CAMPAIGNERS hoping for road improvements in Hospital Street have been boosted by a council decision to consider including their proposals in their next Local Transport Plan.

The local joint highways committee agreed on Monday to feed the Hospital Street Association's plans into the consultation process for the Local Transport Plan 2006-11.

The association has been lobbying Cheshire County Council to improve the east end of Hospital Street, where traffic flows in both directions.

Campaigners believe traffic conditions are dangerous and make life environmentally and socially intolerable for residents.

They are proposing a number of measures to improve conditions, including restricting the weight of vehicles that can use the road, reducing the speed limit to 20mph and installing pedestrian crossings.

The association handed a 1,000-name petition to the council two years ago, and a second petition signed by more than 800 people last month.

Anthony Blacklay, the association's chairman, said: "Although it's good news that they are considering our proposals as part of the Local Transport Plan, there is still a lot of work to be done.

"We deliberately focused on local residents only with the second petition, and I'm not aware that anyone refused to sign it.

"That shows the level of support we have.

"There is a new county engineer being appointed, and we'll now be looking to arrange a meeting with him in the next couple of weeks."

The association believes the narrowness of the street's pavements and the size of vehicles using the road make it unsafe for residents to step out of their homes.

Protesters claim around 10,000 vehicles a day pass within 1.2 metres of some front doors, and say noise, vibrations and pollution from heavy goods vehicles makes living conditions intolerable.

A report to the committee by acting county engineer Brian Coppins said: "It is county officers' opinion that the issues raised by the association must be considered in and alongside the traffic issues affecting Nantwich as a whole.

He recommended that proposals for highway improvements in Hospital Street should be included in the consultation process for the next Local Transport Plan.