A Big Brew Coffee morning  takes place at the church at 10am on Saturday March 3rd and Sunday services will take on a Fairtrade theme led by the Reverend Brigitta Steele.

At the services parishioners can sample free trade items provided by local supermarkets.

A Folk and Fairtrade concert is also to be held at the church on Friday March 9th with guest appearance of Gareth Davies-Jones.

There will also be a poster design competition for various age classes with Fairtrade prizes for the winners of each section.

Reverend Steele is hoping the event will bring awareness to the fact that buying Fairtrade products can make a difference to the poor in other countries around the world.

Full details for Vegetable Show (15th) and Flower Show (16th) held at the Riverside Cricket Ground can be obtained by calling Michael Dulieu on 0191 3882983

People in the Chester-le-Street district have been invited to take part in the UK’s biggest events of the year.

They are being offered the chance to put their stamp on the celebrations for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralymic Games and to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

The initiative – Let’s Join In -  is being organised by Chester-le-Street and District Area Action partnership.

The AAP will be offering grant of up to £500  to community and resident groups who come up with ideas for celebrating the milestone events. “The Olympics and the Jubilee are two of the biggest celebrations ever staged in the UK and many people will want to join in. We’ll be making grants available to support community initiatives enabling people to feel part of the national occasions,” said AAP co-ordinator Andrew Megginson.

An information drop in session will be held next week (February 23) between 4pm and 6.30pm to provide further information about ‘Let’s Join In.’

It will be take place in the Gloucester Suite in Chester-le-Street Civic Centre when potential applicants will be to get advice as well as pick up an application form. There will also be guidance on event planning and safety aspects.

For more information contact Community Development Officer Fiona Triggs on 0191 387 2404 and at fiona.triggs@durham.gov.uk

On your marks: Launching the Let’s Join In event at Chester le Street Riverside Sports complex are (l to r front) Police Inspector Amanda Catherine, Coun Beatty Bainbridge, Deputy Chairman of Durham County Linda Marshall and Brian Walker with Coun Audrey Willis and Jake Rollings (standing).

After meetings with local people the AAP has announced a new set of priorities that will be introduced from April 2012.

From then organisation has determined its new focus will be:-

• Opportunities for young people
• Improved Local Environment
• Local regeneration, employment and jobs
• Health and supporting older people
• Supporting community groups and community buildings

AAP Co-ordinator Andrew Megginson said: “We had some very useful debates with local people last year and our new priorities list is based on the comments and feedback we received. We value feedback and viewpoints from the local community because it helps the work of the AAP.”

If you would like to pass on suggestions and opinions about the future of your community you can contact the AAP at chester-le-streetaap@durham.gov.uk

Looking ahead on the Chester-le-Street event calendar an Activity Week is to take place from Monday 20th August through to Fri 24th 2012.

Following on from the recent success of the event in 2011 Police Community Support Officers Adrian Richards and Christine Taylor have been instrumental in organising this years event in conjunction with the Chester-le-Street Area Action Partnership.

Taking place in Chester-le-Street Market Place activities will include a climbing wall, rodeo bull, bouncy castle, bungie run,and an assault course.

St. John Ambulance will be present each day along with RAF and Army personnell and traders market stalls willbe in attendance.

Children and adults will be treated to Nail Art, Artist Caricatures and Face Painting.

The event runs each day from 10am to 3pm and further information can be obtained by contacting adrian.richards@durham.pnn.police.uk or christine.taylor@durham.pnn.police.uk

Chester-le-Street district’s popular community mobile cinema programme is ready to roll again this week.

The initiative, organised by Chester-le-Street and District Area Action Partnership, will be bringing the big screen to communities from this Saturday (February 11) with Happy Feet 2.

The screening schedule is:-

Saturday 11th February at 10.30am – Pelton Youth & Community Centre
Saturday 11th February at 1.30pm – Park View Community Association, Chester le Street
Monday 13th February at 10am – The Fulforth Centre, Sacriston
Monday 13th February at 1.30pm – The Brockwell Centre, Pelton Fell
Tuesday 14th February at 1.30pm – Edmondsley Parish Memorial Hall
Wednesday 15th February at 1pm – Cornerstones Centre For The Community, Chester Le Street Methodist Church
Thursday 16th February at 10.30am – Ouston Community Centre
Thursday 16th February at 3pm – Great Lumley Community Centre
Friday 17th February at 2pm – 1st Burnmoor Scouts (Robert Forster House), Fencehouses
Saturday 18th February at 1pm – Bullion Hall, Chester le Street

Tickets cost £1 on sale at the venues.

The start of work on a new £4.5m health centre and library in a County Durham village was marked with a groundbreaking ceremony for the project at Pelton, near Chester-le-Street.

The development, which will be called the Lavender Centre, is a joint project between Durham County Council and NHS County Durham and Darlington.

Based on the former site of Pelton Infant and Junior School, it will replace the existing library and provide new homes for Pelton Surgery and Middle Chare Medical Group.

Cllr Maria Plews, Durham County Council’s Cabinet member for leisure, libraries and lifelong learning, said: “The current library and healthcare facilities in Pelton are in poor condition and in need of replacement.

“This new development will provide the village with modern, well-equipped facilities including two GP surgeries, a pharmacy and library, which will be of enormous benefit to the community.”

The project, which was given the go-ahead by the Trust in June, will be located next to the school and children’s centre, enabling services to link together. It will also provide a local base for services including health visitors, midwifery, district nursing, physiotherapy, counselling, phlebotomy, podiatry and chronic disease management.

Lady Ann Calman, chair of NHS County Durham and Darlington, said: “We are delighted that work has now started on the Lavender Centre in Pelton. The new facilities are much-needed and will provide local people with first class services in a modern, state-of-the-art development.”

As part of the construction of the centre various forms of sustainable technology and renewable energy will be incorporated into the building. The work is expected to take about 15 months.

Building success:  l to r – Leader of DCC, Cllr Simon Henig, Lady Ann Calman, chair of NHS County Durham and Darlington and Kevan Jones MP

No doubt like everyone else you’ll be dashing to and fro in wintery conditions trying to get those last minute items to send to Father Christmas.

If so all of us here at www.euvue.co.uk and www.euvuechester-le-street.co.uk would like to wish all our readers a very Merry Christmas and  a Happy New Year.

To thank you for your support for the last year and to enable you to chillout sometime over this busy time of year we have complied a short video of relaxing music complete with winter scenes that you can unwind to in the comfort of your own home.

The music entitled ‘Beneath the Falls’ was written and performed by local composer Frances Janet Balfour from Chester-le- Street and the images by EuVuE photographer Brian Clough.

We hope you have a special time over the holiday period and we look forward to welcoming you back to our site in 2012.

All the best of Health, Happiness and Prosperity for 2012.

From The Euvue Multimedia Website Team.

Despite the cold wintry conditions on Saturday, parishioners and members of the public attended a Christmas Carol Service at Chester-le-Street Civic Heart.

All denominations of churchgoers attended the open air service to relate to the true meaning of Christmas through carols and prayers.

The service which lasted for thirty minutes took place under the Christmas tree and musical accompaniment was provided by  Chester-le-Street Salvation Army Band.

People in the Chester-le-Street district have called on Durham County Council to think again over plans to close the Hett Hills waste disposal centre near Pelton.

A petition against closure is being raised and organisers report a brisk response to sign up.

Hett Hills has come under scrutiny, along with several other sites countywide, as part of the ongoing programme to identify budget cuts.

Durham County Council is is suggesting closing six of the 15 sites, including Todhills, Cragwood and Stainton Grove, in south Durham, and Brooms Dene, Hett Hills and Thornley Station in the north of the county.

The council is suggesting that residents in the Chester-le-Street area, who currently rely on Hett Hills to deposit their rubbish, could make alternative arrangements to use facilities at either Annfield Plain or Potterhouse Lane in Durham in the future.

The authority said closing them would save costs and result in a better coverage across the county, as well as ensuring regulatory standards are met.

However, the idea has been given short shrift in Chester-le-Street and opponents are opposed to any changes in  waste disposal facilities in the district.

Derek Briggs, chairman of the Chester-le-Street and District Area Action Partnership’s Environmental Task Group say that there was widespread opposition to closing Hett Hills.

“Hett Hills is in the first rank for useage. It has one of the highest traffic figures in  the county and we want the council to think again. The consultation period has now been extended into the New Year and we want as many people to sign the petition as possible.

“We don’t think it’s sensible to have to go all the way to Annfield Plain. A lot of people don;t have cars and won’t be able to reply on neighbours to help out. There’s also an environmental impact to take into consideration as well as the cost of petrol. There’s no way that Annfield Plain would be a convenient alternative.

“At Potterhouse Lane there’s a definite risk of tail back traffic and traffic congestion building up at the Pity Me roundabout. It’s already busy as a main feed into the Arnison Centre and through the Durham and the south,” said Derek.

The Save Hett Hills petition is being collected in several areas including one at the Teeny Totz  shop in Front Street Chester-le-Street. “I woulod ask everyone to register theier opposition to this closure by signing the petition and by getting in touch with local councillors.
Visit durham.gov.uk/consultation for more information.