Barnard Castle relief road 'will be included in County Durham plan'

A MULTI-million pound relief road for Barnard Castle is likely to be included in the County Durham Plan, according to campaigners who say they have been given the news unofficially.

In a statement, Durham County Council said no decisions have been made.

However, members of Barnard Castle HGV Action Group maintain that they have been informed unofficially that a road to take lorries away from the town centre will be in the next draft of the County Durham Plan, which will shape housing, infrastructure and economic policy in the next 20 years.

Campaigner and member of the lobby group Phil Hunt said: “It’s very good news but not a solution – just the first step in getting the solution.

“Having a relief road in the plan is one thing but getting someone to build it is another. Next is starting to think about the route of the road and looking to see where the finance will come from.”

The previously mooted route was to take traffic around the east of the town from Abbey Bridge to the A67.

The County Durham Plan stalled late last year after county councillors said they needed to wait so they could find out more about the Government’s latest housing policy.

It was the latest problem to hit the masterplan, which aims to transform the county’s economy. The council scrapped the original County Durham Plan in April 2016 to start again after spending £850,000 working on it since 2009. It followed criticism by an inspector.

Work was well underway on the latest version until it too was put on ice at the end of last year. But the latest hitch is only expected to be temporary.

Mr Hunt said he was told earlier this year by a cabinet member that the argument for a relief road, which would remove lorries from the historic heart of Barnard Castle and protect its heritage, had been accepted by county planners.

Mr Hunt, of Barningham, added: “Last week I was also told by someone with direct contact with senior planning officials that it has been accepted and will be in the plan.

“It’s the first step on the road – in the meantime we need to keep the pressure for Durham County Council to pull their fingers out about what improvements can be made to reduce the strain on the roads and protect monuments like the Abbey Bridge.”

He added that it has been a year since a site visit at the Abbey Bridge by councillors and community representatives after the structure was hit by vehicles.

Mr Hunt said alterations to the road markings near the bridge would give articulated wagons a better chance of passing safely.

“We have got to keep putting the pressure on,” he said.

Town councillor and member of the lobby group Judi Sutherland said: “There will be a lot of water under Abbey Bridge before any relief road happens, but we will be working to consult local people, shape the county council’s thinking, and feed in people’s views, during the consultation period [of the County Durham Plan].

Stuart Timmiss, head of planning and assets at the county council, said: “The County Durham Plan process is currently paused while we consider the impact of Government consultations following on from the Housing White Paper.

“Once we have clarity on a way forward we’ll be fully consulting with the public, businesses and community and interest groups – such as the HGV action group – to find out what they would like to see in the plan.

“At this time no decisions have been taken on what will be included in it.”