Up to £1.5 million could have to be handed back to the Government if officials dump plans for a three-mile bike lane.

Brighton and Hove was one of the first places designated as a Cycling Demonstration Town by the Government and has been given £3 million to encourage bike use since 2005.

But there are fears the status could be lost if Brighton and Hove City Council backtracks on an agreement to construct the cycle path in Old Shoreham Road.

Gill Mitchell, the leader of the Labour group on the council, raised the concerns as the local authority stalled on revealing the results of the public consultation on the scheme.

Consultation on the scheme, which would see a designated path built between Portslade and Seven Dials in Brighton, ended in October.

When plans were revealed cycling campaigners criticised the scheme as “next to useless” because it featured gaps they said were dangerous for inexperienced riders.