Labour has slammed claims from Green councillors that the party performed a U-turn on funding a controversial low-traffic neighbourhood project.

Plans for a “liveable neighbourhood” in Hanover and Tarner looked to be in doubt after Labour and the Conservatives voted to remove £1.1 million from the project to fund the refurbishment of the city’s public toilets.

However, in a council committee meeting, it was agreed that £1 million in funding will go towards the scheme.

The Green-led administration heralded the move and said Labour had “backtracked in the face of a clearly-wanted project”, something which Labour’s councillors denied.

In contrast, Labour accused the Greens of “playing politics” and spreading “myths” over the “wildly unpopular pet project”.

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A spokesman for the Labour group said: “Labour’s position on the Hanover and Tarner low-traffic neighbourhood has not changed.

“We think it was poorly designed, poorly placed, and rushed through despite vocal opposition from residents.

“We kept £1 million specifically to deliver the road safety improvement measures on boundary roads Elm Grove, Queens Park Road and Egremont Place, that residents were asking for long before the Greens dropped this ill-thought proposal on the area.

“The Green group choosing to spin this as a Labour U-turn when in reality all we’ve done is force them to do what we asked them to do at budget council only a month ago is, frankly, for the birds.

“This sort of petty political spin is emblematic of an administration running off fumes, out of ideas and out of time.

“May can’t come soon enough. In the meantime, be it on road safety, lifeguard services, or missing refugee children, the Greens need to stop counting votes and start protecting lives.”

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The project aims to reduce through traffic in residential areas by introducing bus gates, installing bollards and planters, and changing traffic flows.

Council leader Phelim Mac Cafferty said he hoped Labour’s days of “flip-flopping on sustainable transport” had come to an end.

He said: “As we have done all along, Green councillors remain firmly committed to playing our part in improving air quality, reducing rat running, and making it easier for residents to choose walking and cycling first.

“A liveable neighbourhood offers all of these: ensuring quieter, safer and healthier streets. We look forward to what more we can deliver in the months and years to come.”