AN EIGHT-WHEEL tractor blocked half a North Yorkshire village road in a protest against plans to narrow it.

Farmer Charles Mills parked the 3.9 metres wide vehicle in Main Street, Appleton Roebuck, as members of a Selby District Council planning sub-committee toured the area.

An application has been made to build two homes behind Woodview, in Main Street.

But it would include a private drive linking with Main Street, which would have to be narrowed to achieve the necessary visibility from the driveway.

That would mean reducing the width of the street by 70 centimetres.

The tractor was placed there to show the difficulties that narrowing the road would cause for village traffic.

The sub-committee was met by about 40 villagers eager to block any plan to narrow the street.

Mr Mills, whose family has run village-based HW Mills and Partners for 50 years, said: "I'm not against development, but this is an agricultural area and I use vehicles like this, and wider, quite often.

"I am concerned that if the road was any narrower then we couldn't get them down here, which would effectively mean we couldn't get to our land."

He said the village was also used by coaches and agricultural trucks, which would find movement difficult if the street was narrowed.

Selby District Council has received 90 letters objecting to the plans, which represents nearly 50 per cent of the village, said one opponent, the Rev John Roden.

He said: "Narrowing Main Street would increase the risk of accidents, and we urge the committee to take serious note of the concerns and issues raised. Democracy should take precedence over money."

The planning committee will discuss the application, made by Wrigley Property Development, on Wednesday.

Officers have recommend that it be accepted.

Updated: 11:08 Saturday, December 15, 2001