CONSERVATIVE councillors in Watford are due to launch an attempt to have the Green Route in St Albans Road and Clarendon Road scrapped.

The Conservative councillors have tabled a motion for Wednesday's council meeting calling for work planned for this year on the controversial route to be cancelled and, ultimately, for the route to be scrapped.

The existing stages of the Green Route were built along St Albans Road and Station Road in three phases between January 1998 and August 1999 at a cost of £1.5million.

The aim of the work has been to improve access to the town for bus users, cyclists and pedestrians and to encourage car users to get into Watford town centre via Stephenson Way.

The route has proved unpopular with shop keepers in St Albans Road, who believe it has meant fewer customers, and with some motorists who believe there have been increased delays.

Conservative councillor Tim Williams said: 'While it is to be applauded in one sense as an attempt to resolve traffic congestion, it is obvious that, after two years, the Green Route has failed to meet its objectives.

'It does few favours for bus operators and causes massive jams for other road users.

We are, therefore, asking Watford Council to scrap it.'

The attack on the route comes as the county council is reaching the end of a monitoring exercise of the scheme, which will be used by Watford Council and Hertfordshire County Council to assess its future.

Officers from the two authorities will be meeting next week to prepare for a joint councillors workshop planned for September.

Leader of Watford Council, Councillor Vince Muspratt (Labour) also hit out at the Green Route, although he doubted any motions at Wednesday's meeting will help.

He said: 'We have told the county council time and again something needs to be done about the Green Route but it has done nothing.

'I am sick of it, we have written letters to them saying things have to be sorted out but they have ignored us.

'What I would like to see is county council officers come along to next week's meeting and hear people's views on this.'

A spokesman for the county council said: 'It would be inappropriate to comment on the scheme's future until the review has been completed - the county council is going into the review with an open mind and is committed to looking at all options for the scheme.

'Reviews of this kind are common practice for many transport schemes to see how they are working and to explore what changes, if any, could be made.

'The county council is sensitive to and understands the concerns of local people and has already made numerous changes to the scheme in response to public concern.

'There will be some tough decisions to be made because some of the most significant delays to traffic flows are not so much caused by so-called unpopular bus priority measures, but by pedestrian and road safety features.'