Attendance at the PACT meeting held last night at the Blackhall Resource Centre was extremely low, with just two members of the public braving the freezing weather to come along. Perhaps this is to be taken as a good sign given the considerable progress made over the past year in addressing a number of community concerns. As stated elsewhere however we can never rest on our laurels!
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| The B1281 at Castle Eden, looking west from The Village towards Hallow Hill |
Apart from a couple of neighbourhood issues the main matter raised at the PACT last night was the recent spate of traffic accidents on the B1281 at Castle Eden. Although full details of the two separate incidents (occurring within a week of one another) are not yet known to the public it is almost certain that speed was a factor given the tremendous impact, especially in relation to the second accident which took place on Monday 21 January when a telegraph pole was completely dislodged leaving wires and the pole obstructing the highway for many hours until the utility services made the area safe again. Thankfully there were no reports of serious injuries at either incident but local residents are understandably concerned about the safety of themselves and their properties.
Immediately after being notified of the accident on Monday contact was made again with both the traffic management officer at Durham Police and the senior traffic engineer at Durham County Council to reiterate calls made last year for a range of traffic calming measures to be installed along the stretch of the B1281 between the Hudworth Tower incline and the entrance to The Village, the location of an overwhelming majority of accidents on the B1281. The letter is reproduced below:
Good evening,
Although I
can’t personally verify it I’ve been told that there has been another accident
this afternoon on the B1281 at Castle Eden. If that is the case this would be
the second such incident in as many weeks.
After the first
accident a week ago I was contacted again by residents living near to the old
school house and along the stretch of road known locally as Hallow Hill. They
again expressed concerns about the speed and volume of traffic at this location
and I advised that measures had been considered and agreed (dragon’s teeth, tiger
stripes, signage reinstatement and renewal and hedge works amongst others). I
suggested that these had been put on hold at the request of the Castle Eden
Residents’ Association to enable community engagement on the proposals but in light of recent developments I would be grateful
if you could agree to works beginning without unnecessary delay.
I share
residents’ concerns that there may be a serious accident waiting to happen at
this location and I feel the time has come to install the measures we agreed
last year in your revised traffic management report. If there are resource
implications please let me know as soon as possible and I’ll see what I can do
to help.
In the meantime
I intend to raise this matter again at the Blackhall PACT meeting scheduled to
take place at the Resource Centre at 7pm this coming Wednesday evening.
Please also see previous posts on this site relating to the revised traffic management report (post dated Friday 9 November 2018 and the background to our concerns about accidents on the B1281 (post dated Saturday 6 February 2016).
Although both the council and the police rely on the number of personal injury accidents (PIAs) as factors in determining the relative safety of certain locations, I have asked on this occasion that the frequency of accidents compared to the volume of vehicles be considered. Although it is to be welcomed that many accidents do not result in personal injury there currently seems to be little if any consideration afforded to the likelihood and severity of future incidents. Surely the odds of a fatal or catastrophic accident occurring must increase in direct proportion to the number of accidents at a given location.
In addition it should be noted that although these accidents have the most direct and distressing impact on the residents living at this location, they shouldn't be seen in isolation as a Castle Eden issue. They affect us all, whether we live in Blackhall Colliery, Blackhall Rocks, Hesleden, Crimdon or further afield. We all have a right to expect safe roads.
A full response from the police and the council is expected soon and this will frame the way both agencies intend to reduce the number of accidents at this location.
