Top councillors have been told their probe into the ‘bus gates’ is a “whitewash.”

Amid pressure to scrap the gates – which ban vehicles other than buses from large parts of Huddersfield town centre – Kirklees Council launched an investigation into whether they were harming businesses.

The Examiner revealed last week that the result of that report was there was no clear evidence they were damaging trade.

It said they had achieved their aims of cutting air pollution and speeding up bus journeys and so they were enhancing the town centre for many people.

At a meeting of the senior team of councillors – the cabinet – a persistent protester about the bus gates described the report as a “total disgrace.”

Alisa Devlin, who has been the face of the Huddersfield Town Centre Action Group (HTCAG), lashed out at what she said was a “disaster” for the town.

Alisa Devlin

Mrs Devlin told the Labour cabinet they had “displayed arrogance beyond belief” with their refusal to listen to the complaints of small firms.

More than 60 shopkeeper members of HTCAG have previously told the council their trade has dropped significantly since bus gates launched.

But the probe into the issue concluded the reasons for the fall in revenue were more complex and could not be directly blamed on the cameras which issue £60 fines to motorists on Westgate, Kirkgate, Railway Street and High Street.

Mrs Devlin blasted the report and claimed Labour needed to keep the gates to keep the Green Party happy, who often back them on crucial council votes.

She told the nine-strong cabinet: “You have shown by reporting these biased findings that you have complete disregard for the businesses in this town and the 75% of town centre users who don’t use the buses.

“The buses travelling around the town in the day are empty and spew out noise and pollution worse than any modern car, so the green argument looks thin.

“The references to green issues are just a red herring to appease the Green Party.”

Bus gates in St George's Square, Huddersfield.

She added: “The number of cars coming in has fallen massively, which equals less shoppers.

“You seem to ignore the drop in Saturday footfall, our busiest shopping day.

“You have completely whitewashed the complaints of thousands of protesters against this scheme and ignored the opinions and petition signatures to further your own stubborn money making agenda.”

Once again, Clr Peter McBride, cabinet member for the economy, disagreed.

He said: “There’s little or no evidence that enforcing illegal movement of vehicles is affecting trade.

“It’s not an attack on car owners and certainly not on retailers.

“Bus gates are to make the town centre a sustainable and pleasant place to move around.”