Spending Review: North Yorkshire road schemes cancelled

Money allocated to road repairs across the county after the harsh winter has not been cut

Five road improvement schemes in North Yorkshire have been scrapped as the county council comes to terms with a reduction in government funding.

The council said it was informed by the coalition government earlier this year that funding for transport projects would be cut by £4.54m, or 25%.

Improvements to the A180 in Pickering, A1041 in Selby, A171 in Whitby and two schemes in Skipton will not go ahead.

A further six projects have been scaled back, the council said.

A £3m highway maintenance scheme across the county will continue and £500,000 of funding for work to stabilise a potential landslip on the A59 in the Craven area has been protected.

Projects which have been scaled back include improvements to community transport facilities and vehicles in Richmondshire, improvements to the car park and bus and cycle facilities at the Dales Countryside Museum and a contribution towards the cost of providing a link road between the A64 and the A165 in Scarborough.

Councillor Gareth Dadd, executive member for highways, said: "Making cuts of 25% is never going to be easy and inevitably there will be winners and losers.

"We have tried to minimise the impact on local people and wherever possible have given priority to road safety.

"We have also been able to protect the contribution this funding was making to repairing last winter's damage to our roads."