A MAJOR consultation is being launched to create a transport strategy for Stokesley and Great Ayton.

Residents and businesses in the area are being asked their views on how North Yorkshire County Council should manage traffic and transport in the future.

The consultation is a key element of the process that will produce a service centre transport strategy.

The council has started working with a wide range of local organisations to identify the best way forward over the next five years.

People will be asked about all modes of travel, including walking, cycling, bus and rail travel, taxis and private cars, as well as commercial vehicle issues, car parking, road safety and congestion.

They will also be asked about any lack of facilities and access to community transport.

The county council is particularly interested in finding out how it can improve accessibility for people who do not have private transport.

The aim is to develop the strategy through consultation with local people and services users, to meet the needs of the people in the area.

Feedback from the consultation will influence the council's programme of schemes to be implemented over the next five years.

As part of the consultation, a survey is to be posted to about 10 per cent of the residential and business addresses in the area, asking people about their specific traffic and transport problems and needs.

Councillor Peter Sowray, the executive member for business and environmental services, said: "I am anxious to stress just how much the community's views count.

"If you're local to Stokesley, Great Ayton or the surrounding rural area, this is a tremendous opportunity to have your say in the future management of traffic and the provision of transport in your area."

Further meetings with representatives of local communities, businesses and other organisations will take place in the summer to seek a range of solutions to issues highlighted by the survey.

In the autumn, an exhibition will take place in Stokesley and several other centres for people to view the plans and comment on them.

Leaflets describing the options for traffic and transport in Stokesley, Great Ayton and the surrounding areas, together with questionnaires for the public to fill in, will be delivered to all properties in the area and will be available at the exhibition.