York has lost out on millions of pounds in transport funding because of its failure to deliver on 'active travel' schemes, campaigners claim.

York Cycle Campaign claims the £350,000 of government 'active travel' funding awarded to York last week was a 'crumb' compared to the sums many other cities received.

"Councils that have proved they are serious about active travel have been rewarded with millions of pounds in the latest round of funding, with Slough receiving £10.1 million, Oxfordshire £10.4 million and Gloucestershire £14.1 million for ambitious active travel schemes," a York Cycle Campaign spokesperson said.

"The slap in the face (for York) reflects it's failure to implement previous active travel schemes such as the segregated cycle route along Bootham and Shipton Road, and its refusal to follow Government guidelines on schemes such as Tadcaster Road and Piccadilly."

Council transport bosses insist the authority has been 'very successful' in securing active travel funding from the Department for Transport (DfT).

The authority's head of highways and transport Dave Atkinson said that the council had an excellent relationship with the DfT and an excellent record in attracting funding for active travel, bus service improvement, electrifying the bus fleet, EV charging infrastructure and transport technology

Highlighting the success of the city's e-scooter scheme, he added: "Our e-scooter/e-bike trial has been one of the most successful in the country. Through this we have 'on demand' shared asset active travel across the whole city. The e-bikes also enable people to make longer journeys than a standard cycle."

But Cllr Rachel Melly, the opposition Labour group spokesperson on transport, said: “York’s meagre funding award when compared to other councils is sadly a reflection of both how unambitious the council is prepared to be on active travel, and also how ineffective it has been at approving and implementing planned schemes.

“York receiving £350k when Nottingham and Hull both get £2.2m, and Brighton £1.2m, shows that York isn’t doing something right. The city’s residents are losing out as a result."

York Cycle Campaign member John Skelton said his regular commute to work involved cycling along Bootham.

"Every evening there are illegally parked cars blocking the cycle lane and footpath, and the journey is unnecessarily stressful and dangerous," he said. "York was awarded the funding to sort this out two years ago and yet they haven't even managed to produce a design yet. It's pitiful."

Fellow York Cycle campaign member Kate Ravilious added: “Earlier this year the council confirmed its Transport capital budget for the next year was just under £23m. Had York been ambitious about active travel, like Slough, we could have had £33m to play with."

York transport boss Cllr Andy D'Agorne said: “Scheme delivery, as in other cities, is complex due to the need to work around our heritage constraints and available road space, but we’re working hard to design schemes that give us the best outcomes ."

He said a comprehensive update on the Active Travel programme would be considered at Transport Executive decision session in July.