Residents call out council silence over broken road
BBCVillagers are angry with their local council for the lack of communication surrounding one of their main roads which collapsed three and a half years ago.
The C31 into Hamsterley, near Bishop Auckland, was fenced off after part of the surface collapsed into the River Wear in January 2023, leading to a road diversion.
Resident Andy Richardson said the official communication from Durham County Council (DCC) has not been updated since October 2024 , leading to "uncertainty" among locals that the carriageway would ever be repaired.
Mark Readman, DCC's head of highway services, thanked residents for their "continued patience" and said the council would provide an update as soon as it was able.
Readman said the council had sought advice on the complex nature of the landslip from external consultants and continued to review their options.
Hamsterley MP Sam Rushworth said residents "had every right to be angry".
"Leaving the road blocked off for this long is outrageous," he said.
"To govern is to choose, and the leadership at Durham County Council have decided this is not a priority for them."
Richardson said residents have repeatedly raised questions with the council regarding the "suitability" of the diversion route, which diverts local traffic across a small bridge and has raised concerns over safety and impact on the community.
"My concern is not simply the continuing delay, but the lack of communication surrounding it," he said.
"The official information regarding the C31 diversion appears not to have been updated since October 2024, despite the issue remaining unresolved," he said.
"Residents and road-users are therefore left without any meaningful indication of progress, timescales or the current position of DCC."
He called for a "clear and transparent response" from the highway authority.
"At the very least" Richardson said the council should provide an updated statement "explaining the current status of the review, the reasons for the delay, and the anticipated timetable for reaching a conclusion".
"Where a matter has been outstanding for such a prolonged period, it is reasonable to expect regular public updates, even if only to explain what work remains ongoing and when a conclusion is expected," Richardson said.
"Instead, there appears to have been a prolonged period of silence."