THE legacy of York’s involvement in this summer’s Tour De France Grand Depart could be threatened by the poor condition of local cycle paths, Liberal Democrat councillors have claimed.

Huntington & New Earswick councillors have highlighted cycle paths on Huntington Road and North Moor Road, which they say have deteriorated so much over the last three years that their condition is now “unacceptable”.

They said they had recently surveyed 2,000 households in Huntington asking them about the quality of services in the area and many had highlighted the worsening condition of cycle paths.

Cllr Keith Orrell said the cycle lanes had really deteriorated as Labour-run City of York Council had cut the budget for road maintenance year after year. “Labour say they want to build a legacy after this summer’s Tour De France and get more people cycling,” he said. “This will not happen unless the right facilities, such as good cycle lanes, are in place across York.”

But Labour cabinet member for transport, Cllr David Levene, said there was an established set ofcriteria for repairs to roads and footpaths and this criteria was followed in a fair way and based on an assessed level of need.

“Lib Dem councillors would do better to look at themselves and support for their party in explaining why funding is limited for such work when the party has agreed cuts of over a third to the council’s funding from Government,” he added.