Road network set for £56m improvements

However, even if the Government approves this sum it would not be in place until at least 2011.

Wyre Forest district councillor June Salter has been pushing for improvements and a relief road for a number of years. She has mixed views about the funding.

She said: "I couldn't be more delighted but then I will believe it when I see it."

In 2004, there was fury in the town when plans for a relief road to ease congestion were scuppered because of a lack of Government money.

Coun Salter added: "I have lived in this town for 42 years and we have been talking about the relief road for that time. The traffic has got so bad that you only need to have a minor accident and there is gridlock."

The £56m is part of a £784m wish list drawn up by local authorities in the West Midlands highlighting the projects they want to fund.

Paul Jameson, Worcestershire County Council's head of highways, said: "We have often reiterated that relief of congestion in Stourport is one of our priorities and it would seem that the West Midlands Regional Assembly and Advantage West Midlands have got the message.

"It's good news to see the inclusion of the road improvements in the submission to Government."

BID FOR BILLIONS IS CRITICISED

A BID of more than three quarters of a billion pounds to improve transport in the West Midlands has drawn criticism from the environmental transport campaign group Transport 2000.

The group says that not enough is going to be spent on improving public transport.

About 51 per cent of the £784.110m bid from Government is proposed to be spent on roads and 31 per cent on public transport.

Gordon Selway, regional spokesman for Transport 2000, said: "We are not getting the money spent on the kind of transport service that people want. We have to make sure Worcester's public transport is working properly and is integrated - that the buses and trains work together.

"Congestion between Malvern and Worcester needs to be tackled, as does the A4440."