RESIDENTS are attending a meeting tonight to block plans drawn up to solve traffic problems.

Traffic heading to and from units and offices on the Gallowfields estate, in Richmond, are supposed to use Gallowgate and Green Howards Road.

But many drivers use Quarry Road to miss the worst of the town centre traffic, prompting complaints from people with homes on the steeply sloping street.

North Yorkshire County Council has already rejected the idea of a barrier which could only be operated by drivers with smart cards.

Alternatives have been put out to consultation and will be submitted when the authority's Richmondshire Area Committee meets at Middleham's Key Centre at 6pm this evening.

However, the suggested solutions have angered people with homes on Sycamore Avenue and Maple Road, who say they will end up with extra traffic.

The plan includes a north-bound one-way section of Quarry Road between Hurgill Road and Gallowfields Road, and speed humps on Sycamore Avenue and Maple Road.

Maple Road resident Stan Mason said he feared the plan will mean that Quarry Road's problems are moved elsewhere. He and nine other people have submitted questions which they want to raise at tonight's committee meeting.

He said: "We are worried we are going to be presented with a done deal. There are 19 properties on Quarry Road, far fewer than on Sycamore Avenue and Maple Road, but we could end up with their problem just because they have complained.

"I certainly was not consulted directly about these proposals, which will be discussed at a meeting in Middleham, 15 miles from Richmond, but I think our views should be heard by the county council.

"We are hoping we will be given the opportunity to have our say before the committee agrees on anything.''