To add an item or update here please email proposed text and/or images to spracommittee@gmail.com
Each item is listed beneath the date first posted...
10 Oct 2023
Notice of SPRA AGM
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Sheraton Park Residents Association Annual General Meeting is on Thursday 19th October at 7.30pm in the Community Room, Neville House. Everybody is very welcome to attend.
This will be followed by the normal regular Residents Meeting - again, all welcome.
At the AGM we will propose reducing our Residents Meetings from four to three per year. Currently the constitution states (7d) "The Committee shall hold at least four meetings each year", in addition to the AGM (section 8). We will discuss amending 7d to "The Committee shall hold at least two meetings each year." The intention is to hold three, but this gives some flexibility in case there is nothing to discuss or people are unavailable.
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10 Oct 2022
Notice of SPRA AGM
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Sheraton Park Residents Association Annual General Meeting will be held on Thursday 20 October 7-7.30, followed by the quarterly Committee Meeting, 7.30-9.
All welcome at one or both - email spracommittee@gmail.com for the Zoom link.
Papers will be on https://spracommittee.wixsite.com/website/agm in due course.
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24 Sep 2021
Living Out Welcome Leaflet
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You should be receiving a copy of this leaflet through your letterbox in the next few days. This year, we are delivering to all houses so that everyone can see the information provided to students who are living out in Sheraton Park.
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9 Feb 2021
Vaccination Fraud Risk
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Residents are advised to be aware that fraudulent promotion of vaccination are circulating. Please be watchful and advise anyone you know who may be vulnerable or susceptible to such approaches.
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24 Oct 2020
Halloween Activity
Secret Bat Hunt 30th & 31st October
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Take part in the Secret Bat Hunt ...
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Download the sheet below, find those bats and fill it in to enter
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Find out more ... spracommittee@gmail.com
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18 May 2020
Lowes Barn Community Centre (LBCC) - Planning Consultation
DM/20/01008/FPA | Erection of community centre building with associated bin store and cycle parking | Low Barn Recreation Ground Off Park House Road Durham DH1 3QF
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The LBCC Planning Application is available for comment on the council planning portal with the above reference.
While SPRA has decided not to comment upon general planning permissions itself, it fully appreciates that local residents may wish to be aware of, and to comment upon, local planning proposals in so far as they affect individual residents or properties.
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17 March 2020
Community Room Closure
SPRA have been informed by Ustinov College that the Community Room in Neville's House will be closed with immediate effect owing to the extra demands and priorities imposed by current health concerns. If you run or attend any activities which use the room they will be cancelled until further notice.
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12 March 2020
Proposals for Parking Restrictions on Sheraton Park
Following concern about parking in the area, the County Council is currently consulting on proposals to paint yellow lines and introduce other changes in several areas of Nevilles Cross. The changes proposed for Sheraton Park are as follows:
Traffic Regulation Order consultation: Durham City South West, Parking and Waiting Restrictions Order 2013, Amendment Order No 1 Order 2020
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The County Council proposes to make an Order under Sections 1, 2, 4, 32 & 35 and Part IV of Sch. 9 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, as amended, the effect of which will be to:
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1. Introduce No Waiting At Any Time restrictions on:
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• the north side of Faraday Court adjacent to the side of No. 45 Faraday Court for 34m
• both sides of Clay Lane and the junction with Faraday Court for 24m
• north east side of the A167 from a point adjacent to the rear of No.12 Dalton Crescent and into the junction of Dalton Crescent for 64m
• the north side of Potters Bank into the junction of Westhouse Ave for 20m either side of the junction
Residents are encouraged to support or object to the proposal by sending an email to highways.orders@durham.gov.uk or by post to Sharon Renwick, Legal Assistant at County Hall, Durham (ref: 25049) by 26/3/2020.
Note: location of first proposal is off plan
6 March 2020
Ustinov College Bar notification
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In accordance with the condition laid out in the Club Operating Schedule for the Club Premises Certificate for the Ustinov College bar at Sheraton Park I am notifying you that on Friday 20th March 2020 the bar will operate beyond the standard timing and operate to the agreed non-standard time of 02.00hrs to facilitate an end of term party.
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Ian Macdonald
Community Operations Manager
24 January 2020
Greening Ustinov & Sheraton Park
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These documents give more information about this initiative and upcoming events ...
15 December 2019
Ustinov College Bar notification
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In accordance with the condition laid out in the Club Operating Schedule for the Club Premises Certificate for the Ustinov College bar at Sheraton Park, I am notifying you that on Thursday 19th December 2019 the bar will operate beyond the standard timing and operate to the agreed non-standard time of 02.00hrs to facilitate an end of term party. The party will be a “silent disco”.
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Ian Macdonald
Community Operations Manager
24 November 2019
Police Community Advice
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The Police have advised all residents to be vigilant and make sure garage doors are securely locked, as there have been some recent garage thefts on the Sheraton Park estate. Unfortunately it is likely that the thiefs will return and try again.
Please don't leave your garage unlocked as word will soon get around that this estate is an easy target.
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The Police have further advice on their website about protecting your property, please see: Don’t be in the dark this winter – get switched on to home safety
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3 November 2019
Ustinov College Bar notification
In accordance with the condition laid out in the Club Operating Schedule for the Club Premises Certificate for the Ustinov College bar at Sheraton Park I am notifying you that on Thursday 19th December 2019 the bar will operate beyond the standard timing and operate to the agreed non-standard time of 02.00hrs to facilitate an End of Term Party.
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Ian Macdonald
Community Operations Manager
20 October 2019
News from the AGM
The minutes of the AGM held on 8 October 2019 can be found on the AGM page of the website.
The constitution was slightly updated, mainly to reduce the numbers on the committee and to reduce the quoracy for meetings (full details are in the minutes). The updated constitution can be found on the General Documents section of the Documents page of the website.
10 October 2019
Ustinov College Bar notification
In accordance with the condition laid out in the Club Operating Schedule for the Club Premises Certificate for the Ustinov College bar at Sheraton Park I am notifying you that on Friday 1st November 2019 the bar will operate beyond the standard timing and operate to the agreed non-standard time of 02.00hrs to facilitate a Halloween Party.
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Ian Macdonald
Community Operations Manager
9 October 2019
Gardening Event on 27th October
A chance to get some fresh air, improve our local environment and meet some of your neighbours...
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25 September 2019
Ustinov College Bar notification
In accordance with the condition laid out in the Club Operating Schedule for the Club Premises Certificate for the Ustinov College bar at Sheraton Park I am notifying you that on Saturday 5th October 2019 the bar will operate beyond the standard timing and operate to the agreed non-standard time of 02.00hrs to facilitate an Induction Party when the GCR will welcome new students to the college.
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Ian Macdonald
Community Operations Manager
21 September 2019
Upcoming AGM on 8th Oct
The next AGM will take place on the 8th October 2019 at 7pm. The agenda and proposed constitution can be found on the Documents page of this website
18 September 2019
Afternoon Tea on Sat 5th Oct at Ustinov Cafe, Sheraton Park
From 3-5pm on Saturday 5th October residents are invited to join the Ustinov Graduate Common Room for Afternoon Tea.
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The aim of the event is to give the opportunity to our students and mentors to meet our very friendly local residents.
The event will be held on the cafe area on Sheraton House from 15:00 to 17:00.
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There is no booking, just pop in the cafe.
For any question feel free to contact me at ustinov.president@durham.ac.uk
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9 September 2019
Executive Committee Meeting Minutes
The minutes for the latest Executive Committee meeting have been added to the documents page of the website.
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6th September 2019
PICNIC IN THE PARK on Sunday September 8th
This Sunday NXCA & Lowes Barn Community Project are having a summer picnic. Please come along and join us - Sunday 8th September 1pm - 4pm. The event will take place at Lowes Barn Recreation Ground next to St Cuthberts Hospice.
Bring your own picnic and enjoy free tea and coffee, ice cream. All ages welcome. Come and meet new friends and neighbours.
There will be free fun activities - circus skills, face painting, sports games and music by local band Aftershock.
The event has been very kindly funded and supported by local councillors - Liz Brown & Elizabeth Scott and The National Lottery Community Fund.
All children must be accompanied by an adult.
See you there,
Suzanne McGoay
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5th September 2019
Artists Wanted
Please read the below document to find out about an opportunity for your and your children's art to feature on signs on the sports field.
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Residents Meeting on the 10th September
There will be a Residents Meeting in the Community Room in Neville House at 8pm on Tuesday 10th September. Come along and find out about timescales for the field improvements, changes to reporting about antisocial noise, and to raise any issues.
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22nd August 2019
PACT Meeting Report
The PACT meeting was attended by a number of residents and SPRA committee members, with PCSO Kirsty Lawrence and PCSO Steve Bell. Issues discussed included unsocial noise, groups gathering on Observatory Hill, door to door sellers and 'Young Heroes' awards.
The police encouraged residents to contact the Police by dialing 101 to report any unsocial noise or suspicious behaviour (e.g. excessive noise if when children are trying to get to sleep or if it is stopping individuals from getting to sleep when they need to be up for work in the morning, or people loitering round cycle storage areas looking suspicious) straight away if they would like the property / area visited. It was explained that it is better for the individual being disturbed to report it, rather than a third party, as the response time would then typically be faster.
The Police re-itterated the need to either not answer the door to door to door sellers selling household items, or just say 'No' firmly and politely and then shut the door. These sellers tend only to return to areas where people have bought products previously. Please see the attached letter for more information.
Also attached as a poster encouraging nominations for the 'Young Heroes' awards, and dates of the next PACT meetings. Please click the image to view. The next meeting is on Thursday 19th September at 6pm in the Community Room.
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15th August 2019
Extended Ustinov Bar Operating on the 6th September
On the 6th September the Ustinov bar will operate until 2am to facilitate an End of Year party.
14th July 2019
Notice regarding cars today and discount codes for Brass Festival
Please find a notice below explaining the extra cars on the estate on 14/07 and some discount codes for various events at the Brass Festival.
11th July 2019
Police Newsletter & notice regarding door to door salespeople
Below is the latest police newsletter for our area. Please take special notice of the section regarding door to door scammers posing as ex-offenders.
10th July 2019
Project to make Neville's Cross a greener neighbourhood
Amy Elizabeth Mycock works for a local charity, OASES North East, which has been successful in securing some funding (£1700) from Durham Parish Council towards a project to plant up Neville's Cross to make it a greener neighbourhood. Following responses to a community poll on the Nevilles Cross Residents Facebook, they have designed the project around planting wild flowers, spring bulbs and air cleaning trees around Neville's Cross. They are looking to involve the local schools and businesses as well as holding community planting events.
At St John's Eco Festival Amy crowd sourced residents thoughts on possible planting sites around Neville's Cross. This was met with enthusiasm and people pinned some points on the maps where they know of a space that could benefit. If you have any ideas of patches of land for trees and flowers, please do let her know. Once they have secured the required match funding, land owners will be approached.
OASES deliver outdoor, sustainability and environmental education with schools throughout County Durham. They have recently delivered Lumiere projects, Schools in Bloom (edibles for city centre planters) and energy reduction projects in the Neville's Cross schools so have good links there. They've delivered various tree planting schools projects for the Woodland Trust and run various school gardening clubs.
The commencement of the project depends upon securing match funding. However, at this stage, the Parish Council has asked OASES to contact local residents groups, as the funding will be granted on the condition that OASES receive written confirmation from them that they are happy with the proposed works.
If you have any views on the project please let us know by emailing spracommittee@gmail.com by 17 July so we can ascertain levels of support or otherwise. Thank you.
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Defibrillator by Community Room
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There is now a defibrilator available for public use in an emergency, in the lobby area by the Community Room in Neville House. It is in an alarmed but unlocked cabinet on the right hand side as you go in to the lobby, and the area is accessible 24 hours / day.
Many thanks to our Local Councillors Liz Brown and Elizabeth Scott for funding it, and for Ustinov College for providing a suitable location and for arranging the installation.
Quoting from the St John Ambulance website:
"An AED (automated external defibrillator) is a device that gives the heart an electric shock when someone’s heart has stopped (cardiac arrest).
You can use an AED on children over one year old and adults.
Ambulances have them on board, but using an AED in the minutes before an ambulance arrives can double someone’s chances of survival. So it is up to bystanders quickly to find the nearest defibrillator.
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You can use an AED with no training. The machine analyses someone’s heart rhythm and then uses visual or voice prompts to guide you through each step."
30th June 2019
Volunteer Positions
Sheraton Park Residents Association Executive Committee desperately needs some new committee members, so if you could attend a maximum of 5 meetings a year please get in touch.
We also need volunteers to manage the community room bookings (maximum one hour per week) and to maintain the website (probably about one hour per month).
Please consider stepping forward - we are all volunteers with busy lives and many hands make light work!
Finally, the Parish Council is looking for somebody to represent SPRA on a group looking at domesticating the A167 - if this could be for you please get in touch too!
20th May 2019
Extended Ustinov Bar Operating on the 24th
On the 24th May the Ustinov bar will operate until 2am to facilitate a Pride Party.
14th May 2019
PACT Meetings
Police And Communities Together (PACT) meetings take place each month in the community room. This is an opportunity to raise any issues or concerns with the police and have an update on any issues or incidents in the local area. The dates of the meetings can be found on the notice board on the rear of Neville House, the next one is on Wednesday 15th May at 6pm. To see the sort of things which are raised and discussed, please see some notes from last month's meeting.
Public Consultation on the Draft Durham City Neighbourhood Plan: Have Your Say!
A Neighbourhood Plan has been drawn up to reflect what residents, businesses and visitors have said are their priorities for planning policies to conserve and improve our city.
Public exhibitions are being held at
· St John’s Nevilles Cross on Wednesday 22nd May 2pm to 6 pm;
· St Giles Church Hall Monday 3rd June 3 pm to 7 pm; and
· St Nicholas’ Church Lower Hall Wednesday 12 June 3 pm to 7.30 pm.
Representatives from the Parish Council’s team of volunteers will be there to explain the draft planning policies, to answer your questions, and to take note of your comments.
If you cannot attend the exhibitions, there are several other ways of being involved (see document below).
The period for making comments on the Draft Plan runs from 17 May to 28 June.
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For the full announcement including information on how the plan will be approved please read the document below.
9th April 2019
Message from Fire & Rescue Service
County Durham and Darlington Fire & Rescue Service (CDDFRS) have been informed of several fires which are believed to have been deliberately started in the wooded area in Sheraton Park, Durham. Crews from Durham Station were called out to extinguish the latest fire on 30th April at 17:35pm.
CDDFRS Arson Reduction Team are working with Durham Constabulary to monitor the areas we have been having these fires. The fires occurred very close to properties in the area and could easily spread and get out of control making them extremely dangerous.
If anyone has any information on the fires please could you contact FIRESTOPPERS on 0800 1695558
9th April 2019
Confirmation of funding for sports field improvements
We are pleased to confirm that we have had confirmation from the council that our application for section 106 money to improve the sports field was successful. This includes drainage, replacing the fence and signs and adding a pair of smaller goals across the width of the field. We will now need to apply for planning permission for some of the works, so nothing is going to happen too quickly, but we will endeavour to keep people up to date via Facebook and the SPRA website.
11th March 2019
Executive Committee Meeting Minutes
The minutes for the latest Executive Committee meeting have been added to the documents page of the website.
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1st March 2019
Update on path behind Dalton Crescent which is liable to flooding
Following some research and discussions with the Land Registry, I have been able to confirm the path behind Dalton Crescent adjacent to the grassed area and Ustinov College, is still under the ownership of Barratt Homes. Therefore, it is Barratt who need to resolve the drainage issues. I have been in contact with Barratt Homes regarding the issue and it has been forwarded to the appropriate department. I have asked to be kept informed with progress on the issue, so will update residents via the website and facebook page as I hear.
Helen Martin, Co-chair, SPRA.
7 December 2018
Field Survey Results
The report from the residents survey about proposed development of the sports field can now be found on the 'Field plan' page of this website. Page 10 of this document details the work SPRA initially want to pursue, which includes drainage, repair / replacement of the fence and the addition of a pair of smaller football goals (N.B. keeping the existing larger goals as they are). The 'Field plan' page will be used to keep residents up to date as work progresses, e.g. regarding discussions with SPML, funding and planning permission applications, and hopefully then work schedule .
The SPRA Executive Committee would like to thank everyone who took the time to complete the survey. If anyone would like to get involved with the ongoing work associated with this project please contact spracommittee@gmail.com.
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New Constitution
The revised constitution has been approved and can now be found on the documents page of this site.