A PETITION against the building of two relief roads has been handed in to a North-East authority.

More than 900 people had signed the petition against a northern and western relief road for Durham City.

Both roads have been included as part of the County Durham Plan, which is being produced by Durham County Council to guide development until 2035.

The council says the roads will reduce congestion and pollution by removing vehicles from the city centre, allowing it to introduce new bus lanes and improving the city for cyclists and pedestrians.

But that has been disputed by campaigners.

Jonathan Elmer, chairman of Durham Road Block, set up to fight the relief roads, said: “It’s been sold on the idea it will reduce congestion and air pollution. It’s simply misinformation. When you look across the North-East, you see bypasses attract traffic. A big concern is they also create huge pressure for more development and you’re back to square one.”

Protestors are campaigning to save a number of natural environments which would be affected by the roads, including Low Newton Nature Reserve, Kepier Woods and Frankland Woods, as well as the site of the Battle of Neville’s Cross.

Michael Watson, chair of the Friends of the Wear Gorge, said: "It's beautiful countryside through Kepier and Frankland Woods and Low Newton Nature Reserve.

"We don't think the roads are needed. We think to save a few minutes of time it's terrible to destroy lots of woodland."

Stuart Timmiss, the council’s head of planning, says the relief roads will reduce traffic in the city centre and will create opportunities to increase sustainable travel options, including more bus and cycle lanes.

He said: “While car use is expected to grow in line with an increasing population, The evidence shows that the approach outlined in the plan would not increase the capacity of the road network and would not result in an increase to the number of cars on the road.”

People can make comments on the pre-submission draft of the plan until Friday.