In recent months we have had to put pressure on to get repairs in our area. I had to chase up on the footpath leading into Abbey Road industrial estate which was down to the sub-base, falling to bits. Work has started this week to fix it. (Although the traffic lights are a bit of a problem, interfering with the horrendous parking farther down the road.)
In Newton Hall, a good job has been done to replace some awful flagstone paths following our intervention on Farnham Road:
The postage stamp piece of land at the entrance to Pity Me already has planning permission for five houses – over development in itself.
A new application came in for six houses. I asked for it to go to committee following more residents complaints to me and today attended and spoke against the application.
I have to say that I didn’t expect much, but was shocked to find a unanimous 11-0 vote against the application.
So once in a while spending hours preparing to challenge an application does pay off – although I imagine the applicant could chose to appeal the decision.
Still that’s one problem sorted for today at least.
This photo from today. 
The black car is parked up, The others are all on the pavement. In the other direction cars parked for over 100m. How much longer must we wait for action.
All those who could deal with this now know about it: senior council officers, the portfolio holder, the police and crime commissioner and for that matter the press who I hope will embarrass someone into addressing this.
Problem parking on Abbey Road has now passed the point of being dangerous.
As I have previously mentioned a traffic order has been secured following our intervention but this is going to take time for yellow lines to be implemented.
For the last two weeks parking near the garages and NWL has reached very dangerous proportions with now 20 cars parked in a line at one point.
Senior council officers have told me that this is not dangerous. Here are comments from some residents. Apologies for the language but I think it conveys the severity of the situation. If you read my previous post on this, you will see my more detailed explanation from last week and comments from a Council officer, who whilst I am sure would’t mind being named, I feel it appropriate to keep him anonymous for now. previous post click here
UPDATE: As well as contacting the press I have also raised the issue with the portfolio holder Cllr Stephens and the police and crime commissioner Ron Hogg.
Residents comments:
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Please can you shed any light as to why all of a sudden Abbey Road is flooded with parked cars on booth sides of the road. I have just returned from shops at the arnison centre and I have narrowly avoided being hit by a Bus approaching me on the wrong side of the road! The problem seems to be getting worse. This evening the fact a lorry leaving one of the garages made the matter worse. It was unable to manoeuvre safely as a row of cars had parked opposite the access road. I strongly feel that if this parking issue is not addressed ASAP unfortunately there will be a serious accident.
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My son can’t get out of Smithfield as a low loader is straddled across the entrance to the road. The reason ? The vehicle can’t move because of the congestion further to the east of the turning. He has an important business appointment, he’s self employed. Consequence is xxxxxxxx are trading and my son can’t!!! Another missive to relay the powers that be !!
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Thanks for the prompt reply. You have made good progress. This morning. (I walk the dog along to The Carrs) there are 21 cars. They stretch over 100 metres. Those who think it isn’t dangerous for buses, wagons, trailers and Sainsbury/Asda etc delivery vehicles to scrape through the “middle lane” are deluded.
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It is an absolute cheek that such behaviour is not being tackled by the council. Your efforts in persuading the council they are wrong are appreciated.
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I was driving along Abbey Road towards Pity Me the other day and came across the cars on the bend and I thought, what the****. From what I could see the way was clear,so overtaking with caution I proceeded along until suddenly a large van came hurtling towards me. How we scraped past each other I will never know? I will tell you this ****,I thought I was going to have a second heart attack!!.
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They will wait till some one is killed that is the council for you waste of space
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The traffic order to stop parking and put in yellow lines will take a while to be ordered, so I had asked over the weekend for some emergency measures to be put in place to avoid an accident. Up to 15 cars parked in a line on a curve in the road, in my opinion it is dangerous. The response from our head of technical services is:
“We are content that the situation is not dangerous. Whilst some of the parking is unwelcome it actually helps reduce speeding at this location.”
So now we cross our fingers there isn’t an accident. I am trying to get some cones put down to cut the risk. A couple of cars may be helpful in cutting speeding. Trying to overtake a line of 15 cars on the wrong side of the road on a curve is firmly in my opinion dangerous. Still, its on the public record now so if there is an accident…..
Over the last year or so I have challenged parking problems on the stretch of road near NWL on Abbey Road, which has caused problems for motorists, including bus drivers and access for NWL vehicles. After trying to get this fixed following a planning application for one of the local garages, I had to assist NWL in their push to make it safe for their vehicles. Thankfully this pressure has paid off.
Yellow lines along the stretch from Smithfield to the Northumbrian Water roundabout will be installed soon, following the pressure. A small area of parking will still be included to help keep traffic speeds down.
Following requests from residents the short stretch at the entrance to Smithfield will also be restricted for parking to make it safer entering and leaving the junction. I personally had a near miss there a while ago and know that this will improve safety.
We don’t currently know the reasons for the massive increase in parking in the last week and a half, however, police are putting notes on cars which are blocking pavements and I will be asking for cones to be placed for safety reasons after the weekend as the sudden increase in parking is quite clearly both dangerous and causing problems for pedestrians.
I will also be emailing the relevant council officers to ask that the new markings and signage which have now been approved are put in place as soon as is practicable.
If there are any other areas you think we should look at to restrict parking or increase provision please let us know.
I asked the police to take action in Pity Me after checking speed figures. Whilst the number of vehicles driving at very high speed has fallen, there are still a large number driving too fast.
A few months back we carried out a community speed watch, but unfortunately, having to put up signs and wearing fluorescent yellow and orange jackets kind of gives the game away.
The police can use more mobile cameras and have more ability to enforce than Community Speedwatch. hopefully this action will bring down speeds
Our esteemed Labour-run council has refused a Lib Dem request to advertise the position of Chief Exec outside of the Authority.
This was with the support of at least one of the independent group leaders and the Conservative group leader. Only the Lib Dems pushed for transparent process.
I fail to understand what the council has to lose by advertising to get the best person for job. None of the internal applicants would have anything to worry about if they are up to the position. There are senior officers who may be capable of being Chief Exec but it is unacceptable for local residents to not have a fully open selection.
The council has reduced the salary for the position from just over £200k down to £185k. However this is unlikely to save any money since the existing Chief Exec hasn’t been getting pension contributions from the Authority for a few years, and there is a good chance whoever comes next will get those contributions which could cost up to £35,000 a year.
It is time that Durham County Council reduced the number of Directors. If it is to select a Chief Exec from inside, there should not be a replacement position for the vacant Director position, but rather a reorganisation.
The council could operate quite comfortably without the Assistant Chief Exec position and one less director – many others do. The position of Director of Adult and Children’s Services has a budget and responsibility which is many many times that of other departments, so there is plenty of scope to make savings which could amount to £1m a year and help to protect other front-line services.
We have suggested this for many years and if it had been done already, millions of pounds would have been saved. Sadly our Labour-run council is ALWAYS behind the curve, and never a week goes by without it wasting money.
Our Labour-run council is planning to build some private housing which it will then rent out. Great on the face of it. But it will not allow anyone on a low income to rent the properties. Rents will be as much as £200 a month over the local housing allowance rate.
I asked if after six years of my asking they would work with me to get some social housing built in our area. No answer was given to my question.
So we have a Labour run council happy to build luxury homes with taxpayers money and refusing to rent them out to anyone on housing benefit, whilst at the same time refusing to invest in social housing.
Meanwhile the Tories are putting social housing at risk through forcing the sale of homes without the money being made available to build new ones.
Begs the question “What’s the Difference between the Tories and Labour?
Forcing the sale of social housing without the money to reinvest is a madness – I expect that from the Tories. The Labour Party refusing to invest in social housing – that goes beyond madness, it is nothing short of disgraceful.
I will continue to push for social and affordable housing in our area on brownfield sites regardless of what our Tory-lite-Labour council does.
Below is the press release from the County Council about the closures planned for Milburngate Bridge. We did raise a variety of issues and suggestions with the Council about this asking that they do more to help reduce traffic in the City centre during the repair works and to look on this as a possible trial for longer term traffic reductions.
The council pretty much ignored us when we held a meeting with the Head of technical services a while ago. We asked for amongst other things:
Use of County Hall car park at weekends for free for visitors to the City.
Getting as many staff as possible to work from home at the Council and other large employers in the City.
Making the park and ride free for vehicles with multiple occupants.
Moving council meetings out of Durham City.
A huge number of other possible traffic reduction measures could have been looked at, but it was clear they didn’t want to listen to us.
Council press release:
People are advised of how they can help keep disruption to a minimum ahead of work starting on Milburngate Bridge in Durham.
The essential project, which will involve a major renovation of the bridge, gets underway on Sunday 12 July.
It will continue throughout the school summer holidays, when traffic using the route in peak hours usually falls by around 20 per cent, in order to minimise disruption as much as possible, although delays and congestion, particularly on other routes in and around the city, will be unavoidable.
Work will normally be carried out between 7am and 10pm, seven days a week, but working hours may be prolonged, if needed, to reduce the time it will take.
One lane will remain open at all times throughout the scheme and a footpath will also be provided.
The project will be delivered in three stages (see attached maps) – the first will see work carried out on the south lane and footpath, the second will be the north lane and footpath and the third will be the two centre lanes.
Start and end dates of each stage will be publicised as the scheme progresses.
The Claypath slip road will be closed throughout the works and the Walkergate slip road, which is off the south of the bridge on the same side as The Gates shopping centre, will be shut throughout the first stage of the project from Sunday 12 July until around 30 July. Diversions will be in place.
The footpath underneath the bridge between The Gates shopping centre and the Passport Office will be closed for part of the project – further updates will be provided closer to the time.
Access to Pimlico from Quarryheads Lane will be closed to all traffic for the duration of the works to prevent the road being used as a rat run. Local traffic will be able to access Pimlico via Grove Street and the parking bays will remain open.
It will also be necessary to close Milburngate Bridge completely for at least five nights, normally between 8pm and 6am – dates and alternative routes (see attached diversion map) will be publicised nearer the time but the first overnight closure will take place on 12 July.
The council is now advising motorists, public transport users and pedestrians of a number of steps they can take while the work is carried out.
John Reed, head of technical services, said: “We are doing our best to minimise disruption as much as we can by working from first thing in the morning to last thing at night as well as working overnight on some occasions.
“However, people need to be aware that there will unfortunately be delays in and around the city so we are urging everyone to help us keep this disruption to a minimum by only travelling if it is absolutely necessary.
“You can also consider alternative travel arrangements such as park and ride, avoiding peak times when travelling, thinking about changing working patterns, planning extra time for your journeys and planning any deliveries around peak times.
“We hugely appreciate the public’s understanding and cooperation in advance of this really important work.”
Cllr Brian Stephens, Cabinet member for neighbourhoods and local partnerships, added: “This work is essential and has to be done in order to secure the future of this vital route through the city for both those who live and work here and visitors.
“We completely understand that delays and disruption on the roads can be frustrating and we would like to thank motorists for their patience and encourage them to think about what steps they can take during the project.”
The bridge, which is nearly 50 years old and carries about 48,000 vehicles every day, is still safe but the work is now needed as it has been nearly 20 years since its last major renovation.
The work will involve new drainage, parapets, resurfacing, concrete repairs and a replacement waterproofing system.
Once the project has been completed the bridge is not expected to need any further major maintenance for around 15 to 20 years.
The scheme is expected to take around seven weeks to complete and cost up to £1m in total.
To keep up-to-date with the work, including live webcam streams, visit www.durham.gov.uk/milburngate and use #milburngate on the council’s Twitter and Facebook pages.
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