COUNCILLORS have approved cuts of more than £4.5 million to transport schemes across North Yorkshire.

Members of North Yorkshire County Council’s executive met today to discuss how to manage reductions in their regional funding allowance, which were announced by the coalition Government earlier this year.

The cuts are necessary to ensure the authority meets Government spending targets laid down in June and will see some schemes being removed from its original highways programme and others seeing the sums they will receive being reduced.

Among the projects which will be lose funding are proposed improvements to bus, cycle and car park facilities at the Dales Countryside Museum in Hawes and enhancing the Richmondshire Community Transport Scheme, which upgrades minibuses and people carriers used for local initiatives.

As reported by The Press earlier this week, the council has also approved recommendations by officers to provide an extra £420,000 for a scheme to improve the junction of the A64 at Brambling Fields, near Malton, with Ryedale District Council expected to meet the remaining £420,000 of the increased cost of the work.

In total, 19 projects are included within the programme, of which seven will see their budgets unaffected by the £4.54 million cuts, while five Harrogate road schemes are being removed from the list.