-called residents' association - I was greeted with a stony silence. Not one of them was prepared to give up just a couple of hours of their time for the good of our community.

In stark contrast, I am delighted to confirm that all three of UKIP's candidates in the by-election have confirmed they will be helping out on both days. Unlike others, we recognise that talk is cheap, and that actions speak louder than words.

YRA? MIA.

Yarm footpath maintenance schemes - some good news

It isn't often I have had the opportunity to share good news regarding Yarm in recent times, but today is an happy exception.

I have now received confirmation of the areas which will have new footpaths laid throughout Yarm and Kirklevington during 2015/16. These are:

- Carew Close (full length)

- Forest Lane (various areas)

- Ryedale Close (full length)

- Larun Beat (from Lympton Gate to The Slayde).

These works are in addition to the resurfacing of Challoner Road (between Skirlaw Road and Meynell's Walk) already scheduled for this financial year.

Whilst we have a number of paths throughout the ward in need of resurfacing, Larun Beat has been in a serious state for disrepair for many years and is one of, if not the, worst in Yarm. This was one of the first issues I raised as a councillor, and I know councillors Andrew Sherris and Jennie Beaumont worked hard to raise this several times prior to my own election. Whilst it is sadly not the done thing for the old political parties locally, it would be wrong not to thank the aforementioned equally for their work in this regard.

Although no dates have been finalised for the work to be undertaken as yet, I will notify residents as soon as they are agreed.

If you believe any other areas are particularly in need of resurfacing - or at the very least some remedial work - feel free to drop me a line at mark.chatburn@stockton.gov.uk so we can endeavour to include them in future work programs.

Leven Park play area finally opens

After literally years of waiting, the new play area at Leven Park was formally opened for public use this morning.


The first children enjoying the new play area

The play area was subject to a thorough inspection by ROSPA over a couple of hours yesterday afternoon. As well as receiving a clean bill of health, the inspector was very complimentary of both the quality of work and the play area overall.

After a few little odds and sods were finished off by Care For Your Area first thing this morning, the play area was officially opened for use at 10:30.

The honour of being the first to use the play area went to local residents Brian and Margaret Moon, or more specifically to their young grandson, Alexander (pictured below).

(left to right) Cllr Andrew Sherris, Margaret Moon, grandson Alexander, Brian Moon, and myself

Despite the play area already being open there remains a final bench to be installed, but we are considering relocating this slightly from its planned position to benefit from the shade of the nearby copse of trees. A request has also been received for a dog tether to be sited nearby and we hope this is something we may able to provide shortly through our ward budget. Suggestions for any further improvements are, as always, welcome.

All that remains is to give thanks to Yarm Councillor Andrew Sherris, former Yarm Councillor Jenny Beaumont and particularly to (the camera shy!) Tony Raine of Stockton Council for their work and tireless dedication in bringing this scheme forward three years ago and seeing it through to a successful conclusion.

Yarm Parking consultation - my response

A number of residents have asked me for details of my response to the Yarm parking tax consultation, so here it is:

Dear Mr Bond

I have a number of comments and concerns I wish to make regarding the three proposed TROs currently being consulted on. I trust it is acceptable to address each TRO within this single letter.

 

i) High Street Pay and Display (including residents’ permits), Loading Bays and Taxi Ranks

 

The council’s stated aim, to increase the availability of short-stay parking spaces in Yarm, is laudable and long overdue.  However, the council has failed to provide any compelling evidence that this aim can, or will, be met by way of the current proposals. In fact, there is potential for the situation in Yarm to deteriorate gravely as a direct consequence of these proposals.

As has already been highlighted in the representation made by Michael Kitching of SK Transport Planning Ltd, the council first needs to fully understand the current use of the existing car-parking facilities in Yarm before it can assess the impact of any changes to the current arrangements and make any informed decisions. To achieve this the council needs to undertake a comprehensive study of the current usage, and good practice is for this to be done by way of a parking beat survey.

Neither a parking beat survey nor anything comparable has been undertaken by the council. To bring forward the proposed TROs without having taken this necessary first step is negligent and leaves residents and traders alike vulnerable to unseen (by the council at least) consequences.

The only survey relating to parking undertaken to date and made available to residents is the market research undertaken by NEMS in 2011. This is wholly inadequate for the purpose of making any informed decisions on changing the existing arrangements in Yarm. NEMS Market Research is not, nor do they profess to, professional parking or travel planning consultants. They did not undertake any meaningful parking study, their data mainly being extrapolated from small sample surveys undertaken. Their report is not a meaningful parking study and it is wrong of the council to contrive to treat it as such.

This absence of any detailed study or baseline data makes it impossible to make any evidence based decisions, or to assess the likely impact of the proposed changes. On this basis alone it is reckless of the council to proceed with the proposed TROs.

I am extremely concerned about the impact of removing the current maximum stay of 2 hours on the High Street; you will be aware that the proposed TRO imposes no maximum length of stay other than what the visitor is prepared to pay for.  In effect this will convert every short-stay parking space within the disc controlled zone into a medium- or long-stay parking space, contrary to the council’s stated aims.

Common sense dictates this will result in an unquantified number of visitors staying in excess of the current maximum of two hours. How this will lead to an increase in the availability of short-stay spaces is unexplained and is indeed counter-intuitive.

This will be to the detriment of Yarm traders in two profound ways. Firstly, the reduced availability of parking spaces, as longer stays can only result in a reduced turnover of vehicles and therefore visitors / shoppers. Secondly, NEMS’ report illustrates that the average spend of visitors reduces as the length of stay increases – the average spend of visitors (excluding workers) staying for more than 2 hours is 34% less than visitors staying for 1 to 2 hours. The average spend of visitors staying for more than three hours falls off a cliff edge.

I would therefore request that urgent consideration is given to amending the TRO to limit the maximum length of stay on the High Street to 3 hours. This would lessen the detrimental impact on traders whilst accommodating those visitors wishing to stay for more than two hours.

I am also concerned that the proposed residents’ permit scheme will also impact detrimentally on traders, and that this impact has not been (and cannot be, given the lack of a proper parking survey) properly considered assessed and quantified.

The requirements of those residents who live on or off the High Street must be of primary concern to the council before proposing any changes to the existing arrangements, and it is pleasing that the council appears to have taken this on board. However, that can be no excuse for proposing a scheme which presents a real and present danger to traders.

The council has failed to quantify the number of residents’ permits it expects to issue. Nor has it qualified how frequently and at what times of which days it expects these permits to be used. The same failures apply equally, and perhaps more worryingly, to the visitors permits residents will be permitted to buy. These failures are entirely understandable, given the lack of any parking study having been done, but are nevertheless inexcusable.

The current proposals will see approximately 150 properties eligible to apply for up to two parking permits and to buy the visitors permits.  We will therefore see anywhere between 0 and 300 residents’ permits, plus an unknown number of visitors’ permits, used on any given day. As the High Street currently has only 80 unrestricted parking spaces available to residents, the risk that we will see an reduction in the number of available short-stay spaces (as the permits will allow residents and visitors to park in a short-stay space at no cost for an unlimited period of time) is great.  This risk is undoubtedly at its greatest on Saturdays, the busiest day for High Street traders.

Once again, as the council is unable to quantify this risk it would be reckless to proceed with the proposed TROs at this time.

I am equally concerned at the absence of any measures to minimise or mitigate the inevitable displacement of vehicles from Yarm High Street to peripheral areas.

Given the change from a free parking arrangement to a charged parking arrangement, and given the incontrovertible and widespread opposition to such a change, it is inevitable there will be considerable resistance to the proposed changes which will result in displaced vehicles.  The number of displaced vehicles will only increase when we see a reduced availability of short-stay parking spaces on the High Street (as I have already explained), and given the reduced number of off-street parking spaces as a consequence of another of the proposed TROs.

Once again, the council has failed to quantify the anticipated level of displacement (understandably in the absence of any parking study having been undertaken), failed to identify to where these vehicles may be displaced, and has failed to propose a single measure to mitigate or combat any issues which will ensue in neighbouring streets and communities from this displacement. This is unacceptable. When this matter has been raised verbally with officers, their response has been to say that they would reactively address any issues that arise due to such displacement. To adopt this approach, in favour of proactively dealing with this issue, is wholly unacceptable.  Once again, it would be reckless of the council to proceed with the proposed TROs until this issue has been satisfactorily addressed.

Finally, and this point almost seems too obvious too mention, given the risks of a reduced availability of parking spaces and the risk of a substantial number of vehicles being displaced, it would be reckless to implement any of the proposed changes prior to additional off-street parking provision having been brought in to use.

The council’s website states “encouraging process on securing suitable sites in the vicinity of Yarm High Street is being made”. Whilst this comment needs to be taken with a healthy pinch of salt, given how many years we have heard this line, it must be a prerequisite for these sites to be brought to fruition and delivered before any other of the proposed changes could be tolerated.

With regards to the taxi rank element of the plans, I wish to consult with both residents and taxi drivers some more and will write separately to you on this matters before the closing date of Friday 26^th July 2013.

In summary, there is a real – though, sadly, unquantifiable – risk that the proposed TRO would bring about consequences contrary to the council’s stated aim, namely to increase the availability of short-stay parking spaces.  Until such time as a comprehensive parking study has been undertaken, and the risks of any proposed changes identified, quantified and mitigated as far as is possible, it would be reckless and negligent of the council to proceed with the proposed changes.

 

ii) Existing off-street car parks, pay and display

 

It is extremely disappointing that the council has decided to implement parking charges at the two existing off-street car parks. It is also extremely disappointing that the justification for this change (as referred to in the notice) has not been made available to residents on the council’s website.

It is pleasing that the charges have been set at such a relatively modest level. However, this in itself seems to put the lie to any argument that such charges are necessary to contribute to the provision of any additional off-street parking.  Such a contribution, even over a number of years, would appear to be minimal, particularly in light of the contributions to meet this end which have recently been secured as a condition in the approval of a number of major housing applications which have been approved.

It has also been argued that it is only equitable to charge for on- and off-street parking in Yarm as this is currently the case within Stockton. There is very little merit in this argument whatsoever. The differing nature and needs of the two towns are obvious, and require very different solutions. The ‘one size fits all’ approach is rarely an appropriate solution, let alone the best, to any problem. Furthermore, there is an iniquity in the amount of works currently being undertaken in Stockton Town centre at a cost of tens of millions of pounds without visitors to Stockton being asked to subsidise these, and the council’s stance that any additional works in Yarm (i.e. the provision of additional off-street parking provision) require the subsidy of residents / visitors.

Furthermore, given the wide scale opposition to the introduction of parking charges in Yarm, there will undoubtedly be resistance and a resultant level of vehicle displacement from the off-street car parks. I have already explained in some detail my concerns about displacement earlier in this letter and they apply equally to the implementation of charging in Yarm’s off-street car parks.

 

iii) Side / back street waiting restrictions

 

Whilst not universally popular, I broadly welcome the majority of the proposed new restrictions.

I am concerned at the proposed new restrictions on High Church Wynd.  I recognise that the proposed lines on the north side of the wynd will, for the most part, reinforce current custom and practice where the majority of residents park on the south side of the wynd.  However, given there is insufficient on-street parking to accommodate all of the residents who live on the wynd and I must insist those affected residents are able to apply for residents’ permits permitting them to park on the High Street.

I am also disappointed that no additional restrictions have been proposed for West End Gardens.  I understand additional restrictions have previously been considered on the west side corner, where West Street meets West End Gardens, but were rejected following complaints from residents. However, as the pressure on parking has increased in recent years, we are seeing more obstructive parking in West End Gardens than was previously the case and I, along with many residents, consider additional restrictions to be necessary.  If it is not possible to include these in the proposed TRO, I would ask that urgent consideration is given to bringing forward and additional TRO to address these concerns.

Finally, I wish to comment on Bridge Street. I must point out from the outset that I currently live at the east end of Bridge Street, although none of the proposed new restrictions are planned for outside or near my home.

I am in favour of the proposed new restrictions on both north and south sides of the street underneath the viaduct and flanking the entrance to Bridge Court. I am also broadly in favour of the new restrictions on the south side of the western end of Bridge Street, to replace the current keep clear markings.  I have however been contacted by residents who have asked whether the restrictions need to extend as far east as is proposed and whether these could be reduced in order to create one or two additional parking spaces. I should be grateful if this request could be considered and a response issued.

Finally, I approve of the proposed new restrictions on Atlas Wynd and would thank officers for including these at the eleventh hour in response to requests from residents of Atlas Wynd, myself and Councillor Andrew Sherris.

Yours sincerely,

Cllr Mark Chatburn

Leven Park play area - some good news!

I am pleased to confirm that progress on the play area is proceeding not just well, but better than was initially anticipated.

As many residents will already have seen, the vast majority of the work has already been completed. Even given the inclement weather when construction first started, work has progressed on schedule and is now largely completed.  In addition, and as a consequence of negotiations conducted by Councillor Sherris, we have been able to secure a extension to the new footpath over and above what was initially planned, and at no additional expense to the town.

Whilst the construction work was always planned to be completed within the next few weeks, it was initially believed that it would take up to 2-3 months for the groundworks to 'bed-in' before the play area could be used. I am therefore delighted to say that, subject to the necessary assessment by and approval from ROSPA, it now appears that there is a good chance that the play area will be ready for use in the coming weeks (ie during the school holidays).

We expect to receive a further update tomorrow and will update residents accordingly.

Council u-turn sees Yarm get its new play area after all

A rare U-turn by Stockton Council means that a new play area will be built at Leven Park in Yarm, just days after it was announced that the plans would have to be shelved.

For the past three years, local councillors have been working on plans that would see a new play area - the first, in fact - delivered on the east side of Yarm.

Although the funding has been in place from the outset, the scheme has been beset by a number of delays following consultations held with residents which saw a number of revisions made to the plans (most controversially, the addition of CCTV to allay residents' fears of the area attracting anti-social behavior).

However, at a meeting last week attended by myself and Councillor Sherris, officers from Stockton Council made it clear that they were no longer in a position to pay for the ongoing maintenance of the park and, unless another soure of funding could be found, the plans would have to be scrapped.

It goes without saying that when the outcome of the discussions were detailed at that evening's meeting of Yarm Town Council, the atmosphere was less than jovial.

A combination of further pressure from councillors as well as from dismayed residents led to a further meeting arranged for Tuesday evening, once again attended by myself and Councillor Sherris.

After much negotiation, Stockton Council agreed to reverse their position and to pay for all of the play area's maintenance and CCTV monitoring, everything except for the regular cleaning of the area which is to be paid for from local councillors' ward budget for, at least, the next three years.

It's mildly amusing to see all and sundry attempting to take the credit for securing the u-turn, including the so-called Yarm Residents' Association, the content of their website ostensibly written by Walter Mitty (Thurber's fictional character oft thought of as the Mayor of fantasyland and described by American Heritage Dictionary as "an ordinary, often ineffectual person who indulges in fantastic daydreams of personal triumphs").

Nevertheless, it would be wrong for the credit for finally securing the play park to go to anybody other than Councillor Sherris, who has been the scheme's driving force since day one and continues to work hard with me in endeavouring to secure long-term funding for the area's maintenance.

It is hoped that the new park should be installed and ready to go before the schools break for summer, but I hope to have this confirmed in the next few days.