A DATE has been set for a meeting which could seal the fate of a green space and its 29 trees at the centre of a bitter dispute.
Residents and Durham Police have been at loggerheads over a police bid to sell off Bede Kirk to the Railway Housing Association so accommodation for the elderly can be built.
Barnard Castle Town Council submitted a bid to register the land as village green last year with objections from police and the housing charity.
A decision on that bid will be made by Durham County Council’s highways committee on Friday, March 16 at 9.30am. A successful application would not necessarily halt development plans on the former police station land – but it would allow greater say over what could or could not be done.
Meanwhile, campaigners have hit back at Chief Constable Mike Barton after the police chief gave residents a stark choice of either “cops or a copse” .
Bede Kirk resident George Chrystal was unimpressed with the warning. Mr Chrystal said: “People in this town are not stupid.”
Protester Thom Robinson added: “Mike Barton should remember that the police are public servants and as such should not be acting against the people.”
The town council also offered its response, pointing to police claims the six-figure sum from the sale would go into frontline policing.
The council said: “Capital receipts, from the sale of land, may be used for capital expenditure, on buildings for example, or for transformation projects designed to release revenue savings.
“Capital receipts can’t be used to fund revenue expenditure, for example police officers, directly.”
Town clerk Michael King also highlighted Durham Police’s accounts, which showed the force had a large reserve fund in March 2017.
However, others support Durham Police’s position.
Superintendent Kerrin Wilson, head of Cleveland and Durham Police Special Operations Unit, posted on social media: “It’s not like there is a shortage of green spaces in and around Barnard Castle. There is however a shortage of suitable properties for the elderly and a substantial shortage of funds for policing.”
l Row over Bede Kirk, see letters, page 10.
![A COUNTY councillor is backing a campaign to get a pedestrian crossing in Staindrop. Frustrated parish councillors in the village summoned their county council representative Cllr George Richardson to their latest meeting to discuss several issues, including the call for a safe way to cross the A688. Earlier this year their request for a crossing was turned down by the county council’s highways officers. Parish council chairman Jonothan Raper described the reasons for the refusal as “spurious” and called on Cllr Richardson to support their campaign. He added: “One of the arguments they made was there is no clear line of desire when they studied the village – well this isn’t a clear line of desire because there isn’t a crossing, people cross whenever they can. “When the lollipop person was there, one of the things I noticed was people would walk all the way down to the lollipop person to cross the road to go to the shop or to go to the school.” He added a problem of parking at the primary school is exacerbated because people are too afraid to walk their children across the road. Cllr Richardson said he had supported previous attempts for a crossing point with the first being made about 15 years ago. He added: “We went fairly well down the road with that and they looked into it. The only recommended place was where the bus stop is and to get the visibility splays, people on the other side of the road would lose their parking. “That didn’t go down well so it just died a death.” Cllr Raper said he suspected the real reason for the officers’ refusal was the cost of installing a crossing. He added that much of the cost could be recovered from savings made on not having to employ a lollipop patrol. Cllr Raper said: “A lollipop person only provides a benefit of crossing for three hours of the day. You are getting 21 extra hours of crossing time [with a pedestrian crossing].” Cllr Richardson said he would raise the issue with the county council’s cabinet member for highways, Cllr John Shuttleworth.](https://teesdalemercury.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/georgeR-120x86.jpg)
