Springwell Village Residents Association

Minutes SVRA meeting Tuesday 17th October 2023
Present
Chair – Angela Silk
Vice chair – Liz Reid

Committee members ;
Pauline Cooper ; George Martin ; Theresa Dalby ; Keith Nairn ; Allison Nairn ; Mark Curry ;
Matthew Purdy ; Garry Skuse.

Chair welcomed everyone

Apologies from :
Councillor Warne, Lesley Pickup and Christine Brown

Minutes of last meeting agreed and seconded

New members to the committee introduced and welcomed.

ITEM 1 : NORTHUMBRIA WATER

Update given by Richard Johnson and Sarah Jayne Parvin of Northumbria Water as to current situation of the underground reservoir . They advised the build is on plan. All ground materials have been removed from site and reservoir panels to be delivered to Mount Lane site in next few weeks when work will be started on walls. Work will commence on new inlet pipe at end of month on Galloping Green Lane. Tunnelling under Bowes railway at Eighton Banks is almost complete.

Concerns were raised as to the amount of hedgerow being removed on Mount Lane as well as the amount and speed of traffic on the road itself and it was asked if any traffic calming measures could be put on Mount Lane.

There were also concerns raised as to the state of the actual road surface on Mount Lane and who would be responsible for the condition of the road once works were complete.

The issue regarding visibility of traffic at the junction with Mount Park and Mount Lane was also raised.
Richard Johnson replied to the concerns. He advised whatever hedgerow was removed would be replaced at the end of the project as per planning permissions.

With regards to the traffic on Mount Lane and the condition of the road he stated Northumbria Water are responsible when they are actually working but not when they are not there. He went on to state there will be a joint inspection with the council at the end of the build and that the road will be returned to the state prior to works commencing. He also confirmed this will be the case for any land utilised by NWL. He also confirmed NWL will be responsible for landscaping and maintenance once reservoir complete.

Regarding the issue of visibility at the junction of Mount Park and Mount Lane due to the hedges Richard confirmed they had received an email from ESH that ESH confirmed they are responsible for the hedges and that they are to arrange for the hedges to be cut back. It was suggested the council should monitor this and Councillor Truman to get in touch with Dave Evans to ensure this is done.

Richard also confirmed that it was in hand to address the weeds on the bund in front of Broom Court as well as the embankments either side of the Mount park road.

It was asked if it could be possible for a path to be installed along Mount Lane. The committee advised this has been raised several times in the past and it has been stated there is insufficient room for a path so this is a non starter.

Questions were also asked regarding a change in the hardness of the water since the commencement of works on the reservoir and Richard Johnson offered to carry out testing if required.

It was also asked that, when works commence on Peareth Hall road, would there be any subsequent road closures. Richard advised there would be partial road closures but that the roads will not be closed at the same time to avoid further traffic issues around the village.

The final issue raised regarding the reservoir was as to whether the Heras fencing immediately in front of Broom Court needs to be in place and could it be removed. Richard advised it is a health and safety issue which is managed by Construction Design and Management regulations (CDM) and therefore out of the control of NWL.

ITEM 2 : UPDATE ON THOMPSONS

Following a recent visit to the Thompsons site by SVRA an update was given as to on going works on site by the Vice Chair Liz Reid. Details of that visit by SVRA were distributed in minute form to the tables at the meeting. It was advised current planning application is still in place re the bund and the new washing plant and that Thompsons advised works will be quieter once the new building is operational.

Concerns were raised that more than just cladding would be required to reduce noise levels and how did Thompsons know it would work. It was also asked if noise levels would be reduced now that most of the ground materials have been removed from the reservoir. A further issue raised was the state of the footpaths from the Thompson site to the Springwell Inn.

Ross Orchard, the site manager from Thompsons, was present at meeting and advised sound modelling had been carried out and that they had been to 3 other plants with similar projects so was confident the noise reduction measures would be successful. He also confirmed that now that the ground materials had been removed from the NWL site noise levels would go down but that, at some stage, the materials will be returned to the NWL site. He also confirmed that Thompsons have agreed to clean the path on a regular basis.

Concerns were also raised as to whether the materials being processed through he quarry would be smelly.

Ross advised only inert materials come through the quarry and that if anyone wanted to come and have look round the quarry to call in any time.

Mr Barber addressed the issue regarding the dust levels at the Thompsons site and asked the committee if they would consider collecting the dust records from around the village for the previous 3 months as well as the next 3 months . He was advised by the committee that it is responsibility of the Environment Agency to collect records and they are complicated to interpret and the committee does not have the resources to carry such research out. Ross Orchard advised he had all the information regarding dust levels and he was willing to share this information with Mr Barber if he would like to visit the site. Mr Barber agreed to this.

ITEM 3 : SOLAR FARM

The committee gave an update as to the current position regarding the planning application in relation to the solar farm and that as it stands the council have given the applicants a further 3 months to provide additional information requested, which is disappointing considering this is the second extension. No further concerns or issues raised.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS

1: The school is in desperate need of children to fill its nursery places and there were leaflets handed out regarding the issue.

2: Issues regarding the weeds as well as issues with the wheelie bins around Makepeace Terrace were
raised and it was suggested that the council should put leaflets through doors. It was noted, however, that leaflets have already been delivered and apparently there have been issues with the weed killer that was previously used and that it had been changed recently. It appears the leaflet advised to leave the weeds alone around Seldom Seen park as it was being monitored by the council. If anyone has any issues then the person to see at the council is Steve Mead.

3: Issues were also raised regarding the parking on Peareth Hall Road. It was put to the vote as to whether the residents wanted SVRA to raise this as an issue with the council. The majority of those present at the meeting did not want this to be taken forward.

As a final note the Chair gave some advice re the mini roundabout coming into the village that it is actually a Give Way which takes precedence over the roundabout.

Thanks given to representatives from NWL and Thompsons for their attendance and contribution to the
meeting.

Date of next meeting to be confirmed.