THOUSANDS of pounds will be spent on finding out the cost of a new road in Botley.

Eastleigh Borough Council has approved plans to carry out an “engineering and feasibility study” for a bypass for the village, even though transport bosses at Hampshire County Council have ruled it out for the next 20 years.

Eastleigh Borough Council’s leader Cllr Keith House says that the study would cost about £50,000, but that it was important to go to Hampshire County Council with evidence showing how necessary the road is to alleviate traffic and air quality problems.

It had been promised that a proposed development at nearby Boorley Green would help fund the new road – and building would not go ahead without a commitment to construct the bypass.

The site and bypass proposals appeared in Eastleigh Borough Council’s Draft Local Plan, which was discussed at a recent Cabinet meeting.

Council members have now agreed that the dependency of the development at Boorley Green on the bypass should be removed from the plan.

The Cabinet also approved a host of other changes, including increasing the size of development at Pylands Lane, Bursledon, and creating more employment space around the borough.