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15
Jul
Boost for motorists as more roads added to pothole repair list in Harrogate district
North Yorkshire Council has added 31 schemes worth £4.27 million to its list of roads earmarked for repairs in 2026/27.
The roads were chosen following engineering assessments carried out since September last year.
Four of the 31 schemes are for roads in the Harrogate district.
They are:
- Askwith Lane, Askwith (patching) £117,859
- Oatlands Drive, Harrogate (resurfacing) £298,884
- A61 Ripon Road at Ripley (resurfacing) £351,978
- Thorndikes Lane, Minskip (unspecified) £39,000
There is also a boost for motorists using Wetherby Road in Knaresborough, where a £330,750 improvement scheme has been brought forward to 2026/27.
All the projects are expected to be approved at a meeting of North Yorkshire Council’s environment executive on July 22.
James Gilroy, the council’s team leader highways asset management, said in a report ahead of the meeting:
The proposed schemes were identified through ongoing asset condition and engineering assessments carried out since the forward programme was approved on 26 September 2025.
The intention is to deliver the majority of these schemes in 2026/27 as part of the current delivery programme, utilising the adjusted funding received for highway maintenance in 2026/27 as part of the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority revised funding settlement for highways maintenance in North Yorkshire between 2026 and 2030.
Highway robbery?
The Department for Transport used to allocate highways funding directly to North Yorkshire Council and City of York Council.
But the DfT now awards it to York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority, which then gives it to the two councils.
Both local authorities will receive more over the four-year period due to the enhanced DfT settlement of £456.2 million.
But there has been controversy over the combined authority’s decision to change the funding formula in favour of City of York.
The DfT used to award 92.7% of the settlement to North Yorkshire and 7.3% to City of York.
But Labour mayor David Skaith, who chairs the combined authority, changed it to a 90%-10% split, which will reduce the amount Tory-run North Yorkshire Council receives by about £20 million and allocate it to Labour-run City of York Council instead.
So even though North Yorkshire will receive more overall, it will receive less proportionately.
Mr Skaith was likened to highway robber Dick Turpin for the move.
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