A PARISH council has admitted defeat after battling for 13 years to have a pedestrian crossing installed on a busy main road.

Staindrop Parish Council had wanted Durham County Council to put a crossing on the A688 road from West Auckland to Barnard Castle.

The village has a primary school, a secondary school, nurseries and a high proportion of elderly residents.

In last year’s parish plan the need for a crossing, to link from one side of the green to the other, was one of the action priorities.

But at a recent parish council meeting (THUR MAY 21) the councillors conceded they had done all they can and have given up.

Durham County Council carried out traffic surveys and decided the volume of traffic was not sufficient to warrant the crossing.

It also found the road was too narrow for a crossing and that the large number roads feeding into the A688 made it too complex.

Councillor Ed Chicken, who was voted in as new parish council chair at the meeting, said: "It seems we have failed but it is certainly not for the want of trying.

"I think we have done everything we could have done but I think on this one we are just going to have to accept defeat."

The council thanked staff at Durham County Council’s Highways department for the work they carried out on the possible crossing.

However Coun Elizabeth Steele questioned how accurate the traffic counts were.

"I accept that there are rules and regulations but I am unhappy with the way the survey was carried out," she said.

"The surveys were done at the least busy times of the day.

"There are ways of carrying out a survey to get the results required and this is one of those cases."

Lee Mowbray, from Durham County Council, said: "Unfortunately the Department for Transport criteria for a pedestrian crossing are not achievable at this location.

"As well as the location not meeting the necessary criteria, there are a number of physical constraints which would hinder the siting of a crossing at the desired location."