Thursday 6 October 2016

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.