The MP for Thirsk and Malton has raised his concerns about the future redevelopment of the A64 in a letter to The Chancellor of the Exchequer. Mr Hollinrake has written to The Rt. Hon George Osborne to ask for his help to ensure work extends further along the road than currently proposed in order to provide better transport links across the constituency. Further to this Mr. Hollinrake has met with Andrew Jones MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at Department for Transport, to discuss the issue.
The Chancellor made a commitment in the 2014 Autumn Statement to invest up to £250m for vital improvements to the section of the A64 from Hopgrove towards Malton. However there is concern that if these enhancements do not extend the dual carriageway to meet the existing dualled section at Barton Hill it will simply relocate the existing pinch point.
Before writing to the Chancellor Mr. Hollinrake had recently organised a round table meeting with all the local authority leaders and Highways England. Everyone who attended supported the case for extending the proposed improvements and agreed with their MP who insists that it is essential to the future prosperity of the area.
“The future economic growth of Ryedale depends on this; the A64 is the key route from York to the East Coast yet is an accident blackspot and a notorious bottleneck, hampering new investment in our region. It is critical for key manufacturers such as McCain at Cayton, Rosti McKecknie at Pickering, Severfield and Kingspan at Sherburn and Karro Foods at Malton. The mean gross weekly wage in Ryedale District is £416 compared to £504 in neighbouring Hambleton, which benefits from better transport links including the A1(M).”
A letter has also been sent to John Cridland, Chair of Transport for the North, to ask for his comments and support. After reading a copy of the Northern Transport Strategy Spring 2016 Report Mr. Hollinrake has expressed disappointment that more about the A64 was not included.
“For residents and businesses in the constituency it is essential that the A64 becomes a more reliable, safer and much better road. In order for companies to expand they need to know they can both bring in and export goods across the country on a daily basis. Staff need to be able to get to work promptly at any time of the day. Without this investment in our main transport route companies cannot plan for their future and the district could miss out on potential prosperity. I will continue to do all I can to get the improvements needed.”