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31
Mar
Exclusive: Cost of £68.8 million Kex Gill road scheme looks set to rise
The cost of the £68.8 million road scheme on the A59 at Kex Gill looks set to rise.
The ongoing project to realign four kilometres of the landslip-prone route between Harrogate and Skipton is the biggest capital spending project ever undertaken by North Yorkshire Council.
The Department for Transport is contributing £56.1 million; the remaining £12.7 million is being funded by the council.
But the council contribution appears likely to increase.
A new item about Kex Gill has been added to the council’s forward plan, which is a document that lists forthcoming key decisions.
It says the council’s ruling Conservative executive will be asked to “increase risk contingency funding support” at a meeting on May 6. No sum is given.
Risk contingency funding is money set aside to cover unexpected expenses or risks.
No further information has been published and key information in the report to the executive, and discussion of the subject, could be withheld from the public.
The council has published a Notice of Private Item, which it is required to do at least 28 days before a meeting when information could be kept private.
The notice says “the report is likely to contain exempt information” and adds:
It is considered that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information. This part of the meeting may therefore be held in private.
The Stray Ferret asked the council why the cost of the scheme had risen and by how much.
Karl Battersby, the council’s corporate director of environment, said:
The report will update the executive on the scheme’s progress and the key risks and costs to complete the project.
At this stage we are not able to provide any further information. The project remains on track to open the new road to traffic in June 2026.
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