Crook'S £1.4m bypass looks likely to be given planning permission by Durham county councillors today.

The council says the road will help regenerate the west of Crook, open new development sites and provide traffic relief for local people and in the Market Place.

The bypass will run southwards from a new roundabout at West Road to Prospect Road, which will be widened.

A roundabout on New Road will replace the T-junction and there will be access to the Eclipse site, which be developed for housing and industry.

Officials say the bypass will also provide relief for houses along New Road and reduce traffic flows through the Market Place, which has been refurbished.

The scheme has attracted three objections from people at Howden-le-Wear, who say the bypass will funnel traffic through the village.

They say the village is already "dangerously congested" and should have its own bypass.

But a report to the council's planning committee by head of planning John Suckling said: "The proposed bypass would not generate significant additional traffic".

The report states that although a proposed Howden-le-Wear bypass route has been identified in the Wear Valley Local Plan, the council has no plans for a new road there in the next four years.

"The possibility of a bypass at Howden-le-Wear would be subject to an appraisal process later in 2002 with other schemes," he said.

"It has been agreed that traffic surveys would be carried out in the village, both before and after the provision of the Crook bypass, with a view to addressing any traffic issues that are identified."

Mr Suckling's report says that the Crook bypass will have some impact on the appearance of open countryside and amenities in the area.

But it would bring "wider community and economic benefits", including the removal of heavy traffic from local roads