Push for pedestrianisation as efforts to create one-way system in Norton draw closer

Improvements to Norton’s duck pond will be carried out later this year with repairs to the perimeter path, steps and railings, a new fountain, surface improvements and a new seating area with a “plaza” corner.

But Stockton Council chiefs are also looking to the southern end of the village high street – with plans to create a one-way loop from Norton Road, north along the High Street, and right to the roundabout near the Red Lion pub.

The creation of wider areas for pedestrian areas and around 20 extra spaces for cars or taxi spaces are also being examined ahead of a consultation. 

Leaders have stressed the plans are at an early stage and work is forecast to start in 2022. 

Some business owners and residents on the southern end of the High Street have shared their thoughts. 

And one common theme was a push to close the route to vehicles entirely. 

Chris Baines, assistant manager at the Head of Steam, said they’d wanted the stretch pedestrianised for a long time. 

“We don’t have a beer garden so we’d be able to take advantage of seating out the front,” he added. “Especially if people have had a drink and they’re a bit drunk there’s a risk of them falling into the road with the taxis flying up and down here. Everyone seems to think that part of the road is 70mph.”

Chris Baines, assistant manager at the Head of Steam, Norton

The 27-year-old didn’t believe the one-way system would help the pub an awful lot but conceded it may stop parking on the side of the road. 

Meanwhile, Kendra Miller, manager at the Red Lion, thought the one way system was a good idea.

She said: “The traffic around here is disgusting – you can’t get over the road. It’s horrible.”

However, Ms Miller wasn’t a fan of pedestrianising the whole stretch. “The one-way system definitely would help,” she added. 

Council chiefs say there is a need to improve traffic flow on the High Street due to Norton’s increasing popularity. A multi-use car park and events space near Costa Coffee is also being considered as part of the changes. 

Authority staff visited the site on Wednesday to take a closer look at the area. 

Further north, Julie Robinson was working a shift in the Norton branch of the Bluecorn Bakery. She’s lived in the village for 24 years. Ms Robinson said: “I think it’s a good idea – and I think it should all be pedestrianised. It will make a bigger difference to the businesses around there and stop any accidents from happening.”

She also believed closing the stretch to vehicles would help create more of a “continental feel”. “Even just on a night-time it would be nice,” added Ms Robinson. “With the pizza shops, you get a lot of delivery drivers pulling up and then you’ve got the taxi drivers with people pulling out from the club. It’s just a bit crazy.”

One business owner, who did not wish to be named, believed the measures would be more useful on a night. “During the day it’s not too bad,” he added.

Craig Ellis lives on the southern end of the high street a stone’s throw from the Norton Road junction. The NHS worker was a fan of the changes but, again, was keen to see the council go further. 

The 42-year-old said: “I think it would be a very good thing – and I think they should shut that road off. There are more than enough accidents and there are three roads to the High Street anyway. I don’t see any need for it – the only thing it would affect is the buses as a couple of them go down there. But I think it’s a good thing. It will modernise it.”

Mr Ellis said the stretch could be “choc-a-bloc” with taxis on Saturday nights especially – although he conceded it hadn’t been as busy during Covid. “It’s screaming out for it – if you look at the bus routes they could go down to the roundabout and turn left,” he added. "There are five or six bars and three restaurants along there – some of them are tiny so they could certainly increase their seating capacity. It might only be a seasonal thing. It can only help the area in my opinion.”

Early drawings for the one-way system show taxi rank spaces could feature on the western side of the road between Holly Street and Leven Road. 

Norton High St Proposed Changes

A council spokeswoman said: “The highways scheme is still in the very early stages of design – the team are still working on a design for the one way system, public realm and pedestrian areas.”

Residential home worker Jackie Lamb said measures on the southern end of the High Street had been talked about for years. She was still waiting to see what the council was going to do. 

“We haven’t had it through lockdown, but when everything is open we get a lot of noise around here,” added Ms Lamb. “If the taxis are going to be outside our residential home, that could be an issue.

“But other than that, I can’t see an issue with it. I think it would be better.”

However, not everyone is in favour of closing off the road. Customers regularly find it difficult to park up when they visit Francos Pizzeria, says Aram Mohammed. “For drivers, we don’t have a base for them to stop their cars,” he added. “The one-way system sounds very good – sometimes the road is very busy and maybe one-way would be good for us.”

Aram said it got very busy on a Friday and a Saturday night. But he didn’t like the sound of complete pedestrianisation on the stretch. “We need cars for the business,” he added.