CRAFTERS in Barnard Castle met for the first time since the pandemic struck as the town’s art centre began to welcome back groups which can still meet legally.
Staff at The Witham are keep to hear from groups that can still meet but haven’t been able to do so during lockdown.
Barnard Castle Library’s craft group was the first to take advantage of the offer when they got together in the gallery space.
Elizabeth Gott, a volunteer at The Witham, said the organisation fell in the educational category, meaning it was exempt from bans on gatherings. She added: “The Witham is welcoming small groups or those that meet the guidelines but have temporarily lost their meeting places. The craft group usually meets in the library and even though it’s back open, the time they can spend inside is limited.
“The Witham is doing this as a trial and we’ll see how it goes. The craft group is the first group to take part, and you can hear from the noise how much people are enjoying this today. Members of the organisation said they were grateful to The Witham, adding that they had a lot to catch up on after not seeing each other for so long. Call The Witham on 01833 631107.
![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)
