PUBLIC MEETING
6 September 2016
SPRINGWELL SOCIAL CLUB
MINUTES

Present: Chair A. Templeman
Secretary P. Cooper
L. Pickup
Treasurer G. Martin

Other committee members M. Lambton
D. Lambton
H. Fife
C. Brown
S. Thomas

Apologies Cllrs H & D Trueman, Cllr Scaplehorn
Michele Johnson
PC Vicki Noble

Approx 30 members of the public attended

1. The minutes of the previous meeting were agreed.

2. Police – It was reported that PC Vicki Noble had transferred from Washington HQ to Sunderland but wished to thank residents for their support over the last two years. There have been 7 crimes in the village during the period 26 July-6 Sept, consisting of theft, damage, possession of cannabis, theft from m/v, arson & assault . There were also 3 reports of ASB (Full report on website)

3 Thompsons:- Thompsons complying with dust and noise regulations but continuing to work with the Environment Agency to determine where further improvements might be made.
Noise Issues: the breakdown of an onsite excavator resulted in Thompsons having to hire a ‘pecker’ for two days until repairs could be carried out.

Dust Issues: Samples of crushed products are taken and analysed by an independent consultant on a monthly basis and no harmful substances have been found.

Bowes Railway: Thompsons and Bowes Railway are continuing to liaise re fencing to their mutual boundary and possible screening of the Thompsons site with planting.

Bunding: work is ongoing.

Landscaping: Future works to include maintenance of trees and the pond at the east end of the quarry- discussions with ecologists from Council are ongoing.

Anti-Social behaviour: Perimeter fence has recently been breached in three places. Fencing contractor to repair these and the damage to fencing beside the ‘kissing gate’ on Windsor Terrace.

Wheel Wash: work is in progress to improve the effectiveness of the wheel wash.

Thompsons is applying for planning permission to extend their licence – a meeting has been arranged with SVRA working group to discuss this. Following a request from the floor, the working group will also discuss a ‘height bar’ for vehicles entering and exiting their site.

4 IAMP: Sunderland Council is currently consulting on Stage 2 of the IAMP proposals. Residents were urged to contact the Council if they had registered to be consulted but had not received the latest consultation documents and also urged to respond to the consultation.

5 Council Budget: Since 2010 the Council budget has reduced by £253m and could potentially reduce by a further £115m by 2020. In addition, approx. 4,000 jobs have been lost to date. In effect this means that the Council cannot provide the same levels of service and volunteers are needed to maintain flower beds, help with litter picking and generally keep the village tidy etc. Concerns were expressed about the frequency of emptying ‘dog poo’ bins, SVRA to raise this issue with the Council. A suggestion was made to negotiate with the Council over how their time is spent in in the village.

6 Seldom Seen: the raised beds will be replanted in September/October. Strimming has been done by the Council although it is unlikely it can be done in future. There have been some offers of sponsorship for planting of tubs throughout the village from local businesses – need volunteers to progress.

7 Volunteers: Desperate need for volunteers in the village. Anyone wishing to volunteer encouraged to join Washington Trust which has public liability insurance for people doing voluntary work. People MUST be registered with them before doing anything and projects must also be approved.

8 News from Community Venue: The carnival events went really well and the whole week was a success. Carnival draw prize list is on their website and facebook page. Forthcoming events include Christmas Fayre & Santa’s Grotto on Saturday 19 November and the annual pantomime in February 2017 which will be’ Dick Turpin’. SVRA were thanked for their help with leaflet distribution and general support.

9 AOB: ‘Gulley Sucker’ attempted to clear gulleys outside Nisa/Hall but unable to do so because of parked vehicles. SVRA to follow up

10 Next Meeting: 18 October 2016