FOUR months after electric car charging infrastructure, which had been installed without permission, was removed from a Barnard Castle car park, contractors were back again last week.
They coned off a large section of the pay and display car park in Galgate, Barnard Castle, ahead of resurfacing work before charging points were put into position. Last year contractors were told to remove bollards and an electric cabinet when they had been installed without approval from Durham County Council. Dave Lewin, Durham County Council’s strategic traffic manager, said: “As a council, we have pledged to take action to reduce the county’s carbon emissions and making electric vehicle (EV) charging points more widespread and accessible will help us in our goal.
“We have received a number of requests for EV charging points in Barnard Castle.
“Galgate was selected for its central location and proximity to a suitable power supply in relation to a power connection. Although there will be a loss of one parking space, this will allow for the charge points to be more accessible, especially for those with mobility issues. We can also confirm that we will be carrying out maintenance on the car park in the next financial year.”
The project is to ensure residents without off-street parking can charge their vehicles within a five-minute walk of the homes. Other charging points have been installed at Queen Street car park and are proposed for the grounds of The Bowes Museum.
![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)
