PROMISED refunds of Lendal Bridge fines may not be paid until will into next year due to legal concerns, city council officials have revealed.

The repayments will also lead to administration costs to York taxpayers of up to £150,000, it has emerged.

On Thursday the council voted to refund everyone fined for crossing the bridge, supporting a pledge made by the new leader Dafydd Williams after calls from opposition groups.

But because the council maintains that the fines were not issued illegally, officials say they now need to investigate the legal position fully before it can give that money back.

As the council does not accept it acted incorrectly in fining drivers, it fears now being accused of giving away taxpayers' money without justification.

Neil Ferris, assistant director of transport, highways and waste, said: “The council will now arrange for a detailed report to be presented to cabinet in the New Year. This will take into account legal advice and include details of administrative costs for processing refunds."

The current 31 December deadline for applying for a refund is to be extended, he added.

Administration costs for the full refund programme could be as high as £100,000 to £150,000 and councillors need to approve that cost, which will not be covered by the income from fines currently set aside in council accounts.

Lendal Bridge was restricted from August 2013 to April this year, with a ban on private traffic between 10.30amam and 5pm daily.

The trial move was blighted by problems, with widepsread complaints that signs were unclear, particularly for visitors who did not know which bridge was Lendal Bridge. Many businesses also raised concerns, and internal rows within the council about the issue emerged when secret emails were made public.

Cllr Keith Aspden, who was behind the motion at Thursday's meeting, said it was up to officials at the council to swiftly set up a process and begin repayments.

He said: "As we have repeatedly said, the only way to repair the reputational damage the trial did to York is to automatically refund all the motorists fined. I expect the new Labour leader to now make sure this happens and for repayments to begin soon.”

Cabinet member for transport Cllr David Levene is responsible for the scheme. He said the council was fully committed to refunding all drivers, but need to make sure the processes were correct and the legalities and logistics had been addressed.

He added: "I do not think this is a delay, but we are going to take the time to get this right. We are aiming to get a report to cabinet in January, just a few weeks away. We are committed to contacting everybody who was fined."