Campaigners a step nearer winning traffic speed battle

Durham County Council has announced that it is looking to implement experimental weight restrictions in Close House, near Bishop Auckland.

The move follows a meeting with Dene Valley Parish Council, which is calling for a 20mph speed limit and weight restrictions.

Representatives from the county council and Durham Constabulary were invited to this month's parish council meeting, with Councillor Phil Graham, county councillor for the area, to discuss the problem.

The parish council say that people living in Close House are being plagued by heavy goods vehicles and cars speeding through the village.

Parish council chairman Councillor Chris Foote Wood said: "This parish was built long before cars and the terraced houses look directly out on to the street.

"There are a lot of sharp bends and this is resulting in a lot of traffic problems that the residents have been fighting for years.

"I have seen 20 miles per hour speed restrictions implemented all over the country and I don't see why it cannot be done in Dene Valley.

"We need this in Close House in particular, because people use it as a shortcut and it is completely unsuitable," Coun Foote Wood said.

Durham County Council and the police have said a 20mph speed limit would be difficult to implement and that speed surveys carried out in the villages in Dene Valley, including Close House, had indicated that motorists were complying with the speed limits. Villagers disagree with the findings.

But the county council has agreed to consider an experimental traffic order. That would involve placing a weight restriction of 7.5 tonnes for heavy goods vehicles (HGV) travelling through the village.

A spokesman for the council said: "It will be introduced for a trial period to see if it eases the problem for residents.

"Obviously this would not restrict vehicles that have access, such as delivery wagons, but it would stop HGVs driving through the village."