A road blockade is to be lifted after months of arguments about safety and congestion.

Gypsy Lane, in Nunthorpe, was closed last December, following concerns that it was used as a rat-run between Dixon's Bank and Ormesby Bank.

While residents of Gypsy Lane welcomed the road closure, other people in Nunthorpe claimed the problems were simply moved to other areas.

Yesterday, it was announced that, following discussions between Middlesbrough and Redcar and Cleveland councils, the road would be reopened and traffic calming measures put in place.

Nunthorpe is on the border between the authorities and councillors had been criticised for not working together to find a solution to the problem.

Redcar and Cleveland Borough councillor Sylvia Szintai said: "I am pleased our talks with Middlesbrough have been positive and produced a way forward that should please the whole of Nunthorpe, both Redcar and Cleveland and Middlesbrough residents.

"The findings from the first six months of the closure show that is has been partially successful, but we have also been told that The Avenue has suffered from extra traffic."

The proposed traffic calming measures on Gypsy Lane and The Avenue will be funded by both local authorities.

Money earmarked by Middlesbrough Borough Council for a consultation into the Gypsy Lane closure could be switched to the new project and Redcar and Cleveland council will finance the work from its highways maintenance budget.

Coun Szintia said: "We hope that, within the next six months, we will be able to implement the traffic calming in Gypsy Lane and the road will be reopened."

Although Gypsy Lane has only been closed for six months, opinions on what to do with it have been divided as far back as November 1991.

A questionnaire sent to residents then showed the majority of people in the Redcar and Cleveland area of Nunthorpe wanted it closed, while most of those in the Middlesbrough area wanted it to stay open.

More recently, MP Ashok Kumar handed a petition of 1,500 signatures to the councils concerned about the closure, while an opposing petition showed that 97 per cent of Gypsy Lane residents were in favour of the road staying shut.

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