Representation by Startforth Parish Council (Startforth Parish Council)
- Date submitted
- 9 August 2022
- Submitted by
- Parish councils
Startforth Parish Council objects to the proposals laid out for the Rokeby junction of the A66 dualling project. The reasons for the Parish Council's objections are as follows: 1. The proposed route will add approximately 2 miles of extra travel to Barnard Castle via the Abbey Bridge. 2. The diversion towards Cross Lanes will encourage many drivers to proceed further westwards to Cross Lanes and then access Barnard Castle via the narrow Sills Road at Startforth, the County Bridge and The Bank in Barnard Castle – routes which are already congested and frequently grid-locked. Durham County Council modelling suggests that this route would at least DOUBLE the traffic on this route; other suggestions by critics of the scheme put it in the region of TREBLING the volume of traffic. Whichever is correct, it does not bode well for Startforth and Barnard Castle and their residents, thus presenting serious danger to atmospheric and noise pollution, congestion and inconvenience, particularly for Startforth residents. 3. Under National Highway' preferred option, there are no additional safety measures described in the consultation, as National Highways is only responsible for, and are only consulting on, the A66 proposals. Routes linking the A66 to and from Barnard Castle fall within the remit of Durham County Council (DCC). 4. National Highways' objection to the previously proposed 'blue' route hinged on its impact on a small strip of land which is part of the Rokeby Park and Gardens, between the existing junction and Rokeby Church. This is no longer contiguous with the grounds of Rokeby itself and most of the woodland was felled approximately three years ago. This small strip of land is of little agricultural or aesthetic value and is in effect little more than scrubland but is registered as an 18th century-designed parkland. The argument to keep this stretch of land is spurious and not a good enough reason to instead favour the route now proposed. The alternative 'blue' route would affect no more than two or three mature trees. 5. The proposed route would lead to many vehicles heading for Barnard Castle continuing along to the Cross Lanes Junction and then entering Barnard Castle by way of the B6277. The Sills section of this road at Startforth is an important and frequently used pedestrian route, including by primary school children. However, the footpath is narrow, and at times, virtually non-existent, thereby putting all pedestrians at significant risk of serious injury. 6. The proposed route would create more noise pollution, adversely affecting 195 homes and 8 non-residential buildings compared with only 16 homes and one non-residential building for the alternative 'blue' route (p.84 HE’s Statutory Consultation booklet). 7. The alternative 'blue' route would cause the loss of significantly less productive farmland than would the proposed 'black' route. This could be reduced even further by re-aligning the 'blue' route approach road from the North and giving the 'blue' approach from the South a similar layout to the existing Bowes Junction. This layout has worked very successfully for many years and is simply being added to under current proposals. 8. The Parish Council received a presentation from a local resident highlighting numerous parts of the B6277 where there are serious issues of Health & Safety which will be greatly exacerbated by the potential three-fold increase in traffic if the proposed route is adopted. We can provide several photos pin-pointing these issues. These photos visually show the potential risk to the public (pedestrians, cyclists, horses, and motorists). As mentioned above, there are no additional safety measures described in the proposed route consultation.