Parish Council election, May 2025

All 12 seats on Middleton-in-Teesdale and Newbiggin Parish Council (eight for the Middleton ward and four for the Newbiggin ward) are open for nominations. The 'Notice of Election' provides details of how to obtain nomination papers, which provide detailed guidance for candidates. The closing date for nominations is 4pm on Wednesday 2 April 2025. 

If there are more nominations for a ward than there are seats in that ward, then a poll will take place on Thursday 1 May 2025. 

Annual Parish Meeting 2025

The Annual Parish Council was held on Tuesday 18 March 2025.

To see the DRAFT minutes from the 2025 Annual Parish Meeting, click here.

Annual Parish Meeting 2024

The Annual Parish Council was held on Tuesday 26 March 2024. 

To see the DRAFT minutes from the 2024 Annual Parish Meeting, click here.

Parking in Middleton-in-Teesdale

In early 2023, the Parish Council appointed CTS Traffic and Transportation to conduct a review to identify current usage of parking available in Middleton-in-Teesdale and to make suggestions based on the observed information about potential solutions for any issues identified. A business survey was also conducted. 

The aim of the Parish Council in commissioning the review was to have information to stimulate debate and to provide evidence for action to address parking ‘problems’ which the Council, residents and local businesses have long-believed to be hampering both the local economy as well as residents’ and visitors’ enjoyment and easy access to the village. 

The final report from the Parking Review, dated November 2023, can be downloaded by clicking on the image of its cover.

Findings from the Parking Review

A summary of the key points for which the research provides evidence is:

·       The Hill Terrace car park is at capacity and deters people from stopping – ie. There is clearly a parking shortfall in Middleton-in-Teesdale

·       The problem of capacity is worse in the summer than in the spring.

·       A certain amount of resident/business parking is inevitable, given the lack of alternative, off-street parking for many properties, and this ‘base demand’ contributes to lack of space for visitors and local shoppers from elsewhere in the dale

·       There is no appetite among businesses surveyed for the introduction of any parking restrictions and/or charges

·       ‘Soft options’, for example encouragement to make behavioural changes, or to increase and improve signage, to better mark out available spaces, and possibly more active management and possibly enforcement of ‘rules’ at the main car park, whilst worth exploring, will only offer minor improvement

·       The principal need, though acknowledged to be a medium-term solution, is for an ‘out of town’ car park with long-term parking spaces for visitors, with suitable signposting to it, to free-up short-term parking spaces in the centre of the village.

What happens now?

The Parking Review and actions from it will be the major focus of the 2024 Annual Parish Meeting to be held at 6.30pm on Tuesday 26 March at The Pathway. This will be an opportunity for local people to comment on the findings and possible solutions. Following that meeting, the Parish Council will pursue options with other partners such as Durham County Council, Raby Estates and other landowners.

Want to comment now?

Four parish councillors are taking the lead on this, and would welcome you contacting them with any comments or questions. They are Cllr John Miller, Cllr Wayne Appleton and Cllr Colin Headlam (contact details are on the 'Parish Councillors' page.