Traffic survey in Middle Street, Blackhall Colliery

Having noticed what seems to be a significant change in the type and volume of traffic passing through Blackhall recently we've contacted the highways department at county hall and the traffic management section of Durham police to ask for a traffic survey to be carried out.

Both have confirmed that a full-scale, week-long survey will be done along the A1086, the findings of which will guide the police and council on which actions, if any, need to be taken to ensure the safety of residents and motorists in this area.

We have also asked that parking enforcement officers give some attention to illegal parking outside the shopping area in Middle Street. This follows complaints we've received from shop owners and pedestrians about near-misses as vehicles mount the kerb to park.

We have published below the response we've received from the police confirming steps to be taken in addressing our concerns:

It appears from your e-mail that there are two issues to be addressed namely that of speeding and parking.

Speeding

Ordinarily we would consider the use of Community Speed Watch in the area to gain an idea of the current extent of the problem. However, with regard to Middle Street there is not really suitable deployment locations. Given this, as I have no current speed data to hand, I will request DCC undertakes a full 7 day 24 hour speed survey. From the results we can then see the level of offending and decide what, if any, action can be taken to address local concerns in this matter.

Parking

As the majority of the area is governed by parking restrictions I will refer this aspect of your concerns to the Parking Services team at Durham County Council to consider enforcement attention.

In relation to parking obstruction, I’m sure Ian will act accordingly if he witnesses any offences during his patrols in the locality.

Will re-contact you once I’m in receipt of the speed survey data.

Regards

Traffic Management Officer

Cleveland and Durham Specialist Operations Unit

Wesleyan Road

Spennymoor

Co. Durham 

Our objections to street lighting reductions for the A1086 between Blackhall and Horden

The council began a round of consultation recently asking members of the public to comment on its proposals to remove street lighting along some of the roads in between our villages as part of its ongoing street lighting and energy reduction policy (please see posts dated Tuesday 18 October 2016, Wednesday 22 June 2016 & Wednesday 19 November 2014 for background details and links to our earlier objections).

We have been consistent in our absolute opposition to the removal of any street lighting in any part of our ward and we remain unequivocally opposed to the proposed removal of street lighting in the particular area now under consideration.

We have submitted our objections to the relevant department and we would encourage anyone sharing our concerns to do the same. 

We have published below our objections in full. Please feel free to use them as a guide if you wish to record your own objections:

Street Lighting and Energy Reduction proposals to remove street lighting in parts of Blackhall Colliery and High Hesleden (using RSR 130, RSR 230 & RSR 231A data)

Response of County Councillor Rob Crute & County Councillor Lynn Pounder (Blackhalls Division):

With regard to proposals as they relate to RSR 130 & RSR 230 (at High Hesleden) we note that our objections to street lighting removals in these locations were submitted in 2013/14. In addition, we note that the data used in these reviews are 3 years out of date and no longer fully relevant.

Our objections to the removal of street lighting in these locations remain.

With regard to proposals as they relate to RSR 231A (A1068, Coast Road between Blackhall Colliery & Horden), we note that these proposals ought to refer to the A1086 (rather than the A1068 as stated in the council's documentation).

In recording our objections to the removal of street lighting at this location we would make the following comments:  

• We accept that PIA data reflects the number of accidents over the past 5 years. However we would ask the council to consider the relatively high number of accidents on this road, some of them fatal, in the years leading up to the start of the PIA data period
•         The A1086 is a vital link between two communities with strong social links and, as such, is a very busy walking route for many residents of both villages, including children and young people. We have concerns that removing street lighting on this stretch of road will have a huge impact in terms of social isolation
•         Further, the A1086 at this location is a key part of the walk to school route for Blackhall children attending Dene School (on request, the school has confirmed that there are currently 78 such children). We are concerned that removal of street lighting on the A1086 at this location will pose a serious and unacceptable risk to the safety of young people walking to and from school
•         The road at this location leads to and from a number of residential estates. Residents are frequently dropped off and collected by private vehicles and taxis on the A1086. It is clear to us that the removal of street lighting on this road, particularly at these points, greatly increases the already high risk of serious collisions and accidents
•        The A1086 is a major public transport link between Hartlepool in the south and the towns and many villages to the north and west of Blackhall. It has a number of bus stops at this location and we believe that removing street lights here would significantly increase the risk of accidents
•         The highway at this particular location is shielded on both sides by a constant line of thick and high trees which blocks the natural light on to the road. Clearly removing street lighting at this location would make a bad situation even worse, particularly during the hours of darkness when even limited natural light will be blocked
•         The A1086 at this location passes directly through the Castle Eden Dene nature reserve at an elevated point. It is also very close to the coast. These factors combined, alongside vegetation shielding as referred to above, mean that the highway surface is especially prone to frost and ice. This area is also susceptible to fog and coastal mist all year round
•         Finally we would draw your attention to the propensity for significant and serious landslips in this area. The most recent one occurred fairly recently, in 2012/13, meaning that the entire stretch of road was partially closed for almost 2 years. Clearly the removal of street lighting at this location would have a significantly limiting impact on the ability to remedy any future landslips.

In submitting our objections we can confirm that we have listened to the concerns of our residents at many ward surgeries and other public consultation events. They share our worries about the seriously detrimental effect of street lighting removals in this area, particularly in terms of risk to the personal safety of pedestrians, motorists and other road users.

Residents also agree with us that street lighting and energy reduction proposals have a disproportionate and unfair impact on rural communities, as opposed to urban areas which remain unaffected by the programme.

We fully support the council’s recommendation to improve and replace the vehicle restraints and concrete fencing adjacent to the A1086 at this location.

Accordingly, we wish to record in the strongest terms our objections to the proposals for street lighting removal at these locations.

Cllr Rob Crute & Cllr Lynn Pounder, Blackhall Division, Durham County Council.

Progress with residents' request for traffic calming at Hazel Drive

As reported on this site last week we handed a residents' petition to the county council requesting traffic calming measures at Hazel Drive in Hesleden (please see post dated Friday 14 October 2016 for background information).

Petitions can often take a long time to go through the formal system at county hall so rather than delay matters unnecessarily we decided to contact the highways section at county hall direct to ask them to start the assessment process used to decide whether traffic calming measures would be suitable or effective at any given location.

We have now received confirmation from the traffic assets senior manager that this process has started. The assessment process itself can be fairly lengthy, mainly because of legal issues, a statutory period of public consultation and funding application issues, but the sooner it starts the sooner the council's highway's engineers will be able to assess the need for traffic calming measures in Hazel Drive.

We have published below in full the traffic assets manager's response to our request:

Dear Councillors

In response to your request for consideration of the provision of traffic calming for Hazel Drive in Hesleden, I can provide the following information. I should advise that there is a process we have to follow when considering requests for traffic calming. 

The first part of the process is to consider factual vehicle speed data – this is generally from speed surveys or information from the Police via Community Speed Watch activities.  Unfortunately we have not received a similar request previously or had complaints of vehicle speeds therefore I do not have any speed survey data which I could consider at this time.  Therefore I will arrange for survey work to be carried out to obtain this data. This data will then be analysed to determine the severity and extent of the issue. We also analyse any accident data from personal injury accidents to see if there are any particular causation factors which may influence the provision of a scheme. Once this has been done I will discuss the findings with you. This can usually take a month depending upon demands for surveys.

Assuming a scheme can be justified from the data analysis, we will then provide a draft scheme which should comply with the legal requirements for traffic calming provision. To give you an idea, initially I would envisage three humps on the main through road and a single one on the northern loop round the green.

The next stage is to prepare the necessary funding applications and seek approval. Unfortunately this part of the process can be lengthy (up to 3 months) depending upon when the board meetings are to consider/approve the applications.

A detailed design is then completed and this will be subject to consultation in accordance with the legal requirements. In addition to this we also consult with the residents who are likely to be affected by the scheme. The consultation period is a minimum of three weeks.  We then consider any objections we receive against the scheme and whether there are any measures or changes which can ease concerns. 

The next part of the process is to prepare reports seeking approvals to initiate the legal process. The proposed traffic calming scheme is then formally advertised and open to legal challenge.

If after all this there are outstanding objections which cannot be resolved, they will have to be reported to the Council’s Highways Committee which will consider the arguments. The Committee could require the scheme to be re-designed or abandoned if it is not approved.

Assuming approval of the scheme we are now at a position to place an order for the works to be constructed. The lead in time for this can be up to 2 months while a slot in the works programme is found and materials ordered.

I hope this information is useful and I can confirm that in accordance with your request I have commenced the process. Should you require further information, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Kind regards

Traffic Assets Senior Engineer

Street lighting between Blackhall Colliery and Horden

We have reported street lighting defects on the A1086 Coast Road which links Blackhall Colliery with Horden via Castle Eden Dene, and we have also raised our concerns about the trees overhanging the road which have the effect of blocking light from those lamps that are not defective.

We have reproduced below our email in full:

We wish to raise our concerns about faulty street lights and overhanging trees on the A1086 Coast Road which links Blackhall Colliery with Horden.

This is a very busy road and a main public transport link to and from the towns and many villages in the East Durham area. It is also a well-used walk-to-school route for many students from the Blackhall area attending school in Peterlee.

Some lights are out on the Horden side and several are also out on the Blackhall side, making visibility for motorists and pedestrians extremely poor during the hours of darkness. Even in those few places where the street lighting is in working order visibility is impaired because of the overhanging trees, particularly on the approach to Blackhall Colliery between Castle Eden Dene and the Welfare Park.

In the hope of avoiding any unnecessary danger or risk to the safety of our residents we would be grateful if you would forward this email to the relevant section(s) at DCC and ask for their immediate attention.

We are aware that street lighting at this location is recommended for removal as part of the council's ongoing street lighting and energy reduction programme. This is unacceptable and we feel very strongly that plunging this stretch of road into almost total darkness would pose a severe and direct threat to the safety of pedestrians and motorists alike. 

Accordingly we will oppose any attempts to remove street lighting on the road between Blackhall Colliery and Horden.

We will be publishing our objections here later this week but in the meantime if you share our concerns about proposals to remove street lighting on the A1086 in this area please let council officials know about it at: nick.harness@durham.gov.uk

Petition for traffic calming measures at Hazel Drive, Hesleden

Residents of Hazel Drive in Hesleden have presented a petition to Monk Hesleden Parish Council requesting traffic calming measures in their street, citing speeding vehicles and pedestrian safety as factors.

As Durham County Council is the highway authority dealing with matters of this nature we have received the petition from the parish clerk and we've handed it over to the democratic services office at county hall.

The formal process for dealing with public petitions can be quite slow and arduous so, in order to avoid unnecessary delays, we have also contacted the highways section at county hall and we have asked them to assess the potential for installing traffic calming measures at Hazel Drive. We have told them of residents' concerns about speeding traffic and the risk it poses to pedestrians, and children in particular.

If you are aware of any particular areas which you feel may benefit from traffic calming measures please contact us direct and we'll forward any requests to the relevant department at county hall for assessment. 

Please note however that traffic calming measures will only be installed where specific conditions and guidelines are met following investigation and assessment by county highway engineers.

Possible solution to parking problem in Hesleden

At a ward surgery at Hesleden Methodist chapel last week we heard of problems associated with parking along the lane between Front Street and Harold Wilson Drive.

Following up on a suggested solution we contacted the highways section at county hall to ask if vacant land toward the Station Road side of the street (pictured above) was available for development into parking bays. We have now received the following response which sets out a couple of options to consider:

Councillors

From first look at it on Google, it would be possible to create parking bays in the grassed area.  However, this land is now owned by the County Durham Housing Group (CDHG) and therefore it would be for them to make this provision. That said, by using your Neighbourhood Budget there are two ways forward:

1             By CDHG agreeing to the works and offering the parking bay up for adoption as public highway. This is a more costly approach as the construction will have to be to full standard (i.e. 450mm thick) although it will mean that the County Council will maintain in the future.

2             By CDHG agreeing to the works and future maintenance of the parking bay.  This is a cheaper option as we could use a thinner construction.

The cost of the works will depend upon which option you go for and the size of the parking bay.

We think it's important that residents are asked for their opinion on this matter so as soon as we have an indication of the costs and possible options we will update on progress and see what residents think. 

If any of the options above prove to be affordable we'll make sure that residents have a say on whether or not they want parking bays at this location. However if costs are prohibitive we will need to look for alternative provision.

Please note that we think it's important to find a solution that is acceptable to everyone so no development will take place without the consent of all residents at this location.

Request for street name-plate and lighting column at Orchard Close

Some time ago we received a request for a street name-plate for Orchard Close in Blackhall (not to be confused with the Orchid Court DAMHA estate). We were told at the time that the developer was responsible for such works.

We have recently received an additional request from a resident for a street name-plate and an additional lighting column at the estate, which was erected on the site of the former Blackhall WMC.

Following our contact with the relevant council departments we have now received a response from the neighbourhood services section at county hall. We have reproduced it below in full:

I have contacted John Collins, Team Leader in Highways Adoptions regarding the street nameplate and lighting column not being in place for this development of 11 properties and his response was as follows:

“With the developer going into liquidation we have had to use the bond money from the Section 38 agreement to complete the site. The remaining bond money on this site was not great and we had to prioritise the works we could do. So unfortunately the only thing we have been able to arrange for the erection and connection of an additional lighting column.

Had there been any remaining funds the intention was to refurbish an existing light and erect the name plate.”

I can now take this matter forward with regard to the erection of nameplate, cost of which will need to come out of Traffic Assets Nameplate budget rather than the Section 38 Bond monies.  I will visit the site in the near future and issue a Works Request Form for said nameplate.  Unfortunately the timescale for its provision will be at least two months.

With regard to the lighting column, I believe colleagues in Member Support have sent your query to Street Lighting Team.