A NORTH Yorkshire village councillor is sending a protest to Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott after a Government inspector overturned a planning decision not to allow housing near a road's sharp bend.

Councillor Mike Bury, who represents Killinghall on Harrogate Borough Council, said the decision had infuriated residents and gone against protests by the parish and borough council to oppose development on the grounds of its impact on A61 traffic on Ripon Road, particularly from the Ripley direction, where there is a bend. The road carries almost 22,000 vehicles a day through the village.

Coun Bury said the decision had brought a furious reaction because the driveway was near what he described as an extremely dangerous bend.

Coun Bury said: "I have used that entrance myself and when you leave it is like coming out of a starting gate because of the nearby bend and speed of traffic."

Developers CK Batchelor successfully appealed against the council's decision to refuse permission to build two detached bungalows, garaging and parking on the site of one bungalow with access at Springfield.

The borough council did not object in principle to building the two bungalows to replace a single one. But a public inquiry inspector said the main issue was the impact on safety and free flow of traffic on Ripon Road.

"To my mind the character is clearly that of a built-up area rather than of an open road. Motorists should, therefore, have every reason to expect turning or stopping movements," he said.