Green light for £6.6m road network investment

Two significant road network improvement projects totalling £6.6m have been given the go ahead by the York, North Yorkshire and East Riding Enterprise Partnership (YNYER).

YNYER said the investment would enhance town centre links in Scarborough and east-west connectivity at the Shiptonthorpe junction between Pocklington and Market Weighton.

Plans approved include works on four town centre junctions, to support economic growth and the delivery of housing, with potential for up to 450 houses a year, the majority located in the Scarborough urban area.

The Shiptonthorpe Roundabout scheme provides a £3.1m investment in east-west connectivity across the LEP area. This highway improvement is also required to facilitate high levels of new development within the East Riding of Yorkshire.

Shiptonthorpe Roundabout forms the junction of the A1079 and A614 – the main road transport link between York and Hull. The scheme involves the creation of a new fifth arm on the north western side of the roundabout and significant improvements to the A1079 at this area, for both road traffic and pedestrians.

The aim of the scheme is to reduce queuing and congestion, improve journey times and journey time reliability along the A1079. The scheme will also ensure that the junction can accommodate additional traffic generated by new housing and employment development across the area whilst continuing to provide a vital strategic link for a wide variety of travel purposes.

David Dickson, the Board’s Chair said: “The benefits of investment in road junctions and roundabouts can be fairly intangible to the public and businesses. However, they are at the heart of all the decisions we make. Improving East-West connectivity, and improving the economic potential of towns are both core strategic aims for our LEP. These investments in our road network signal future development that will positively impact the public and businesses in these areas.”

The projects combined will see an allocation of £6.6m of the government’s Local Growth Funding. This figure is in addition to the almost £10m worth of Local Growth Funding that the LEP has already agreed over the last six months, to develop schemes across the LEP area.

The Scarborough Junctions Improvement Project has been brought forward by North Yorkshire County Council and Scarborough Borough Council to enable the delivery of improvements to town centre connectivity in Scarborough town centre.

The £3.5m Local Growth Fund investment made by YNYER will buoy up local authority and private sector funding to meet the project costs.

 

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