Gypsy clean-up will not cost taxpayers extra, Highways Agency insists - County Durham

From the Northern Echo

WORK to clear up mud left on a busy North-East road as a result of a large-scale Gypsy gathering will not cost taxpayers extra money, highways bosses have insisted.

Hundreds of members of the travelling community descended on a farmer’s field near Darlington last week, for what was described as a four-day Christian gathering.

The amount of vehicles using the A66 Darlington bypass to enter and leave the site, combined with heavy rainfall, led to the key route becoming gridlocked last Thursday (May 23) morning.

Many motorists complained that it took them longer than normal to get to work, while one of the event’s organisers said the disruption was typical for a large event coupled with inclement weather.

Fears had been raised that any extra cost for restoring the A66 to normal would have to be picked up by taxpayers.

But a Highways Agency spokeswoman said there would be no extra costs incurred on top of funding that had already been allocated.

She said: “It would not cost the Highways Agency any additional money as the clean-up operation would be carried out by [service provider] Aone+ as part of its contract to maintain the A66.”

Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for Darlington Borough Council said that because the gathering was a private event, held on private property, it did not need a permit to allow it to take place.