Enough is Enough: Parish Council Claims Hartlepool's Creaking Road Network "Is at Breaking Point"....
- teessidetoday
- Aug 4
- 3 min read
Local Parish Council which previously supported a No Confidence petition in Hartlepool Borough Council back in 2021 claims Hartlepool's roads are at breaking point due to continued large scale housing developments being approved.
4th August 2025
A local parish council which previously backed a public vote of no confidence in Hartlepool Borough Council has issued a stark warning about the town’s collapsing road infrastructure, claiming that unchecked overdevelopment has pushed Hartlepool’s transport network to the brink.
Hart Parish Council has launched a fresh petition calling for urgent strategic upgrades to one of the town’s key transport routes—the A179. The petition demands the dualling of the A179 between the A19 and the Tall Ships Public House, alongside a new roundabout at the top of Hart Village and the introduction of a 40mph speed limit to improve road safety.
“For over 40 years, Hartlepool’s North West has seen thousands of new homes built—particularly in Middle Warren, Upper Warren, Elwick Rise, and West Park—all placing increasing pressure on the A179 link to the A19,” the council said. “Yet no significant upgrades have been made since the Hart Village Bypass opened in 1983.”
Now, with 600 new homes under construction, the closure of key junctions at Elwick and Dalton, and multiple large-scale energy projects planned in the area, parish councillors are warning that the town is at crisis point.
Transport Chaos and Safety Fears
The Parish Council's concerns are not just about inconvenience—they are about safety and gridlock, where its claimed the A179 has already seen:
Severe congestion, particularly at peak hours
Significant delays to school and service buses
A tragic pedestrian fatality in February
A multi-vehicle crash involving four cars which brought the town’s roads to a standstill injuring three people..
The petition argues that the cumulative effects of decades of planning failures by Hartlepool Borough Council are now being felt daily by local residents, commuters, and emergency services alike.
Local Plan Ignored?
Hart Parish Council claims the infrastructure proposals, including the dualling and roundabout, are not new ideas—but ones which have been long included in the Council’s Local Plan but simply never delivered on.
“The road network hasn’t just failed overnight—it’s been ignored for decades,” said one resident backing the petition.
Overdevelopment Without Infrastructure
Wider concerns are also said to be growing across Hartlepool over the scale of housing developments being approved in recent years, where local claim housing has expanded in the town 'at an unsustainable rate', without the infrastructure to match.
“It’s not anti-housing—it’s pro-common sense,” said another resident. “We’ve had enough of traffic chaos.”
But critics of the new petition say it will be just as fruitless as others, citing a lack of meaningful engagement from Hartlepool Borough Council, where in 2023, Hartlepool Borough Council was the subject of a public declaration of no confidence by a petition signed by almost 4000 local residents.
A History of Frustration
It's not the first time Hart Parish Council and its rural counterparts have reportedly clashed with the town hall.
In 2021, four rural parishes—Elwick, Hart, Dalton Piercy, and Greatham—formally passed votes of no confidence in Hartlepool Borough Council. The Parish Councils which form the outlying villages of Hartlepool expressed a desire to return to County Durham, citing years of neglect, frustration, and a town-centric approach to planning policies with seemingly little engagement by the local council with Parish Council Leaders..
A joint statement from the parishes at the time highlighted:
The council’s failure to support rural infrastructure
Neglect of Wynyard’s community needs despite 20 years of heavy development
And the negative traffic impacts caused by overbuilding
Rather than respond with reform or engagement, Hartlepool Borough Council refuted the votes of no confidence—a move many saw as further proof of its lack of accountability.
Now, its Hart Parish Council is calling time for action—not platitudes.
No Public Confidence.... & No Confidence by the Parish Councils Either !
“We’re at breaking point,” the petition concludes. “This is not just about traffic. It’s about the future liveability of our town.”, with the petition possible paving the way once more for the towns outlying villages to band together once more in a move that would likely see Hartlepool Borough Council the subject of yet another No Confidence vote by its outlying parish councils, marking what many see as the eventual move by the Parish Councils to join another neighbouring local council.
