HOPES of progress towards a bypass for villages along the A56 have been set back at the first hurdle.

A report from a working group of county councillors looking at major transport schemes has decided to recommend that the Pendle project takes second place to a bypass at Ormskirk.

West Craven County Councillor David Whipp said he was disappointed by the turn of events.

He said: "Up to now, a bypass for the A56 communities has been in joint second place behind the stalled Lancaster scheme. If this decision sticks, our project will be in limbo.

"At the working group, none of the Conservative councillors supported our bypass as the top priority and only one Labour member supported my Colne colleague, Alan Davies, in putting it in first place. The odds are stacked against us, but this is only the first part of the decision-making process. We will beaver away to get a better result." The working group's report is to be considered by one of the county council's scrutiny committees before being put before the authority's cabinet.

Nelson County Councillor Colin Waite, said: "All the schemes we looked at had the potential to have a positive impact on travel in Lancashire and so deciding on a priority order was very tough. In an ideal world we would be able to fund all the schemes on our list, but the amount of money for major schemes is limited so we have to choose carefully to get the best possible value for money."

The priority list for highway schemes is The Heysham -- M6 Link, the only major scheme bid in the current Local Transport Plan and remains the county council's top priority highway scheme, followed by the A570 Ormskirk Bypass then the A56 Villages Bypass and, lastly, the A59 Penwortham Bypass Completion and Improvement.