Fears for the future of schemes to boost road safety, cut air pollution and support cycling have been raised by Council chiefs.

Leaders at Richmond Borough Council are concerned the schemes are under threat because the Government has refused long-term funding for Transport for London.

TfL has suffered a collapse in income due to the pandemic and orders from the government to work for home.

There are fears that measures designed to rebuild TfL's finances could take badly needed funds away from areas like Richmond.

Richmond Council has written to the Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps, to express its disappointment and highlight concerns.

The Council is calling for a long-term agreement on TfL's funding to be made as soon as possible.

It is also arguing that funds for transport should be given direct to local authorities to support local road, safety and cycling schemes, rather given to TfL as part of its core funding to be shared out.

Councillor Alexander Ehmann, the council's Cabinet member for Transport, said uncertainty around funding is disrupting planning for new projects.

He said: "London boroughs are on the front line of delivering of the sustainable travel agenda and being caught up in this wider funding negotiation with TfL is holding us back unnecessarily and preventing us from delivering our targets to cut carbon emissions and improve air quality.

"We are supporting calls from across London for the funding for Healthy Streets projects and similar schemes to be separated from the wider funding negotiation and for London's highway authorities to be eligible to bid for other pots of funding from the Department for Transport, notably those that relate to the second Cycling & Walking Infrastructure Strategy (CWIS).

"Our residents pay their taxes and deserve streets that are safe, well maintained and offer sustainable transport options.

"Our officers, partners and communities work incredibly hard to design programmes that will deliver on these priorities for our residents – the opportunity to put these in place and deliver real change cannot be inextricably reliant on TfL's income recovery plans."