Road and rail plans proposed by the government will cause commuter belts to expand over the next 10 years threatening rural areas, according to a report.

The Independent Transport Commission has warned the major plans could harm picturesque rural areas such as the Lake District and Devon.

The report also said improved transport links could also threaten the renaissance of cities such as Leeds, Manchester and Birmingham.

Widening a lot of roads, which encourages more traffic and stimulates dispersed travel patterns, is no solution

Council for the Protection of Rural England spokesman

The report - published on Monday - called on the government to take more account of how its plans for faster roads and railways would affect big cities and shape investment.

The research took its cue from the way in which living and working habits were reshaped by motorway and railway investment over recent years.

For example, Tyneside's Metrocentre and Kent's Bluewater Park have typified the way people go to shop out of town.

'Encourages traffic'

The commission said: "Sadly, the 10-Year Plan contains no assessment of how more road and railway investment could further disperse people and jobs and so hinder an 'urban renaissance' in cities like Manchester, Leeds and Birmingham."

A spokesman for the Council for the Protection of Rural England said: "In echoing the comments of the (House of Commons) transport select committee, the ITC has highlighted the need for the 10-year plan to put reducing the need to travel centre stage.

"Widening a lot of roads, which encourages more traffic and stimulates dispersed travel patterns, is no solution.

"It is like shifting the furniture on a sinking ship."

Road widening

Meanwhile, green groups are lobbying the government to drop road expansion plans which they say could damage scenic areas in South West England.

Beauty spots in Somerset, Wiltshire and Devon are under threat as the government considers proposals to widen sections of the A303 and A30, say the groups.

Organisations including Friends of the Earth and the Council for the Protection of Rural England have written to Transport Secretary Alistair Darling about their concerns.

The scheme was recommended in regional studies which have called for expansion of major routes to the West Country and south Wales.

'Environmental vandalism'

Beauty spots said to be under threat include the Blackdown Hills in Somerset, the West Wiltshire Downs and Cranborne Chase in Dorset.

Stephen Joseph, director of independent transport body Transport 2000, said: "The answer to congestion problems on the way to the South West lies in improving public transport links and encouraging people to use them.

"Bulldozing a dual carriageway through the Blackdown Hills - valued for their quiet beauty - would be nothing short of environmental vandalism."