RESIDENTS have welcomed efforts by highway chiefs to stop their village being used as a rat run.

Villagers from Tunstall, near Catterick Garrison, have held a further meeting with representatives from the Highways Agency and North Yorkshire County Council to address fears that the upgrade of the A1 from Leeming to Barton will increase the number of motorists using their village as a shortcut to the garrison town.

Residents packed into the village hall to hear what work had been done after villagers demanded action to tackle the problem at a meeting in August.

The meeting was told that the Highways Agency had assessed about 20 different options to reduce traffic using the village as a rat run.

At the August meeting residents criticised plans for a straight road to be built linking Tunstall Road with Marne Barracks, in Catterick Village, where it was suggested many drivers passing through the village were heading to and from.

Martin Richardson, vice chairman of Tunstall Parish Council, said: “We discussed their best option for us which was agreed by North Yorkshire County Council and does have a new bridge, but also a t-junction like the present arrangement.

“There will also be signs to try and discourage the boy racers and those that want to avoid the traffic jams on the A6136.”

A number of villagers asked whether traffic lights could be installed at the bridge at the bottom of Tunstall.

“The current chicane arrangement does not work well and relies on drivers taking time and being polite,” Mr Richardson said, adding that county council did not seem hopeful that they would have funds for this work.

The meeting was told that the most up-to-date traffic figures were not available.

Mr Richardson said villagers were disappointed that the county council would not consider improving the A6136 through Catterick Garrison, which residents say gets congested and encourages drivers to seek alternative routes.

“Our view is that it is the inadequacy of the A6136 to serve the largest military garrison in Europe that is the cause of our problems in Tunstall.

“Nobody is taking account of the bigger picture of 330 new military homes and the district council plan to build 180 homes a year as well as the cinema, restaurant, hotel and retail units development opposite Tesco.”

Mr Richardson added: “Overall we felt that the Highways Agency had made a big effort to meet our objections but we need to have further meetings with the right people from the county council to try and get some further work done on the A6136.”