News & LETTERS ARCHIVE

Dear All Residents,
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Please note that the Precept for 2026/2027 will remain the same as last year with no proposed increase.

If you require any assistance or information, please contact the Parish Clerk or Chairman.
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Kind Regards
Miriam Fenwick (Mrs) Parish Clerk
For and on behalf of Marwood Parish Council

Further to our previous telecon, please see below list of local projects Marwood Parish Council have worked on over the past few years.
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Castle Vale Community Allotments.
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High Riggs Rose Garden including Stone birdbath which was installed to commemorate the Kings Coronation.
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Installation of 3 Bench Seats - Darlington Road, A688 outside of Lidl bus stop and High Riggs Rose Garden to commemorate the 80th anniversary of VE Day.
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Floral Planters positioned around Marwood Parish, are maintained all year round by Lowfield Gardens Nursery.
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Picnic tables were added to the Bandstand area next to River Tees.
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Installation and maintenance of the Defibrillator at Marwood Social Centre.
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Seasonal upkeep of grass verges along A688 between Lidl and Stainton.
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We’ve also given numerous donations to support the local and wider community.
Green Land Church of England Primary School.
Barnard Castle Meet.
Eggleston Agricultural Show.
Bowes Agricultural Show.
TCR Hub.
Girl Guiding Association Barnard Castle.
Scouts Barnard Castle.
Royal British Legion, including attending and laying a wreath at the Remembrance Sunday ceremony at Bowes Museum.
Barnard Castle Youth Football Club.

Parish Councillor Vacancies
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Marwood Parish Council currently have three vacancies for parish councillors. For more information or to express an interest, please contact clerk@marwoodparishcouncil.gov.uk
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Adrian Mairs (Chairman) for and on behalf of Marwood Parish Council

The Witham Hall in Barnard Castle is currently hosting a temporary Banking Hub. This hub, operated by Cash Access UK, provides in-person banking services from multiple banks. Open Monday-Friday 9 am - 5pm

Specialist staff from different banks are available on a rotating schedule to help with more complex account issues, without needing an appointment:

‍Mondays: Barclays
‍Wednesdays: NatWest
‍Thursdays: HSBC
‍Fridays: Lloyds

The Post Office
Open 9 am - 5 pm
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Deposit cash (notes and coins) and cheques
Withdraw cash
Check your balance
Pay utility bills and top up gas/electricity
Change-giving services (for registered businesses)

Letter/Email sent to All Town Councillors of Barnard Castle on 23rd January 2024

Dear Sir/Madam,
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With the unfortunate news about the closure of the Barnard Castle branch of Barclays Bank, I would just like to offer Marwood Parish Council's support moving forward if you were looking at starting a petition etc. As you know, Barclays is the last remaining bank in town, and the closure will severely affect both the local and wider community. There will also be no access to a 24hr cash machine, with the remaining ones only being accessible during store opening hours.

I look forward to your reply.
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Kind Regards,
Adrian Mairs
Chairman Marwood Parish Council

We have also been very busy down by the river. We have with help from Roger Peat and his volunteers and DCC cleared the area of brambles enabling visitors to have a clear view of the river while enjoying a picnic on our 6 new tables. They are made from recycled plastic with extended tops to enable wheels chair to sit comfortably and see the river. We have some signage in the town for visitors to enjoy our beautiful picnic area.

The parish council were delighted to accept an invitation to visit the gardening club for children at the Hub. A donation by the parish council given earlier this year has been well spent. The gardening club have ordered some raised beds due to be delivered very soon and has grown a variety of veg and herbs all ready for planting.

Councillors Pauline Shield and Pauline Glasper were given a tour around before planting some herbs on a giant clay head. The club meets on Monday afternoon after school and is very popular.  

For information about the club, contact the Hub.
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The parish council have planted 2 cherry trees on a green area in High Riggs to celebrate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee. On a blustery Sunday morning in March many resident attended the planting ceremony and raised a glass in honour of the Queen. We also raised our glasses to absent friends and talked of looking forward to a street party in June.

Four new colourful flower planters have been put up by Marwood Parish Council to celebrate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee. See Teesdale Mercury article:
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The parish council have planted 2 cherry trees on a green area in High Riggs to celebrate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee. On a blustery Sunday morning in March many residents attended the planting ceremony and raised a glass in honour of the Queen. We also raised our glasses to absent friends and talked of looking forward to a street party in June.
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The wildflower seeds scattered along the roadside of Darlington Road have given a colourful display to the area and much pleasure to passersby. Those sitting on the new bench have enjoyed the numerous varieties of plants. The community garden on Castle Vale has brought residents together during lockdown and has been hailed as an amazing success. The garden original given to Marwood Parish Council by Taylor Wimpy when it built the Castle Vale Estate. The secluded area had a greenhouse compost bin and five raised beds, as well as a large green area.

Earlier this year, the parish council decided to expand the growing area installing an additional five beds. Turf was stripped back to make way for the new beds with Pauline Glasper, chairwoman of the Parish council and her husband Colin carrying out much of the work in less-than-ideal weather conditions. She said, "All the materials were paid for by the council and Colin and I did the work. It has allowed the council to offer each gardener two beds plus shared access to the shed and greenhouse, and the success has been amazing. "I'm really thrilled people have taken to it. "The families that have beds have started a WhatsApp group, and the variety of produce they have managed to grow looks incredible".

"The community garden,  as it's named, has brought together all ages and, by sharing knowledge, teaching the next generation new skills and making friends, has proved to be a very successful addition by the parish council". Recently, the council have built a seat alongside the community garden for residents and gardeners to sit and socialise.
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Marwood Parish Council donated £100 to the Victoria Road Surgery. In the picture, Councillor Pauline Glasper is handing a cheque to Dr Carter as a thank you to the staff for all their hard work during the pandemic. There were also two goodie boxes full of various treats. The Clerk, Miriam Fenwick, helped to deliver.
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The old notice board (55yrs) has been replaced with a recycled plastic one that needs no maintenance. It is still situated at the entrance to High Rigg. We have fitted a bench (again recycled plastic) on Darlington Road, beside the daffodils planted by Mr. Barry Parker and Mr. Alan Jenkins.

We have also donated £100's worth of wildflower seeds to go along the road side boarder like the daffodils.
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A resident of Darlington Road contacted the parish council on Tuesday to ask if the milestone near their home could be cleaned and repainted. Action was taken, and while the weather permitted, the stone was refurbished within 2 days.
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The parish council have been very busy doubling the number of plots in Castle Vale Community Garden in time for the new growing season. We removed some turf then made 5 new plots. 5 people now have 2 beds each in which to grow whatever they like along with shared access to the greenhouse and shed.
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We have now purchased a Defibrillator for Marwood Social Centre it is on the outside wall next to the entrance and it is now up and working.

Residential development of up to 100 units (Castle Vale Estate) at Land To The North of Darlington Road Barnard Castle For Banks Property Ltd. Please see the letter received from Durham County Council on Planning Page of this website. Residential development of up to 100 units Ashtree Park Estate (Stonebridge) North of Darlington Road.

Further to the Durham County Council and Durham Constabulary's updated scheme at the Kinninvie Crossroads and improvements to the surrounding roads and areas, Marwood Parish Council would like to thank all of the other local parish councils for their continued help and support regarding this matter.
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Yours faithfully,
Adrian Mairs
Chairman Marwood Parish Council
For and on behalf of Marwood Parish Council
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Thank you to everyone for attending the meeting on Monday 3rd July 2023 at such short notice. An email has been sent yesterday on 4th July 2023 directly to DCC and a copy will also be in the post. (See document below) There will be more information and hopefully written response soon.

‍On behalf of Marwood Parish Council - The planned public meeting for the Kinninvie Crossroads Experimental Order on Tuesday 11th July at 7pm has been rescheduled for Wednesday 19th July at 7pm at the request of Durham County Council so that other officials from both the county council and constabulary can be present. As before the meeting will take place at the Marwood Social Centre. Please share. If you require any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact the parish clerk or the Chair Mr A Mairs. We look forward to seeing you at the above meeting.

Good evening Mark & Paul,

(PROHIBITION OF DRIVING AND NO ENTRY) (C41 MARWOOD)
Experimental Order 2023

Hope you are both well.

As it has been just over a week since the public meeting, can DCC & the Police please provide an update with regards to the Kinninvie Crossroads Experimental Order, as you did agree to review all public concerns including the proposed detour routes for all aspects of traffic including agricultural, LGV/HGV & oversized loads.

Also, now that you have had time to hopefully digest the public’s comments & objections, can you please confirm how you intend to proceed moving forward & what the next steps will be?

As requested previously, we believe the experimental order should be revoked immediately. If not, is the months' stay of execution being extended past the current believed deadline of 6th August, so both DCC & the police can continue to review alternatives to make the existing Kinninvie Crossroads safer without having to close the road completely?

Your earliest response would be greatly appreciated so we can also update our parishioners & the wider local community.

Please can you also pass this email on to Inspector Ed Turner as I don’t appear to have his contact details.

Kind Regards,
Adrian Mairs
(Chairman Marwood Parish Council)

Letter available here.

Letter available here.