Police pressure is forcing councillors to think again about the route of this year's Lord Mayor's Parade because of concerns over road safety and traffic congestion.

The parade, on Sunday May 24, is in the middle of the spring Bank Holiday weekend, which is expected to be one of the busiest days of the year for the city.

Controversy has surrounded the path of the parade, with one-time organisers of the event pulling out of this year's showcase because councillors refused to route it through the city centre like last year.

Determined to maintain the council's policy on pedestrianisation, councillors said the parade should use the inner ring road as in 1996.But now they are reconsidering using a city centre route after representations from police.

At a meeting on Thursday, councillors will be told that police object to the use of the ring road. They will be asked to let the parade use the city centre with one concession - it takes place in the morning to avoid "core pedestrian hours".

They will discuss a letter from Insp Paul Bilton, of York police's traffic management team, which outline's the force's objections to the ring road.

Insp Bilton says: "By using these routes, traffic congestion is more likely to be increased, road safety is as big a problem if not greater, and the events themselves do not get the maximum amount of publicity they deserve."

He said the 1997 parade, organised by the York Junior Chamber, which went through the city centre rather than the traditional ring-road route, was a "success and also an improvement on previous years" and added: "The police would feel unable to support the Lord Mayor's Parade if the route went back to that of 1996. Our reasons are on the grounds of road safety and traffic management."

In a report to councillors, Mr Trevor Phillips, the council's assistant director of environmental regulation, said he agreed with the police's concerns as there were a host of other events in the city that day, including a set of activities on the Knavesmire expected to draw huge crowds.

He said: "The police have taken the view that the disruption caused to traffic on the inner ring road is unacceptable and in respect of this particular parade, I would support this analysis."

As an added safety precaution, Mr Phillips recommends the parade takes place in the morning, before shop opening hours, to limit the number of people in the city centre.

Last month, the Evening Press reported how last year's organisers, the York Junior Chamber volunteers, pulled out of this year's event because councillors were against a city centre route.

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