Plans for Toft Hill’s proposed bypass could be approved before the end of the year.
Etherley Parish Council heard at its latest meeting that officers are finalising a report which will be presented to the Durham County Council’s cabinet within three months.
Clerk to the parish council, Alison Overfield, told members last week that a county officer had sent an email confirming that only “external consultations” needed to be done.
The officer wrote: “This report is in the process of being drafted with an aim of presenting it to cabinet before the year end. The schedule is not yet confirmed.
“The county council’s cabinet will then consider the findings and determine the next steps of the project.”
County council representative for Toft Hill and Etherley, Cllr Nick Brown, told the parish council meeting that officers only needed to complete an “agricultural impact assessment” before the final cabinet document is completed.
The assessment, he added, would determine how much landowners would be paid through a compulsory purchase order (CPO).
Cllr Brown said: “It is very close to being completed. And that is the final one and at that point it goes to cabinet. It is possible it goes to cabinet in September, or possibly in October. You should have a decision by November.”
Cllr Brown said that he, along with fellow West Auckland county councillor Stephen Gray, would be pushing for the bypass to be approved.
Acting chairman for the parish council, Cllr Alan Breeze, raised concern that during a recent public meeting Teesdale MP Sam Rushworth had spoken on the bypass and seemed to have access to more information than the parish council had.
He said: “He did give an indication at that meeting that he knew the result of the public consultation.
“Our viewpoint as a parish council is that we have been asking for basic detail for ages, and it has been presented to the MP who comes along and assumes we already know that information.”
He added that the MP had also said the project would go ahead during the public meeting.
