HIGHWAYS officials came under fire today for dashing villagers' hopes of relief from heavy lorries.

North Yorkshire County Council officers did a survey at Settrington, near Malton, in September on heavy vehicles using Back Lane and Chapel Road.

It followed concern from the parish council and the governors of Settrington Primary School about traffic volumes in the village, particularly heavy vehicles.

The officials found 42 large vehicles using Back Lane each day, of which 32 were on through trips. There were 46 in Chapel Road, of which 31 were through trips.

But a report to a meeting of the council's local area highways sub-committee on Tuesday says putting a weight restriction through the village would mean 31 of the vehicles diverting along the A64, and the B1248 Scarborough Road, Mill Street and Beverley Road, Norton. The extra distance was 6km.

It adds: "Given the low volumes of HGVs involved, the extra distance which would need to be travelled and the resultant extra heavy traffic using the B1248, particularly Mill Street, through Norton, it is recommended that no further action be taken with regard to imposing a weight restriction through Settrington."

It said the parish council was seeking "third party funding" for traffic calming measures near the school.

But local Ryedale councillor Mary Wilkinson called the recommendation "disgusting" and vowed to oppose it. She said the figures were high for a small village with narrow roads, and there was a particular danger at the junction of Chapel Road outside the school.

She claimed the village was being used as a short cut between the A64 and the B1248 Beverley Road. Some heavy traffic was locally generated, but much would be removed by a weight restriction.

"They must get their finger out," she said. "Unless something is done we are going to have the traffic continually increasing."

The chairman of the school governors, Keith Mitchelmore, said they were keen to have traffic calming near the school. A car had run into its railings about a year ago and they feared there was "an accident waiting to happen".

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