CAMPAIGNERS against plans to build a bypass to the A1(M) that could follow a route through their villages have warned against Darlington becoming a “large housing estate”.

An emergency meeting was held by villagers living on the outskirts of Darlington on Wednesday night after proposals were revealed by the Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA) to connect the A66 to the motorway via a bypass around the north-eastern edge of town.

More than 100 passionate campaigners attended the meeting to express their feelings about the plans, after residents had claimed they were yet to be consulted.

The plans outline two routes of the Darlington bypass that would both lead from the A66 roundabout with the A1150 at Little Burdon to junction 59 on the A1(M).

Route A, which affects Brafferton, and route B, which affects Barmpton village, Beaumont Hill and Coatham Mundeville would bypass the A1150 Whinfield Road and the A167 that currently link the two major highways.

Some suggested the proposals, unveiled by the Tees Valley Combined Authority last week, involved the “wrong junction” – claiming junction 57 on to the A689 should have been used rather than the suggested junction 59.

Bill Wood, chair of Brafferton Parish, said there was a feeling that the whole thing was a “foregone conclusion for all the wrong reasons”.

“The residents felt there was a better way for improving the roads than simply constructing a dual carriageway.

“There is real feeling that Darlington is changing from a small country town into a large housing estate.

“No one in the area was consulted – not even the farmers who are going to be badly affected.

"The residents felt that they know the area best, they go to work on the roads every day they should have been consulted," he added.

Blueprints for two potential routes have been outlined by TVCA and Tees Valley Mayor Ben H as part of its ambitions to improve transport links across the region with a Darlington bypass, a new crossing over the River Tees and extra lanes added to sections of the A66.

However, the plans - which are subject to Government funding - have already attracted criticism from those living in the communities that would border the potential bypass designed to divert HGVs away from built-up neighbourhoods in Darlington.