Resorts at risk over road refusals

A long-running campaign to upgrade the A64 between York and Scarborough has repeatedly fallen victim to a lack of funding as Ministers have prioritised other road schemes nationally.

A study is now due to pinpoint some of worst accident and traffic congestion blackspots on the 35-mile stretch of road between the two.

It is hoped funding can be secured by identifying individual schemes rather than pushing for an overall project to dual the A64 between York and the coast – at an estimated cost of more than 500m.

But business leaders and senior councillors yesterday issued a stark warning that efforts to regenerate coastal towns and bring in new enterprise could be thrown in jeopardy unless an adequate transport infrastructure is provided.

Scarborough has itself been carving out a burgeoning reputation for new business after being crowned the most enterprising place in Britain in the Enterprising Britain 2008 Awards.

But Scarborough Borough Council's portfolio holder for highways and transport, Coun Andrew Backhouse says efforts will be undermined unless improvements to the A64 become a reality.

"The campaign for improvements to the A64 has been continuing for many years now, but it has been repeatedly brushed aside in favour of other schemes which have been deemed to be a higher priority," he said.

"We are all acutely aware that there is a huge pressure on funding in the public sector, but that cannot be at the detriment of the Yorkshire coast.

"The Government needs to start looking at improving the connections to the nation's coastal towns as this is where a significant proportion of the country's wealth and industry is based.

"But if we do not have an adequate road and rail network, then this will undermine all the work which is being undertaken to attract new enterprise and enhance existing businesses."

The A64 study will look at measures to improve connections between Scarborough and the Ryedale district to York, as well as boosting links to the region's main transport networks, including the A1 and the East Coast Main Line.

The York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce's president, Shaun Watts, stressed that improvements to the A64 would help encourage investment and regeneration.

He added: "For years there have been rumours of the road being dualled yet nothing has come to fruition.

"Transport investment in our region has been lowest in the country for too long. While the Chamber recognises that public spending needs to be curbed to reduce the deficit, we are lobbying the Government to reduce the investment disparity and share funding equally across all regions to ensure that we can pay for vital improvements such as this and make our region a better place for business."

The A64 research project is due to be completed by the autumn, and will involve North Yorkshire County Council, Scarborough Borough Council, Ryedale District Council and York Council.

The regional development agency, Yorkshire Forward, and the Highways Agency are also due to participate and will contribute towards the 155,000 cost of the study.

The Department for Transport said major improvements along the A64 would need to be funded from a regional allocation.

A spokesman added: "In 2006, the Yorkshire and Humber region did not prioritise any dualling schemes on the A64, and this decision was again confirmed in 2009 when the Yorkshire and Humber region provided their advice to the Department on transport priorities."