One of the problems conservationists have is that proponents of damaging projects, such as major roads, will not take no for an answer. Thus it is with the so-called Western Orbital road, needed, some say, to cut traffic congestion in Birmingham and the Black Country by routing traffic to the west of the conurbation. This idea has been around for decades, being a priority in the early 90s, cancelled in 1996 and resurrected before being supposedly killed off in 2003. Now the Government’s regional transport body, Midlands Connect, has revived it yet again. They are seeking funding for a scoping study for a route from Bromsgrove to the M54.

Environmentally it would be a disaster. The countryside to the west of the A449 Kidderminster to Wolverhampton road, stretching away to the Severn Valley and the Welsh Marches, is one of the hidden gems of the English countryside, for people and for wildlife. Relatively quiet lanes and byways take you to places like Arley, Bewdley, the Wyre Forest, Highgate Common and Kinver Edge.

Compare and contrast this with the urban sprawl of dual carriageways and endless industrial and commercial estates to the east, between the conurbation and Cannock and Lichfield, fuelled by the building of the M6 toll road. The landscape and atmosphere could not be more different to the rural west. Building a western orbital route would produce the same effects, indeed in their proposal Midlands Connect say that this is the intention. They talk of creating 50,000 new jobs.

Another factor is what used to be Halfpenny Green, now Wolverhampton, Airport. When the new road was last proposed there was talk of increasing its capacity and use. The relative peace and tranquillity of the surrounding area would be destroyed if this was to happen.

And it’s not as if the road would achieve the stated objective of reducing traffic congestion. Supporters of such schemes seem not to have noticed that every new road produces new congestion. Martin Stride, speaking for Friends of the Earth in Birmingham said: ‘ This wasteful motorway will do nothing to solve traffic congestion and will cut a swathe of destruction through the countryside which will wreck large parts of the Green Belt. It is a complete dinosaur of a scheme whose time has come and gone. The plans should be consigned to the dustbin once and for all .’

Hear, hear.

Twitter: @PeteWestbrom