Furious North Yorkshire council chiefs have accused the region’s mayor of “highways robbery” amid claims the county is losing £20m in funding to fix potholes and resurface roads.
A row has broken out between senior councillors at North Yorkshire Council and the Mayor of York and North Yorkshire, David Skaith, over a highways maintenance settlement from the Department for Transport (DfT).
The mayor says the unitary authority will receive a record-breaking £268m over the next four years to fix roads, thanks to an increase in government funding.
For 2025/26, North Yorkshire Council will be allocated £63.8m for highways maintenance — up from £57.8m in the current financial year, while City of York Council will receive £7.1m in the same period, up from £4.4m this year.
But North Yorkshire Council says it will actually receive around £20m less over the four years from changes planned by the mayor than it would if the money came directly from the DfT.
Senior councillors say a new calculation devised by the mayor would mean £4m redirected from North Yorkshire Council to City of York Council.
Around £30m is being set aside to use for repairs to the major roads network, with another funding pot being allocated for minor improvements such as dropped kerbs and new crossings.
North Yorkshire Council’s leader, Councillor Carl Les, said: “We have faced harsh weather conditions throughout a particularly wet winter, and the full allocation of the Department for Transport’s funding would allow us to start to improve the condition of the highways network.
“But to be confronted with a loss of more than £20m even before inflation is factored in over the next four financial years is going to have a very detrimental effect on the condition of our highways.”
Talks this week between North Yorkshire Council, the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority and City of York Council are understood to have ended without agreement on funding.
North Yorkshire Council’s deputy leader, Councillor Gareth Dadd, said the authority was grateful to the government for the additional money.
But he added: “It’s absolutely shameful that the mayor is proposing to inflict this cut on our expected funding — it’s nothing short of highways robbery.
“We have tried so hard to work with the mayor and his colleagues to come up with a solution rather than have something imposed on us.”
Announcing the funding, the mayor said: “I know first-hand the impact that poorly maintained roads have, not just on drivers, but also on people walking, wheeling and cycling.
“That’s why, over the next four years, I’m proposing we invest nearly £300m to fix our roads and tackle potholes.
“I’m also proposing a record £17.5m investment to build and improve cycle routes, pavements and crossings. Creating a safer school run is at the heart of this plan. To support this, an extra £30m will go towards improving conditions around schools and funding schemes that protect everyone who uses our roads.
“I’m proud to put forward this plan for approval. It is a £456m plan, delivering record levels of investment to fix our roads and make them safer for everyone who uses them.”
In response to the criticism from the council leaders, a spokesperson for the mayor added: “North Yorkshire Council will see a record-breaking £268m over the next four years, that’s £75m more than the previous four years.
“It’s sustained year-on-year investment into maintaining our roads alongside additional funding to make them safer for all users.
“This is a total of £456m to fix our roads and make them safer for everyone who uses them. We would have expected our partners to welcome this historic funding and the opportunity to break the cycle of managed decline.”
The highways maintenance funding will be discussed at a meeting of the combined authority on Friday next week (March 27).
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