MIDDLEWICH may have to wait at least another 10 years before a bypass is built.

It follows the results of an employment land study, commissioned by Congleton Borough Council, which queried the likelihood of the bypass being completed by 2016.

The study, carried out by chartered surveyors Drivers Jonas, aimed to identify employment land within the borough in line with Cheshire County Council's structure plan review for 2016.

But Clr Mike Parsons said: "At the presentation Sandbach and Middlewich were pointed out as the best areas for industrial development within Congleton borough.

"But, while there is a wealth of land for industrial development, the problem is going to be access because it looks as if there won't be a bypass until 2016."

Clr Alison Roylance White told the Guardian she was concerned about the survey results.

"We were all under the impression that the council would be tackling the bypass in the 2005 to 2011 Local Transport Plan," she said.

"If these concerns prove true it's effectively putting us back another five years.

"My fear is that we are not going to find business funding and we will end up with housing along there which is not on at all."

And Clr Paul Edwards said: "This beggars belief - they just keep moving the goal posts."

Gavin Clark, from Congleton Borough Council's planning department, confirmed the surveyors had expressed concerns about the completion date of the bypass.

He said: "They are not saying that it won't be finished by 2016, but they did express concerns about the likelihood of it being in place by then."

A county council spokeswoman said: "The development of the Middlewich eastern bypass is driven by the development of the employment site, as the majority of funding for the project must come from developers who wish to build business areas accessed from the completed bypass.

"Therefore it would be impossible at this stage to speculate on a completion date."