A CONSERVATION group is to pay for a study into controversial a new road that could be built to remove traffic from the centre of Durham.

The City of Durham Trust, which has already raised an objection to the idea, has hired consultants to produce a critique of the Northern Relief Road that would run from the A690 near Belmont to a point on the A691 near Aykley Heads or further down on Framwellgate Peth.

Although there are no formal proposals yet for the road it is being looked at as a possibility that could be combined with the city's second road toll scheme.

Durham County Council received money from the Government's Transport Innovation Fund to look at introducing more charging and building the new road.

Since the idea of a relief road surfaced more than two years ago a campaign called Save The Valley for Our City has been formed to fight it.

There are fears that attractive countryside on the edge of the city centre would be ruined and that the peaceful setting of Crookhall, the city's medieval manor house and gardens.

The trust, which comments on planning applications in the city, is also concerned about the threat to the area that is posed by the road.

The chairman of the trust, Dr Douglas Pocock, said: "Although the trust possesses professional experience to mount an environmental counter-argument, it is less competent regarding traffic and highway management.

"Trustees have therefore engaged an independent firm of consultants, Steer, Davies, Gleave, of London, to undertake an independent of the business plan of the county's highways department, when it is completed, and to submit to the Department of the Environment.'' Durham County Council has insisted the road is currently just a concept and that if proposals were drawn up there would have to be consultation and a business and environmental case would have to be made for the road.

However the recent 2020 Vision document, produced for the city and county councils and other organisations, mentions the road among a wishlist of projects.