Minutes:
Councillor R Yorke asked the following question
Since the last full council, a petition signed by nearly 1000 residents from West Auckland has called upon Durham County Council to rethink its position regarding the Toft Hill bypass.
Can the Leader explain why West Auckland wasn’t included within the Levelling Up application and also why no public consultation was carried out?
Councillor A Hopgood, Leader of the Council, thanked Councillor Yorke for his question and provided the following response:
I take it as a compliment to this Cabinet and Joint Administration that you have the confidence in our ability that we could not only develop, consult and produce the Bishop Auckland levelling up bid but also make a decision to submit it in under 10 working days of taking office.
Therefore, credit where credit is due, the bid that was submitted for Bishop Auckland constituency was drawn up under the previous administration and presumably in conjunction with the Cabinet at that time. The particular element that your question refers to is one that I would have expected you to be fully aware of given that at the time you were the Cabinet Support Member for the Portfolio holder responsible for highways.
As Members are aware the remaining five bids have already involved Member engagement, a first for many Members in this hall but I can assure you it won’t be the last, so Councillor Yorke in conclusion this was your administration bid and therefore you may be better placed to ask Councillor Marshall these questions
Councillor Yorke responded that he was aware of the application adding that the previous administration agreed to consult with residents. There had been no consultation with residents about the bid. Councillor Yorke asked if a bypass was good enough for the people of Toft Hill why was it not good enough for the residents of West Auckland.
Councillor Hopgood thanked Councillor Yorke for his supplementary question. There would be a consultation in the new year with the Members of Bishop Auckland Constituency to consider actions going forward. Councillor Hopgood reminded Councillor Yorke that the previous administration drew up and proposed the 2020 County Durham Plan which did not contain a bypass for West Auckland which had never been in discussion and did not form part of any joint transport work for the last 20 years.