Plan for M6 cost at £76m per mile

Campaigners battling to stop plans to widen the M6 through Staffordshire have revealed the scheme could cost £76 million a mile, and they believe the Government is getting cold feet.

John Gale, Stafford branch spokesman of Game, the Group Against Motorway Expansion, said local MP David Kidney has told some constituents he believes the cost of the project has now risen to a staggering £3.9 billion.

This is up from the projected £2.9 billion of 2006 and there are other signs that the Highways Agency s looking at alternative methods of solving the transport problems.

Mr Gale said supporters of Game sent more than 3,000 cards opposing the widening to the Highways Agency.

"Responses from the Highways Agency reveal that the ministers have received only 176 postcards in favour," he added.

"We want more postcards to go to the four ministers to show that M6 widening would harm our health and our countryside as well as contributing to global warming, and all at enormous financial cost."

He said the success of the postcard campaign followed a similar campaign in 2004 when 98 per cent of 8,000 letters to the Goverment opposed a plan for a new expressway to run parallel to the M6.