THE Prime Minister's announcement about funding for the long-awaited Shipley bypass has received a mixed response.

During the Conservative Party's conference in Manchester today, Rishi Sunak scrapped the HS2 rail project from Birmingham to Manchester due to spiralling costs, meaning only the new London Euston to Birmingham line will be built.

But he pledged to "reinvest every penny" saved - which he put at £36 billion - in rail, roads and buses across the north and the rest of the country.

It means the Shipley bypass will receive an as yet unspecified amount of cash from a £460 million pot set up for "smaller road schemes across the north".

But Green Party politicians in Bradford district have criticised the news.

One of them, Shipley Councillor Kevin Warnes, said: "We are shocked that Mr Sunak has announced that he will waste tens of millions of pounds of hard-earned taxpayers' money on a Shipley Eastern Bypass.

"We've known for years that new roads bring more traffic and more air pollution into our neighbourhoods.

"They make congestion worse and damage the health of residents and their families.

"What planet are the Tories living on?

"The Government should put the health and well-being of local families first.

"We must say no to more roads in our district and yes to better buses, more trains and improved walking and cycling infrastructure."

However, Philip Davies, Conservative MP for Shipley, was overjoyed with Mr Sunak's announcement.

He said: "I was particularly delighted that the Prime Minister confirmed in his speech that the Government will fully fund a Shipley Eastern Bypass which will ease congestion, benefit local businesses and make a massive difference to people who live in Baildon in particular, and is something I have campaigned for over many years, and was a key part of the proposed Airedale Masterplan."

The Shipley bypass has been the focus of a lengthy wrangle between Bradford Council and Mr Davies over the years.

Hailed as a "vital infrastructure project", the preferred route would see a new road created from Leeds Road by Carnegie Drive, through Dockfield Road and joining Otley Road at the junction of Green Lane.