LIBERAL DEMOCRAT attempts to scrap York's Millennium Bridge project were scorned when the full City of York Council met to ratify its budget.

The Labour-dominated council has voted to accept the proposed budget which will mean that residents' council tax bills will rise by just over 11 per cent, taking the bill for a Band D property from £602 to £668 next year.

Liberal Democrats put forward three amendments, including cancellation of the Millennium Bridge, which they claimed would make a saving of about three per cent on council tax.

Liberal Democrat group leader Coun Peter Vaughan said the amendments were designed to show the council cared about giving its taxpayers value for money by targeting resources efficiently.

But council leader Rod Hills said the bridge project had the full backing of York residents, who had not only come up with the scheme but also chosen the design themselves. The council would lose money by backing out at such a late stage.

He decried the Liberal Democrat amendments as "feeble" and said in a revenue budget of £117 million their plans, which involved £270,000-worth of changes, were merely "shuffling funds".

"This means the Liberals agree with the vast majority of the budget, their amendments only account for some point two per cent of the total budget," said Coun Hills.

"The Liberals have talked about making hard decisions and choices but these amendments take the soft option, we have made the hard choices this year as we have every year.

"I cannot see any strategy or any vision in these amendments.

"The Millennium bridge project has been going on for years and has always had the approval of the Liberals in the past.

"And the fact is the residents want this bridge - it's their idea and is not being driven by us but by what people in this city want and expect for the Millennium."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.