Residents in Crawcrook and the nearby villages of Greenside and Clara Vale are calling for physical traffic calming measures on Lead Road (B6317) to protect children and older people from speeding drivers. The campaign follows reports of several near misses on the road that links the villages.
Safety concerns are focused on the stretch of Lead Road between Woodside Lane and Folly Lane, close to the Greenside Community Centre. Locals say the route is often used as a short-cut or “rat run” when the A695 bypass is busy, producing long, straight sections where drivers regularly exceed safe speeds.
A formal petition titled “Road safety improvements on Lead Road, Greenside” was submitted to Gateshead Council; it closed on 30 April 2025 and received 457 online signatures. Residents say the council’s response so far—temporary speed surveys and refreshed signage—has not done enough to slow motorists.
Local families are now asking the council to install permanent engineering measures such as speed cushions or to introduce a 20mph zone. The petition states: “This stretch of road is dangerous and suffers an ongoing significant accident record including fatalities, road traffic accidents, damage to parked cars and damage to property,” and residents say physical measures are necessary to prevent further damage and protect pedestrians.
Residents are asking their ward councillors to press for funding and action. The Crawcrook and Greenside ward is represented on Gateshead Council by Councillors Kathryn Henderson, Hugh Kelly and Kathleen McCartney. Locals hope physical changes will be implemented soon to address what they describe as a long-running accident record in the community.
About this article: This story was put together with the help of AI tools and checked by a real person on our team. We're a small crew trying to cover as much of the UK as we can on a limited budget. We're getting better every day - but we're not perfect yet. If something looks off, let us know. You're part of the process.
