At the Environment Committee meeting it was decided to ask the Service Review Working Group to set away the Neighbourhood Plan; this key document will determine how the town develops in the future.
The Committee also asked the officers to look into the feasibility of closing the lorry park, following newspaper reports that some users are using it as a toilet.
A number of trees have been damaged/vandalised at School Aycliffe, to the point where some trees may need felling, and the cost to rectify the damage will be £500. Members resolved that, if/when we find out who did this, the Council WILL prosecute them.
The Recreation Committee considered a report that (due to the closure of other local council fireworks events) the Town Council Firework Display is now attracting so many people from outside the area that it is causing concern – in particular in regard to crowd control or emergency evacuation of the site.
Parked cars are damaging the verges, and the mixture of heavy traffic, parking cars and large numbers of pedestrians creates a real danger that one year someone will be knocked down. Officers have approached the SAG (Safety Advisory Group) for County Durham, for advice to establish if the event venue remains suitable for the increased numbers attending. Members do not want to close down the Fireworks Display, but neither can they recklessly ignore the growing safety problems.
