Tories hold back on road safety plans of dedicated Labour Community Councillor?

Taken Pre Covid

Councillor Kath Nisbet of Croft Ward in Blyth is disgusted at the slow progress the Tory led Northumberland County Council has made on a road safety project in the ward she represents.

Over a year ago Councillor Nisbet paid two thousand pound from her small schemes pot to have a safer entry into the Cowpen Quay area from Hodgsons Road via Durban Street designed and an estimate of costs prepared.

The estimate came out at £31,000 which she immediately agreed to fund, the works included the removal of a tree and the re-siting of a ‘home zone’ infrastructure island which is now past its best.

Councillor Nisbet explained to us at Northumbria News that “the creation of a home zone almost twenty years ago to slow dangerous fast traffic in the area of Cowpen Quay was an excellent modern idea at the time, but the community has now outgrown the project and as time has moved on better and far safer for everyone traffic calming methods have been designed and implemented.”

“A local shopkeeper has moved his premises across the Durban Street entrance on Hodgsons Road and admirably opened up a two car stopping place in front of his premises, but at peak times cars have begun to park right up to the tree and home zone island causing problems for drivers and pedestrians”

“The new design favoured by the County Council highways section as well as the community will benefit everyone and ease concerns for pedestrians who cross here to gain access to the bus stop on Hodgsons Road.”

“Its a disgrace that myself and my community have had to wait for over a year to have this project begun and those same Tories who have held up this job are making claims about me not spending my small scheme cash to benefit my Community, if this job had been in Morpeth or Ponteland it would have been done before the estimate came back”.

“It shows that Blyth has had nothing delivered in the last four years by these Tories who are hell bent on expanding deprivation and developing a two tier society in towns like ours”