The Transport Secretary should take a look herself at the A64 on a bank holiday - Jayne Dowle
If you’re heading to the Yorkshire coast next weekend, you’ll know to expect delays on the A64. They’re as predictable as rain on a Bank Holiday and sand in the sandwiches.
We all have our stories of A64 hell. My most recent one was a couple of years ago, attempting to get to Filey on a Sunday morning to meet friends and visit the food fair. I never got to the bottom of what had actually happened, but the A64 was closed, and I ended up re-routed all the way up the A1 then across to Helmsley until eventually, in the early afternoon, I glimpsed the sea.
By the time I got there it was time to go home. I went back via Bridlington.
Multiply my frustration by everyone who has ever been stuck in traffic on the A64.
Consider all those businesses wary of moving to the East Coast or investing there because it’s so difficult to get to, and it’s clear why, for as long as I can remember, there have been calls to improve this major road connecting Leeds and York with Scarborough and surrounding towns and villages.
Indeed, I’ve written in favour of tackling this accident blackspot, so often mired with traffic congestion, several times over the years. Not that anyone’s words make any difference.
Just ask Kevin Hollinrake, the Conservative member for Thirsk and Malton, who has long campaigned for this vital artery to become a full dual carriageway.
Yet another missed opportunity, he rightly complains, as the government proudly announces its Road Investment Strategy, a £2.4bn project to repair and renew motorways and major A-roads between 2026/27 and 2031/32, with the A64 overlooked for major upgrades yet again.
The focus, it seems, is on repairing crumbling concrete fabric rather than adding ‘new roads’. But the A64 already does exist; the case for its improvement certainly outweighs the case against, despite a report for North Yorkshire Council's transport, economy, environment and enterprise overview and scrutiny committee last year deeming potential scheme costs “high with low value for money”.
Surely this is myopic thinking? Politicians, national, regional and local, speak of the importance of emboldening rural and coastal communities so they can reach their full potential, providing work for the people who live in them.
With the state of public transport as poor as it is, efficient roads are absolutely key to prosperity – despite the fact that this truth makes the net zero lobby squeamish.
In a glaring omission, the proposal, which would have seen the dualling of the A64 north of the Hopgrove roundabout to Barton-le-Willows, has been left off the government’s list. Meanwhile, the dualling of the remaining single-carriageway sections of the A66 Northern Trans-Pennine route, the full reconstruction of ageing concrete on the M180, and the refurbishment of two bridges on the M62 near Goole will be undertaken.
The Roads and Buses Minister, Simon Lightwood, MP for Wakefield and Rothwell, has made clear that any improvements will certainly not be happening for the foreseeable future, at least the next five years. “The A64, I'm afraid, won't be on the list [of projects getting upgrades] on this occasion.”
Why not, is the question? You might think that Lightwood, with a West Yorkshire constituency, would be ideally placed to understand the challenges that the A64 presents, not just for his own constituents who might like to journey to York or the seaside, but for business and economic development across Yorkshire.
You might also ask what the point is of having Yorkshire MPs in positions of power who don’t put the case forward for our region?
As Hollinrake argues: “The A64 is not just another road. It is a vital economic artery for York, Malton, Pickering, Scarborough, Filey, local towns and villages and the wider Yorkshire coast. It affects jobs, investment, tourism and, crucially, safety.”
Hollinrake is clearly incandescent, pointing out that despite repeated opportunities, Labour MPs and North Yorkshire Mayor David Skaith have failed to put their weight behind arguing the case for this much-needed upgrade.
Yet it’s reported that a recent North Yorkshire Council report highlighted that the existing road is a major source of congestion and safety concerns, particularly during peak travel times and holiday periods when traffic attempts to merge from dual to a single lane.
Perhaps Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander ought to venture from Westminster and her Swindon constituency and come and have a look. Perhaps on a Bank Holiday Monday.