Better Transport

If the road you're worried about is already in the Government's road building programme, a business case will have already been submitted to Government and you need to focus your activities on gaining publicity for the negative impact the road would have and on tackling the scheme through the planning processes.
Find out if your road's in the programme
The 22 roads being considered by the Highways Agency, but not yet in the programme

Inform others
The key thing is to get in early and make as much noise about the scheme as you possibly can – distribute leaflets, write letters to your local papers, get petitions signed and organise a concerted letter-writing campaign to the key decision-makers. The Highways Agency will be testing public response to proposals and will be consulting on different route choices.

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Good idea: The Group Against Motorway Expansion (GAME) gets people involved in its campaign by setting up stalls in the town centre. "Give visitors to your stall something to do: a sign-up sheet, a petition, or campaigning postcards to fill in," says Alison from GAME.
Alison has many good campaigning tips.

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Preferred route: Don’t get distracted
They will deliberately insert outrageous unfeasible route choices into the consultation in an attempt to split the opposition – be careful of this tactic. The Highways Agency will have its preferred route and it will be very difficult to get them to deviate from it. It is better to unite against the preferred option and not get distracted into supporting one route against another.

Mobilising objections to draft order
This is your big chance to mobilise objections to the scheme. You need to plan ahead for this and have a strategy on how you will maximise your chances. Tips for mobilising objections (concerning planning applications, but the tips also apply to mobilising objections to draft orders)
You will need to pore over the environmental statement quickly and gather the main arguments against the road. You will need to prepare and produce publicity to mobilise objections and get them sent in as soon as possible.

It is very important that people who own or rent land object, as they are classed as statutory objectors and carry far more weight. The Highways Authority may be putting a lot of pressure on landowners to give up and hand the land over to them without a fight. You should persuade them to keep going and challenge the compulsory purchase orders.