Cap in hand council asks government for £5m towards county roads crisis

The crumbling state of North Yorkshire's roads has been declared a major priority by NYCC as it revealed that more than half of its 5,000km network is considered in need of urgent repairs.

A letter, signed by NYCC's leader John Weighell, to the Secretary of State for Transport has appealed for the department to match a pot of £5m set aside by County Hall to tackle the worst roads. Cllr Weighell is due to meet with the Secretary in London next week where he also plans to raise with him directly.

Describing the issue as ‘rapidly becoming a crisis’, the Councillor said that NYCC's £28m annual allocation still falls far short of the estimated £60m required to address the problems.

The news comes just weeks after a report into the progressively poor state of the Selby's Bypass surface suggested it could cost as much as £5m to bring the relief road up to standard.

In his letter Cll Weighell wrote, “We are considering investing more of our reserves if you are prepared to invest with us

“Insufficient funding for highway maintenance is not a problem unique to North Yorkshire, but I believe we feel the pain particularly badly. North Yorkshire is the biggest local authority in England by area and has the third largest road network. The topography of North Yorkshire means we are vulnerable to extreme weather. Our dispersed population and our rural economy make our minor roads particularly important. Added to this, the cars, HGVs and agricultural vehicles are getting heavier and larger and this has increased their impact on the condition of these minor roads.”

Analysis of the network by NYCC's own highways officers has highlighted a maintenance backlog worth £322m over the entire network. Even if the backlog was removed, they say it would still require £60m a year simply to maintain the highways in good condition.