THE trust restoring Gayle Mill has assured residents that their village will not be deluged by visitors' cars.

The pledge came as Hawes and High Abbotside Parish Council and the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority pressed the North-East Civic Trust for a meeting about parking.

The trust, which owns the 18th century building, says it is willing to meet the parish council, but wants to complete its own survey of residents first.

The parish council claims that increased visitor number estimates, which have risen from about 40 a day when the plans were submitted to a maximum of 250 per day, threaten to swamp Gayle with cars.

Coun John Blackie, parish council chairman, said: "My personal support for the Gayle Mill restoration project is complete and wholehearted and those people in the village who have contacted me, and the parish council, are also very supportive.

"However, that support was based on what the North-East Civic Trust said at the very beginning - that the restoration was primarily to recreate a small working saw mill, with training and local people manufacturing and selling local products. Very much secondary, it was to be a managed visitor attraction and the people of Gayle were happy with that."

Coun Blackie's request for an early meeting with the trust was backed by national park officials.

The only two parking spaces available at the mill, are earmarked for staff, and other workers, trainees and visitors must park elsewhere.

Martin Glynn, of the Gayle Mill Trust, which leads the project, said the best time to meet the parish council was after its own survey was complete and results collated.

"Once that has happened, we can go along with verified information to hand and we can talk on the basis of fact," he said.

The survey, due for completion next week, would be verified by independent consultants, who would check with a random sample of interviewees that their views had been properly represented. Comments from local businesses and other organisations would also be sought.

"All visitors to the mill will have to pre-book and will be told to park in Hawes," said Mr Glynn. "All visits will be timed and we only stated a maximum of 250 visitors a day to cover the very busiest days of the season, such as August bank holiday.

"Most people who visit the mill will be people who were going to Hawes anyway and have decided to visit the mill while they are there."

The trust was looking at providing transport from Hawes to the mill for the timed visits. Visitors who just turned up would not be admitted and stewards would ensure traffic and visitor flow were managed.

"The Gayle Mill trustees are keen to ensure that the re-opening of the site does not have an adverse impact on the residents of Gayle, while at the same time being mindful that the mill needs to function as an economically viable building in order to sustain the re-opening plans into the future," he added.

The project attracted funding from Europe and from Yorkshire Forward and featured last year on the BBC television Restoration programme. Work began last autumn and the first phase is due for completion within the next few weeks