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NEW moves are being made to get the A64 York to Scarborough road upgraded.

North Yorkshire County Council is to be given the chance to put forward a fresh case to the Department of Transport for the inclusion of the A64 upgrade scheme.

The announcement, on the Downing Street website, follows a petition from leaders of the tourist industry on the Yorkshire coast to the Prime Minister asking for the A64 to be given priority.

Ryedale MP John Greenway told the Gazette & Herald yesterday (Tuesday): "This news is very welcome, but we have to get away from the log-jam of the scheme in the Regional Transport Board priority list. The future of the A64 scheme will be decided at regional level and it is now up to the county council, Ryedale District and Scarborough Borough councils to make a joint case for the upgrading."

Mr Greenway said the whole of the economy of North East Yorkshire would benefit from the improvements and he was particularly keen to see the long-awaited Rillington bypass reinstated as a top priority after its down-grading in the priority list sometime ago.

The petition to the Number 10 website said: "The A64, by virtue of its single lane sections, is having a potentially detrimental effect on the economic and social benefits that could, and should, be enjoyed by the people who live in the Ryedale and Scarborough area.

Continuing the dualling of the A64 would have unquantifiable benefits to the economic business base of the areas."

In reply, Number 10 has said that the dualling scheme - last estimated to cost £400 million - was considered as part of the Yorkshire and Humber Prioritisation Programme undertaken by the Yorkshire and Humber Transport Board in January 2006. "However this scheme was not given priority by the region, and was not included in its submission to the Secretary of State."

The statement added: "The Department of Transport intends to give the regions an opportunity to reconsider their priority later this year and it will be for the county council and other scheme promoters to put forward a fresh case for the scheme's inclusion."

County Coun Mike Knaggs, who represents Malton and is the authority's current chairman, said: "Road safety on the A64 has got to be seen as a priority. There have been far too many fatal accidents on the road. I welcome the news of the reconsideration and I shall certainly be pressing the case through the Ryedale Area Committee of the county council because of the benefits economically and from a road safety point of view."

Ryedale councillor Lindsay Burr, chairman of the Junction Action Group which is pressing for roundabouts and improvements to be carried out at each end of the Malton bypass, at Musley Bank and Brambling Fields, said that scheme was also being re-submitted after the issue was deferred at a previous meeting of the Regional Transport Board. "Dualling the A64 would be of enormous benefit because at present the traffic moves very slowly which is to the detriment of businesses in Ryedale and the frustration of hundreds of motorists travelling from West and South Yorkshire to Ryedale and the coast."

Even last weekend when Ryedale was in the grip of winter weather, the A64 was busy with queues several miles long at times of traffic heading in both directions.

12:27pm Thursday 27th March 2008

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