Plans to put a precautionary road closure in place on an approach to a County Durham crossroads have been put on temporary hold after concerns were raised by local people.
The closure – to northbound vehicles at a point south of Kinninvie crossroads – was due to come into force tomorrow (Friday 7 July) under an Experimental Traffic Regulation Order.
Earlier this year, a collision between a car and a van at the crossroads resulted in serious damage to a nearby house.
Durham County Council has paused the implementation of the order and is organising a public meeting to answer questions and discuss the points people have raised.
Mark Jackson, Durham County Council’s head of transport and contract services, said: “Since publicising the order last week, we’ve received a number of local queries and concerns about it.
“We have listened to what people have had to say and we have decided the best thing to do is to pause the implementation and arrange a public meeting.
“Both ourselves and Durham Constabulary will be happy to outline the reasons for the proposal at the meeting, as well as the other options we’ve considered and the changes we’ve made to the junction in recent years.
“We’ll also be happy to answer people’s questions.
“We’d like to reassure people that we have followed all of the necessary processes relating to the implementation of the Experimental Traffic Regulation Order.
“One of the legal features of this kind of experimental order is that formal objections are taken from the public once the changes are in place, rather than before implementation.
“The impact of the changes is also monitored, and information from it is put together with any objections and a decision taken on whether or not to make the changes permanent.”
He added: “We’d like to thank everyone who has taken the time to contact us and assure them that we take the safety of residents and the travelling public very seriously.
“We’d also like to reassure people that we’ve fully explored all feasible options for further road safety measures at this location.”
Details of the meeting, which will be attended by council officers, elected members and officers from Durham Constabulary, will be confirmed as soon as possible.
The temporary traffic lights on all of the approaches to the crossroads will remain in place in the interim.
