A SCALED down project to improve bus journeys in the north of York has been passed by councillors, despite concerns it is not good value for money.

The plans for the Clarence Street, Gillygate and Lord Mayor’s Walk junction had to be significantly revised after problems emerged with underground power cables.

The scheme approved in 2014 included a new stretch of cycle lane running up to the junction on Clarence Street, but that has been scrapped along with an existing short stretch of cycle lane on Lord Mayor’s Walk.

Councillors for the Guildhall ward “called in” the new plans for debate, angry they had not been consulted on the changes.

On Monday night a special meeting of City of York Council’s scrutiny committee heard from the officers behind the scheme, who said it laid the foundations for bigger improvements in the future, while councillors voiced their reservations.

Cllr Sonja Crisp said that with the Clarence Street plans delivering only “marginal” improvements to bus services in the area, other uses for the money should be investigated.

She said: “We have areas in the could benefit from better bus services, both in the city and on the margins of the city.

“Was there any opportunity for the money to be invested elsewhere, that would benefit a lot more?”

However the council’s bus area programme manager Julian Ridge said that in his view, the Clarence Street plans were the best use of the money.

The proposals involve replacing old traffic lights at the junction, he said, which will give much better options for controlling traffic flow in the area. They also allow the road to be widened enough for a bus lane in the future.

He said: “This is a corridor used a lot by bus services and crucial for services from the north east of York.

“It’s a good location for making that investment.”

Both Mr Ridge and Cllr Ian Gillies, the council’s executive member for transport, said they would have preferred to stick with the earlier scheme but had seen cost estimates soar after major power cables were discovered under the junction. Moving the cables would be extremely difficult, they said, and would involve long closures.