Rethinking Victoria Road consultation

Victoria Road was identified as a key street that links our ambitious plans for Darlington Station, the redevelopment of the Auction Mart site and our ongoing support of the town centre economy. We want to improve the public spaces and the street environment for those that live, work and visit the area. The work on Victoria Road will aim to improve the journey to the station for those walking or cycling, whilst also considering those arriving by bus or car. The plans will improve the public realm for residents, businesses and visitors on this key gateway to the town with reduced traffic speeds, wider footpaths and the introduction of trees and planters.

Initial consultation was carried out by Groundwork. A key message was that local people are very proud of their area and feel that it deserves some investment of money and resources. A more detailed design was developed in response to the report produced by Groundwork and incorporating many of the ideas suggested by residents and businesses. This plan was then shared with people living and working in the area through a series of events in December 2019 and an online survey. All of the responses have been summarised in the following report [pdf document]

Detailed plans for Victoria Road [pdf document].

A Cabinet Report on 3 March 2020 will reference this project and will confirm that a) there are no formal objections to the Traffic Regulation Orders and b) a number of changes are proposed including:

1. A review of the bus stop locations;
2. A change to the parking restrictions in the vicinity of the Clifton Court Medical Practice reducing the waiting time to one hour and removing the charges;
3. A review of the cycling infrastructure near Feethams roundabout; and
4. Auto tracking vehicle movements in Backhouse Lane to ensure that all residents can access their parking areas/garages.

A funding agreement with Tees Valley Combined Authority is now in place and work is programmed to commence in March 2020.

Start on site was delayed due to the social distancing restrictions imposed in response to the covid-19 pandemic. However work started in August 2020 with the improvements to the back lane on the north side of Victoria Road in the vicinity of the Royal Mail Sorting Office. Once this is completed, there will be two phases of work on Victoria Road – the first is the western end between St Cuthbert’s Way and Clifton Road junction; the second phase is the eastern end from Clifton Road junction towards Darlington Station. The first phase will start in October 2020 and the second phase is planned to start in January 2021.

During the works there will be a one-way system for traffic but access to all businesses and properties will be retained. We apologise for any inconvenience that this causes.

Victoria Road consultation report April 2019 is below: