Plans unveiled for £4.7m bid to cut tailbacks on York’s key route

York Council has drawn up the proposals for the £4.7m project to tackle traffic tailbacks along Fulford Road as well as air pollution, which senior councillors have admitted is one of the biggest challenges that the authority is facing.

Pollution had been linked to an estimated 158 premature deaths in York every year, and the council is aiming to cut car use by five per cent in three years by promoting alternative modes of transport, including walking, cycling and buses.

Fulford Road is one of the key arterial routes into the city centre, but it was closed on three separate occasions in 2012 by flooding during the UK’s second wettest year on record.

The road was shut to traffic for a total of five days during the previous four years, and the council admitted the repeated closures had impacted on businesses already struggling in the economic crisis.

The move to bolster public transport links and upgrade junctions while improving drainage is also aimed at improving the roads network as York witnesses a population boom. The city has a population in excess of 200,000 and is among the fastest growing locations nationally. One of York’s largest housing developments is due to be built at Germany Beck, just off Fulford Road.

Fundamental elements of the Fulford Road scheme include improving access to the York Designer Outlet’s park and ride site, along with creating new bus priority lanes and upgrading the junction for the proposed Germany Beck development.

The cabinet member for transport, planning and sustainability, Coun Dave Merrett, said: “The A19 is a key arterial route into the city centre and we’ve seen it close three times in the last year, which causes major disruption and impacts negatively on businesses.

“By carrying out these flood and surface water drainage improvements on this section it will support the Germany Beck development and potential growth in the area to future-proof York’s fast-growing communities.

“In addition to supporting one of the largest housing developments in York, funding will also improve access to the Designer Outlet park and ride. This should make the park and ride more attractive and help us to get more people out of their cars, relieving congestion and improving air quality in the Fulford Road corridor, which is a pollution hotspot.”

The council has applied to secure £2m from a £170m fund set up by the Department for Transport to support local transport schemes that tackle congestion and support growth, and if successful work could start next year.

The bulk of the other funding will be provided under so-called Section 106 agreements from developers which pay for community and infrastructure improvements, as well as a six-figure sum from the council’s own budgets.

It is understood York-based Persimmon Homes, which is overseeing the 657-home Germany Beck development, will contribute a large chunk of the remaining £2.7m.

But a question mark remains over the housing scheme after the Yorkshire Post revealed earlier this month that English Heritage has launched a review amid claims the development is earmarked for the site of the Battle of Fulford.

English Heritage admitted the site remains “the most likely candidate” for the site of the clash between Vikings and English forces in 1066, which had a huge impact on the Battle of Hastings and William the Conqueror ultimately being crowned King of England.

Officials from English Heritage are now reviewing their decision not to officially designate the land as a battlefield after being presented with new evidence as activists intensify their campaign to ensure the land is given protected status.

[email protected]