VILLAGERS will be given their first glimpse of a long awaited £5m bypass at a public exhibition next week.

Residents have fought a long battle for much-needed traffic relief in West Auckland but up until two years ago they were told there was no funding.

But an announcement in 2000 by Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott that the Government was setting aside £180bn for transport, paved the way for Durham County Council to approve the scheme.

District councillor for West Auckland John Ferguson said he was delighted that the bypass was finally being built.

He said: "This is something that the residents and councillors, including myself, have been fighting for for years.''

Funding for the project has come from Durham County Council's Local Transport Plan. Stage one of the scheme, which is west of Fylands and south of the St Helen Industrial Estate, was completed in 1998.

Subject to statutory approvals, comments from local residents, landowners and occupiers, work on the new bypass should start at the end of 2003 or at the beginning of 2004. Completion could take up to a year.

The 1.5-mile route will link the first stage of the bypass just west of Fylands with the A688 in Staindrop Road, on the south-western outskirts of West Auckland.

The detailed plans are going on display at the public exhibition at St Helen's Church, Manor Road, St Helen, Auckland, from next Monday until Friday, May 31.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, May 28 and 29, it will be moved to the adjoining parish centre and county council officials will be on hand between 2pm and 8pm to answer any questions.

Coun Ferguson said that although he is pleased about the plans he has concerns about traffic building up along Staindrop Road and Chapel Street and would like to see an extension that would include Spring Gardens Bridge, near Toft Hill.

About 2,500 homes have received detailed leaflets and questionnaires.

Chris Tunstall, the county council's director of environment and technical services, said: "The questionnaire gives people a real chance to have their say and ideally we want to be swamped with them so we can gauge as wide an opinion as possible."