Several roads in the region that are in a 'much-needed' state of despair have been added to a priority list. 

North Yorkshire Council’s executive will on Tuesday (July 16) consider pushing forward a set of routes the authority has developed with the City of York Council which provide strategic connections between towns, cities or regions, which give access to an important location or carry high-frequency bus services.

The mayoral combined authority will then be asked to approve and coordinate the Key Route Network (KRN), which is a stipulation of the devolution agreement for York and North Yorkshire.

The majority of the proposed routes are in North Yorkshire and include the A6136 from the A1(M) to Catterick Garrison, the A167 Darlington boundary to Northallerton, the A171 Scarborough to Tees Valley boundary, the A170 Scarborough to Thirsk, and several roads that run towards Cumbria and County Durham's borders.

The KRN does not include routes that form part of the Strategic Road Network that are managed and maintained by National Highways, such as the A1(M), M62, A64, A66(T), A168(T) and the A19(T).

Other routes in the proposal include the A63, from the A1(M) to East Riding boundary, the A629 from Skipton to the Bradford boundary, the A6131 Skipton town centre to A629 and the A61 Thirsk to Harewood, including Harrogate town centre.

The proposed KRN also includes the A6068 Crosshills to Lancashire, the A6040 York Place in Harrogate, the A59 from Skipton to Lancashire boundary, the A59 from Blossom Street in York to Skipton and the A56, from the A59 to Lancashire boundary.

Several sections of the A19 are featured in the proposed KRN, including from Fishergate in York to the Selby bypass and to the Doncaster boundary, from Bootham in York to Thirsk.

Other routes included in the proposal include, the A169 Malton to Whitby, the A166 from Grimston to Stamford Bridge and the A1237 York Outer Ring Road.

An officers’ report to the meeting states it is expected funding for maintenance schemes on the KRN will be part of the usual local highway authority funding streams, which in North Yorkshire is £37 million a year.

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However, following the cancellation of the HS2 link between Birmingham and Manchester the Department for Transport has proposed £31.42 million a year more funding for upgrades in North Yorkshire until 2033/34.

The authority’s Green Party leader Councillor Kevin Foster, said while there was no detail about what the KRN would mean, he welcomed the inclusion of routes such as the A6136 from the A1(M) into Catterick Garrison, for which he hoped to be involved in talks leading to a bypass.

He said: “I have been campaigning about the A6136 since 2019 – we have got one of the biggest garrisons in the world and we need to get our troops in and out quickly should they need to do it.

“We have got lots of housing being built along the route and most importantly with the new services at Coronation Park and the new health centre, it’s no good having these places if we can’t access them.”

The council’s executive member for highways, Councillor Keane Duncan, has been approached for comment.