AN MP is urging the Chancellor to give autumn statement transport funds to Leeds to help pay for a light rail scheme and airport link.

Leeds North West MP Greg Mulholland wants Phillip Hammond to give the city some of the funding announced for transport infrastructure to the £250 million for the failed New Generation Transport project.

The Chancellor announced £1.95 billion for road and local transport spending from 2017 to 2021. Mr Mulholland has now written to the Secretary of State for Transport Chris Grayling urging him to give some of that money to Leeds.

Mr Mulholland said following the scrapping of the New Generation Transport (NGT) scheme in May, the Government announced that Leeds could still keep the £173.5 million that had been allocated for the right system. An £81 million local contribution for NGT from West Yorkshire Combined Authority and the city council brought the amount available up to £250 million which could be boosted by the funds from the Chancellor, he said. The MP believes the cost of up to £75 million for a proposed "controversial and environmentally damaging" road link to the airport could also be diverted to be spent on a fixed rail link.

He said Metro previously proposed a tram train scheme on the Leeds Harrogate York line, including a link to the airport, with an estimated cost of between £17 million and £25 million, making it cheaper than the proposed road link and avoiding the need to build a parkway station.

He said: "I welcome the £1.95 billion in local transport funds announced by the Chancellor but the allocation for Leeds needs to go towards the strategic transport system that we really need to tackle congestion and improve air quality and that is a light rail system including a fixed link to Leeds Bradford Airport.

"Leeds remains the largest city in Europe without either a light rail or underground scheme so the City Council should be allocating the £250 million allocated for NGT plus the money for the controversial airport road link to a transformative scheme and should be asking the Government for some of the new transport infrastructure fund to add to this."