SUPPORTERS of the Western Bypass fear that Lancashire County Council's latest consultancy is ignoring people in Morecambe and Heysham.

MP Geraldine Smith fears that officers, who have supported the Northern Route in the past, are pushing the consultation in areas where opposition to the Western Bypass route is strong, while forms are not being delivered in areas of strong support for the road.

Her fears have been echoed by Lancaster City Council leader, Cllr Tricia Heath.

The county council has responded by extending the consultation until September 10 and pledging to deliver the leaflets itself. They will also hold extra consultation sessions.

Ms Smith said: "There are huge areas of Heysham and Morecambe where people have not received their consultation forms. These are areas where support for the Western Bypass is extremely strong.

"I have had people in the last few days visiting my office to ask for forms. Fortunately, I collected a few and have been able to give them out. I spoke to a county officer who said himself that the process has been 'deeply flawed.'

"they told me that it was down to the distribution company and they would quibble with the bill in the end. Why aren't they getting on to the company now? This is public money they are spending, why aren't they taking action?

"Why are there two roadshows in the centre of Lancaster, while the one in Morecambe is at the Platform?

"Tourists go to the Platform, ordinary residents don't. Why don't they go to the Arndale Centre? There are plenty of empty shops in Morecambe town centre, why couldn't they take one of them?

"Obviously,. if you want to find opposition to the Western bypass, you will go to the greener areas of Lancaster.

"Either the county officers are totally stupid and don't know where people in Morecambe go, which I don't think is the case, or they have some other agenda. I'm not saying that the officers are trying to affect the result, but I do find it suspicious that the areas where people generally support the Western Bypass are not being given a fair shout."

Cllr Heath said: "They can't call it a consultation if a large number of people in Morecambe haven't had the forms, or been consulted."

A council spokesman said: "It is vitally important that local people have their say on this issue and we are doing all we can to ensure as many people as possible are involved.

"We are very disappointed with the service we have had from the distribution company but we don't want to dwell on this -- the real issue is what people think of the proposals.

"The County Council is committed to ensuring everyone has the opportunity to have their say. We have therefore decided to extend the consultation period and distribute further copies of the consultation documents ourselves.

"We are also planning to hold more public exhibitions to allow people to speak directly with officers. People can also give their views via our website.

"We will shortly be informing local people of the new exhibitions and consultation documents through the media."

Information and an online form can be found on the internet at:

www.lancashire.gov.uk/environment/heyshamm6.html.

Consultation forms are also available from Geraldine Smith's office on 411367.