Renewed effort to make the case for dualling the length of the A64 route

Up to £250 million was pledged as part of Chancellor George Osborne’s Autumn Statement for the A64 but councillors were disappointed to discover this is solely to address problems at the Hopgrove roundabout, on the edge of York.

Councillors and businesses in the area have long argued that far more of the route connecting York to Scarborough should be dual carriageway.

County Coun Gareth Dadd, the council’s executive member for highways, said: “These improvements will have a beneficial effect, and the potential level of expenditure is promising, but we will need to use all our influence, the support of other local authorities, businesses and communities to press for as much improvement as possible along the whole stretch of the A64 – and look for other sources of money to help fund more improvements.”

The Hopgrove roundabout improvements are expected to centre on a new flyover that will separate traffic heading to Scarborough from that travelling in to York.

County Coun Derek Bastiman said he was “bitterly disappointed that the announcement from central Government did not specifically mention the duelling of the A64 in isolation to any proposed improvement at the Hopgrove Roundabout”.

“My main priority is to see the economy of the businesses throughout the A64 corridor be given the opportunity to promote, expand and remain competitive in whichever their chosen business may be.”