Residents will be consulted on a park and ride scheme.

Brighton and Hove City Council has vowed to consult the public on park and ride plans but admitted that any potential scheme is “unrealistic”.

Instead Green council leaders have said that they will look at utilising existing car parks outside the city centre as public transport hubs.

The council’s cabinet met on Thursday to discuss park and ride schemes as part of the draft City Plan.

The document, which the cabinet unanimously recommended to go out to public consultation, will guide development in the city until 2030.

Labour leader Councillor Gill Mitchell urged the Green administration not to rule out the possibility of park and ride schemes, even suggesting that building in the National Park would be justified.

She said: “Their whole transport strategy is so muddled. They have to make it as easy as possible for people to get into the city.

“They appear to just want to raise parking charges, which will drive people away.”

Councillor Pete West, cabinet member for environment and sustainability, said: “We’re appalled that Labour are proposing concreting over the National Park for enormous car parks. It’s clear that the authority wouldn’t support it, and nor would any right-minded person.”

The Greens said that the idea of constructing a new park and ride scheme was “unrealistic”, adding that they are looking for “practical alternatives”.

Coun Ian Davey, cabinet member for transport and the public realm, said: “There are large car parks around the edge of the city which are not in use all the time. The City Plan proposes businesses, landowners and the bus company work together to see if these could be used, with people then travelling by bus into the city centre. We also want to work with rail operators to encourage more people to visit the city by train.”

A number of potential sites have been suggested, including the AMEX stadium, Brighton Marina and Asda in Hollingbury.

Conservative leader Geoffrey Theobald, said: “If you try to shop at the Asda in Hollingbury you are told that you can only stay for three hours.

“It’s also rare that there are many spaces.”

The draft City Plan will go out for an eight-week consultation on May 28.