I’ve received reports of a gentleman taking photos in the North Park yesterday (Wednesday) at 3:15/3:30pm. Parents did approach him to ask what he was doing and he replied that he was an architect.

Council officers know nothing of this person and the matter has been reported to the Police.

If you know anything of this please contact me via the contacts page.

Cllr. Mark Burton

The last time I saw anything on this scale was at Clacton-on-sea, in 1976, when I was a lad taking a dip to cool off from one of the hottest summers on record and being bitten by something I was always told did not bite you... ladybirds.

Walk across the grass and they crunched underfoot and yellow fields of wheat were a mass of red. This was the 'plague' of 1976 when there was a population explosion and the only ever record of them biting people as a result of starvation when their food supply ran out.

These creatures are the gardener's friend - they dispose of huge numbers of harmful aphids... the same can not be said for the dandelion.

I doubt whether folk with allergies relish the sight of their numbers either as they itch with their bloodshot eyes or streaming noises, wondering what brought it on.

Each plant can produce up to 20,000 viable seeds and judging by the numbers awash in our open spaces and verges there’ll be plentiful more to follow as the king of the Weed Jungle takes over.

Taking control
Rid your garden of dandelions - you need to get a herbicide, i.e. a weedkiller (herbicide means the same thing apparently), that is a ’selective’ weedkiller. This means it will kill the dandelions but not your grass.
It’s important to use weedkiller at the right time. You have to kill the flower before it seeds, which is what can be difficult with dandelions, because they germinate so much and often. Plus their roots can grow up to ten inches below the ground, the nasty little cretins. You can’t even pull them up because the root is brittle, breaks easily and regrows.

You can use vinegar or Roundup and if you do, apply these directly onto the dandelion as they are non-selective and could damage your grass. The best vinegar to use is the highest in acetic acid. Common household vinegar is only 5% but boiling it will increase the acetic acid.

Top tips for using a selective herbicide
Don’t mow the lawn for 2 - 3 days first or afterwards - the bigger the dandelion and its leaves, the better chance you have of killing them

Dandelions survive the winter through their roots. In early autumn, the nutrients from their leaves are passed to their roots to wait out the winter so the best time to get them is early autumn.

Go kill the dandelions!

You're invited to have a say on the Councils plans to move its Community Services depot.

The decision to move the depot from Vicarage Road to the new site behind Cummins off Salters Lane was taken in 2004 by the Council’s Cabinet and is an essential part of the Tees Valley Regeneration Company’s flagship Central Park project, which will see the current site of the depot redeveloped.

The Central Park redevelopment will include housing, hotel and conference facilities, offices and leisure facilities alongside the new Darlington College and it is hoped the new depot, which will accommodate around 200 staff, will be open in 2010 and will house all the services at the current depot.

The new depot is being built to BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) Very Good Standard which is the world's most widely used environmental assessment method for buildings and ensures new buildings are as environmentally-friendly as possible.

Designs of the new depot will be on show at the Morton Park Business Training Centre, Morton Park on Monday May 19 from noon until 7pm and on Friday May 23 from 8am to 2pm and representatives from the design team, Darlington Council and the developer consortium (Commercial Estates Group, Yuill Homes, Keepmoat Ltd) will be on hand to answer any questions.

And the best bit is.... The cost for building the new depot is being met by the developers for Central Park!

Stephen Harker, Cabinet Member for Resources, said: “This is a flagship project for the Council and demonstrates that we are committed to driving up sustainable building standards in Darlington. It is an exciting time and the initial drawings of the new depot look fantastic.”

Please e-mail any comments to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Cllr. Mark Burton

Last year grass around Harrowgate Hill grew to quite a height before being cut and as a result, when it was cut, the uncollected grass made quite a mess. Apparently 2007 was an exceptional year - perfect weather for grass; lots of rain and sunshine, which made the task of keeping on top of the whole towns’ grass areas quite difficult for Street Scene.

This year the situation of over-grown grass areas has started off pretty much the same way but I have been assured by Street Scene, as resources are being thrown at the service, that our area will be brought back to standard forthwith, starting today (10 May 2008) at Harrowgate Farm and again the following week, which is hoped, will bring our area back to standard.

Additionally Street Scene aim to achieve an approximate 3 week frequency of cutting.