Five local authorities, including North Tyneside Council, have commissioned the "People in Motion" project to research the rising levels of traffic across the north east.

One of the proposals which has emerged from the project to tackle congestion is road pricing.

Thousands of borough motorists could face fees to enter a congestion charge zone, bordered by the A19 and the A1 western bypass, and an additional charge to enter Newcastle city centre.

The People in Motion project is expected to report its findings in six weeks time.

A spokesman for the project said: "We're looking at a whole host of measures to help ease congestion - such as improvements to public transport and new kinds of urban traffic management systems.

"Road user charging could be one of those measures."

Congestion charges could affect motorists from the borough who commute to Newcastle on a daily basis, and Newcastle motorists travelling through the borough.

Newcastle City Council said it had not committed to introducing any congestion charging and was awaiting the full People in Motion report.

A spokesman for Newcastle City Council said this week: "We have not made any decision about the future of road use charging and there are no plans to introduce congestion charging in the Tyne and Wear area.

"As part of the People in Motion project, the leaders of the Tyne and Wear local authorities have remitted to undertake further research work, the results of which will be discussed in detail at a future meeting.

"At this stage, there is no compelling need for the introduction of a congestion charging scheme in the city centre or elsewhere in Tyne and Wear.

"No policy commitments have been made to this measure."

North Tyneside Council declined to comment.