The second phase of Darlington’s long-delayed Woodland Road walking and cycling scheme is finally set to begin next week, more than three years after the project was first unveiled.
Darlington Borough Council has confirmed construction will start on 3 August, with work expected to continue until November 2027. The scheme forms part of wider plans to create a continuous walking and cycling route linking West Park and Faverdale with the town centre under the Tees Valley Combined Authority’s Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan.
The latest phase will extend the existing cycle route from the Hollyhurst Road junction to Deneside Road, close to Tennis Dene. It will also introduce new priority crossings at side roads to improve safety and visibility for pedestrians and cyclists.
Work will begin near Dene Grove and will be carried out in stages to limit disruption.
The council said two-way traffic will be maintained wherever possible, although temporary traffic lights, junction closures and pavement diversions will be needed during construction.
The project has faced repeated delays since proposals were first announced in January 2022. Plans were thrown into doubt after the council failed to secure funding through the Conservative government’s Levelling Up Fund in 2023.
Council officers later said work would begin during 2025, but construction was delayed again.
Earlier this year, Green cllr Matthew Snedker criticised the repeated postponement of infrastructure projects, citing Woodland Road as an example. He said schemes that had already been “designed, costed, audited and approved” had been left “languishing on the drawing board for a year or more”.
The wider scheme also includes proposed changes to roundabouts at Cockerton, Staindrop Road and Woodland Road.
A planning application to demolish a council-owned property at 267 Carmel Road, rebuild a retaining wall, remove trees and divert utility services has yet to be approved, despite demolition previously being expected to begin in spring 2026.
Cllr Libby McCollom, the council’s cabinet member for local services, said the project would support the authority’s ambitions to encourage more sustainable travel. “This work feeds into the ambitions we laid out in the Council Plan,” she said.
“It will make it safer and easier for people to use more sustainable modes of transport, which will benefit not only their health but also the wider environment.”
“It will also help to connect our communities by giving one safe, accessible route from West Park to the town centre.”
