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Feb 19, 2003
A plan to resolve the single biggest issue in Barnard Castle and Middle-ton-in-Teesdale, has been released this week.Parking emerged as a major concern of nearly everybody interviewed when the Market Towns’ Healthcheck was carried out in 2002.
So this week, a parking and traffic management strategy draft summary report has been released for public consultation. Its results make interesting reading – and some of its findings are likely to prove controversial.
But the consultation period allowed for the public – until February 27 – has already been criticised as too short and has caused town councillors in Barnard Castle to call a special meeting next Tuesday to thrash out their views.
Suggestions IN THE REPORT, to ease car parking problems, include:
• That the case for a lorry ban in Barnard Castle is not proved.
• There is little support for a Barnard Castle by-pass.
• Disc parking should be introduced in streets around Barnard Castle.
• Extending double yellow lines on King Street.
• Better enforcement of waiting restrictions.
• Land at The Demesnes should be promoted as a free, long stay car park.
• The free Hole in the Wall car park should be resurfaced and a charge applied.
• Restricted delivery times in Barnard Castle.
• An additional car park is needed in Middleton-in-Teesdale.
“This plan is absolutely vital to the future of Teesdale,” said Market Towns Initiative Programme Manager, David McKnight. “During the healthcheck, many people were writing and saying this is the one issue that was the highest priority.”
A new Safeway store, three times the size of the previous store; a Capilano-style bridge across the Tees which could attract 150,000 visitors, and the Meet the Middletons Visitor Centre, which expects to attract 20,000 visitors a year, would all have a huge impact on parking in the dale, and it was vital this survey was done, said Mr McKnight.
The consultation period has been set to enable the projects to meet funding deadlines, and all views will be taken seriously, he added.
The survey was carried out during the summer holidays when car parking was at its worse.
The survey found Barnard Castle had the worst traffic problems, with demand for parking often exceeding the supply at peak times such as market days.
One suggestion was to totally ban parking on the cobbles in the centre of Barnard Castle. While this could enhance the centre of town, it could only be considered when alternative parking is found, the plan says.
100 extra spaces could be made at land allocated in the district plan at Smith Groves Works, a charge could be applied for up to 10 hours’ parking. The report recommends this be done as soon as possible.
The Hole in the Wall car park should also be resurfaced and a charge levied for up to 10 hours’ parking and access from Newgate should also be looked into, says the report. This would give potential to close the awkward access from Birch Road.
‘This would make it an awful lot easier for coaches to use that car park,” said Mr McKnight. “The hard standing area on the Demesnes could also be used as a long stay car-park for about 20 vehicles.
“For big events you could also justify a park and ride scheme from outlying areas.”
These areas could include school car parks, Glaxo and Smiths Signmaker’s car parks, The Bowes Museum and even Thorpe Farm Peel House.
Special ‘Grasscrete,’ a hard surface which allows grass to grow through it, could be used on the Demesnes to make extra spaces.
On-street parking was also looked at, with a disc scheme being the favoured option.
This could herald the return of traffic wardens to the town as Teesdale Council would apply for powers to enforce the zone under the 1984 Road Traffic Act.
However, Teesdale Council employees could be the first people to be caught out by the new wardens as the report highlights they are responsible for many of the traffic problems around King Street.
The report recommends the council looks into purchasing permits for off-street parking for its employees.
Surprisingly, only 2% of people interviewed in the survey felt there was a need for a Barnard Castle by-pass.
“It was felt Barnard Castle does not justify it in terms of volume of traffic,” said David Hand, Teesdale Council’s Senior Planning Officer (local plans). “It really would have an environmental impact.”
Despite a strange use of grammar, the issue of HGVs going through the town makes interesting reading. It says in the report: “The survey revelled that the perceived problem was less that the actual problem, although there is some HGVs using the route as a short cut the numbers do not justify any sort of ban (sic).”
However, the report recommends HGV movements are monitored on a regular basis, and other means of discouraging HGVs from coming through the town, when they do not really need, to are looked into.
“A lot of the problems are in the mornings when the quarries open at five o’clock,” said Mr Hand. “Some of the lorries are coming through town at four o’clock.”
In Middleton-in-Tees-dale, the survey found that while there was not a parking issue for the town as a whole, there is often a greater demand than supply for the central car park, between 9am and 4pm.
One suggestion is for a long stay car park to be built on land at Bridge Street. This would provide parking spaces for five coaches and 15-20 cars. It could possibly be called The Walkers’ Car Park, to encourage walkers to park there.
The provision for coach spaces is very important as currently there are no coach spaces and many are not stopping in the town.
It is very important for there to be somewhere for them to park once the Meet the Middletons visitor centre opens, said Mr McKnight.
Better signage was needed for the car park at Rose Terrace as many people did not know it was there.
One of the main concerns from Middleton was public transport, said Mr McKnight.
“19.7% of people interviewed said they would consider using public transport if there was a more frequent service and discounted fares,” he said.
One of the biggest successes had been the Black Grouse bus service which brings cyclists into the dale. This has now got international recognition, and Norwegian tourists were wanting to have the bus service extended so it could pick them up at the quayside when they got off the ferry.