Paving way for new business

The scheme will be an access route for tourists visiting the National Railway Museum being built in the town.

The work, which will cost an estimated £163,300, will cover Redworth Road, from the junction of Dale Road, to a roundabout off the bottom of Byerley Road, near the New Masons pub.

Members of Sedgefield Borough Council's cabinet will decide tomorrow whether to accept quotes from Durham County Council and individual contractors before work goes ahead.

It has also been proposed that the county council's contract services department should carry out a large proportion of the work.

It is expected that the scheme will be completed by summer and Councillor Frank Timmiss, who represents residents in the area, said he was delighted with the proposal.

He said: "This is something we have been waiting for and want it doing as soon as possible.

"It will make a big difference in Shildon. All the little things that have been done are now starting to fit together."

Work should have started at the end of the month, but contract negotiations and weather conditions have delayed it slightly.

A roundabout will be installed at the top of Dale Road, three new bus shelters will be built, footpaths will be improved and screening implemented.

A junction will be constructed leading the way to a new business centre on the Dabble Duck Industrial Estate and other companies based in the area.

Durham County Council is designing the junction, which will take into account the delivery of historical memorabilia to the museum.

It is the second phase of environmental improvements that have taken place under the New Shildon Area Initiative.

Funding has come from the town's Single Regeneration Budget partnership, Durham County Council and Shildon Town Council.

Other improvements in the area include regeneration works in Scott Street, off Redworth Road, and the refurbishment of the town's Old Coach House, in Byerley Road, which has recently started.