Villagers ‘stranded’ as council grass cutters cause A689 chaos with 5 minute journey taking up to hour

Residents of a Hartlepool village have hit out at the council after regular work to cut grass on a busy dual carriageway leaves them ‘stranded’ at home.

Last week Hartlepool Council workers spent two days, during office hours, tending to the central reservation grass of the A689.

During those two days, one lane of the motorway, which is one of two main routes into Hartlepool, was closed, leading to huge queues of traffic and causing chaos to surrounding routes as commuters tried to bypass the tailbacks.

READ MORE: Houses evacuated and man taken to hospital after flames tear through Billingham home

Residents of Greatham say this happens every time the council cuts the grass – and simple trips to the doctors or shops, for example, prove almost impossible – unless they want to join the tailbacks.

Also the village becomes a rat-run as motorists attempt to avoid the traffic but cutting through the village via one entrance – only to find that they have to rejoin the A689 again via the other entrance/exit.

This causes huge traffic jams through Greatham as cars line the High Street, further blocking locals from getting in and out of the village.

One furious home owner described the queues “an absolute joke” and suggested the council do the work at daybreak, or late at night, when volume of traffic on the roads is less.

Pictures taken on Thursday from a property on Greatham High Street show a long queue of stationary cars stretching back throughout the village.

The council says it tries to carry out the work as quickly as possible, however, the maintenance is ‘essential’ to get the town looking its best prior to the upcoming arrival of the Tall Ships Races.

Speaking to residents on Thursday, one home owner said: “It’s an absolute joke. You think there’d been a crash or a really bad accident, but no – they’re just cutting the grass.

“Every time Hartlepool Council cut the grass on the A689, entry to Hartlepool grinds to a halt and no one can get out of Greatham village. I’ve been stranded for two days now – unless you want to wait an hour in the queues. It’s a joke.”

The mum-of-two said that this was a regular occurrence in the village and was causing chaos to locals every couple of months. She said it was not only frustrating, but as it is the village residents’ only way to get into Hartlepool, she felt ‘stuck’.

She added: “We can’t get out and obviously it’s annoying for everyone else trying to get into the town because they’re stuck in massive queues – just because the council are cutting the central reservation grass. What would usually take five minutes in the car to get from the centre of Greatham to the Owton Lodge roundabout takes 45 minutes to an hour – do it at off peak times!”

The council responded by saying closing one lane of the motorway was necessary for ‘staff safety and preventing damage to vehicles’.

A spokesperson also added that using Greatham as an alternative route to bypass the roadworks ‘saves no time’.

Kieran Bostock, assistant director for Hartlepool Council said: “The section of the A689 reservation near Greatham village is cut every 6-8 weeks throughout the growing season – something which is especially important at the moment as we work to get the town looking its best for the arrival of the Tall Ships Races 2023 in July – and the traffic management is essential to maintain the safety of our staff while the grass cutting is being carried out.

“It also helps prevent damage to passing vehicles. We do our best to carry out the work as quickly as possible and to coordinate any other road-related works in the area at the same time, to minimise disruption, however we cannot risk our staff working so closely to live, fast traffic without the necessary safety measures.

“Using Greatham to try and avoid the roadworks saves no time for motorists and so we would always urge sensible driving.”

READ NEXT: