A PROPOSAL for a Toft Hill bypass is facing opposition because it will cut through several farms.
Under the plans, a re-routed A68 would cut through six fields, of which five are privately owned and one belongs to Durham County Council.
County officers say they are willing to meet landowners to see how their concerns can be addressed.
The largest field affected by the proposal is owned by the Whitaker family who have farmed it for the past 13 years.
Jenna Whitaker, who also runs Explorers Day Care and Nursery from the site, said it would cut their farm in half and make it unviable.
The route would also pass 200 metres from their front door.
She said: “We need to object to prevent our home and much-loved farm from being destroyed. It will affect our livelihood, our business and our quality of life. There are five farms that are affected – one of them has built a new glamping site. They have invested heavily in that and they have planted so many trees. When the bypass goes through there, will people want to go to the glamping site? I don’t think so.”
Mrs Whitaker said her nursery school, which is rated as outstanding by Ofsted, has 169 children on the roll. The children have weekly activity sessions in woodland at the top of the farm which would become inaccessible. Children would also be exposed to more pollution, she said.
She added: “We have invested more than £1million in the nursery over eight years – you can’t get that back.”
Mrs Whitaker also questioned the need for the bypass, saying the road is only busy during school drop-off and pick-up times and this would continue – even if the bypass goes ahead.
She believes the case for the bypass was based mostly around safety of children at Toft Hill Primary School.
She said: “I have driven up and down though the village and I cannot see evidence of why a bypass is needed. It is poor use of public money. Imagine what they could do with £10million – they could have a new purpose-built school with lots of parking.”
She said if the bypass gets built, it should be placed further north, following the boundary of the family farm.
Also opposing the scheme is West Auckland parish councillor Neil Simpson, who says there is a need for a bypass but it should extend much further to also benefit communities in Spring Gardens and West Auckland.
He said: “I personally don’t think it will work – it is not a bypass, it is a link road.”
He fears that if the current route goes ahead, all of the fields north of the route will be snapped up by housing developers.
Cllr Simpson said: “If they build houses around, Toft Hill will be worse off. They won’t have the heavy vehicles, but they will have hundreds more cars going through.
“They should link in West Auckland and finish it off. Spring Gardens is the worst of the three villages – it has had the most deaths and it will never get a bypass.
“West Auckland is not against Toft Hill having a bypass – we all know Toft Hill needs one and West Auckland needs one but it should include Spring Gardens as well.”
The county’s transport boss, Dave Wafer, said it has been a long-term aspiration of the community to remove traffic from the village and the bypass had been included in regional transport plans.
He added: “The issues caused by traffic, and especially HGVs, have been raised by local members, the parish council, MPs, and residents on a significant number of occasions.
“The project now benefits from the successful Levelling Up Fund bid, and we have been working in consultation with local landowners to refine the route and try to address any issues of disturbance. As such, we are more than happy to meet with any landowner with concerns to see how these can be addressed.”
