Springwell Village Residents Association 

Meeting Held on 2^nd November 2021 

Present:
Angela Silk Chairperson 
Helen Fife Committee Member
Christine Brown Committee Member 
Lesley Pickup Committee Member 
Liz Reid Committee Member 

In Attendance:
Cllr Harry Trueman 
Cllr J Warne 
Richard Johnston Project Manager, Northumbrian Water 
Amanda Hunt Customer Care Manager, Northumbrian Water 

Apologies:
Pauline Cooper 
Maureen Lambton 
Den 
George Martin 

1. The Chairperson outlined that the purpose of the meeting was for Richard Johnston to update residents on progress to date on the reservoir project and future plans. He would then answer residents questions. Residents were asked to add their names and contact details to a list of attendees for Northumbrian Water. This was optional. 

2. Richard apologised for any traffic disruption. The new road from Mount Lane to the new development was substantially complete. A footpath will be added to the east of the road when services have been put in. Hellens (on behalf of Esh Homes) hope this will be finished by Christmas and landscaping by Spring of next year. Hellens are now starting to put in roads further up and build 2 houses, presumably show homes. Hellens are responsible for roads and services, Esh for building the houses and  Northumbrian Water for the reservoir. Initially the plan had been to build the  reservoir first and then the houses but this has now been reversed. Richard didn’t know when this decision had been made. 

3. There followed a general question and answer session which covered the following areas: 

a) Where abouts does Northumbrian Waters boundary end?  

Answer – From the western boundary to the hedge in the North. 

b) Noise and Dirt. Residents expressed concern that this meant the disruption, noise and dirt would now be strung out over several years rather than the two projects running concurrently. Richard replied that the Esh work should be  between 2022 and 2024. The reservoir work would last 2 to 3 years, starting by  the end of next year. Residents asked why the delay in starting work on the Reservoir. Richard said they had decided to reduce the size of the reservoir and  needed to have the planning approval amended. Residents asked if the Council could add extra conditions to the planning revision to protect residents more. Cllr Truman noted that this was a matter for Council officers and would take this up  with the relevant Council officers and that the Planning Committee usually followed the Officers recommendations. 

c) Source of water for reservoir – This would come via the Wear Valley, Mosswood Treatment Works, Stanley and Washington. There would also be an outflow pipe to Washington. A pipe would come from near the Waggon Inn and under the railway line. Rain water from the site would go into the SUDS system and into the usual sewerage systems. 

d) Removal of stone etc from site. Richard said he was not sure if the lorries would use the Mount Lonnen road. He would check this out. It was pointed out that there are currently weight restrictions on that road. Residents asked how many  lorries a day. Richard said bore holes would be done next week to confirm make up of stone underground. They expected 42,000 cubic tonnes of stone would need to be moved, possibly 10 lorries a day removing stone and 5 lorries a day bringing materials in. Residents reported that the mess caused by the stone crushing for the site had been massive for the homes surrounding the site and asked Richard to confirm there would be no more crushing on site. Richard said he could not guarantee this as the stones would need to be crushed in order to  remove them from the site. Ehen asked who was responsible for cleaning homes, Richard said there were stringent planning rules on dust and noise and they  would look into lessening the problem. Cllr Trueman asked if there were any conditions on crushing applied to the planning permission. Richard said just the usual noise and dust. Residents asked whether profits would be made from selling the crushed stone. Richard replied that that was not Northumbrian Waters aim. Richard said that independent monitoring of the site was a possibility if desired. 

e) Residents expressed concerns over the lack of transparency and lack of  information about timescales and plans. Richard said that Northumbrian Water would update residents as often as residents wanted them to. He said he would  try to get relevant information from Esh and Hellens. Following a vote it was agreed that Richard would attend/update residents every 6 weeks. Residents asked for information on routes and potential disruption. Richard shared some  maps he had brought and offered to provide more if any residents wanted them. 

f) Residents had thought there would be just 1 road into the site from Mount Lane but there seemed to be two roads. Richard said there would be a spur from the road to the reservoir site. 

g) Health and safety concerns were raised about the Hellens site. Horses had got onto the site and were on the mound of rubble, cabins are left open overnight  and equipment left running overnight.

4. The Chairperson thanked Richard and Amanda for attending the meeting. 

5. Date and Time of next meeting: Tuesday, 14^th December at 7 pm.