TRADERS in Evesham and Pershore have been dealt a bitter blow with the rejection of a bid for Government funding for traffic schemes.

Council chiefs have warned that the refusal will hit business in the two towns.

"The town centre trade is going to suffer as a consequence of this," said Fred Davies, policy manager at Wychavon District Council.

A £2 million traffic scheme for Evesham and one costing £250,000 in Pershore are now on hold.

Both projects would have made it easier for shoppers by reducing traffic in the town centres and removing heavy lorries.

"Evesham and Pershore cannot stand still and if nothing is done shoppers will be lost to Cheltenham and Worcester."

Council chiefs will meet next week to decide their next steps but are committed to resubmitting the bid in the summer. However, there is little prospect of any work starting next year.

This means that with the Evesham scheme likely to take six months and the Pershore project three months, it will be 2006 at the earliest before any improvements can happen.

Local authority funding and money from developers and the West Midlands Regional Development Agency has been secured but without help from the Government work cannot start.

"As things stand people are going to have to continue to put up with things as they stand.

"We have to find a way forward and will not give up on improvements that are long overdue and necessary for the prosperity of the towns."

Fred Davies said the Government had decided to give priority to funding projects in big urban areas like Birmingham. MP for West Worcestershire, Sir Michael Spicer said: "This is very bad news for motorists in Worcestershire." He added that it made a nonsense of one of the major arguments for building the Wyre Piddle bypass which was to divert heavy traffic from Pershore.