TRANSPORT bosses in North Yorkshire are set to bid for millions of pounds in Government funding for two schemes aimed at combating congestion.

North Yorkshire County Council’s executive was today expected to confirm it will be pursuing cash from the Local Sustainable Transport Fund (LSTF), which could offer as much as £5 million, to support a brace of projects.

The authority drew up a shortlist of five suggestions, with those set to go forward to the Department for Transport focusing on improving public transport in Harrogate and boosting tourism by cutting congestion in Scarborough and Whitby.

However, this means another possible scheme, designed to make people travelling to work in the York, Easingwold and Thirsk areas, less reliant on cars is likely to be put on the back burner.

Expressions of interest in LSTF money must be made within two weeks, with final bids being submitted by next February. The Harrogate scheme would be solely run by the council, but the East Coast Tourism Economy idea would be backed by North York Moors National Park Authority.

Other suggestions considered were improvements to railway stations between Whitby and Middlesbrough, and enhancing public transport in the Craven area.

“While the access to employment in the north of North Yorkshire and the Craven travel options packages were worthwhile prospects, they were significantly less likely to be successful than the Harrogate and East Coast Tourism Economy packages,” said a report by the council’s corporate director for business and environmental services, David Bowe.

“However, it may be possible to incorporate elements of these packages into our final bids and officers will investigate this in preparing the final bids for February 2012. It is felt that, as well as being our best opportunity for attracting additional transport funding to North Yorkshire, these two bids reflect both the urban and rural nature of the county.”

The Harrogate scheme would include building a new Park&Ride site, possibly at the Great Yorkshire Showground, improvements to bus services and cycling facilities and introducing charging points for electric vehicles.

The East Coast project also involves better bus and Esk Valley Railway services, and the council will also decide today how much of its own funding it would put into the schemes.