COUNCIL officers asked for Government cash to investigate whether they could charge "polluting vehicles" to use the streets of York.

But leader Coun Steve Galloway denied the idea was ever a congestion charge - instead labelling it an "emissions charge".

In a bid to the Department of Transport (DfT) for cash to help cut traffic congestion and pollution in the city, City of York Council chiefs said they wanted to look at "examining the scope for area/zonal charging".

The move was revealed in a six-page document sent to the DfT as part of an application for "transport innovation fund pump priming".

Today, Coun Ann Reid, the council's transport boss, insisted the ruling Liberal Democrat group still had no plans to go down the route of congestion charging. Coun Galloway said the bid, which was not successful, would have looked at charging vehicles which pumped "high emissions" into the atmosphere. Types of vehicles include HGVs, 4x4 vehicles, big-engined executive cars and older cars.

He said: "We were trying to discourage particular vehicles from using accessing areas with poor air quality at particular times of the day and year.

"This wasn't a congestion charge. It would have had coverage of potential streets where there are air quality problems."

This could have included Gillygate and some sections of the ring road.

Critics today claimed the "emissions charge" would have been congestion charging "by the back door". But the fledgling idea was backed by the city's Greens who said they were "disappointed" the proposal had not been backed by Government.

Coun Tracey Simpson-Laing, Labour's transport spokeswoman, said: "Coun Reid and Coun Galloway promised no congestion charging during the four years of this administration and now we have gone to Government to seek funding to look at doing this and without consulting the residents of York as they had promised.

"This is congestion charging by the back door. The bid talks about congestion and this is all just to mask it now it is not going to go through. I will be asking questions about this scheme."

The bid also included proposals to introduce intelligent bollards at strategic locations and the provision of a "WiFi Mesh" across the city centre to help manage the city's traffic management schemes.

The bid document, written in October, looked at schemes allowing "controlled access to particular types of polluting vehicle".

This included "development of possible area control mechanisms in support of city centre access restrictions, including methods for the control of different vehicle types/fuel technology (this will include examining the scope for area/zonal charging, as well as link/distance based systems)."

It continued: "The council propose to promote a policy of demand management linked to the relative environmental impact of certain vehicle types.

The council today said it would continue to bid for any funds available for transport innovation, but any future bids to this fund would have to be altered slightly to increase the possibility of success.

Coun Galloway said: "The principle objective would have been HGV's."

We asked people in York how they felt about the council considering a

congestion charge for the city centre

Jennifer Salmon, 25, a student, of South Bank, said: "I think it would be a good idea because the city centre is very busy with so much traffic.

"But it is bound to be hard on businesses, so perhaps there should be a scheme to exempt those vehicles."

John Mannion, 58, a market trader, of Long Marston, said: "Why don't they just ask us to give them all our money and give up trading? It is all about money; it is nothing to do with congestion."

Arthur Rhodes, 56, a haulage contractor and market trader, of Stockton-on-the-Forest, said: "Do they want to turn the city centre into a ghost town? Fewer people come into town now anyway because of the astronomical parking charges".

Beverley Conroy, 42, of Holgate, said: "I am not really a driver so it would not affect me too much. But I do think it is a bad idea because at the end of the day the vehicles have got to get through."

Andrew Cartwright, 17, an apprentice electrician, of Clifton, said: "I am still learning to drive so I am not sure how much it would affect me. It would be worth investing in not overcrowding the city with cars."

Updated: 15:46 Friday, December 09, 2005