CAMPAIGNERS are to bombard county officers with complaints and objections in a bid to prevent a road closure due to come into force on Friday.
An “experimental order” by Durham County Council is to trial an 18-month closing the C140 road to Kinninvie to northbound traffic in a bid to stop crashes at its notorious crossroads.
The move comes after temporary traffic lights were put up in February following a collision in which a car crashed through a home.
More than 80 people crammed into Marwood Community Centre last night to object to the closure.
They say officers lack local knowledge and the move will force traffic onto the unsuitable Dent Gate Lane.
Like the C140, Dent Gate Lane, known locally as the coal road, also has a crossroads with Moor Road between Staindrop and Eggleston. It also has a second crossroad at Stainton, as well as a narrow single-track bridge, where it is difficult to see oncoming traffic.
In addition, Keith Hodgson whose company has run school and public bus service between Barney and Woodland for the past 16 years, says buses cannot use the diverted route.
He said: “The lay of the land means the bus will bottom out. They’ve never given it a thought, we tried to speak to the county council about it this afternoon – we couldn’t get to speak to anyone.”
The owner of a caravan park along the C140 said large articulated lorries carrying static caravans to the site would find it impossible to use the southbound only road, because they cannot negotiate the turn at the crossroads and have to use the northbound route.
The meeting was called by Marwood Parish Council and was attended by members of Woodland Parish Council and Stainton and Streatlam Parish Council – all said they had not been consulted about the change.
Marwood chairman Adrian Mairs said: “We can categorically tell you no one contacted the parish council even though we asked to be kept informed of any decision-making in our parish. It appears Durham County Council has told no one.
“There is no mention of any risk assessment where people have to divert onto Dent Gate Lane which we all know is unsuitable for large vehicles.”
He urged all residents to send objections to the council email highways.orders@durham.gov.uk quoting the reference 36565. He also asked residents to copy their objections to the parish council at marwordclerk@outlook.com.
The meeting agreed to contact Durham County Council for evidence of any consultation it had done as well as a copy of the risk assessment of the impact on Dent Gate Lane.
Residents will also ask that the experimental order be changed to install chicanes at both approaches to the crossroads instead of the road closure.
They also want the county to consider making the temporary traffic lights permanent as an alternative solution.
