COUNCIL and business leaders across a Leeds City Region partnership, which included Kirklees, have hit out after having cash to tackle congestion turned down.

The Government rejected a £1.7m bid to carry out research into congestion.

The partnership comprises Barnsley, Bradford, Calderdale, Craven, Harrogate, Kirklees, Leeds, Selby, Wakefield and York districts, North Yorkshire County Council plus West Yorkshire's passenger transport executive Metro and the Highways Agency.

They submitted the bid for research funding at the end of July.

Metro chairman Clr Stanley King said: "This decision by the Government is a real setback.

"This was a bid to carry out detailed investigations that could have helped us minimise the possible future effect of congestion on the Leeds City Region's future development and prosperity.

Leeds City Council leader Clr Mark Harris said: "This Government has again chosen to ignore the prosperity, health environment and social inclusion of people across the Leeds City Region.

"It clearly wanted an up-front commitment to road-pricing, which we made clear we were not prepared to give without proper analysis and commitment from the Government to the public transport schemes that would give people a real alternative to using their cars."

The planned research would have formed a vital element in identifying the points at which congestion could become most severe and the means of tackling the problem and exploring the possibility of future bids to the Transport Innovation Fund to impr- ove road, rail and bus networks.

The 20-Year Transport Vision contains proposals for new public transport schemes, road improvements reducing car use and possibly changing the ways people pay to travel at the busiest times.

Research would have underpinned funding bids to Government to implement such schemes.