THE Campaign for the Protection of Rural England has voiced its opposition to road tolling, warning that it will contribute to a 'traumatic' increase in traffic in rural areas. The group is warning that the fate of the countryside as a place largely free from the traffic problems that have dominated towns and cities now hangs in the balance and the Government needs to re-focus its anti-congestion policies.

Lilli Matson, the CPRE's head of transport and natural resources, said it was wholly against road tolling, in particular on motorways, and while the organisation supported charging motorists for access to towns and cities, more had to be done to ensure that companies did not find ways of avoiding the charges.

'We have never supported motorway tolling because, unless you close every slip road, there will be massive diversions on to rural roads which will make an already growing problem worse. We do see benefits in charging motorists access to a town or city, but any scheme must ensure that there are no free routes into an area and also that companies do not relocate outside the ring of charging sites, to industrial estates for example.'