Ring road upgrade could be scaled back - report

Work to turn more of one of York's busiest roads into a dual carriageway could be scaled back under a review of the city's biggest infrastructure projects.

City of York Council had planned to dual a 4.6-mile section of the A1237 Outer Ring Road in a £65m scheme, with the aim of reducing city centre congestion.

The Labour-run council's decision-making executive will be asked next week to approve "omitting" sections of the scheme to focus instead on improving roundabouts and making it easier for people to walk or cycle.

Kate Ravilious, executive member for transport, said inflation had increased "significantly" since the ring-road scheme was first costed.

York's Station Gateway project, which began in 2023 and was designed to improve the area around the railway station, is also under review - though senior councillors say the work being done now will be completed.

Ravilious said: "It's essential we review the scheme, its costs, and bring the business case up to date.

"We'll receive a public report to executive in the spring which will set out the latest position and the council's options.

"Once we know the updated costs, we'll explore funding options with the government and the mayor."

But Stephen Fenton, the Liberal Democrat opposition's transport spokesman, said the Outer Ring Road scheme had reached "make or break time".

He said: "There is cross-party support for the dualling scheme.

"We now need Labour to deliver on their commitments."

The council said both schemes had come under pressure because of delays, previously high inflation and "areas beyond our control," such as the war in Ukraine.

Deputy leader Pete Kilbane said the second phase of the Station Gateway project, which was already under way, would be finished.

He added: "It will need some additional funds to finish it, so we need to work out exactly how much and how we will do that with partners.

"So that's not just the council, it's also Network Rail."

A report to next Tuesday's executive meeting said other issues - as well as financial pressures - were affecting progress on the Outer Ring Road.

They include slow progress on buying land needed for the improvements, as landowners wait to see the outcome of the review.

Fenton said ongoing housing developments in the north of the city were "reliant" on infrastructure projects, like dualling more of the A1237.

He said: "There is a real risk that we are about to repeat the mistakes of the past.

"When the A1237 was built it was constructed as single, rather than dual carriageway.

"We have been paying the price of that missed opportunity ever since."

The report recommended that £5m be taken from the Outer Ring Road budget and diverted to the Station Gateway scheme.

Ravilious said ongoing work on York's Local Plan - a long-term document which will guide planning and development - "rests on" improvements to the Outer Ring Road.

She said: "Meeting that commitment, plus maximising its benefits for sustainable travel, remains a high priority for the current Labour administration".

Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North or tell us a story you think we should be covering here.