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A Lancaster and Morecambe based group, which includes ASLEF members, is campaigning against the construction of the multi-million pound Heysham-M6 Link Road, which is designed to link Lancaster and Morecambe and to aid the growth of the port of Heysham.
Morecambe's Labour MP Geraldine Smith is also a veteran of the campaign because, as she told the Journal: 'It won't solve the congestion in Lancaster and it won't bring the much-needed economic benefits.'
Ms Smith is not opposed to a new road in principle but is convinced that Lancashire County Council is proposing the wrong route.
'We really need improved public transport and, in particular, better train services between Morecambe and Lancaster. At the moment, the line has around one train an hour whereas we really need one every 15 minutes - even every half an hour would be an improvement' she said.
Since the county council is the planning authority as well as the
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promoter of the new plan, it is very likely that planning permission will be granted but the MP has vowed to press for a public inquiry.
The local campaigning group, Transport Solutions for Lancaster and Morecambe, says the new road will destroy 70 hectares of green belt land affect two county biological heritage sites; it will also destroy 11 kilometres of hedgerows and cause considerable light pollution.
The county council's own figures show the new road would make no difference, even in the short term, to the congestion in Lancaster itself. The same figures demonstrate that, while on some roads congestion may fall in the short term, in the longer term it will increase.
As David Gate, the chairman of TSLM, points out, the fact that the road is designed to boost Heysham port will itself mean that more HGVs will clog up the roads in the area'.
Incredibly, the local Heysham railway does not carry freight although, with some investment, it could be used to service the port.
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