Dear Sir,
Last Friday afternoon I spent a couple of very productive hours in the company of Cllr Neville Jones as we walked our Neville ward in the glorious sunshine. Using a detailed street map, kindly provided by Paul Howarth at the Newton News, we put our time to good use picking up two full bags of litter which included discarded face masks and several bags of dog feces which some considerate dog owner had simply thrown down onto the public footpath. Litter doesn’t just appear as if by magic, we are collectively responsible for dumping it on our streets and then expect others to clean up after us and until we start taking personal responsibility the situation will never improve.
While we were out we took the time to stop and talk to a number of people and some even wanted to show us around their homes and discuss some ongoing issues needing our attention. We also made a point of taking numerous photographs of damaged street signs in need of repair, as well as damaged road side fencing needing to be replaced. All of this information was marked on the map and then photographed before being forwarded to the relevant department at Durham County Council for their attention.
The ward walk will take place on a regular basis so we can not only record and report issues but also monitor if and when the repairs are being completed. If Cllr Jones or I are contacted regarding areas of concern on the Neville ward we will both make every effort to arrange a site visit to listen to the concerns and assess the situation to see what can be done and who are the appropriate officers we need to contact to deal with the situation.
Cllr Phillip Hawkins
Cllr Neville Jones