Highways England appoints company to begin environmental surveys into proposed dualling of A64

Kevin Hollinrake MP for Filey, who has long campaigned for the dualling described the move as 'very good news.'

Highways England is writing to landowners to seek permission to carry out the non-invasive surveys between July and September.

The purpose of the ‘walkovers’ is to:

- identify habitat types and areas where protected species may be present

- understand the setting of known heritage assets such as listed buildings

- identify where changes to views may occur

- measure cross-sections of watercourse channels to understand their capacity and inform future modelling.

Mr Hollinrake said: "This is another small step in the right direction. There is a lot of groundwork to be done in order to present a robust case to the Department of Transport for funding and to better understand which of the various options under consideration should be put forward following an extensive consultation process with regional stakeholders and the public.

"I very much hope that landowners will be willing to cooperate fully so that we can identify the best possible route for this much needed dual carriageway which will transform the lives and businesses of so many in the region."

Scarborough and Whitby MP Robert Goodwill, a former Transport Minister and a long-standing campaigner for improving the A64, has previously described the importance of the scheme.

He said: "Dualling this increasingly important road is vital. It carries heavy traffic throughout the year, and upgrading it is key to attracting new investment on the Yorkshire Coast.

"The scheme has widespread support through the Scarborough and Ryedale area, especially from the business community."

The various options for improvement include an upgrade at Hopgrove to include a single elongated signalised roundabout in conjunction with one of three options for dual carriageway schemes, which would join the existing dualled road at Barton le Willows.

These are either from a point 500m north of Hopgrove roundabout to Jinnah Restaurant or one of two offline schemes which would take the dual carriageway away from the current road via either the FERA estate or close to Scotchman’s junction and back onto the A64 at the Jinnah restaurant.

This scheme is one of over 30 that Highways England are considering around the country.

The Department of Transport is expected to make a final decision in 2024 on dualling of the road.

If successful, construction will be carried out in the building programme from 2025 to 2030.