LIBERAL DEMOCRATS have pledged to continue their fight against a Winterbourne bypass, despite £60,000 being ploughed into the scheme.

Since South Gloucestershire Council gave the green light for a study into the controversial road at its budget-setting meeting last week, opponents have been seeing red.

Conservatives have long called for the bypass, which would divert traffic from the west side of Junction 1 of the M32 to Winterbourne Road cutting out Hambrook altogether.

They were delighted when, on their second attempt and with a majority vote, they won support from the council for an independent study into the feasibility of the road.

Since the meeting, Tory transport spokesman Cllr Ian Smith has defended the project.

He said: "There is no other way that this study can be done except by the council and no-one else is looking at it.

"The quality of life of thousands of residents and motorists is at stake and £60,000 is a tiny but vital investment to give them the chance of the relief from congestion and pollution that these communities desperately need."

Lib Dems, however, are fiercely against the bypass and claim all three parties on the council were warned it would not help congestion in Winterbourne ahead of last week's meeting.

They claim the council's own director of transport Peter Jackson said traffic in the High Street and in Beacon Lane would increase if the bypass is built.

Cllr Dave Hockey told the Gazette: "This bypass will only help ease congestion in Stoke Gifford - it will suck much more traffic through Winterbourne and cause gridlock.

"To cap it all, £60,000 of council taxpayers' money is to be spent on a study for this scheme which could, if needed, have been paid for by developers at Harry Stoke."

Tories claim the study will prove the bypass is needed.

The study will now go ahead but Lib Dems will continue to fight against the road ever being built.