Have your say on proposals to fence off part of Barnard Castle's Demesnes from vehicles

TWO public consultation events will be held in Barnard Castle about proposals to manage cars on the Demesnes after complaints about anti-social behaviour.

A mediator was called in last year after people living adjacent to the Lower Demesnes complained of cars doing doughnuts, speeding, abusive language, and littering.

Talks have taken place between Durham Police, Barnard Castle Town Council and Durham County Council to find ideas for “improving the management of cars” driving onto the Demesnes from Thorngate via Gray Lane.

They have been discussing the extent of the Demesnes that should be used by car drivers.

The town council will host an open day to explain proposals and get feedback on Saturday, September 23, in the Dawson Room, at Woodleigh, from 11am to 3pm.

The favoured option being put forward is to install a low-level fence to keep cars to the bottom right corner of the Demesnes, as people enter it from Gray Lane.

There is also an option to do nothing, but the town council says this needs to be “weighed against”.

“The project considered alternatives including banks and ditches, which would be more expensive.

“It is apparent that Durham County Council has no money available to reduce the opportunities for joy riding,” said the town clerk, Michael King.

He added: “Because there are practical and financial limits to what can be achieved to improve the separation of cars and people accessing the Demesnes, a favoured option has emerged.”

The Demesnes is one of a number of areas in the town in which the town council is working to take over day-to-day management from the county council.

This scheme has been awarded central government funding, some of which may be applied to funding a suitable and affordable solution for the Demesnes.

The open day on September 23 will include an exhibition of the favoured option and provide a chance to discuss it with members of the town council.

It will be followed by a second drop-in session on the evening of Monday, September 25, when the Dawson Room will be open from 6pm and 8pm, which will be attended by representatives of the town council and the police.

Cllr John Blissett, who chairs the town council’s resources committee, said he was keen that people who may be affected by any changes on the Demesnes take the opportunity to make their voice heard by attending the events.

He added: “Residents’ views are really important if the town council is going to commit money to the problems some people have identified.

“We need to know that people support what is proposed and that they think it is good value.”

Feedback from these events will be considered in October by the town council’s services committee, which will have responsibility for the day-to-day land management of the Demesnes once its lease

from the county council is agreed.