At a meeting of the Council held in Eastgate Village Hall on 4th February, 2026
PRESENT:
Cllr M Brewin, Cllr Mrs S Thompson, Cllr E Buchanan, Cllr D Craig, Cllr Mrs S Smart, Cllr Mrs D Sutcliff,
Cllr P Turton, Cllr Mrs C Burdis, Cllr Mrs D Wright, Cllr R Lawrie,
Cllr Miss J Carrick – Chairman
Susan Anderson – Clerk
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Apologies for Absence
Cllr J Shuttleworth, Cllr Mrs A Savory, Cllr L Blackett
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To Receive Any Declarations of Interest from Members
None received
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Minutes of the meeting held on 3rd December 2025
Minutes were moved as a true and correct record and were signed by the Chairman
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Matters Arising
- Portable Toilet Hire – Following a few issues it was decided not to hire the portable toilet for
when the Dales Centre toilets were closed over Christmas. If anyone asked then they could
use the Church’s toilet. - Frosterley Primary School – The Parish Council noted correspondence between the Council
and Frosterley School. Resolved: Clerk to write - Land to the East of The Old Vicarage, Glebe Side, Frosterley -We have received a reply from
the Senior Planning Enforcement Officer. The Local Planning Authority successfully secured
the submission of an application so that formal consideration could be given to the retention
of the unauthorised development. Planning permission has been granted - Grass Verge by the Stone Bridge, Stanhope – The request from the Angling Club to place
stones on the grass verge has been acknowledged. The email has been sent to Strategic
Highways and the Highways Inspector has suggested the erection of a Birds Mouth Fence in
this area. J Hodges will be in touch when he hears back from Strategic. A letter has been
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received from Stanhope Angling Association reporting the missing fence rails and posts at
the layby near the Stone Bridge (north side). The letter has been sent to all of the councillors. - Burnhope Drains – The team have visited the site and unblocked a number of drains and
cleared sections of the footpath. The area will be monitored and schedule in maintenance
when required.
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Correspondence Received - The Weardale Museum has sent their Christmas Newsletter which was sent to all of the
councillors. - Cllr Craig mentioned that there is a road passed Shield Close needs inspecting as there is a
hole where the rain has washed stones out. This was reported and John Hodges is aware of
the problem. - Cllr Miss Carrick mentioned that street light number 427 outside of the Bonny Moor Hen,
Stanhope is on all the time. This was reported to DCC - We have heard that the Church Hall will be going on the market. The Weardale CIC have
asked for an extension but the PCC of the St Thomas Church will not allow it. - There is a training event on Tuesday 3rd March 2026 for the councillors to attend via zoom
from 6pm-7.30pm. The training is on Data Protection which is now a requirement of the
AGAR called the Assertion 10. Cllr Miss Carrick and the clerk will do the training and share it
with the rest of the councillors. - A tree survey has been done for Northern Power Grid. The trees on The Green at Frosterley
need re-pruning to create a good safety zone. The survey is done every three years at no cost
to the Parish Council. - An email has been received from the Mining Remediation Authority. There are to be
upcoming ground investigation works. These investigations are essential to allow the Mining
Remediation Authority to develop options to address the pollution of watercourses that is
being caused by the abandoned Sharnberry Mine. Cllr Craig mentioned that there is
equipment still at Cambo and nothing has been started yet. Resolved: Clerk to write for an
update at Cambo - The toilets at St Johns Chapel have been closed due to a burst pipe. This has been reported
to DCC - The Local Network has received £10,000 to support projects and organisations that improve
the wellbeing of residents affected by welfare reforms. If any councillors know of a not-for
profit organisations or group which has a project idea then contact the Local Network Team.
Email sent to all councillors. - The Energy Resilience Grant Round 7 Expressions of Interest are Open. The email was sent to
all of the councillors. - The Woodland Trust are making the Parish Council aware of the trusts Free Tree Packs
scheme. The packs come in eight different species mixes of 15,30,105 or 420 saplings. The
trust is currently taking applications for tree packs to be delivered in November 2026. Any
groups interested in this should contact the Woodland Trust. - CDALC sent an email requesting nominations for the Kings Garden Party which was sent to
the councillors. Closing date was 31st Jan so Mrs Humble was put forward as previous years.
Chairman was contacted. - An email has been received regarding the removal of a BT Phone Box at Frosterley car Park. It
has only been used 7 times in the last 12 months. Comments should be sent to the planning
at DCC withing 21 days of this email. The post box can be adopted for a £1 to house a
defibrillator.
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Planning Matters
DM/26/00132/PN56
Prior notification of the installation of solar panels under schedule 2, part 14, Class J of the Town and
Country Planning (general permitted development) Order 2015
Far Place
Sidehead
Westgate
DM/25/03341/FPA
PLANNING PERMISSION GRANTED FEBRUARY 2026
Single storey rear extension
Middlegate Barn
Westgate
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Finance - The Great North Air Ambulance Service would like our continued support who are trying to raise
sufficient funds for another helicopter. We have allowed £500 in the budget. Resolved: Agreed - The Bank Reconciliation figures and the budget figures for December 31st and January 31st were
sent to the councillors for approval. Resolved: Agreed - Back in 2022 Stanhope parish Council donated £50 to Durham Hospitals Radio. The Durham
Hospitals Radio is staffed by volunteers and is entirely self-supporting. The station broadcasts 24/7 to
the patients of the University Hospital of North Durham. Any support would be much appreciated.
Resolved: Declined as budget is tight - Cllr Miss Carrick, the clerk and D Hunt met in the Old Cemetery, Stanhope to see if our Community
Highways Worker could do any work up there. The trees and bushes are too much of a big job for
him but some low-level tidying would be possible. A quote from S Makepeace for trimming back
some of the internal bushes is £500. Resolved: Agreed - A letter has been received from Stanhope Angling Association requesting some funding for signage
to comply with health and safety and liability to the general public. These would be placed from the
Stone Bridge to just below the pool known locally as Pump House Corner which is downstream from
the Sewerage Works. Signage is needed to make the general public aware that they enter the water
at their own risk. Signage would also be helpful in notifying the public that the riverside footpath (the
angler’s footpath) from the Gas Works Bridge to the lower limit is not a public footpath. There are a
number of dead trees between the Ford Layby and the Stonebridge on the south side of the river
that need inspecting to see if they can be reduced in size. Some dead trees on the north side of the
river near the layby have been cut back. Funding would help if the Angling Club have to do this tree
work as they are their responsibility from The Ford to the Stone Bridge. The signage is roughly in the
region of £25 per sign and 21 signs are needed. The land where the signage would be placed belongs
to the Angling Club, part of which is owned by 3 different landowners who the club pay rent to, but
they are happy to allow the Club to put signage up regarding the Private Fishing. there are 20-30
local members of the club and 25 visitors. The 25 visitors are capped and of the local members 9 last
year were juniors. The club is trying to attract more junior members. Resolved: Declined as the
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budget is tight. Clerk to write and suggest that the club apply to the Lake & Dales, Weardale Local
Network and hold fund raising coffee mornings.
- S Makepeace sent a quote of £115 plus vat to place the Notice Board on the bus shelter wall at
Eastgate. Resolved: Agreed
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Accounts for Payment
S Anderson salary Jan PAID £839.81
HM Rev PAID £162.32
S Anderson Home as Office PAID £35.00
TOTAL £1037.13
Makepeace Motors Daddry Shield £1668.00
GNAAS £500.00
Allen Sykes Internal Audit £300.00
S Anderson Feb salary £844.21
HM Rev £164.13
S Anderson Home as Office £35.00
S Anderson Expenses £6.96
BT Phone Bill PAID £80.74
Eastgate Village Hall Dec/Feb Hall hire £60.00
TOTAL £3494.91
DIRECT DEBITS
Bank Charges Dec £10.30
EE £30.00
EON £29.12
Bank Charges Jan £9.10
EE £30.00
EON £29.83
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New Matters for Discussion
- Cllr Brewin mentioned the footpath at Church Lane, Frosterley that runs parallel with the
railway line. The landowner is still saying that the path is his but it is a DCC public footpath. - Cllr Brewin mentioned that there are grave stones missing and notifications are put up in
Stanhope regarding St Michaels Church, Frosterley. The developer has widened the road by
1m on both sides and put gravel down. If this development is to have six bedrooms that will
all be travelling down Church Lane, then some double yellow lines are needed or a Keep
Clear. The cars park next to the entrance of Church Lane and it is very difficult to pull out
onto the main A689 road. Resolved: Clerk to write to DCC - Cllr Craig mentioned that our Community Highways Worker picks the litter up on the grass
verges. This is making such a difference in keeping our area tidy. Resolved: A thank you letter
to be sent to S Lewis. - Cllr Craig mentioned that the church at Westgate is in limbo. Change of use has not been
applied for so there is a bit of a wrangle with the planners. - Cllr Mrs Burdis had a resident of Frosterley concerned about two footbridges down in
Bollihope. Both have notices on them as work is required. One has been completed but the
one to the resident’s home has not. This needs to be done urgently as it is the only access to
Pye Close. Resolved: Clerk to contact DCC - Cllr Mrs Wright mentioned the request for a bus shelter at Willard Grove. The request was
sent to DCC . Resolved: Clerk to write again - Some notices are still up regarding some work that needed doing by the end of January. If
the work has been completed then the notices need to be taken down. Resolved: Clerk to
write to DCC - It was also mentioned about the parking sign outside of the Co-op has it been replaced yet.
Resolved: Clerk to contact DCC - Cllr Mrs Wright mentioned that they did manage over Christmas with no public toilets open.
She feels that the Dales Centre toilets should be open as the toilets that used to be there
were taken when the Dales Centre was built. - There is anti-social behaviour in the Dales Centre with bikes riding over and over in the
gravel. It is upsetting the elderly residents in the bungalows. - Cllr Miss Carrick would like the Community Highways Worker to clean the top of the bins
again as they are covered in vape stickers again. Anti-vandal paint was mentioned. Resolved:
Clerk to contact D Hunt - There is a tree at Eastgate with overhanging branches on the bridge. Resolved: Clerk to write
to DCC - Cllr Miss Carrick has been invited to the service at St Johns Chapel for the new vicar for the
area.
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Clerks Business
Nothing to report.
Meeting Closed at 7.50pm
Date of next meeting is Wednesday 4th March 2026 at Eastgate Village Hall commencing at 7pm
