the Newsletter

Around the DVP area
Medomsley Village
Community Garden
In December the Lord Lieutenant of
Durham, Mrs Sue Snowdon, planted
the first rose bush to celebrate the
completion of the first stage of the
Community Garden in Medomsley.
Village residents and school children
took part in the celebration.
A celebration of the opening of the completion
of the first stage of the community garden in
Medomsley Village.
Coming up…
Real Choice
Coffee Afternoons
(over-19 years’ students
from Villa Real School)
A group of local young people with
special needs run a coffee afternoon
on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of every
month, 1pm - 3pm. at Citizens House
in Consett. They offer hot and cold
drinks and some delicious soup,
toasties and a variety of scones
and cakes.
Consett and Vale of Derwent
(VOD) Field Club
Consett and VOD Field Club start
their summer outings on Saturday
14th March. They will visit
Bellingham, Northumberland and
participants can undertake either
a five-mile walk or a ten-mile walk.
Packed lunch is required and
transport is via a comfortable
coach. Outings continue every
fortnight until 24th October,
visiting various locations in the
North-East, Yorkshire, Cumbria
and the Borders. Why not
come along and enjoy
some friendship and
refreshing exercise in a
beautiful setting. Contact
Jean Walls (01207 501989)
for further details.
Glendale Choir
The Annual Charity Concert by the
Glendale Choir will take place on
Saturday 30th May 2015 in St
Patrick’s Church Hall in Consett,
starting at 7pm. The guests of the
choir are the ‘Singing Seagulls’, a
Cornish singing group, who will be
touring Derwentside and who
requested to perform with the choir.
There will be a raffle at the event.
The Glendale Choir will also be taking
part in the National Association of
Choirs North East Choral
Spectacular, a biennial event,
at the Sage, Gateshead on
Saturday 28th March 2015.
More details and tickets
can be obtained from the
Sage.
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Derwent Valley
NEWS
The Derwent Valley Area Action Partnership
Priority Voting for Derwent
Valley Partnership – 2015/16
Each year, the DVP invites residents
to vote for their local priorities so
these can form the basis of our work
in the forthcoming year. Rather than
hosting one event in Consett for
residents to come along to, the DVP
decided to combine the voting
exercise with their Christmas in
Consett events on 22nd November
in Middle Street and 3rd December
in Blackhill and Consett Park to
provide more opportunities for local
people to get involved.
Using Christmas trees and coloured
Christmas tree baubles, local people
were asked to review a list of ten
priorities so they could choose from
the list the three most important
priorities to them. Each priority had
a corresponding coloured bauble
which they could then hang from
the tree along with a tag listing their
issues or concerns.
As well as hosting two events, the
DVP also launched an on-line priority
voting survey so residents who could
not make it along to the Christmas
festivities still had a chance to take
part.
Visit www.durham.gov.uk/ebilling
Derwent Valley
Area Action Partnership
www.durham.gov.uk/derwentaap
In total, 258 residents took the
opportunity to vote for issues that
were important to them and which
will help us to target our resources
at local issues in 2015/16. A total
number of 774 votes were received
and the final results are listed below:
1. Activities for Children and Young
People – 180 votes
2. Regeneration of Town Centres –
106 votes
3. Employment, Enterprise,
Education and Training –
104 votes
4. Health and Wellbeing – 80 votes
5. Older People – 73 votes
6. Environment – 63 votes
7. Community Safety – 61 votes
8. Support for Voluntary and
Community Sector – 50 votes
9. Culture, Arts and Tourism –
30 votes
10.Transport – 27 votes
Spring 2015
Each of these priorities has a
dedicated Task Group made up of
residents and representatives from
appropriate organisations and
agencies who work together to
explore the issues, identify the
gaps in services and develop ideas
to help tackle the problems.
If you would like to get involved in
one or more of the Task Groups
(each Group meets once every six
weeks on an evening) or would like
more information, please contact
a member of the DVP Team on
03000 260 725 or e-mail us at
dvaap@durham.gov.uk
At the DVP Board meeting on 28th
January 2015, the Board reviewed
the voting results and made the
decision to focus on the following
priorities from April 2015 onwards:
1. Activities for children and
young people
2. Regeneration, employment,
education and training
3. Older people, health and
wellbeing
4. Culture, arts and tourism
(cross-cutting priority)
www.durham.gov.uk/derwentaap
Derwent Valley Partnership Projects 2014-15
During the financial year 2014-15, the DVP Board had a £120,000 budget to cover local priorities. The Board looked
at various themes and through the priority task groups made up of local people and following Board agreement,
they funded 18 projects. A selection covering each of the Partnership’s three main priorities is as follows:
Activities for Children and Young People
Sambarama - £9,518 plus £800 match funding from partners. Mad Alice Theatre
Company, Jack Drum Arts and Leisureworks will deliver a Drama and Samba project
for children aged 7-12 years from the DVP area in Spring 2015, culminating in a
performance by the young people to family and friends. The children will work with a
professional actress and a professional musician and both will be assisted by an
apprentice. There will also be volunteering opportunities. DVP primary schools
chosen on a first-come first-served basis will host Samba and Drama taster sessions
and after-school sessions will be held locally. Leisureworks will provide mask/prop
making workshops at the Park Lodge, Blackhill. Participants and their families will
work with a professional artist and make items for the performance. Participants will
have the opportunity to achieve an Arts Award in a project which aims to help them
learn new skills, build confidence and self–esteem, improve interpersonal skills and
raise aspirations.
Leisureworks and East Durham Trust are setting up a ‘Men’s Cree’ group
at The Lodge in Blackhill & Consett Park.
The Cree Project in County Durham started nearly 4 years ago and is a
response to the closure of traditional industries and the consequent loss of
work place bonds and social networks, which in some cases can lead to the
development of Mental Health problems.
Cree groups are informal drop-in’s where people can meet up and take part in varied activities of their choosing,
learning new skills and regaining confidence. Activities can include gardening, woodwork, bicycle maintenance,
day-trips, arts and crafts, cooking a simple meal together or meeting for a game of cards and a cuppa.
Cree needs at least one “Cree Champion” in each group to help support group members, advocate their needs and
interests, help with activities and some administration/monitoring tasks. Cree Champions get free training and support
and some paid expenses. They should be able to commit sufficient time to Cree, agree to undertake the training,
and uphold Cree’s open and non-discriminatory nature.
Young Samba players from Jack Drum Arts.
For further details about Men’s Cree at The Lodge, or to register an interest in becoming a Cree Champion,
e-mail: info@leisureworks.net or telephone (01207) 218020/218871, or write to Leisureworks, The Louisa Centre,
Stanley, DH9 0TE. Visit: www.leisureworks.net (Health and Wellbeing page).
Meet the DVP Board
Employment and Education
Derwent Valley Apprenticeship Scheme - £20,000 (includes £3,500 from Welfare
Reform funds) plus £30,000 match funding from the National Apprenticeship Service.
The DVP Board is made up of 21 members who meet six times a year
to discuss how the DVP is progressing against its action plan, manage
spending, and work with partners to resolve local issues.
Durham County Council’s Employability Team aim to build upon the success of
previous programmes to create a further 20, twelve month apprenticeship
opportunities in the DVP area for take-up by young people aged 18-24.
The DVP’s £20,000 investment will be matched with £30,000 from the National
Apprenticeship Service to provide a wage subsidy to small-medium sized enterprises
in the DVP area that have never recruited an apprentice or have not recruited an
apprentice in the past year – the aim of this is to increase the number of businesses
taking on apprentices.
Men’s Cree Project
The DVP Board is made up of seven elected Councillors, seven
representatives of partner organisations and seven public representatives.
Young people pictured at Ionbond UK, Consett.
The Employability Team will be working in partnership with the National
Apprenticeship Service, Derwentside College and Durham County Council’s other
service areas such as Children and Adults Services.
Anyone interested in the programme is asked to contact
Durham County Council’s Employability Team on 03000 262 009,
e-mail: employability@durham.gov.uk
Older People
Derwent Valley Diners - £10,000 (includes £2,500 from Public Health and £2,500 from
Welfare Reform funds) plus £8,543 match funding from Age UK County Durham.
Good food and company for older people who are alone
Derwent Valley Diners is a new initiative from the Derwent Valley Area Action Partnership
and Age UK County Durham.
Local volunteers will be trained and matched to older people who live alone, are not able
to get out for meals or have difficulty cooking for themselves. They will collect and deliver
tasty meals to the older person they are matched with and keep in touch with them.
Age UK County Durham will ensure that meals are great value for money and will provide
support to everyone taking part.
If you would like to know more, are interested in taking part or know an older person who might benefit
from this project, please contact staff at Age UK County Durham on 0191 374 6577.
Your DVP Board Membership
Elected Members
Cllr Bob Glass
Cllr Derek Hicks
Cllr Ivan Jewell
Cllr Peter Oliver
Cllr Alan Shield
Cllr Watts Stelling
Cllr Alex Watson
Partner Representatives
Chris Affleck – Durham Community
Action
Ken Ball – County Durham and
Darlington Fire and Rescue Service
Lesley Jeavons/Jane Robinson –
Durham County Council
Karen Morris – Derwentside Homes
Inspector Keith Wardle – Durham
Constabulary
Rachel Rooney – North Durham
Clinical Commissioning Group
* there is currently a vacancy for a
representative of the local business
community
Public Representatives
George Baker
Elsie Davies
Ann English
Peter Dobson
Phillip Marshall
Rosemary Morris
Tina Townson
Board meetings take place with some
exceptions on the final Wednesday
of the month, 6-8pm. Regular Board
meetings are open to members of the
public who are registered as a DVP
Forum member. For more information
on meetings and how to register as
a Forum member, please contact
a member of the DVP Team on
03000 260 725 or e-mail us at
dvaap@durham.gov.uk.
Derwent Valley
Car Club
Expansion?
We Need You!
The Derwent Valley Car Club, based
in Blackhall Mill, are researching
demand for expanding the car club,
its electric car, electric bikes and
voluntary driver scheme into the wider
Derwentside area. We want to know
what you think. We have developed a
survey which you can complete online
at www.surveymonkey.com/s/DV
carclub
The Club is open to anyone in the
local area and costs as little as £3
to use the car for an hour and
£2.50 per hour for the electric bikes.
The membership fee is only £5 per
month which is refunded against
usage of the vehicles. There are no
additional mileage fees, insurance
or maintenance costs. The Car Club
also offers a Volunteer Driver
Scheme for
people who
cannot drive
themselves.
For further information please contact
the Co-ordinator Susan Ross on
07473 180302 or you can email
Dvcarclub@yahoo.com or
Facebook www.facebook.com/
Derwentvalleycarclub
www.durham.gov.uk/derwentaap