LABOUR members have urged City of York Council to speed up plans to make York the capital of Yorkshire and Humberside.

Next October residents throughout the region will vote on whether to have a regional authority and if they say yes, then York could be the regional capital.

But Labour members are warning that the council has barely started making plans to ensure York is chosen above other Yorkshire cities.

"A very substantial and clearly impressive percentage of York residents expressed support for York being the seat for a regional government if there is to be a regional government," Coun Dave Merrett told a shadow executive meeting of the council.

"We are now quite concerned we will miss out." The head of the council's labour group warned that plans would have to be made well in advance for a regional capital and that nothing appeared to have been done since a committee was authorised to look into the matter months earlier.

Backed by other members of the shadow executive, he called for the committee, the economic development and community safety scrutiny board, to report back to the council early in the New Year.

He also called for the board to consult with residents and draw up concrete evidence of York's strong wish to be the capital which it could present to the commission that will decide the capital's location.

Leader of the council, Coun Steve Galloway, said a report had been prepared and the matter was due to be discussed at an executive meeting taking place next Tuesday.

He said the proposed regional assembly was a long way off with the referendum not until next Autumn and, depending on the outcome of that, elections not until 2006.

He added: "It is a serious issue as to how brash the city is for putting forward its case. We have history and good communications links and I believe they will be important factors when a decision is taken."

Updated: 10:38 Tuesday, December 30, 2003