Top Tory: we "support the idea" of Northern Relief Link Road around Worcester

Councillor Ken Pollock, the Tory cabinet member in charge of infrastructure, has reignited the debate about completing the city's ring road by saying the leadership "support the idea" of making it happen.

But he also says it will have to wait beyond 2030 - and has warned it will "cost twice as much" as the £70 million bid to dual Carrington Bridge, if it ever gets off the ground.

Proposals for a northern link around Worcester emerged in 2010, when the council revealed drawings showing a new River Severn crossing near Bevere island.

Our image, pictured above, shows how a completed ring road around Worcester would look - a dramatic change to the city's infrastructure.

But the costs, estimated at well over £100 million at the time, as well as the controversy over ripping up land and existing buildings, led to County Hall focusing on other road improvements including the current £45 million dualling of most of the A4440, effectively abandoning the northern link project.

A vociferous campaign to get the northern link in place has only grown since then, both from frustrated commuters and County Hall's opposition Labour group.

Cllr Pollock was questioned about it during a full council meeting, where he was challenged to "offer some hope" to fed up drivers.

Councillor Richard Udall, who chairs the Labour group, told him people in the city want answers.

Councillor Pollock said: "You'll be aware we've applied for money to dual Carrington Bridge (a £70 million bid to the Government, see the bridge pictured below).

"In consequence, it's very difficult to imagine that we can give you a commitment that we'll go ahead with the northern link road, which will cost twice as much and involve an awful lot more work.

"A commitment from a council which has no money, saying 'we'll do it', is vacuous and not necessarily very helpful.

"Clearly we support the idea of completing the ring road at some stage in the future, but I think you'd have to say this would only occur post-2030."

Under the 2010 plans the northern link would have run from the A449 Claines roundabout to the A44 Crown East island.

But since then leading politicians have chosen to focus on the Southern Link Road, culminating in the current £70 million bid to dual Carrington Bridge, which the county council's own diagram shows below.

Documents published alongside the South Worcestershire Development Plan (SWDP), a document earmarking land across Worcester, Malvern and Wychavon for 28,370 homes by 2030, also say how planning officials do not envisage the need for a northern relief link road "in whole or part" by 2030 - something heavily disputed by critics.

Cllr Udall, who represents St John's on the county and city councils, said: "People are demanding it, people want it."

• Exclusive: No Northern Relief Link Road before 2030