VILLAGERS have vowed to fight on after councillors backed plans for traffic lights on a busy road - despite their objections.

Durham County Council's highways committee yesterday gave its support for the junction on the A690 Durham to Sunderland road at Rainton Gate, West Rainton.

Residents say the junction, which will connect to a planned executive housing estate, will be dangerous, and that an under or overpass should be built instead.

Fifteen of the committee's 30 members visited the site and approved officials' recommendation to back the scheme by 11 votes to three.

Villagers plan to lobby Durham City Council, urging it not to give planning permission for the 193 homes and the junction.

Lesley King, of the West Rainton Parish Housing Action Group, said: "It is outrageous that out of 30 councillors on the committee, 11 said yes to the scheme and it won approval. Is that democratic?

"We wrote to all the councillors so they knew the strength of feeling. Why didn't the others turn up for the site visit?

"When you are elected as a councillor it comes with the job. The city council has to consider other issues. The highways committee was only considering the traffic lights.

"We will campaign for the city council to turn it down."

A "graded" junction was stipulated by the planning inspector who approved a smaller housing development on the site in 1991.

But developers Bryant Homes and Wimpey Homes are willing to install a traffic light junction, make other improvements to the road, and pay £500,000 towards a planned rail/road interchange at Carrville.

Head of highways Roger Elphick said there had been fewer accidents on the road thanks to a 50mph limit and occasional speed camera monitoring.

The proposed improvements would make the road safer still.

Local councillor Ron Morrissey questioned why the council had rejected requests for traffic lights at the site until recently.

He said: "It is unheard of for an authority to turn down an inspector's finding that offers you a superior solution, and to then put in an inferior one.

"We are rolling over like a pet poodle if we accept this proposal."