Coun. Ruth Potter was commenting on a report that went before the council's Executive Member for City Strategy this week which details what £1.45m of in-year cuts by the Government will mean for local transport schemes until March 2011.

She said:

"After learning of the postponement and likely demise of Access York plans for new Park and Rides at Wigginton Road and at the A59 at Poppleton, further cuts to the council's transport budgets have now been set out.

"£0.75m has been cut from our Local Transport Plan funding, while £0.66m has been cut from the city's Regional Funding Allocation, which is money that was earmarked for Park and Rides work. Of the three sites only the Askham Bar site will now be subject to any work.

"Elsewhere, the council has decided to plunder the Cycle City budget awarded to the council by the previous Government, for those schemes it can now not afford like access ramps to the Railway Station and the Cemetary Road to Fishergate improvements.

"Work on the Blossom Street Multi-modal scheme and Fishergate gyratory are both affected by these cuts. And to add to this, 100% of the capital element of the Road Safety Grant has been axed.

"There is now a very serious problem for sustainable transport policy in York. The city really cannot afford to lose out in this way. The coalition Government is unfortunately leading us backwards. I trust that Coun. Galloway will be talking to his Government to defend York against such savage cuts.

"This administration has made so many assumptions on funding for schemes it says will reduce congestion, and yet the Government has now cut a large chunk of it. The Lib Dem council appears to have no plan B on the congestion issue. In fact, it has cut funding for developing a Low Emission Strategy, showing its priorities are all wrong".