Residents have gathered in a show of opposition against plans for a new jam-busting park and ride site on the edge of Bath.

Opponents yesterday turned up to protest against Bath and North East Somerset Council's plans for the new site off the A4 Batheaston bypass to the east of the city.

The £6.3-million facility, which would provide 1,300 spaces to drivers coming from Wiltshire and the M4 into Bath, was billed as a major breakthrough to a 20-year deadlock over where to put an east-of-Bath park and ride scheme.

The council has to secure a park and ride site to the east of the city to unlock more than £50m of Government funding for its Bath Transportation Package.

But residents who live in the villages of Batheaston and Bathampton, which overlook the site at Bathampton Meadows, say there is little evidence it will improve Bath's traffic problems and the council should be pushing greener methods of travel instead.

They have also accused council chiefs of ignoring a report by Government officials which ruled out a park and ride on the meadows because it would harm the appearance of the green belt.

Protester Mark Stephens said: "There is no evidence to suggest that building a park and ride on the Bathampton Meadows will reduce traffic congestion in Bath.

"Park and rides do not reduce through traffic, they do not reduce the movement of HGVs and they do not reduce school traffic and local trips around town. Better and cheaper bus services, cycle routes and school walk schemes all make a real difference."

Alison Millar, a Batheaston resident and member of the newly-formed Save Bathampton Meadows Campaign, said the scheme would amount to no more than a massive car park and blot on the landscape. She said: "The meadows are an essential green space and provide an important seasonal wetland habitat.

"They give an identity to Bath and the outlying villages by providing a break between potential urban sprawl.

"The beautiful approach to Bath along the Avon Valley is as important to the character of the city as any of the attractions that are within the World Heritage site."

One of the factors that has angered residents most is the fact that a 2004 study by the Government Office for the South West concluded Bathampton Meadows was not a viable site because it would contravene green belt policy.

That report states: "At this location, the site would be very visually prominent and would require extensive mitigation measures that are likely to affect the character of the local area. Mitigation measures could include side screening and grass roofing. The latter measure, due to its setting in the green belt, would be construed as a building and would contravene green belt policy."

The study also indicates that careful management would be needed to prevent adverse impacts on historic resources and the River Avon, which would have to accommodate the dust and runoff from the large hard-standing area.

A council spokesman said: "Some 20,000 cars travel for work into Bath every day, plus tourists. This park and ride site will result in cars being taken off the road and people using public transport."

He said although the Government's study had originally identified the rugby training ground at Lambridge as the preferred park and ride site, further research led the council to choose the meadows site, which has Government backing. He said the council's proposals were consistent with national planning guidance and outside the flood plain.

He added that the council would undertake extensive measures to reduce the visual impact of the park and ride and address concerns.

And he denied that the council had misrepresented the plans: "Council representatives have undertaken a number of meetings with local parish councils to explain the plans in detail.

"A leaflet was delivered to over 7,500 households in the vicinity of the A4 eastern park and ride and was also available on the council website."