SIGNIFICANT conservation work to the Market Cross, in Barnard Castle, is starting.
Last year, a condition survey on the grade 1-listed building was carried out using funding from Durham County Council, Teesdale Area Action Partnership and Barnard Castle Town Council.
This found that although the building was in reasonable condition for its age, repairs and renovations should be made to ensure it remains structurally sound and to prevent any further damage.
Lewis Surveying Associates has now been appointed as project manager, while Barnard Castle stonemason firm Glasper Tunstall will undertake the repairs which
include roof works, improvements to the windows and timber and joinery works.
Floor repairs and redecoration of the weather vane will also be carried out.
It is expected that equipment will be moved on to the site on Thursday, March 29, and three-way lights put into place for three hours on Saturday, March 31.
On Thursday, April 5, three-way lights will again be in place for six days and then again for another five days when the scaffold comes down.The works should take eight weeks to complete. Cllr Carl Marshall, cabinet member for economic regeneration, said: “The Market Cross is an iconic structure within both Barnard Castle and the wider county and it is important we carry out these vital works to keep it safe for the future.
“We know there may be some slight disruption to journeys while these improvements are taking place and we would like to thank motorists for their patience while these are carried out.”
![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)
