TWO youths in West Auckland are due to be given Anti-Social Behaviour Orders as authorities battle to curb vandalism in the village. The move was revealed by Wear Valley District Council's anti-social behaviour officer Phil Shaw at a meeting to discuss the problems. Mr Shaw was joined by local police officers to talk to residents about incidents and discuss how the situation could be improved. The message they delivered was that more crimes needed to be reported - but Mr Shaw added that enough crimes had been reported against two youths for action to be taken. "I have two anti-social behaviour orders pending within the St Helen's and West Auckland area," he said. "They are juveniles, they are youths, young people who you will probably know of or will have heard of."

Residents spoke of vandalism and threatening behaviour from local youths, including roaming gangs late at night, underage drinking, litter and graffiti. One resident said: "A lot of people live in fear."

Mr Shaw urged villagers to report all such crimes anonymously on diary sheets, and vowed that action would be taken against persistent offenders. PC Andy Hucker said: "It's not just the responsibility of the police to solve these problems now. The most significant role is played by the community. "There has to come a point where you are willing to stand up to these people and give us this information. With these names, we can pay these people visits. It's information that we need. The message is, it's essential that these diary sheets are filled in."

Other issues raised included cars driving on East Green, which will soon be prevented by the installation of heavy duty bollards, and underage drinking, with UV pens due to be handed out to shopkeepers to try and reduce it.

PUBLIC meeting has been called to discuss vandalism and anti-social behaviour in West Auckland. Residents are urged to attend the meeting next month to put their concerns to police and councillors. Problems have increased dramatically over the past couple of years. The village has been plagued by youngsters congregating, drinking and smashing windows - often near East Green residential home. Shops and pubs have also been targeted. Andy Turner, from the parish council, said: "There's been a growth in anti-social behaviour in West Auckland and it has grown out of all proportion. "Therefore, we've called a meeting where people can come along and meet the people responsible for law and order and let them know their worries." Police officers and representatives from both the parish and district council will also attend the meeting, as well as Wear Valley District Council's anti-social behaviour officer Phil Shaw.

Parish council chairman John Ferguson said that more police on patrol and the introduction of street wardens were among the possible solutions likely to be put forward.  He added: "As a parish council in West Auckland, we want to look after not just the old people, but after everybody. "The way the problems are, we have decided to try to clean up the area and make it a better place to live in. "Youth clubs aren't the fashionable thing anymore - we need more police presence and street wardens."

PC Andy Hucker, who has been West Auckland's beat officer for the past three years and was instrumental in setting up the meeting, hopes there will be a good turnout. Villagers will be able to ask questions and put forward suggestions to help combat the anti-social behaviour.  PC Hucker said: "The point of the meeting is to get myself and Phil Shaw together to answer questions that members of the public have, and to show that we are doing what we can." The meeting will take place at West Auckland Methodist Church on Wednesday, November 2, at 6pm. All welcome.

Source Northern Echo 20/10/05

09/09/2005      Advanced Works Started on Bypass

 VILLAGERS can go ahead with their plans to renovate a community meeting point thanks to Lottery cash.The Village Centre, in West Auckland, has been used as a meeting place for people of all ages since it was launched as a pilot scheme five years ago. But it has long since needed a revamp and volunteers from the West Auckland Community Partnership have been busy trying to secure funding to modernise it. Now they can go ahead with their plans after being awarded a Lottery grant for £20,000.

John Niven, from the partnership, said that now the grant had been received it will be added to other funding and the work can start soon.He said: "It is used a couple of nights a week as a youth drop-in and we also have a book exchange which people use, but it has never really been a comfortable place. "We want to bring it up to standard so that we can have a kitchen for refreshments, decent toilets and a chance to make it more accessible. "We have been trying for some time to get funding together and this grant means we can now go ahead." There are also plans to install Internet access points and organise homework and holiday clubs. It is hoped that it will be a place where young and old can come together and be a venue for a host of community activities.

Bishop Auckland MP Helen Goodman has been so impressed by the work of the partnership that she has pledged her support as its patron. She said: "Getting this lottery grant is tremendous news for West Auckland. It will enable facilities to be put in place that will be of benefit to the community." Mr Niven said that the new look centre could be up and running by Christmas, but appealed for more volunteers to help realise the partnership's dreams. He said: "We do need more volunteers so that we can open the centre more often. We would love to hear from anyone who can help."

Anyone interested in volunteering is asked to contact Mr Niven on (01388) 832587.

Source:  Northern Echo 09/08/2005

WORK will start this summer on a £7m road that will remove through traffic from three south Durham communities.

Durham County Council's deputy chief executive (environment) Chris Tunstall told members of West Auckland Parish Council that funding is now available to start advance works for the second stage of the A688 West Auckland bypass.The 1.5 mile stretch of single carriageway will link the first stage of the bypass at the St Helen Industrial Estate with the A688 on the south-western edge of West Auckland.It will reduce traffic and improve air quality for people in West Auckland, St Helen Auckland and Tindale Crescent.

Advance works due to start this summer include a minor diversion of the River Gaunless to allow for bridge construction at a later date as part of the whole plan.The main construction will begin in summer next year with completion due in mid-2007.

The bypass includes new roundabouts on the A68 at Hummerbeck, and where the road joins the A688 near Oakley Service Station, and a path for pedestrians, horse riders and cyclists.

." Sonny Douthwaite, chairman of the county council's highways committee and a resident of St Helen Auckland said he was delighted that the scheme was now going ahead. He said: "This has been on the cards for a long time now, but at last it is to become a reality. "There's no doubt it and the improvements will be a tremendous benefit to residents." More on Bypass
 

The Weather held out on Saturday the 25th June for the St Helens Gala. Performances were given from the Pittington Band. Other attractions were entertainment and displays from Surestart, merry go rounds, bouncy castle, bouncy slides, a fun house, raffles, tombolla, and a line dancing display.    

A COUNCIL has ended a four-week feud over rubbish in West Auckland. Residents in Copeland Road and Edith Terrace had not had their wheelie bins emptied for a month after refusing to comply with Wear Valley District Council's orders to leave them at the end of their street. They want the refuse to be collected from their doors because they claim leaving the wheelie bins at the end of the street blocks access.

Householders said they would not back down until the council collected the bins from their homes.

The council said it would cost too much in manpower to push wheelie bins from each door to the collection point, but yesterday Max Coleby, the council's acting director of community services, offered villagers an olive branch. He said: "If they don't want to leave the wheelie bins at the gable ends, they can store their black bags in the wheelie bins, then on collection day leave the bags outside their doors for collection. "We think that's reasonable. They're a canny set of people, but there's a point where the council has to act reasonably and we think we have done that." The council will also clear the backlog of rubbish during the next collection.

Resident Gary Russell said: "It seems a bit silly going back to black big bags. I'd still rather have wheelie bins if used properly. They've gone to all this hassle and money and now they're going back to using black bags. We just want our rubbish cleared.

 Source Northern Echo 22/06/05

A STAND-OFF between a council and villagers over a new waste collection scheme has resulted in a four-week build up of rubbish. Residents in the Copeland Road and Edith Terrace areas of West Auckland have been told by Wear Valley District Council to leave their wheelie bins at the end of their street. But residents are refusing to do so, and they say that the council has failed to keep an earlier promise to collect rubbish from outside their homes and that leaving them at the end of the street restricts access.  The refuse has stood untouched for a month and residents say it is attracting vermin.

"We are not leaving this," said resident Gary Russell, of Copeland Road. "The council is not providing a full service, they're just providing a part service. We are still having to do the council's refuse collection work. "If half the street of Copeland Road and Edith Terrace were to put wheelie bins at their nearest gable end, there would be 44 in total, blocking the roads for exit and access. Nobody will compromise."

One resident dumped a number of black bags of rubbish outside the council's headquarters in Crook in protest.

More than 29,000 wheelie bins were delivered across the district in March and April and were designed to streamline the area's waste collection service. A council spokesman said: "If they don't want to put their bins out then that's up to them. The service is there. "There've been incidents where we haven't been able to get the lorries down the back lane, so we've asked them to leave them on a gable end. "What they need to do is give us a call. We can go out and assist and the refuse collectors will wheel the bins to their gable end and then wheel them back down again."

Residents wishing to apply for an assisted collection can call (01388) 761617.

 Source Northern Echo 21/06/05

A valuable new wetland habitat is being created along the River Gaunless between Spring Gardens and Ramshaw.

We are looking for volunteers to come and help us plant reed beds at the wetland site on Saturday 18 June. We will be there from 1:00pm and finish at 5:00pm.

Everyone is welcome and no previous experience is necessary, as we will be there to show you how it is done. It will be a mucky activity so don't forget to bring outdoor clothing and wellington boots. Children under 16 years old must be accompanied by an adult.

For more information please contact Hazel White on 01912034238.

Location:

You can get to the wetland site by walking along the new multi-user route, which runs from West Auckland, crosses the A68 at Spring Gardens and runs along the edge of the wetland site to Ramshaw. Next to the West Auckland Dam

 

In four years time this Easter it will be exactly 100 years ago when the victorious West Auckland Town  AFC won the very first world cup, and at present, plans are under way to mark the centenary anniversary. Jack Drum Arts in county Durham have commissioned a production entitled, "how we won the World Cup and kept it."  The play will poke fun at the FA and give West Auckland the recognition it deserves. The cast will of about 4 or 5 but each with a host of parts. The play will involve local schools in projects aimed at raising awareness of life in the West Auckland community 100 Years ago.  It is hoped that the small scale production will premier at West Auckland WMC. Visit the world cup page click here

The Environment Agency has finished building a huge dam at Spring Gardens, West Auckland, to protect the area from flooding from the River Gaunless. Work is also underway on the wetlands and a multi user route.

Win a fabulous food hamper or a Playstation 2.

All you have to do is come up with an original name for the dam and Wetlands. The winner will be invited to the official opening in spring 2005 where the winning name will be unveiled on a special commemorative plaque.

Facts about the dam and wetland areas

The dam is 15 metres high, 320 metres long and more than 80 metres wide; It has been built using 80,000 cubic metres of clay taken from local pits;

The dam is part of a larger project designed to protect 660 homes fr flooding in West Auckland and South Church and took 18 months to build;

Just upstream of the dam, a variety of wetland habitats including woodland, reed bed, wet meadow, ponds and scrapes will be created

The dam will store up to a million cubic metres of water;

This will increase habitat for flora, fauna, including wading birds, otters, bats and amphibians;

A multi-user off road route linking West Auckland and Ramshaw is being created.

The lead partner in the project is the Environment Agency along with Durham County Council and Durham Biodiversity Partnership.

To enter you need to pick up, complete and return the entry form, from the Post Office, Copeland road Primary School, Oakley Cross Primary School or the Village Centre before 10:30am December 17th 2004. (entries to be placed into the boxes held at the above locations). Read the rules appertaining to the competition.

This is a environmental agency competition not a West Auckland Web competition.

    A fifteen metre-high dam built to protect homes and businesses in two Durham towns is now fully operational. The dam, which has taken 18 months to build, is part of a major £8.8 million flood defence scheme for West Auckland and South Church to lessen the flood risk from the River Gaunless.  The partially completed structure helped protect 400 homes and businesses during high river levels back in August. Environment Agency contractors started work on the flood defence project in May 2003, which also included riverside walls and embankments. The scheme will protect more than 600 homes from a flood with a 0.5 per cent chance (200 to 1) of happening in any one year.

The dam, upstream of Spring Gardens in West Auckland, works by storing water during high river flows, then releasing it slowly. It is 15 metres high, 320 metres long and more than 80 metres wide. It has been built using around 80,000 cubic metres of clay taken from local borrow pits. The dam will store up to a million cubic metres of water and a special piece of equipment called "hydrobrakes" allow the water to be released from behind it at a controlled rate.

"The project team has worked extremely hard on this complex project and I am delighted that we have been able to provide working flood defences for the community in such a short time.

 "Work will now continue to complete the landscaping to blend the defences in with the existing surroundings."

The project also includes work to protect properties from flooding of Oakley Cross Beck, which is expected to be completed before Christmas.

Source: Environmental Agency - Simon Parrock

The Works at Spring gardens are progressing well. Over 90,000 cubic metres of clay has been formed and compacted into the dam itself. The material was excavated from on site borrow pits and have been completed just last week.

The next section of works will include construction of the spillway, this can be seen in the photo as a low spot over 150m long in the middle of the dam. Works are ongoing at the bottom of the spillway placing concrete on the right of the picture. 

New access roads will be created around the dam for use during maintenance and telemetry will be installed to monitor water levels.

The photo shows the dam looking West along the crest of the dam which is over 300m long and up to 15m high. 

Work on the Oakley Beck flood defence system will be starting shortly, whilst the River Gaunless scheme is ear marked for completion in November 2004. The Oakley Beck defences consist of 300m  walls and 260m of earth embankments. Access ramps over the defences will be constructed where necessary.

	The defences are planned at the following locations:  Upstream of Staindrop road bridge on either side of the Beck.  From the play area to downstream of Oakley Cross Beck School. Within the grounds of Oakley Cross Beck School See map below. (reproduced from environmental agencies Oakley beck newsletter).
For more details about both Oakley Beck and River Gaunless schemes click flood defence link Pictures and maps courtesy of Environmental Agency

West Auckland carnival has been cancelled because villagers failed to respond to an appeal for help to run it.

West Auckland Village Partnership has reluctantly scrapped plans to hold a summer carnival on the village green on August Bank Holiday Monday.

Partnership secretary John Niven said that help would have been needed to ensure that the day and events leading up to the carnival, such as choosing a carnival king and queen, were and safe.

He said the partnership realised people would be disappointed, especially children looking forward to fancy dress contests, but is was hopeful that more community groups and individuals would volunteer next year, so that a carnival can be held in 2005.

Source: Northern Echo 21/06/04 

POLICE are appealing for villagers to help fight anti-social behaviour by identifying youths who have been disturbing the community and endangering the lives of motorists.Complaints to the police about gangs of young people congregating in the centre of West Auckland and causing a nuisance have risen sharply since the New Year.

PC Andy Hucker, beat officer for St Helen Auckland and West Auckland, said many residents have voiced their concerns at public meetings.He said: "People of all denominations are feeling threatened and intimidated by large groups of youths while going about their normal business."Often they do not even feel safe nipping to the local shop or to visit a neighbour.

"Another problem is the activity of throwing missiles at moving vehicles travelling through West Auckland. "This started as snowballs containing rocks in the winter, but now they are slinging mud and gravel at cars, which is mindless and dangerous."

PC Hucker is urging residents to name the youths causing the disturbances and for parents or guardians of children to ensure they know where they are and what they are doing. He said: "If we know who is causing the problems we can speak with parents or guardians and work together to re-educate them and form a resolution to these problems."

Anyone with information can call PC Hucker, PC Bill Lavery or Sergeant Jayne Kelly on (01388) 603566.

Cited in the Northern Echo 02/04/04

 Local people from Teesdale have set up their own Radio Station due to start Broadcasting on at 6 am on Monday 23rd February. It will Broadcast through conventional radio methods using 107.2 FM as well as internet broadcasting. For more info visit www.teesdaleradio.co.uk   or www.radioteesdale.co.uk 

A man and a woman tricked there way into a household on Oakley Green on the 9th of October at approx 17:30. The woman claimed to be a social worker whilst the man claimed to be a plain clothed police officer. They asked questions to the son of the resident about an injury. They stayed for about 45 minutes before leaving,  stating they would be in contact. The woman was white, in her early 40s, 5ft 7in and slim, with blonde, shoulder-length, straight hair. She was wearing a beige trouser suit and white blouse, black shoes and gold hooped earrings. The man was white, of similar age, 5ft 10in, of average build, with short, dark brown hair. He wore black trousers, a white shirt and black clipped tie. Anyone with information is asked to call police on (01388) 603566 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.  The motive behind this is currently unknown.

This Friday (26th September) a program entitled Britain's Forgotten Murderess will be screened on Tyne Tees (Channel 3 or ITV1) at 11 pm, so don't forget to watch it or set your video. This production was created by Granadamedia and have believed to have been filming around West Auckland in recent weeks. Mary Anne Cotton over the years has attracted a lot of interest from various people. This year included an Australian company called beyond productions and the well known company Granada Media, so remember to watch or set your video on Friday.

Everybody may be aware that West Auckland was surrounded by mines, between 1825 to 1969, the population rose due the amount of work available during that time, but how many were there. Click here to find out, or go to the History Page

 This Years Carnival is only a week away on Monday August 25th start 1pm, make it a carnival to remember.

ATTRACTIONS INCLUDE

A planning application for the 2.5 km single carriageway road has been submitted by Durham County Council. It will join the first completed stage of the bypass at St Helens, joining the A68 at Hummerbeck and then continues to join the A688 near the Oakley service station.  Work is scheduled to go ahead in the autumn, subject to planning approval. The Public can view the 5 million proposal at.

•            The Manor house Hotel  4 - 8th August and 1 - 5 September.
•             The Village Centre  11 - 29 August between 10am and noon.

Work is currently being carried out at Spring Gardens (West Auckland) and South Church, to improve flood defences from the River Gaunless, after the floods of 2000 where 250 homes where damaged by water. The Environment agency, under new jurisdiction  will include the downstream section of the Oakley beck (a tributary of the River Gaunless) in flood defence schemes. Approx 40 homes where flooded when the beck burst its banks on the same night as the Gaunless on the 4th June 2000.  

A leading Australian TV company over the last few weeks have been contacting West Auckland Web regarding the infamous tale of Mary Anne Cotton. They are currently producing a documentary for the Discovery Channel about women who murder or attempt murder by poisoning.  They will be following 3-4  cases, both historic and contemporary, one of which we expect to be the story of Mary Ann Cotton. The Beyond Production company (www.beyond.com.au) may be making a location visit to West Auckland in the near future.