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Craster Parish Meeting 20 th April 2016
Report from County Councillor - Kate Cairns
Apologies for my absence (I am in London representing NCC at a
conference); I send a brief update on the main areas of work in the
parish.
1. Flooding
As I mentioned at the last parish meeting I raised the long-standing
issue of flooding at Dunstan and the bottom of Church Bank with the
county council. This has resulted in significant resources being
deployed on solving this problem with much remedial work taking place
clearing culverts and drains.
There is still a problem with drainage in the top field of Dunstan with
satellite image showing discoloration in the southeast corner of the
field indicating that the land drainage isn’t working properly and the
water is coming onto the highway via a resident’s garden. Ideally this
would have been fixed before the road was resurfaced but it has been
complicated due to the sale of the land. This is now being taken up
with the new landowner. The PC chairman has been working hard on this
issue and liaising directly with officers and may be able to provide
further information.
2. Parking
Parking was discussed at the last parish meeting and at subsequent
parish council meetings where there have been proposals of a residents’
permit scheme alongside an extension of the quarry car park, and
‘gateway’ infrastructure at the entrance to the village.
A feasibility study is to be carried out on the extension of the quarry
car-park. I have met the Parish Council parking sub-committee to
explore options and I also organised a meeting at County Hall with
representatives from the AONB, parking services and highways. Whilst we
await the outcome of the residents’ survey when we can investigate the
preferred options of the majority of residents the following points
were made:
• It will be sensible to wait until works to extend the existing
car-park are complete
• Depending on cliff investigations anywhere between 16 and 38
extra bays will be created
• All officers felt that a residents’ parking scheme within the
town would be unworkable and extremely difficult to enforce
• In the meantime, we all felt that improving the gateway signs /
road markings to the village, which would direct visitors to the
car-park would be a sensible option.
• In addition, we could consider the introduction of a 20mph
speed limit to further improve road safety in the village
• The Parish Council cannot run a residents’ parking scheme, as
it has no enforcement powers.
3. Planning
Planning is an on-going issue in this tiny and sensitive village and I
continue to work with individuals and the parish council to ensure the
views of residents’ are heard and are considered in the decision making
process.
Please do contact me directly on these, or any other issues, if you
think I can help.
Please contact me if you would like a copy of this document.
Kate.Cairns@northumberland.gov.uk
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