Feethams - Latest Update

Paul's latest  2 weekly update for the Feethams Developments;-

·         With the completion of the cricket season the final stages of the football stand (Tin Shed) demolition  can commencing this week and should be complete by the end of the week.

·         The importation of the recycled granular materials to raise & level of the existing ground is still ongoing which we hope to have complete by the middle of next week.

·         The old concrete & timber benches along the north & east side of the pitch have now been removed and work on the new access road  has started, with the area being excavated ready for the new road construction.

·         The existing concrete coping pillars on top of the turnstile entrance are to removed later this week in preparation for the demolishing work commencing next week. These are to be retained and if in a suitable condition they are to be reused on the new walls that are to be installed at the site entrance.

                The next 2 week the following works are scheduled to start:-

·         The turnstile & scored board demolition.

·         Construction of the new access road will continue.

·         Once all the recycled granular material has been imported to site. The existing concrete posts and rail around the east side of the cricket pitch are to be removed to allow for the installation of a new timber fencing & ball stop mesh.

Please note the footpath in front of the existing turnstiles entrance gates (see attached sketch) will be closed from  the beginning of this week as works at the site entrance start to commence (copping pillar removal) and is to remain in place during  the turnstile demolition, installation of foundations & new access walls, drainage and the new access road entrance.

Regards

Paul Nicholson

Senior Site Engineer

Lumsden & Carroll Civil Engineering

Esh House, Bowburn North Industrial Estate, Bowburn, Durham, DH6 5PF

T: (0191) 3774500 M: 07971 981268 F: (0191) 3774501

Public Consultation on Residents Parking Zones

There are currently 15 residents parking zones in Darlington, stretching from Pierremont in the north west, Beechwood Ave / Green Park in the south west, Skerne Park in the north east, and Bank Top in the south east.

We at South Terrace and Pease Cottages are Residents Zone D. We are unique in Darlington as the smallest zone, and the only zone comprising one undivided street. Our's is the most sensitive area for parking, nestling on the edge of the town centre, being the closest to the Town Hall, the Market Square - and of course, the proposed Feethams North cinema complex development and Beaumont Street commercial area.

Your representatives from nos 6 and 8 attended the meeting tonight (23 September) to pass on your concerns arising from our own residents parking survey and discussions, held earlier this year. From that, the principal issues were that commuters enter the terrace after 8.00 am and stay until 5.30 pm for free parking. This puts pressure on the residents bays, and eliminates any chance of our visitors and tradespeople parking on the terrace. We said that we want more residents' spaces, and better control over the non-resident spaces.

We sense that the message was understood by Owen Wilson, Principal Policy Officer and his team. It remains to be seen what action, if any, will follow. 

If you have any further thoughts on the issue of parking, post your views here, or let either me or Stephanie know about them - and we will pass them on to the council.

Square Peg in a Round Hole

How could the South Terrace blogger resist the opportunity to announce the latest publication from the terrace's top author, Karl Bone.

Out this week as a Kindle download (or if you have no Kindle, to download to your computer using the free App) we have Karl's unique take on managing life's mysteries in a down-to-earth way.

Karl's 'Square Peg in a Round Hole' does not attempt to change the shape of the peg - or the hole - but gives interesting insight into the fact that 'shape' is not the problem. Sharing his experience and his personal philosophy of life, Karl brings a resounding common sense to living a life in situations that do not quite fit.

This is what Karl says by introduction. Download it here.

I have written this book for those who have never really felt comfortable with the image they portray to the world—for those who have felt deep down that there was a big hole which nothing could fill. It’s not a book for those looking to achieve successful career outcomes, or for those who wish to roll about in gold and diamonds with princes and princesses. And it’s certainly not for those who seek spiritual powers or Zen-like indifference. This book does not attempt to give explicit directions for a defined path. In fact, I urge the reader to follow their own path. I do not discuss any philosophies in great depth, except when they are needed to explain something which conventional language cannot describe.
This is an autobiography of an ordinary, everyday person from a moderately dysfunctional family that I’m sure many people can easily identify with. There are no journeys to ashrams in the East, no living in caves or anything at all exotic—just the usual work, hobbies and hassles of everyday living, which include a method of how to live in harmony with these routines and with yourself.
If you feel like you don’t fit somehow, that you were meant for something more, or that you’re acting out a part in some huge play that doesn’t really reveal who you are, then this is written for you. If religion leaves you cold and uncomfortable—so much so that God seems like an odd fairy tale—then this might help.
I started writing because I realised that most of the books I’ve read contain plots driven by fictional characters. These books are useful as metaphors and parables, but the stories come across as too neat and tidy. Other books chronicle the journeys of seekers who visit gurus that live on cave floors in remote places. None of these books seem to capture the ordinary, everyday person who might just be stuck in a rut, so I decided to write about the only seeker that I knew with any intimacy, and that was me.
I hope you enjoy the book; I thank you for your custom. I wish you well on whatever path you are following and hope this meagre writing might be a tiny, guiding light on your journey.

Paul's Posts from Esh

Please find below the first of the 2 weekly updates for the Feethams Development:-

·         We have start on site (W/C 26^th August 2013) with the first week involving setting up the site compound and installing the security fencing around the site including along Polam Lane and starting the vegetation strip across the site.

·         The vegetation over half  the development has been striped and currently recycled granular materials are being imported (from a supplier with Darlington - Stan Robinson Ltd) to site. This is  to raise & level off the existing ground ready for the housing construction phase. Due to the large quantity of granular material required the wagons will be leading the material in to site until the end of next week.

·         The old concrete & timber benches along the north side of the cricket pitch are being removed at a request by the cricket club with the timber being recycled by the club for log burners.

·         Trial holes alone the side of the new access road (similar route to the existing) have been dug to locate any existing service that may have supplied the football ground and prove if the are live or abandoned prior to starting the new road construction.

·         The old concrete & timber benches & paving flags along the river side of the cricket pitch are being removed this week, with the timber being recycled by the cricket club and any concrete waste removed from site and reused as recycled hard core

·         The next 2 weeks the following should be starting:-

·         Next week the demolition contractor will be attending site to start preparing the area for removal of the stand (Tin Shed) at the end of the cricket season (Week Ending 22^nd September 2013).

·         Construction of new access road will begin (area under the old timber benches along the river side of the cricket pitch) which will involve reducing the existing ground level to the required formation before importing granular fill to stone up the road.

·         Following the end of the cricket season the demolition works will commence in full which will see the football stand, the cricket score board & the old turnstiles removed.

Regards

Paul Nicholson

Senior Site Engineer

Lumsden & Carroll Civil Engineering

Esh House, Bowburn North Industrial Estate, Bowburn, Durham, DH6 5PF

T: (0191) 3774500 M: 07971 981268 F: (0191) 3774501

September update on the terrace

New residents
We welcome our new residents to numbers 3 and 21. Congratulations on your choice of homes at no 3 and no 21. We hope you will be very happy here at South Terrace. Can we encourage you to sign up for the South Terrace Facebook group - it is a great way to get to know others here, and to keep abreast of the news that affects our community. Note, South Terrace has its own Neighbourhood Watch group. At present, all households on the terrace are represented and you will automatically be included.


Parking
There has been a yawning silence from Traffic Management at Darlington Borough Council following our enquiry concerning residents' parking. Here is a copy of our letter dated 15 July 2013:

"Over the past six months, the residents have been engaged in discussions concerning parking in South Terrace. 

Currently there are 30 parking spaces on South Terrace, of which 19 are designated for residents permit parking - 5 at the east end of the terrace, 6 in the middle section, and 8 at the west side. This leaves 4 non-resident spaces on the east side of the terrace, and 7 in the middle section. 

Two issues have been detected. 
First, with 24 households and 8 cottages, and a number of households having more than one permit, there are insufficient residents parking spaces for the number of permits issued. Residents who now pay £40.00 per year to park in the vicinity of their home should be entitled to be able to access a parking space.
Second, substantial numbers of non-residents attend each morning to take non-resident spaces that have been vacated by residents. These spaces are then occupied for the rest of the working day, to the exclusion of both residents and their visitors.
The South Terrace Residents Group has formulated a solution.

Resident parking designation
Whilst residents want to keep some non-resident spaces on the terrace for non-resident parking, we request that the seven non-resident spaces in the centre of the terrace is reduced to four; and all four of the non-resident spaces opposite nos 1-7 are to be made residents permit only. 

Yellow line restrictions
Residents would wish that the yellow lines on the west side of the terrace opposite nos 9-10 should be reduced, to give another one or two extra parking spaces there, and on the east side of the terrace opposite nos 1-7 to give one extra space there. We are aware of the council's concerns about parking within certain distances of junctions, but the local wisdom is that this should not be a problem here. 

The net effect of changes:
Without yellow line alteration - to increase the permit spaces to 26, leaving 4 non-resident spaces in the centre of the terrace. 
With yellow line alteration - to increase the permit spaces to 28 or 29, leaving 4 non-resident spaces in the centre of the terrace".

It is unfortunate that Traffic Management has not even acknowledged our concerns. If no response is received before the end of the month, I will take the issue up with Councillor Harman. In the meantime, if you are free, do go along on Monday 23 September, 5 pm at the Dolphin Centre - Public consultation on Parking Strategy focusing on Residents Parking Zones. They definitely need feedback from us about the shortfalls of our South Terrace Zone D.

Esh Development and the Cricket Club
Residents will have noticed that Feethams South to the Twin Towers has been measured and marked. The plan is to alter the approach to the new road that will skirt the cricket pitch. I propose to invite Paul Nicholson, Senior Site Engineer employed by Lumsden & Carroll, Civil Engineering to Esh Developments, to post news updates on the blog, or the South Terrace Facebook page. 

Additionally, although no planning application has yet been posted, we understand that the Cricket Club is proposing to implement some development at the club building. If you have any news on this, let us know by posting here on the blog, on Facebook, or by email.