A COUNCIL looks set to appeal against a ruling that questioned the legality of its flagship congestion-busting scheme.

It is understood City of York Council is preparing to challenge a Government adjudicator’s judgement over controversial traffic trials on Lendal Bridge and Coppergate, having fined 63,000 motorists £1.3m between August and February.

Restrictions mean the Victorian bridge and city centre road are closed to cars between for several hours every day with drivers using the crossing given a £60 fine.

Adjudicator Stephen Knapp, of the Traffic Penalty Tribunal, said the roads did not qualify as bus lanes, signage was inadequate and CCTV evidence insufficient in upholding an objection by York Wheels volunteer driver Nigel Rhodes, who received a fine while working for the charity.

The authority's chief executive, Kersten England, said legal advisors have stated the two schemes were "within the law", but added the details of the advice could not be made public because it was privileged legal information that would be used in an internal appeal process.

The council has also pointed towards a similar case in Oxford in 2009 where the local council successfully appealed against the Traffic Penalty Tribunal's judgement that fines could not be issued to drivers using a "bus lane" in the city-centre because it had not been signposted as such.

Councillor Dave Merrett, the authority's cabinet member for transport, said he was pleased with the legal advice and that he would quit if it was found the council should not have fined the motorists.

Since the judgement, the Labour-led council has kept the restrictions in place and asked drivers to obey them, although it remains unclear if its enforcement cameras are operating and fines are being issued.

The authority's Lib Dem leader, Councillor Keith Aspden, said the public had a right to know what the legal advice was.

He said: "As an elected councillor and leader of the joint largest opposition group, it is deeply concerning that I am denied access to information and legal advice received by the council.

“I am also concerned that a decision appears to have been taken in secret to oppose the original ruling [by Mr Knapp]. Any ideas of openness and transparency seem to have been forgotten by Labour as their handling of the botched Lendal Bridge trial goes from bad to worse."