Two accidents in hours 'highlight traffic fears'

Two crashes in 24 hours near the site of a proposed housing development highlight residents' concerns over dangerous traffic, a campaigner has said.

In March, Stockton Council refused Taylor Wimpey's £133m plan for up to 600 homes on land east of Holdenfields Farm, Green Lane in Yarm.

Residents who gave evidence to a public inquiry into the rejected proposal raised concerns over nearby Leven Bank, which was described as a known "accident blackspot".

Resident and Yarm town councillor Yvonne Wallace said two crashes in a matter of hours at Low Leven on Monday, one of the areas surveyed by the inquiry's inspector Geoff Underwood days before, demonstrated the relevance of residents' concerns.

She said: "I think the points we made at the inquiry are very relevant, when talking about any new development.

"It already can be a dangerous bank and there's been accidents like this before."

Taylor Wimpey said it understood road safety was important to residents and they took it "very seriously".

A spokesperson said: "Our plans include measures to reduce vehicle speeds along Green Lane, alongside safe crossing points for pedestrians and cyclists."

Wallace said one of the crashes had caused "significant damage" to a Grade II listed medieval bridge, which was "not built for heavy traffic".

"There's now traffic lights on there, which happens most of the time if there's an accident - that causes its own set of problems," she said.

"There's going to be so much more traffic using that bank. People living on that development would be coming out and either turn left to a very, very busy Green Lane or turn right to go down Leven Bank.

"It's just very worrying."

Stockton Council said since the crashes, they placed extra signage on the road, as well as temporary traffic lights.

They said warning signs and road markings were also present at both approached to the bridge, warning of the narrowing road.

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