COUNTRYSIDE guardian, the National Trust is to fight town hall proposals for a new road.

A bypass being considered by Middlesbrough Borough Council would plough through Trust land on the edge of former stately home, Ormesby Hall, Ormesby, Middlesbrough, which the watchdog owns.

"The hall was given to the National Trust to preserve the green areas around the hall and we will do everything we can to protect them,'' said estates manager Stephen Cornford.

"It would pass through some environmentally sensitive areas and would spoil land for a fairly limited benefit.''

He said: "I had a meeting with the council's consultants in Leeds because of this to express our concerns as part of the consultation process.

"It is a fairly narrow strip. We let it off to an agricultural tenancy, we don't manage it ourselves, but it is more the intrusion to the landscape that concerns us."

Councillor David Walsh, leader of Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council said a road solution to current traffic congestion problems "is still redolent of the 1970s."

The Government has commissioned a study into light rail transit as a jam-busting option across Britain and the first findings are expected to be published by Christmas.

Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council says a light rail system would be a better option than a bypass.

Coun Walsh believes a proposal for a bypass would not get beyond a planning stage because of the threat it would pose to greenfield areas.

Mr Cornford said: "The light rail transit option would be much better and more modern.''

Councillor Ken Walker, leader of Middlesbrough council said while light rail has a potential in longer term transport plans for the area, a bypass offers a "here and now" solution.

He said: "We believe that it would be welcomed by the vast majority of residents not only in Middlesbrough, but also in Redcar and Cleveland, many of whom, of course, travel into the centre of the conurbation for work and are affected by the inadequacies of the present road network."

Representatives from both councils met to iron out their different approaches to the problem. Redcar and Cleveland council described the joint talks as "constructive".