THE fate of Stourport's long awaited relief road looks set to become entwined with the future of Kidderminster's British Sugar site, with the drafting of an area-wide transport blueprint set to go ahead.

Councillors at last night's environment scrutiny meeting of Wyre Forest District Council were asked to agree to work on an integrated transport strategy for the district.

They were also told that a relief road around Stourport would be needed if plans to regenerate the British Sugar site, in Stourport Road, were to become a reality. Both these issues, therefore, were likely to be inter-dependent major planks of any transport blueprint.

Nick Seddon, policy and strategy manager in environmental services at Worcestershire County Council, confirmed that an integrated transport strategy was the way forward if Stourport was to get its relief road.

He added any bid for central Government money for a major scheme needed to address not just benefits in terms of purely reducing congestion but also the wider economic, commercial and industrial benefits of a new road.

He pointed out, however, that any strategy addressing the transport impact of regeneration of the British Sugar site might end up recommending a major scheme within its own right - such as a Kidderminster by-pass. This would then be in competition with Stourport's relief road.

The county council had to decide from a number of major road schemes from across Worcestershire which one had the best chance of success in bidding for central Government cash, he said.

Mr Seddon confirmed that another serious contender for county council backing had come to the fore - a southern by-pass around Worcester to include a much-needed third bridge across the Severn.

Two schemes which had been in competition with Stourport for county council backing - a road system to support a new Worcester Parkway train station and a new road network in Redditch - had now found alternative funding and were out of the frame.