Update on proposals to introduce parking charges at Crimdon

Last year I started a campaign against the county council Coalition's plans to introduce parking charges at Crimdon. Full background details can be found here: https://robcrute-blackhall.blogspot.com/2023/10/say-no-to-parking-charges-at-crimdon.html

Since then similar proposals to introduce parking charges at Seaham further along the coast were put before the council's highways committee for their consideration (technically the members of the committee can only approve plans 'in principle', with the final decision passed to the relevant corporate director for a final decision under delegated authority).

Any members of the public following this issue will have noticed that the proposal to implement charges at Crimdon were not included on the highways committee agenda, and this is because the cabinet member responsible for introducing charges has agreed to suspend the charges for the time being to allow more time to look at a better, fairer way of managing parking issues in some parts of the sea front at Crimdon.

I met with the cabinet member early this month (on Wednesday 6 March) to talk in more detail about the impact that introducing parking charges along the front at Crimdon would have on visitor numbers where currently free parking provision is a significant incentive for more people to visit the area. The cabinet member agreed that charges may act as a deterrent to visitors and is prepared to consider a different approach that may reduce the scale and extent of parking charges. 

I suggested that the plans to introduce parking charges should be scrapped, however the cabinet member insisted that the proposals were driven primarily by financial and budgetary constraints which will need to be met, one way or another. For that reason alone she is not able at this stage to rule out parking charges at some point in the future, which may be aligned to alternative restrictions at some locations to address public concerns about problem parking issues at Crimdon.

As things stand the proposals to charge for parking at Crimdon have been suspended to allow for further consideration of a scheme that fits with a wider traffic regulation order to prevent inconsiderate parking along the sea front. I'll publish a further update as soon as I have more information.

Roadworks on the A19 southbound between Castle Eden and Sheraton from Tuesday 2 April

National Highways has issued a press release advising the public of resurfacing works scheduled to take place on the A19 southbound between the Wellfield/Castle Eden Interchange and Sheraton for a period of 6 weeks from Tuesday 2 April. Full details below:

The A19 southbound will be resurfaced between the junctions with the A181 Wellfield Interchange and the A179 at Sheraton. Starting Tuesday 2 April for six weeks, weather permitting. 

The road will be closed overnight between 8pm and 6am the following morning, each night except for Saturdays.

During the day, a 50mph speed limit will be in place.  

Motorists heading for the A19 southbound in this area should follow the signed diversion via the B1320 Burnhope Way, Surtees Road and Yoden Way to Horden. They should then travel via the A1086 to the A179 and re-join the A19 at the Sheraton Interchange. 

We’re carrying out this work overnight, when traffic levels are at their lightest, to keep any disruption to a minimum. However, we do strongly advise anyone planning to travel on this route to allow extra time for their journeys and follow the signposted diversions – and not their satnavs.

Update from the Blackhall PACT meeting for March 2024

Every month I'm invited by the parish council to come along to their Environment Committee meetings where we exchange ideas and information about environmental issues facing our communities. 

The latest meeting took place in the Parish Office in Middle Street last night (Wednesday 13 March) and was followed immediately afterwards by the monthly PACT meeting for the Blackhall area. Some of the issues covered at the environment meeting and the PACT meeting included the following:

Dog fouling in Blackhall Colliery

Along with a number of comments made on social media about an increase in incidents of dog fouling recently, I was contacted separately by a number of residents yesterday telling me of their concerns about the condition of the footpaths in several locations, especially in the streets around Blackhall Primary School. 

I’ve raised those concerns with the neighbourhood wardens who have confirmed they'll take whichever measures are necessary to tackle this problem.

Updates on highway and footpath resurfacing works

On the afternoon of the PACT meeting residents from Dene View in High Hesleden contacted me asking if I could get them more information about highway resurfacing works scheduled to take place soon in their back lane. A note had been put through residents' letterboxes simply stating that works would be carried out in the 'back lane.' There were no dates, times or any other details about how the works would be carried out.

I raised the issue with the highways section at county hall who confirmed that notices giving additional information would be erected prior to works commencing. Full details can be found in the post I published yesterday: https://robcrute-blackhall.blogspot.com/2024/03/information-on-resurfacing-works-at.html

On a separate issue, I reported back on the significant frustration of drivers and residents alike who were left confused by poor communications and mixed messages from the council about scheduled works to resurface a section of the B1281. 

Despite being promoted originally as resurfacing works to a stretch of the B1281 over a five-day timeframe - as I was told by the council - the works took place instead along a relatively short section of the road towards the Castle Eden end, and also on the A181 Stockton Road either side of the recently remodelled junction at the Castle Eden memorial - something I hadn't been told about at all until I asked the council for an update on progress! The council has since apologised for any confusion caused.

In addition I gave an update on ongoing works to resurface the entire footpath along the B1281 between Blackhall Colliery and Hesleden. Works began on site last week and are expected to last for another few days before they are completed. The road remains open to vehicles, with traffic control lights in place. Details of the extent of the works can be found in this post: https://robcrute-blackhall.blogspot.com/2024/02/b1281-blackhall-to-hesleden-footpath.html

Updated plans to tackle dangerous parking practices in Middle Street and Hesleden Road

As many residents will know there has been a long-running problem caused by drivers parking their vehicles on the double yellow lines outside the shops on Middle Street and one or two other locations in Blackhall Colliery.

There have been a number of delays over the past few years in installing a scheme that would tackle this problem. Firstly the Towns & Villages programme, which would provide funding for the scheme, was paused by the coalition running the council. There was an additional delay last year when business owners rejected an initial scheme that was designed to prevent illegal parking and stop vehicles from pulling onto the pavement to park. A revised scheme is now nearing completion which will hopefully address the concerns of both shop owners and the general public.

What had started as a problem of parked cars restricting access to the shops soon developed into a wider safety concern where drivers were pulling onto the public footpath when trying to straighten their vehicles before parking. Clearly this posed a risk to pedestrians and other road users, and there have been several reports of near-misses caused by this dangerous practice. With that in mind a 'safety-first' scheme aimed at preventing vehicles trespassing onto the public footpath has become the overriding priority, rather than simply addressing concerns about illegally parked cars. Increased patrols by the parking enforcement team will be an integral part of the new scheme.

All the funding to needed to support the scheme is in place, so hopefully works can begin as soon as the final design is finished and the materials are in place.

Water leak on the Coast Road at Crimdon

There has been a long-running issue with excess water from soaked fields seeping through the bank side and onto the public footpath along the A1086 Coast Road at Crimdon. 

I received an update from drainage engineers earlier this week, which they feel confident will address this issue. Full details can be found in the post I published a few days ago on this site: https://robcrute-blackhall.blogspot.com/2024/03/latest-update-on-land-drainage-issue-at.html 

If there are any issues you would like me to know about please get in touch with me at: rob.crute@durham.gov.uk and I'll do whatever I can to help.

Information on resurfacing works at Dene View, High Hesleden

I was contacted this afternoon by a resident from Dene View in High Hesleden after some vague information scrawled on a card was put through their letterbox advising that resurfacing works were scheduled to be carried out in the back lane at some point in the future. 

There was no date, no time nor any additional information about the type of works to be carried out, so I contacted the service this afternoon to ask for more details. I’ve now received the following response:

Good Afternoon Cllr Crute,

I can give you more information regarding the resurfacing works happening at High Hesleden, currently I have this programmed in for Tuesday / Wednesday next week. I cannot guarantee that this will be done at this time as we do get delayed with breakdowns and cannot resurface in bad weather. Signs will be going up on site which will let residents know which days we will be laying and if we have breakdowns or bad weather the signs will be altered to keep residents updated.

I hope this has answered your query.

Latest update on land drainage issue at Crimdon

Regular readers of these pages will know all about a long-running issue with excess water seeping from the bankside on the northbound side of the A1086 Coast Road at Crimdon. Background details and related posts can be found in this link to an article I published last year: https://robcrute-blackhall.blogspot.com/2023/01/damaged-footpath-on-crimdon-bank_25.html

Although the water appears to be coming from land at the top of the bank I've asked the council to carry out an investigation into the source of the water and then do whatever they can to address the problem. 

Last week I received the following update on progress from the drainage department at the council. I've reproduced it below in full:

Hi Rob,

The issue at Crimdon next to the main road has been challenging and we’re still investigating but I’m hopeful we have an option developing.  We can’t stop the water in this location as it’s very likely just ground water appearing in this particular spot so to prevent the nuisance we’ve been seeking out some drainage that we can direct the flows towards.

There were previously no charted drains on that side of the road but about 60m down the bank we have found a drain and it’s coming from the right direction.  We’ve jetted and made it about halfway to the problem area but can get no further as the jet is snagging on something, the plan now it to dig on that location and jet again.

The hope is we can get close enough to allow some additional drainage to be laid and the drain we’ve found will give a route to discharge.

Will update as things progress.

Street Walkabout in Station Town

I took part in a street walkabout this morning in Station Town, the latest in a planned series of public engagement events designed to take a closer look at some of the issues in our communities alongside the safer communities team, neighbourhood wardens, the empty homes office, the local parish council and others.

The main purpose of today’s event was to collate details of a number of empty properties in the village and to see what could be done to reduce their impact on the local community in terms of blight, anti-social behaviour and fly-tipping. We also reported a few other local issues, including damaged fencing, potholes and vehicles trespassing on open public spaces. Perhaps the most important part of these sessions though is the opportunity we have as we walk through the streets to stop and have a chat with local residents about some of the issues affecting them and their village.

All the issues we covered in today’s event are now being dealt with by officers in the relevant department and the council and its partner agencies.

The next street walkabout is scheduled to take place in Blackhall Colliery next month, with another due to take place shortly afterwards in Hesleden. I’ll update on progress with the outcome of today’s walkabout and I’ll post advance notification of forthcoming events planned for the other villages in the Blackhalls ward.

In the meantime, if you have any issues you would like me to know about please get in touch at: rob.crute@durham.gov.uk

DCC issues an explanation and apology for delayed roadworks on the B1281

I contacted the highways department at county hall this morning to ask them to confirm the status of the road surfacing works on the B1281 between Hesleden and Castle Eden which were scheduled to begin yesterday. This followed a last minute delay to the works programme yesterday morning. 

I only found out about the delay myself when, on the off-chance, I asked the highways section for an update on progress, so I've also taken the opportunity this morning to raise concerns on behalf of our communities about the complete lack of communication from the council when the anticipated works were abruptly suspended yesterday morning.

From the many calls and messages I received last night it is clear that more anger and frustration was generated by the absence of information from the council than by the inconvenience caused by the delay itself. I share that frustration and I think our communities deserve to be treated with more courtesy and respect by the authorities.

I've reproduced below the response I received from the highways design team leader. 

Good Morning Cllr. Crute,

I have just spoken with the surfacing contractor and our site supervisor and they have advised me that works commenced on site at approx. 7:15am this morning and we anticipate that we should complete the planing off of the existing carriageway/Inlay the new Binder course today, and inlay the new surface course tomorrow, so the road will be back open as of C of P tomorrow. With regards to the reinstatement of the road markings, these will be reinstated on Monday under local traffic management.

The reason for the works not commencing as per the programme yesterday was because of a plant breakdown.  The planing machine broke down, which meant we were unable to commence yesterday.  We apologise for any inconvenience that this may have caused, however we are trying to complete the works quicker, to try and minimise disruption to residents/members of the public.

If you require any further information, please do not hesitate in contacting me.