Campaigners vow to fight on in bid to dual A64 between York and Malton

The campaign to dual part of the A64 from the Hopgrove roundabout, where it meets the York outer ring road, to Golden Hill at Malton stalled in the March budget when it was not included in the Department for Transport’s (DfT) Road Investment Strategy for the next five years.

However, the DfT has said that is a solid business case is made, it could enter construction in the next investment place, which covers 2025-2030.

Ryedale District Council leader Coun Keane Duncan, said the decision to stall was “hugely disappointing” but that the strength of feeling locally “is not going away”.

“We will continue to press for the scheme’s delivery at the earliest opportunity,” he said. “It is just one element of a range of desperately needed improvements on the A64, including work on Malton bypass and work near Crambeck which Ryedale District Council is supporting.

“We will continue working through the A64 Growth Partnership to deliver improvements as soon as we possibly can.”

The Partnership, part of York and North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership, has campaigned for the £250m in Government funding needed.

A feasibility study has already been completed for the A64 scheme by Highways England, who said it would reduce queues and congestion at the Hopgrove roundabout which caused both delays and accidents.

A spokesperson said it would also improve journey time reliability between West Yorkshire and the Yorkshire Coast, reducing conflict with local traffic, and support planned developments in Ryedale and Scarborough.

Transport for the North’s major roads director, Peter Molyneux, said it was continuing to advocate for the scheme to be “brought forward at pace” in order to support the region’s economic recovery and growth.

Thirsk and Malton MP Kevin Hollinrake said although it was unlikely the scheme would be brought forward due to the length of the development process, this was the furthest the scheme had reached in a campaign for dualling that had gone on for decades.

“I am very pleased with the movement we have,” he said. “The A64 as it is, is a huge deterrent to the economic development of the region.”

Chair of the York & North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership, David Kerfoott, said: “The LEP continues to back the dualling of the A64 wholeheartedly. This is one of the most notorious ‘pinch-points’ in Yorkshire’s main road network – dualling would deliver economic growth, investment and address safety concerns.”

A DfT spokesman said it was looking carefully at the potential benefits of the scheme, to make sure it would deliver “the maximum benefit for the communities it serves”. It has committed £2.3bn for road improvements in north for the next five years, he added.