The £65m York Outer Ring Road dualling project has been further delayed, with both the city council and the Government reviewing the scheme.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service reported that funding for the scheme has been pushed back two years, with City of York Council budgets showing that cash which was previously budgeted only until 2027, has now been allocated up until 2029.
A revised timetable shows spending during the current financial year down from about £22.6m to around £1.1m, while around £9.2m is now set to be spent in 2025-6 compared to the £23.9m originally planned.
Most of the spending is now set to happen in the following three years, with almost £22.4m in the council’s budget for 2026-7.
When asked by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the council did not confirm whether the project would be completed by 2029.
The Major Road Network (MRN) scheme was first announced by then transport secretary Chris Grayling at the October 2018 Conservative Party conference, before the MRN actually existed.
In 2019, the Department for Transport (DfT) approved in principle a contribution of £25m but the following year it emerged that the scheme start could be delayed until 2023.
James Gilchrist, City of York Council’s director of environment, transport and planning, said: ‘A review is currently being undertaken which will look at all the key areas of the project such as the latest anticipated cost, programme, risk and land acquisition against the original business case and funding.
‘The review will help inform the required update to the business case for funders and is the best way for the project to progress through to delivery.’
The scheme is also subject to the DfT’s review of its capital spending portfolio.
