DURHAM County Council has postponed its plans to close the road leading to Kinninvie after a public backlash.
The council last week announced an “experimental order” which would have closed the C41 in Marwood to northbound traffic for 18 months, starting on Friday, July 7.
Police had called for the entire road to be closed after several major vehicle accidents at the junction.
Marwood Parish Council called an urgent public meeting on Tuesday, July 4, to discuss the experimental order.
About 80 people crammed into Marwood Social Centre, including representatives of Woodland and Stainton parish councils.
The meeting heard how traffic would be diverted to Dent Gate Lane, known locally as the coal road, which was described as unsuitable, and potentially more dangerous than Kinninvie crossroads.
Keith Hodgson, who has run the bus service from Barney to Woodland for the past 16 years, said it would be impossible for buses to use the coal road.
He said: “The lay of the land means the bus will bottom out. They’ve never given it a thought, we tried to speak to the county council about it this afternoon – we couldn’t get to speak to anyone.”
Caravan Park owner Julie Holmes said articulated lorries carrying static caravans need to travel north to reach the site, because it is impossible for them to turn at Kinninvie crossroads to travel south.
Others described how Dent Gate Lane’s crossroads at the Moor Road was potentially more dangerous than the one at Kinninvie because drivers’ line of sight is obscured.
There is also a narrow single track bridge along the route where oncoming traffic is obscured by a bend an dense hedges.
The county council was accused of not consulting with parish councils or people who live at, or use, Kinninvie crossroads.
The meeting agreed to bombard county officers with complaints and objections.
Marwood parish councillor Pauline Galsper said: “We were amazed at the outcome [and turnout] on Tuesday night. The parish council as a whole were overwhelmed. There were some good objections.”
Regarding the county council’s postponement of the order by a month, she added: “We are delighted because it gives us time to get a case together. Everything happened so quickly and weren’t sure what to do.”
She confirmed that county officers would be attending a public meeting on Tuesday, July 11, at 7pm where they would discuss the rationale behind the road closure.
It would also be an opportunity for people to share their local knowledge.
Cllr Glasper urged as many people as possible to attend the meeting.
