THE temporary closure of one of York's main bridges could be made permanent after a dramatic improvement in traffic congestion.

A public consultation is set to take place over the possible closure to traffic of Lendal Bridge, currently off-limits because of renovation, as a way of easing the city's huge congestion problems.

City of York Council's assistant director of transport, Bill Woolley, said: "I can see immediate benefits since the bridge has been closed.

"In Gillygate and Bootham there is much less congestion, which has previously been a very difficult problem to solve.

"It has become much more pleasant around St Leonard's Place, and I have been getting a lot of positive feedback since it was closed and very little negative."

He said that any proposal to close the bridge to all public transport would only be done after extensive public consultation