Parish council unveils raft of projects for Middleton-in-Teesdale

A SERIES of new projects to breathe new life into Middleton-in-Teesdale will see precepts nudged up to foot the bill.

Parish councillors have been looking at several new schemes for the past couple of months and have decided to back five out of a shortlist of six ideas aimed at improving the village and its surroundings.

A £10,000 family friendly walking route around Middleton, funded with the help of Durham County Council, was one of the major projects agreed after a suggestion from Cllr Andy Mitchell.

The proposed route would see signage and repairs on the circular route from Bridge Street downstream to Leekworth Farm, back along Leekworth Lane to California Row.

The repaired trail would then go over the back along Market Place, Rose Terrace, Burn Bank, White Bridge and onto Bridge Street.

At last month’s meeting, Cllr Mitchell said: “Personally, I feel it’s an area where we fall short as a parish council.

“I think we look at places where you can just go on a nice walk – not a hike – but a stroll down to the river and I don’t think out paths live up to expectations.”

He added: “We used to play for hours as kids down there – it could be better with just a few hours’ work.”

It’s estimated the path would cost £20.36 per household for the year without the help of the county council.

Elsewhere in Middleton, repairs to the much maligned Bainbridge Fountain were also backed at an estimated £5,000.

But the repairs were passed on the condition a sizeable grant was secured by the parish council and a more permanent solution was found to prevent it needing more maintenance.

Cllr John Miller said: “That figure is 30 per cent of the precept – it’s a big sum unless we get a grant towards it.”

Cllr Lynne Oxby added: “It was only a couple of years ago it was done and, if you look in it, it’s a mess.

“If we get someone to do it we need a long-term guarantee.”

It was agreed money would be put aside for litter collections, sweeping and footpath strimming rather than hiring a council “handyman”.

Seating and benches around the parish were also earmarked for repair and replacement with an “adopt a bench” scheme in the pipeline.

Cllr Miller added: “Some of them are really diabolical – they either want sorting out or replacing.”

New noticeboards around the village for visitors and residents were also given the green light.

But the sheer cost of funding 40mph buffer zones on entry to the village at a cost of between £12,000 and £15,000 meant funding the bid from parish coffers was turned down.

Cllr Miller said: “It would be nice to get the county councillors on board and ask them for money towards this.”

Cllr Sue Bainbridge feared it would take a death for something to be done.

“Personally, I would pay 8p a week for something I know is a good idea,” she added.

Other ideas, including a village “pool car” and an electric car charge point on the Hill Terrace car park, didn’t make the final cut.

Cllr Christine Gilbert thought the council was missing a trick.

She said: “If you have an electric car point it puts you on every single electric car user’s map as a destination.

“That’s a lot of people who would see this and we’re trying to get people to come here. I just think its a massive marketing opportunity we are missing.”

However, councillors agreed they needed to get a new car park in place first before any charging point was introduced. The Middleton-in-Teesdale and Newbiggin parish budget for 2018/19 will be finalised on January 16.