A VILLAGE'S long-awaited bypass, designed to reduce congestion on the former Great North Road, has won planning approval.
Durham County Council plans to start work on the £8m route, which has been called for since 1939, at Chilton, near Ferryhill, next summer.
The 2.2km stretch of road, from south of West Close to the Rushyford roundabout is intended to take traffic on the A167 out of the centre of the village.
But it will entail the demolition of 14 houses in West Chilton Terrace and the removal of pitches in the Miners Welfare Recreation Ground and a number of allotments.
The planning committee was told the sports pitches and allotments would be replaced, and that the bypass would reduce noise levels for most residents.
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