HUNDREDS of angry New Forest residents met last night to unite in their fight against bypass proposals for their village.

More than 250 Lyndhurst residents attended an emergency meeting to agree how their views should be represented when the controversial proposals reach the county council's table on Monday.

Hampshire County Council's Cabinet will consider two proposals designed to take traffic away from the village centre - one to the east and one to the west.

Five former suggested routes have been whittled down and amended following consideration by independent consultants Mott MacDonald and the county's environment and transport select committee. Lyndhurst Parish Council's suggestion of an eastern bypass with a tunnel under Bolton's Bench has been dismissed on ecological grounds.

Hundreds of residents at the meeting, staged by the Lynd-hurst, Emery Down and Bank Residents' Association, were unanimous in their opposition to both routes, and still supportive of the rejected parish council proposal for an outer bypass.

Tony Herbert, residents' association chairman, told the meeting: "We are strongly opposed to an inner route, eastern or western. This is not just a case of nimbyism, but is based on our view that the proposed route will involve its own environmental damage, create planning blight for many homes over many years, and fundamentally will not work."

The top choice being recommended for Cabinet approval is an eastern inner link road, leaving the A337 north of Racecourse View, then joining the A35 opposite Bolton's Bench.

The second suggestion is a western link road leaving the A337 further north of Lyndhurst and joining the A35 Bournemouth Road near its junction with Chapel Lane.

District councillor Pat Wyeth said: "Each suggestion will impact on somebody. The time has come for the village to say we don't want any of these suggestions'. If we cannot have the outer bypass, we will retain the status quo."

If the Cabinet supports any suggestions, it will bid for funding from the South East Regional Transport Board.

Read the reports in full

  • Click HERE for
    Summary of recommendations for the Cabinet to approve:

  • Click HERE for
    Lyndhurst Bypass Scrutiny Committee Review findings:

  • Click HERE for
    Report by independent consultants Mott MacDonald:

  • Click HERE for
    Report by Hampshire County Council director of environment Stuart Jarvis: (last 2 pages of this include graphics of favoured routes)

  • Click HERE for
    Overview report by HCC environment department: