COUNTY officers have called off another planned road closure in Staindrop after a public outcry.
Highways chiefs had wanted to completely close the main road through the village early in the summer but called off the maintenance work following complaints by businesses that they were not consulted.
At the time, the county council promised to speak to the parish council and local people before future work was due to take place.
Last week, however, the parish council received a letter from officers confirming the road would be closed for about a week during October.
The letter said officers had not had time to consult parish councillors or businesses, but had spoken to emergency services and county councillors who represent the village.
Parish councillor Ed Chicken said: “It is interesting they don’t think the parish council represents local people. The roadworks were postponed to give them time to come to talk to us and say ‘this is the way forward’, but there has been silence.”
He added that parish clerk Tom Bolton was in touch with county councillor George Richardson in the hope of meeting officers about the planned road closure.
He said: “Fingers crossed we can get a meeting so they can say ‘this is the only solution’ or if there is an alternative way that does not mean the road must be closed.”
The closure was to have stretched from the entrance to the village near St Mary’s Church, up to the bus stop near the Spar shop.
Susan Melton, who owns The Country Teashop in Staindrop, said the road closure was due to start on a Sunday when she believed little work would be done.
Her business is in the centre of the planned road closure.
She said: “I take more money on a Sunday than I do for three or four days in the week together. It is a big whammy for me and I told them that the last time. I would like to think they would have take that on board but they haven’t.
“How do people get to the doctors? How do carers get to where they need to go?
“Without a shadow of a doubt they should have consulted with the parish council and with local businesses – We are the heart of little villages.
“We are just not important to them. We would be virtually prisoners here for a whole week.
“There has been no consultation, nothing.”
Simon Hill, of Simon’s Butchers, was equally upset.
He said: “I am very disappointed, I haven’t heard a thing from the council at all.”
After the Mercury got in touch, county officers announced that they had postponed the work for a second time.
John Reed, Durham County Council’s head of technical services, said: “An inspection of this road showed there was a need for some urgent structural maintenance work which we carried out as a priority.
“We were able to undertake the works with traffic control measures in place without the need for a full road closure.
“In light of this, the planned resurfacing scheme has been postponed.”
