PART of dale village’s railway heritage could be demolished because county officials say the building is “uneconomical to repair” .
An application to tear down part of the former station master’s accommodation at Daleview Caravan Park in Middleton-in-Teesdale, has been submitted to Durham County Council.
The building was left with significant fire damage following suspected arson attack in January last year. Fire crews battled through the night to put out the fire, which left parts of it structurally unsound. David Robinson, from the regeneration and services department at the council, has made the application to take down the 100-year-old building which is owned by the authority.
In the application Mr Robinson states the building would be levelled and the area covered with top soil and grass seed until a new use for the site could be agreed.
It follows concerns about the impact of the burnt-out shell on the caravan park’s business.
A woman has been charged with arson and is due to appear at Durham Crown Court on Monday, June 24.
![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)
