FOUR parishes are to join forces in a combined effort to highlight once again the urgent need for a bypass for villages on the A65.

Members of Hellifield, Long Preston, Coniston Cold and Gargrave parish councils have agreed to pool ideas about ways to press for the bypasses to be built.

All the councils are in the process of electing representatives to serve on the joint body, not yet named, which will focus on speeding up Government action.

This joint initiative is being co-ordinated by district councillor David Crawford, who represents the Hellifield ward.

He told the Herald: "By all the parish councils working together we thought there would be a better chance for us to put on the pressure than if we all worked individually."

He added that once the group was set up, it would look into the possibility of putting together a joint poster campaign.

This would be on the the same lines as the hard-hitting poster designed by residents in Coniston Cold which has been sent to senior Government officials and the Highways Agency to keep up the pressure.

The poster shows 28 pictures of accidents which have occurred in the village since 1970, and includes the seven people who have lost their lives on the A65 through the parish in 27 years.

Coun Crawford continued: "We are intending to keep the pressure up and we are all anxious to see the Government's transport white paper which was supposed to be out now, although this week I heard on the news that it was still 'imminent'."

He added: "If we don't put the pressure on nothing will happen and we will get fobbed off with traffic calming which is not what we want."

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