A MAJOR road building project in the East End will not be ruled out before an assessment is complete, despite Green councillors’ concerns.

The third phase of the “regeneration route” – linking the M74 at Polmadie junction to the M8/M80 at Provan – has been listed as one of 24 potential schemes for UK Government funding.

Martha Wardrop, a Green councillor for Hillhead, called for the proposal to be dropped amid the climate emergency.

But councillors decided the scheme should be analysed, so any decision can be based on evidence.

Glasgow City Council can submit seven bids to the Government’s levelling up fund, plus one large scale transportation application, with a value of between £20 million and £50m.

In total, 24 expressions of interest have been received, with the East End regeneration route included.

The first two phases of the route were completed by 2012, but the final section has not progressed.

Cllr Wardrop said she was concerned there had been an expression of interest in the East End regeneration route.

She said: “If the ambition is to be net-zero as soon as possible, I’m concerned about that still being there, when we know that road building will not achieve that.”

However, her amendment to a council report on levelling up fund applications, backed by her Green colleague Jon Molyneux, lost out in a vote.

Council leader Susan Aitken said inclusion on the list of expressions of interests did not mean a project would be submitted.

She added the assessment process would give “clear analysis” on whether the scheme “doesn’t contribute to, or may detract from, our climate ambitions”.

“My feelings about that particular project have always been, to put it mildly, sceptical.

“I don’t think it will meet any of those objectives, but we’ve never actually done that piece of work.

“I think it would be very helpful to have the evidence that allows us to either rule it in or rule it out. My preference would be to rule it out.

“Without pre-empting any of that process, I suspect that it would be ruled out. Building a road through the East End is unlikely to contribute to reducing carbon emissions.”

Cllr Wardrop replied: “I appreciate you’re trying to have a robust assessment process, but I am concerned that an expression of interest has been submitted by council officers to this programme.

“The last few years I have spent a considerable amount of time, along with council officials, working on dealing with the climate and ecological emergency. We have got ambitious targets.

“It’s not an external organisation, it’s an internal department within the council submitting this expression of interest. I am very concerned about that approach being taken by some council officials.”

A council officer said the transport projects would be subject to the “most onerous” assessment, which would look at reducing carbon emissions as well as improving walking and cycling routes.