Minister unveils first Network North project in Yorkshire

The Roads Minister has unveiled the first big capital project funded by money saved for cancelling the Northern legs of HS2, hailing the East Yorkshire junction upgrade as having a “real impact” on people’s lives decades before benefits from the high speed link would be seen.
Mason Boycott-Owen
By Mason Boycott-Owen
Published 3rd Nov 2023, 06:00 BST

In an interview with The Yorkshire Post in the East Riding, Richard Holden said that the £41m investment from the Government would see benefits across road safety, congestion and economic growth.

“It’s the first capital project but by no means the first idea we’ve had in this direction,” he said.

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“Some of these projects will have been talked around or worked up over many years, but until you've got that cash there to be released, you really can't deliver them.

Katie Stork – Principal Transport Policy Officer, East Riding of Yorkshire Council, Richard Holden MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport), David Davis, MP for Haltemprice and Howden, Councillor Anne Handley – Leader of East Riding of Yorkshire CouncilKatie Stork – Principal Transport Policy Officer, East Riding of Yorkshire Council, Richard Holden MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport), David Davis, MP for Haltemprice and Howden, Councillor Anne Handley – Leader of East Riding of Yorkshire Council
Katie Stork – Principal Transport Policy Officer, East Riding of Yorkshire Council, Richard Holden MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport), David Davis, MP for Haltemprice and Howden, Councillor Anne Handley – Leader of East Riding of Yorkshire Council

“So that's why I think today is such an important point, because so many people have had projects or ideas over a long period of time, but it's only when you get to that final business case point, where we can actually release the funding, can we guarantee the difference that's going to be made.”

The £86.9m plans to transform the Jock’s Lodge junction on the outskirts of Beverley aims to transform the road system that links the A164, one of the county’s busiest roads, with the A1079, and improve traffic flow and reduce congestion.

Work on the improvement scheme is due to begin in spring 2024 and expected to be completed in late 2026.

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Mr Holden said: “The work here is going to start early next year, this project is going to be finished in about three years' time.

"With HS2 going to Manchester, you wouldn't have even seen that happening until the 2040s.

“So you're actually gonna see real changes to people's lives.

"Roads like this are fundamentally important to the economy of East Yorkshire connecting Hull, but also Beverley to the Humber estuary as well.”

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Mr Holden, who currently serves as the MP for North West Durham is also seeking selection for the Yorkshire seat of Bridlington and The Wolds alongside Stuart Andrew, the Pudsey MP after both of their constituencies disappeared in the boundary review.

Sebastian Payne, the former journalist and head of the Onward think tank, is reportedly on the reserve list for the candidacy after failing to gain the selection in several seats across the country, including Selby in Yorkshire.

Related topics:YorkshireEast YorkshireWorkHS2