B1281 Signage Works

Please note below notification of road works scheduled to take place next week on the B1281:

B1281

Hesleden Road, Hesleden

Sign works

2 way lights (9:30am - noon)

1 August

1 August

Durham County Council

Hesleden pit heap planning application

Durham County Council has received a planning application seeking consent to extend the time allowed to remove spoil from the pit heap at Hesleden (please see post dated Saturday, 25 November 2017 for background information).

Please follow the link below for full details of the application and also to register your comments with the planning department:

Variation of Condition 6 (Time limit for mineral extraction) of Planning Permission DM/14/00519/MIN for extension of time of mineral extraction until January 2022 - Former Colliery Spoil Heap Hesleden TS27 4PN

Traffic and road safety issues on the B1281, Blackhall Colliery to Castle Eden

We continue to press the highways and streetlighting sections at county hall to review the provision of streetlighting on the B1281 at its junction with the Hardwicke Hall Manor Hotel.

The B1281 looking east towards Blackhall Colliery from the Hardwicke Hall junction

This follows contact over the past few months from residents, businesses, walkers and other road users expressing their concerns about the potential dangers of vehicles and pedestrians using this road at particular times, especially during the hours of darkness. We have argued that there are specific circumstances at this location which would warrant the reinstatement of streetlights. These include the unusual twisting and undulating road layout, two difficult junctions at Hardwicke Hall and Belchford and also the potential increase in use of this road generated by future housing development.

In addition, we recently contacted the police and highways management officers to request a review or survey of traffic use and road safety along the entire B1281 between Blackhall Colliery and Castle Eden following two separate accidents, one near to the Hardwicke Hall junction and the other close to the eastern junction from Hesleden onto the B1281, both incidentally in daylight and good weather conditions.

This latest request is not to be confused with traffic-calming measures already approved for the stretch of the B1281 as it passes through Castle Eden. We have been assured that road safety measures agreed as part of a road traffic review by Durham Constabulary and the county council will begin this summer, as soon as roadworks in this area are fully completed. We have also worked closely with members of Castle Eden Parish Council on a proposal to have speed visors installed at this location (please see posts dated Friday 22 February 2019 for additional information on the matter).

Overgrown trees and verges on the B1281

We were contacted recently by residents in Castle Eden concerned about overgrown verges and overhanging trees on the B1281 between The Village and Hesleden.

We asked the county council's Clean and Green team, along with the senior tree officer, to consider the issues reported by residents and following a site meeting earlier this week they reported back as follows:

Hi Rob,

I held a site meeting with one of our Tree Inspectors.  Please find below our conclusions:

We have inspected the area of concern and while some defects were noted on several trees, none were considered to require urgent attention at present. The area is inspected regularly as part of the councils highway tree inspection and we will continue to inspect in line with these procedures and any significant defects will be noted and acted upon, whether the tree is on DCC land or private land.

It was noticed on the inspection that the public footpath was difficult to walk down due to the vegetation and I will raise the overhead branches along the path.

Regards,

This response has been relayed to residents for their comments.

In relation to this matter we have received confirmation from the council's traffic asset engineer that highway improvement works, including a scheme to install traffic-calming measures, are scheduled to be carried out at this location during the summer months.

These works will include the reinstatement of highway markings, vegetation clearance, signage maintenance and replacement and other measures recommended in the traffic management review carried out last year by Durham Constabulary and the county council's highways section (please see posts dated Friday 22 February 2019, Thursday 24 January 2019 and Friday 9 November 2018 for additional information).