PROPOSALS to ban HGVs from trundling through Barnard Castle could affect residents almost 20 miles away.
That was the initial view from members of Etherley Parish Council, whose area covers Bildershaw bank and the busy junction where the A68 meets the Bishop Auckland bypass.
Among ideas being considered by campaigners at the Barnard Castle HGV Action Group is a permit scheme which would ban lorries that have no business in the town. Rather than coming through Barney to get to the Bishop Auckland area, the action group wants to see HGVs travelling eastbound on the A66 continue along to Scotch Corner, head north on the Al and then onto the A68 at Darlington.
This route would bring HGVs down Bildershaw bank to the Bishop Auckland bypass.
Keen not simply to move the HGV problem from one place to another, members of the HGV Action Group have written to parish councils which could be affected a lorry ban in Barney, asking for views.
At this month’s Etherley Parish Council meeting, chairwoman Cllr Janet Balmer said such a ban could add more traffic to an already busy road.
“At peak times, it is a constant flow of traffic down the bank,” she said.
Cllr Christine Gibson-Bell said channelling HGVs down the bank may be the “least worst solution” .
Councillors agreed to defer further discussion until their March meeting when a full debate will be held, after which a response will be made to the Barnard castle HGV Action Group.
![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)
