WORK on preparing the ground for two new Park&Ride sites in York is getting under way.

City of York Council is clearing vegetation around three junctions in the A59 and Tadcaster Road area to prepare for construction work on the new facilities at Poppleton Bar and Askham Bar, the first stage of its £22 million Access York scheme to cut congestion.

The clearance works, designed to ensure nesting birds are not affected by the developments, are expected to take two weeks and new landscaped areas are set to be created to compensate for the loss of vegetation.

If full approval for the Park&Ride plans is granted from the Department for Transport, construction is expected to begin in March and be completed next April.