A CONTROVERSIAL traffic experiment has taken a step closer to becoming permanent.

And there is hope for traders who claim it is robbing them of their livelihoods.

At a meeting last Friday, board members of the Middlesbrough Town Centre Company agreed that Newport and Corporation Roads should be kept traffic free.

They feel the experiment is proving successful in creating a safer, more pleasant environment and helping towards the town centre's regeneration.

Their recommendation will now go forward to Middlesbrough Borough Council, which will take a final decision on Tuesday.

A spokeswoman for the Town Centre Company said the board is offering an olive branch to traders.

She said: "It promised additional support and grants to improve properties for some traders in secondary areas of the town centre who believed their businesses may have been adversely affected by the scheme."

To improve matters, the Town Centre Company is planning improvements to the Hartington Road and Wilson Street junctions, beginning this summer.

The spokeswoman said there is also good news for bus passengers, who complain that the withdrawal of services from the bus station has made travelling difficult.

Arriva has pledged to return six of the nine services it originally withdrew from the bus station subject to "satisfactory time trials" based on the new improvements.

"In making its recommendation, the board fully acknowledged concerns which had emerged during the six month pilot scheme and the extensive public consultation which followed," she said.