HOPES of securing an early start date for the High and LowNewton bypass hinge on how much support it gets from local authorities inthe North West.

Junior transport minister Glenda Jackson said theNorth West region - which also includes Lancashire, Cheshire, GreaterManchester and Merseyside - must set its future transport priorities,including road schemes.

And she said in the long-term, the nationneeded to move away from the previous "predict and provide" road buildingpolicy, and instead make best use of the existing transportinfrastructure.

Speaking after a meeting in Kendal to discuss transport matters with councils from across the region, she said the North Westmust draw up a regional transport plan, which would include possible roadimprovements.

The High and Low Newton bypass must now be scrutinisedby a regional planning conference, after failing to get funding in thegovernment's recent road building programme review.

Campaigners saya bypass would bring economic, road safety and environmental benefits, andit would mean the A590 trunk road, linking Barrow to the M6, no longerpassed through a farm yard.

The need for a bypass was raised byCumbria County Council representatives at Tuesday's meeting. Coun AlfHorne, vice chairman of the county's economy and environment committee,said the minister was "not unsympathetic" to their case, adding: "Sheunderstood the plight of places like Barrow, which have high unemploymentand deprivation."

The minister also defended the government's planto detrunk several roads in Cumbria, including the A65 and A595. The movemeans future maintenance and improvement work will be carried out byCumbria County Council, rather than the government's HighwaysAgency.

She said local authorities had proposed detrunking in thepast, and she denied that the government was abdicating itsresponsibilities. "Detrunking is not demoting, nor is it a way of avoidingthe financial requirements of maintaining the whole life of suchroads."

The minister said she understood the concerns of peopleliving in remote areas who relied on good roads, and the government hadset aside £50 million this year for better bus services in rural areas.

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