Dispute over access holds up Barnard Castle -West Auckland railway path plan

PROSPECTS for a Teesdale heritage path look bleak as a dispute over access and rising costs continue to hold back work.

The South West Durham Heritage Corridor Project between Barnard Castle and West Auckland received a £15,000 boost from Teesdale Action Partnership (TAP) to link up Dent Gate Lane and Bluestone Grange, in Marwood, in the latest round of funding.

But the bid has hit the buffers for the time being as negotiations over the sale of a strip of land on the proposed path have found no way forward.

The project along the former railway line has developed in different guises for the past 11 years.

TAP picked up the pathway after funding dried up in 2010 and a grant of £10,000 allowed phase one between East Pethrow and Cockfield Fell to be completed in 2015.

But the state of the renovated stretch has drawn concerns from Cockfield Parish Council in the past.

TAP co-ordinator Craig Morgan told board members “significant issues” arising from ecological reports and site surveys would mean the stretch could not been completed at present due to

costs.

Adrian White, Durham County Council’s head of transport and contract services, said improvements would be seen “as and when opportunities arise”.

He added: “The section from Dent Gate Lane to Bluestone Grange had been identified for such improvements but our exploratory work has shown that the area is of high ecological value and unfortunately, the cost of carrying out mitigation works means that the scheme is not feasible at this stage.

“We are currently working with the area action partnership and third parties towards reallocating the identified funding to an alternative section.”

Alternative routes to link up the path with routes near the back of Teesdale Leisure Centre are being explored.