DALTON PIERCY PARISH PLAN 2017 - 2022 - new plan for 2023-2028 to follow soon

The Parish Council undertook a village-wide consultation in 2017, to identify what residents felt should be the priority activities to be undertaken over the next few years. 

The results indicated that the main priority was to replace the deteriorating Village Hall. Parish Councillors have been trying to move forwards on this but as they do not own the land on which the hall stands, have found it impossible to raise the necessary funds. This is because Hartlepool Bprough Council refuses to gift or sell the land to the Parish Council, or even to lease it at a peppercorn rent, for a guaranteed minimum 25 years. Without a long lease or ownership, many funders have refused to consider grant aid. The Parish Council will continue tio press the Borough Council on this issue.

Other items on the list were used to drive applications to the Red Gap Community Fund in June 2017, which resulted in grants towards:

A small children's play area

Refurbishment of the village pond

Refencing of the Butts

Turning the old BT phone kiosk into a Defibrillator cabinet

Installing permeable paving in front of the houses at each end of North Close, and beside the allotments

Refurbishing the old cart on the green at Manor Fields.

All these projects are being progressed, with the village pond already finished (and looking great!), the permeable paving being installed in May 2018, the Batts fencing, old cart and defibrillator all well in hand. The Chldren's Play area is a little more complex as planning permission may be required; the Borough Counicl will not decide on this until they see the final plans; however, the play equipment has already been identified, as has the preferred supplier. This particular project also involves installing a safety fence along the side of the road, to prevent excited children from running onto it, and this may require permission from the Secretary of State, as the land here is part of the Registered Village Green - the Parish Council is currently investigating what, exactly, is required. Some of these projects required a 20% contribution from the Parish Council, (if the total cost of the project was over £5,000).

The Parish Council was unsuccesful in a bid for funding towards a pavement between the main village and Three Gates as there was concern from the funders that this was a responsibility of the local authority. HBC has informed DPPC since, that they do not have a statutory duty to install pavements along rural roads, and cannot afford to do this at Dalton Piercy.

During the years, several other ideas have been put forward to the Parish Council, including new Christmas Tree lights, new fencing and gate at the allotments, a wheelchair-friendly footpath across the green from Abbots Lea to North Close and turning one of the allotments into a Community Garden allotment. All these are under consideration by the Parish Council.

At the Parish Meeting in May 2018, residents asked for further enhancements to the village environment; although the replacement of the Village Hall still remains their number one priority, other suggestions included:

A village pump - to refect the still remembered source of drinking water in the village

A quoits pitch

A BBQ for community events and

A film/video projector, again for community events.

Residents were also keen to see the Parish Council continue to maintain pressure on the Borough Council to resolve the flooding issue in the village once and for all, and to campaign againt the premature closure of the A19 crossings, i.e. before the by-pass around Elwick village is open.

Site of the proposed children's play area, at the east end of the village green.