Traffic calming measures have been discussed as part of hopes to improve road safety in a County Durham countryside town.

Wolsingham Parish Council last night (October 10) talked about the possiblity of new measures, including regarding speed limit reductions and crossings, on Angate Street and  in Uppertown.

At the last public meeting, on September 19, around 120 people gathered at the Charles Atwood Club following rumours on Facebook that there were plans to ban HGVs and farm traffic from the B6296 road.

Read more: Public meeting over road safety concerns on B6296 at Wolsingham

The Northern Echo: Wolsingham Parish Council Meeting, October 10.Wolsingham Parish Council Meeting, October 10. (Image: NORTHERN ECHO)

However, any suggestions of such measures were ruled out at the meeting as parish councillors have "no remit" to impose such restrictions on traffic.

The council's vice-chairman Iain Rodgers at Tuesday's meeting described the rumours discussed online as "scaremongering" before handing over to Cllr Trish Willis, a member of the road safety working group.

Referring to the previous meeting, Cllr Willis said: "The headlines, after you get past the furore that was created on social media was that there were suggestions of looking at the speed of which traffic comes in and out of the town.

"A suggestion that was talked about quite a lot was that we bring in a 60 to 40 to 30mph approach in to and out of the town.

"Obviously there is a lot of work that would go into the possibility of determining that and whether that is a viable option to respond to the road safety concerns. That may provide a degree of perceived safety."

Cllr Willis said the "next step" in tackling this issue was to continue a working group on road traffic safety involving the public which reports back to the council.

Those interested in joining the group now have a month to declare their willingness to participate.

Cllr Anita Savory, who sits on the parish council and Durham County Council, acted as a county councillor at the previous meeting and contacted representatives to find out what options were available.

They could include a new crossing, traffic lights and reduced speed limits.

A response to Cllr Savory from Durham County Council was read out at the meeting.

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The letter read: "Whilst many individuals, communities and various other parties believe that lower speed limits would solve issues around poor driving.

"Ultimately, drivers should drive at the speed appropriate to their surroundings."

Cllr Savory also confirmed she has spoken with the two main hauliers in Weardale regarding the concerns and has also contacted Councillor John Shuttleworth and Dave Lewin of Durham County Council.

Cllr Shuttleworth said: "While these discussions about traffic calming may represent the aspirations of some of the councillors the parish council does not remit to enact them."