A COUNCIL has apologised for the disruption it caused when it closed the only access road to a rural village to carry out repairs.

Durham County Council closed the entry road to Holwick, near Middleton-in-Teesdale, on Friday, June 16 for more than four hours.

Anthony Goldstraw, the landlord of The Strathmore Arms, in Holwick, said he had no idea the road was going to be closed and the move lost his business hundreds of pounds.

“I got a phone call at 11.45am from a member of staff saying they couldn’t get in because the road was blocked and no vehicles could get through,” he said.

“I went straight down and could see the road was completely shut off and there were a number of maintenance workers and wagons. I asked the person in charge what was going on and he said vehicles would eventually get through but there would be very long delays.”

Durham County Council said in a statement that they had advertised the road closure locally and on the council’s website and had also put up signs in the area.

However, Mr Goldstraw said the signs only advised of the maintenance work and not of the planned closure.

He added: “We knew there was going to be work carried out because signs were put up asking people not to park on the verges, but we knew nothing about the road being closed.

“We’ve been here for six years and the road has never been closed in the past, even when underground electricity cables were put in, they still kept the road open. The majority of our bookings were cancelled because people couldn’t get to us and we’ve lost hundreds of pounds.”

John Reed, Durham County Council’s head of technical services, said: “This surface dressing scheme is part of our on-going programme to maintain the road network across the county.

“The road closure was advertised in the local press and on the Durham County Council website. In addition, signage was erected on site in advance of the works to advise highway users of the upcoming closure.

“Arrangements were also made to accommodate any vehicles requiring access, including emergency vehicles. We apologise for any disruption caused whilst this essential maintenance was undertaken.”