A BARNARD Castle resident is on a one-man mission to repaint the town’s historic street signs after saying he has grown sick of neglect shown by the authorities.
People in the town have been puzzled as to who was responsible for the work.
The sign painting phantom can now been revealed as Paul Crossling, 53, who has been quietly getting on with the task at hand, armed with his tool kit and pots of paint.
He says he will stop when they are all done or “when I get bored” .
The old cast iron signs are being meticulously stripped down and most are being painted in traditional black and white, although the Bridgegate sign is now red “for effect” because it is at the entrance of the town.
Some are getting three coats of paint, or “as many as they need” to look spick and span again.
Signs on Bridgegate, Cambridge Terrace, Park Terrace and Harmire Road have all been given a makeover.
Last Tuesday night it was Park Terrace’s turn.
Mr Crossling said the sign has never had a fresh lick of paint until now
He said: “I’m doing it because the town looks scruffy and the council isn’t doing anything. I’m just trying to tidy the place up in time for Whit weekend.
“I have been in this town since the 1960s, although I spent a bit of time in Middleton. I have just got sick of the neglect and lack of maintenance for these old steel signs.
“Although I didn’t like Teesdale District Council, at least they kept the place looking much tidier.”
He joked: “Maybe I should bill the county council when I’m done.”
Mr Crossling said he has been stopped by a number of people who have thanked him. Other residents have suggested signs elsewhere that could be repainted.
He bemoans the fact that modern street signs are made from “cheap materials” , adding that the look doesn’t do anything for a historic town like Barnard Castle.
Mr Crossling added that contrary to rumour he isn’t homeless, although he had been in the past.
Barnard Castle town mayor Cllr Sandra Moorhouse, who is heading the initiative Make Barney Brighter Together, said she had spotted some of the spruced up signs and thought whoever had completed the work had done a “really good job” . She added: “When I came across the county bridge this week I spotted the Bridgegate sign which certainly looks brighter.
“At first I thought it must have been the county council, but I noticed the lettering has been painted red, so it’s probably not.”
![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)
