The campaign to find the millions of pounds needed to revamp the car-choked stretch of the North Circular Road gathered momentum last week.

Council chiefs from Enfield, Haringey, Barnet and Waltham Forest met Government transport minister Tom McNulty to discuss plans to widen the stretch of the A406 between Bounds Green and Green Lanes.

Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, has agreed in principal to widen the road but plans have been put on hold due to a cash-crisis.

Glyn Jones, Enfield Council's head of transportation planning, said: "It is important those making decisions on funding know how strongly people feel about this issue and the impact this road is having on the communities in a large area of north London.

"The lobbying will continue until the money for this extremely important scheme will be found."

The future of the scheme will be known when the results of the Government's 2004 spending review are published in the summer.

But Enfield Council says with 47,000 new homes earmarked for north London in the Mayor's London plan, and a London bid for the Olympics in 2012, the improvements need to be put in place quickly.

Stephen Twigg, MP for Enfield Southgate, also attended the meeting. He said: "The campaign is ongoing, and I was encouraged, Mr McNulty was very sympathetic."