Traffic in Witney will only get worse without the controversial £15m Cogges Link Road, the leader of West Oxfordshire District Council said as the authority backed the scheme.

The lowlands planning sub-committee voted unanimously to give its support to Oxfordshire County Council, which has gone out to consultation on the scheme and is due to make a decision next month.

Latest figures from members of the public show more than 1,200 objecting and 170 in support.

District councillors are telling the county to ensure there are flood alleviation measures in place on the river Windrush floodplain, noise reduction surfacing and tree planting to protect Cogges estate residents from noise nuisance.

Since the road scheme was first on the drawing board nearly 20 years ago, it has been part of the district council’s Local Plan policy. It should have been built earlier, after receiving planning permission in 1997, but was delayed through lack of funding.

Council leader Barry Norton said: “We do not know what lies in the future, but if there is further development in the north and east of Witney the town’s traffic problems would only get worse without the Cogges Link Road.”

A protest campaign against the road is being spearheaded by the Council for the Protection of Rural England, which favours a four-way junction on the A40 at Shores Green.