Sopefoluwa Peters

Dear Sir Re: Sopefoluwa Babtunde Peters, deceased refer to your letter dated the 8lh of May 2014 enclosingyour Regulation 28 report;, following the conclusion of the inquest into the death of Mr Peters. Careful consideration has been given to the matters of concem which you have raised in your report at paragraph 5 and the County Council's response is set out below: With reference to your concem about the steepness of the steps and lack of handrail on Drury Lane; the lane has been Inspected by the County Councils Rights of Way Officer and he Is satisfied that the steps themselves are in a good state of repair. It Is acknowledged that these steps are steep, requiring some care when descending them:. However; these steps have been in existence for a considerable period of time and to our knowledge tere has been only one previous report of a tripping or slipping accident; and that defect was rectified. It is in any event difficult to see how these could be moditied as Ihe path is too narrow to achieve any meaningful alleviation of this slpe: Tuming to the provision of handrails; as mentioned in previous correspondance, due to the narrowness of the path it would be difficult to install a handrail, because this would further reduce the width, which could be viewed as an obstecle by some footpath users In any event the hand rails would need to be attached to the abutling walls, which are not wilhin the County Council's ownership: The walls have been inspected and are considered to be unsuitable for attaching ralls of thls nature to because of their age, and in places the walls are in fraglle condition. continuedl. Durham County Council, County Hall; Durham DH1 5UQ Telephone: 03000 260000 wdurham gov:uk IGO %it Councilof the Year steps very fairly '

Whilst lighting Ihe location may assist, It would result in a Iit area leading to unlit riverside paths, creating greater contrast between areas of light and dark. It is fell that lighting all the riverbank paths wouid be both impractical and inappropriate due to the detrimental effect on the setting of the World Heritage Site. On balance it is not considered helpful t0 light this location; can confim that whilst no action is being proposed in respect of the above mentioned matters, the Council will be Installing a timber barrier in the riverside footpath, adjacent t the wall opposite the exit Drury Lane. The installation of a bamer should reduce any potential risk of someone falling or running down the steps and going over the wall into the river at this location: This barrier will be placed wilhin the footpath itself; as the path Is within the control of the County Council: It Is anticipated that this barrier will be installed within the next two weeks: The County Council will also be undertaking a risk assessment along sections of the rver bank: This assessment will include representatives from the police who will identify locations: from their local knowledge of where there Is a volume of evening and night time activity: further risks are identified these will be assessed and action will be taken by the County Council to minimise such risks as is considered appropriate: This was a tragic case which highlights young adults, in particular can come to ham when they are traveliing alone at night significantly under the influence of alcohol which Is an intrinsicaily perilous state; Addressing the risks caused by alcohol Is & priority of this council and its partner agencies and attach links to the Alcohol Ham Reduction Strategy: the County Durham Safe partnership pages on alcohol reductions and links to work being carried out in the city centre. htpxhu durhamgov ukpagee/senice aspx?Sericeid_8108 hpcountvdumampartnershp co ukPage:ISDP AlcoholendDnugs aspx httpxhcountvdumambestbamone co uklpagesINightSafelnitialives espX