YORK'S new TV station has distanced itself from speculation of a funding crisis for local channels after reports of such problems elsewhere.

It has emerged that the BBC Trust has delayed paying out the latest installment of £25 million to fund the costs of transmitting the local TV channels. This follows questions over accounting at Comux, the company that builds and manages local TV infrastructure.

It was reported that without the money, a second round of proposed channels, covering Cambridge, Middlesbrough and York could not be launched.

However a spokesperson for the channel has denied this saying they are not due to receive payments until they go on air in 2015.

The BBC Trust has been conducting an audit of Comux, who have been used to operate the digital transmission infrastructure, as it is entitled to do under its funding contract. As a result, a payment of more than £1m, which was expected by Comux earlier this year, has not been made.

The new York TV channel is expected to create 12-15 new jobs initially while working with local independent producers. It aims to "ensure the channel has the interests of the local community at its heart and will invest in the training of the next generation of digital content producers."

The start date for the York channel is to be between October 31 this year and January 30 next year.