Rishi Sunak reviews Haxby station plans and announces new transport funding

The government has announced £4.7bn worth of investment into transport as part of its Network North plans, the scheme set up to use funds redirected from scrapped legs of the HS2 development.

The ‘local transport fund’ includes £379.67m over seven years from 2025 to 2032 for the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority, which was established in December and will have its first metro mayor elected in May.

On a visit to Haxby on February 26, Mr Sunak reviewed plans for Haxby Station - which was part of the original Network North announcement - with Network Rail.

Anna Weeks, principle programme sponsor at Network Rail, wrote on X: “Great to be in Haxby today with Rishi Sunak to look at plans for the new train station on the York-Scarborough line.

“A really exciting project that the Network Rail teams will be working to deliver in the upcoming years.”

Mr Sunak said: “Through reallocating HS2 funding, we’re not only investing billions of pounds directly back into our smaller cities, towns and rural areas across the North and Midlands, but we are also empowering their local leaders to invest in the transport projects that matter most to their communities - this is levelling up in action.”

Coun Andrew Hollyer, who is a councillor for the Haxby and Wigginton ward, said: “Residents in Haxby, Wigginton and the surrounding villages cannot wait to get their new station so that they can easily travel to York and beyond.

“Haxby station will be a major boost to residents in the northern villages and a major boost for our environment with a reduction of car journeys into York.”

However, Labour's executive member for transport at the City of York Council, Coun Pete Kilbane, said: “There will naturally be some scepticism about this announcement given the Prime Minister’s original Network North announcement contained funding for schemes that were already complete.

“Similar scepticism will arise from funding announcements being made before any of that funding is made available."

He added: "If we’d had funding for each time the government had made an announcement on Haxby station, we’d now have several Haxby stations.

“The reality is the decision to press ahead with Haxby Station has sat with the government for quite some time.

“We are just waiting for them to give it the go-ahead.

“What the York public needs to see is a government putting its money where its mouth is and so far that hasn’t happened.

“All kinds of funding promises can be made when you know you’re highly likely to lose the upcoming general election.”

Coun Chris Steward, leader of the Conservative group on the City of York Council, said: “We very much welcome the new funding which will represent a huge step forward for York and the surrounding region.

“Transport is without doubt a crucial driver of economic growth and will help boost productivity.

“With us just over two months away from the first York and North Yorkshire regional mayor this should hopefully be the best 12 months for transport in York's history.”