A TOFT Hill mother has spoken of her distress after county officials ordered her to remove her son’s memorial seat from the side of the A688.
Angie Johnson installed a public seat just over a month ago on the side of the road between Evenwood Gate and Toft Hill in memory of her son, Jed Johnson. The 17-year-old was killed when the vehicle he was driving collided with a tree on the busy stretch of road in 2014. It was in place for just over four weeks, but the seat must now be removed on the grounds of safety.
Since Jed’s death, family and friends have left tributes at “Jed’s Tree” and Ms Johnson has been fighting to have a bench in memory of her son to complete the space.
Back in March this year, Ms Johnson met at the accident site with Durham County Council’s traffic assets and streetworks manager, Danny Harland, and county councillor Heather Smith. Ms Johnson claims she was told by Mr Harland that she could have a seat as long as it was “freestanding.”
In a letter to Ms Johnson from Durham County Council dated November 20, it states: “Unfortunately we cannot promote this location as a safe place for the public to dwell and the memorial seat has been installed without the consent of the highways authority. We regret to inform you that the memorial seat will have to be removed.”
Despite the seat being on its own base, Ms Johnson was told she must remove otherwise it will be taken away by county officials. She has now done so.
Ms Johnson said: “Putting the seat there is something from me to my son to say goodbye. If it takes me till the day I die, I will keep putting that seat back there. I am holding him to what he said. I feel like they have built my hopes up. It is like being shot in the foot.”
According to Durham County Council, Ms Johnson has been offered an alternative location for the memorial seat but this offer was declined. Durham County Council’s strategic highways manager, Brian Buckley, said: “Our sympathies remain with Ms Johnson following her loss and we have sought to work with her since May of last year to facilitate a memorial seat at a safe location. This included suggesting an alternative location nearby which Ms Johnson did not accept. We have informed Ms Johnson throughout the course of our correspondence with her that we cannot support the site she favours as a safe place for a seat. As well as her son’s accident, a car was in collision with a tree 50 metres away in March this year and it is not a location where people should be encouraged to dwell.
“Durham Constabulary has expressed concerns that a seat in this location would constitute an additional hazard and distraction to motorists. Since it was installed we have also been contacted by members of the public who have raised their concerns about the seat’s impact on highway safety. While we have informed Ms Johnson that regrettably we cannot allow it to remain in its current location, we want to continue to offer our support to find a safe and suitable place for the seat elsewhere.”
