A row has been rumbling over the state of one of the main roads into Darlington -  and The Northern Echo has identified some of the biggest problem areas.

North Road has been seen as a problem for decades, but last week the town's MP called on the council to take action and clean up the street.

Local councillors, residents, and shop workers on the street all agree that something needed to be done to tackle the prevalent fly-tipping and antisocial behaviour.

We have tried to identify the four most problematic areas of the street that need to be focused on in any solutions.

Northgate House

The Northern Echo:

Northgate House has been a problem area of North Road for years. The council plans to demolish it but even those plans were cast in doubt last month.

Several proposals for the tower block have been made in the last 10 years but none of them have made any progress.

Darlington Borough Council outlined plans to acquire and demolish the town’s tallest building in 2021, as part of a wider regeneration of the Northgate area of town.

However, those plans reached an impasse as the local authority has yet to take control of the site. 

Any plan to improve North Road has to address this huge eyesore and transform it into an asset for the town.

The back alleys

The Northern Echo: North Road, Darlington

One of the issues that was highlighted by the local Liberal Democrat councillors was the amount of waste abandoned in North Road's back alleys.

A walk along the road reveals dirty and rubbish-strewn passageways that need more looking after.

Fly tipping is a "daily occurrence" according to councillor Hilary Allen and it is hoped that any solution would help the council hire more staff to tackle and monitor the issue.

Corporation Road junction

The Northern Echo:
One thing locals have a real problem with is traffic at the Corporation Road roundabout and at the junction round the corner with John Street.

The back-to-back traffic lights increase congestion and make it very difficult to get around that area of town easily.

Plans to improve North Road should include ways in which to ease the bottleneck at this junction.

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Abandoned buildings at the junction with Zetland Street

The Northern Echo: North Road, Darlington

In his comments last week, Peter Gibson highlighted the "dirty" look of the street and how it has been "forgotten". 

There are abandoned buildings and shops along the street but the area opposite Zetland Street is particularly bad.

Any efforts to improve North Road have to find a way to attract new businesses to this area of town.

If you have any other thoughts on what can be done to improve North Road get in touch.