YORK’S MPs have lent their support to The Press' campaign to Get York Moving>>

The Press launched the campaign yesterday, following news that the Department for Transport (DfT) had not included York’s £25 million Access York scheme in its list of 16 major transport projects that had been given the go-ahead.

The Access York scheme proposes to create 1,600 more Park&Ride spaces at Askham Bar, Clifton Moor and the A59 near Poppleton, with the potential for a further 900 later, as well as improvements to the outer ring road. It has been listed alongside 21 other projects in the “development group” which will resubmit bids to fight for part of a £600 million funding pot.

Hugh Bayley, Labour MP for York Central, said: “Improving York’s roads and Park&Ride is essential to York’s commercial success.

“I welcome The Press campaign. I fought hard to get the £25 million committed by the Labour government and I will fight just as hard to persuade the coalition government to reinstate the funding.”

Julian Sturdy, Conservative MP for York Outer, asked Transport Secretary Philip Hammond what the timescales would be the final funding bids and asked him to look closely at the Access York Park&Ride bid.

Mr Hammond replied: “We will work proactively with the local authorities sponsoring those schemes from now, and we will make decisions as we are able to do so, not necessarily in a single announcement at the end of 2011.”

When the project was launched in 2008, it was hoped the new sites would be open by the end of 2011.