Plans to roll out North Yorkshire’s first fixed and average speed cameras have taken a step forward after funding was allocated for their introduction.
The Labour Mayor of York and North Yorkshire, David Skaith, today (Friday 27 March) heralded a four-year transport capital funding settlement of £456m as a “defining moment” for the region.
He added: “We’re now in the driving seat with greater funding and local control that was previously out of reach and I’m investing a record amount to fix our streets and make them safer for everyone that uses them.”
Last year, a fixed speed camera installed as part of a trial on the A64 in Sherburn, between Malton and Scarborough, was deliberately knocked over hours before it was due to be switched on.
York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority has agreed £298.4m for highways maintenance and £17.5m for active travel over the next four years.
An additional £30m has been ringfenced for road safety work including improvements outside schools.
This pot also includes £2m for the county’s first fixed and average speed cameras for the county.
Locations of the cameras would be determined by road safety partnerships.
For road maintenance, North Yorkshire Council will receive £63.8m in 2026/27 — up from £57.8m it received the previous year.
City of York Council will see its allocation rise to £7.1m in the same period, up from £4.4m in 2025/26.
But the decision on the settlement was taken without the support of North Yorkshire Council leaders who say their authority will receive around £20m less over the four years than it would if the money came directly from the Department for Transport.
They are unhappy that extra money provided by the government has been “top sliced” by the mayor for other transport schemes.
They have also opposed a change to the calculation for road maintenance funding which means £4m of their allocation will be diverted to City of York Council.
Conservative council leader, Councillor Carl Les, said: “To be clear, this is a decision made locally that will mean we have less money to maintain our roads.
“We had asked the mayor to reconsider the plans, and it is extremely disappointing that the proposals have now been voted through.
“There are no guarantees beyond the next financial year, and the allocations could change again to make the situation even worse.
“The approach actually risks a worsening rating for our highways from the Department for Transport, which could lead to a further reduction in funding.”
During the meeting at County Hall in Northallerton, North Yorkshire Council’s deputy leader, Councillor Gareth Dadd, questioned what data the Combined Authority had to support the introduction of speed cameras.
In response, Jo Coles, Deputy Mayor for Policing, Fire and Crime, said 2,000 people had been killed or seriously injured on North Yorkshire’s roads in the last five years.
She added: “Lancashire’s own introduction of fixed and average speed cameras, which I think is probably about ten years ago now, has had a significant impact on the numbers of people killed and seriously injured on the roads of Lancashire.”
Later in the meeting, the mayor stopped Cllr Dadd from speaking for a second time about the road repair settlement.
In response, Cllr Dadd said it was “utterly disgraceful” that he was being “gagged” over the issue.
Both he and Cllr Les voted against the settlement.
But Councillor Peter Kilbane, deputy leader of Labour-led City of York Council, welcomed the extra funding for road maintenance for his authority.
He said: “Conservative Liberal austerity destroyed our roads.
“We are now setting about fixing them with that additional £105m extra over that period. I think it’s bizarre that this has been resisted and spun as somehow being the worst thing that’s ever happened to North Yorkshire.”
