Last year Stacey and I met with local residents and officers from the council's highways team and the police traffic management team to look at ways they could improve public safety on the B1281 between the Hardwicke Hall Hotel and Hesleden. Background details of the site meeting can be found here: https://robcrute-blackhall.blogspot.com/2023/07/site-visit-to-prevent-accidents-on-b.html
From day one I've consistently raised the concerns of some residents that the lack of streetlighting at this location increases the risk of traffic accidents, however the police and other agencies insist there is little in the way of evidence to support this claim. That explains why the authorities have persistently rebuffed my calls to reinstate the lighting removed ten years ago as part of the council's street lighting and energy reduction policy - a well-intended policy aimed primarily at reducing energy costs, but one that has proved to be somewhat unfair in its application at some locations, especially on connecting roads in semi-rural areas like ours.
So instead my requests over the years have been driven by a need to ensure wherever possible the safety of all road users and particularly pedestrians who use the B1281 as a connection between friends and relatives in Hesleden and Blackhall Colliery. In addition we’re all being encouraged to exercise more frequently but this isn’t so easy when residents are running, walking and exercising in locations where they don’t feel safe. With that in mind Stacey and I met with highways officers last year to see what could be done to make people feel safer when using the B1281 to exercise or to visit friends and relatives in neighbouring villages.
The outcome of the site meeting was that the council would renew the reflective bollards at those locations where they had been damaged or were no longer effective. In addition the authorities agreed to reinstate the central highway markings and also apply additional markings to warn drivers of impending twists and turns in the road. We also asked for renewed and additional advisory signage along the B1281 to both reinforce the speed limits and alert drivers that other road-users such as horses and their riders may be in the road ahead. Works to install these measures started late last year and are ongoing. To aid increased visibility the trees and hedges at the sides of the road close to the entry points to Belchford and the Hardwicke Hall Hotel have been cut back.
In addition we raised concerns on behalf of residents and road users about the flow of water from the fields into the highway, particularly at the roundabout adjacent to the ongoing housing development on the B1281 at Blackhall Colliery. As a result the council has carried out an inspection of the drainage system nearby and the developers have been made aware of their responsibility to make the highway safe at this location. The latest details can be found here: https://robcrute-blackhall.blogspot.com/2023/12/addressing-problems-of-excess-water.html
In associated developments the B1281 between Hesleden and Castle Eden is scheduled to be resurfaced next month and I'll update on any proposed traffic management issues closer to the time or when I have more details from the highways team.
Finally, anyone passing the B1281 between Hesleden and Blackhall Colliery will have seen that emergency repair works were carried out on a stretch of the public footpath following flooding and drainage issues late last year. Unfortunately the council didn't take the opportunity to resurface the rest of the pathway which is in an extremely poor condition, and is quite dangerous in parts. I asked the council to carry out repairs to the entire stretch of the public footpath last year, but for some reason the highways inspectors insist that the surface is in an acceptable condition and requires no attention at the moment. The images I’ve taken of the footpath would suggest otherwise!
I've since asked the highways team to meet with me on site to give them the opportunity to explain their reasoning. I'll update on progress as soon as I have more details.
