Photo: Mayor David Skaith at the Combined Authority meeting at County Hall in Northallerton today.
York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority has today approved the first long term deal for the region’s transport network, backed by record levels of investment.
The four-year strategy worth £456.2 million will provide unprecedented levels of funding and greater flexibility, unlocked by the creation of the Combined Authority.
It will fast-track a massive programme to repair crumbling roads, tackling potholes while transforming safety for those walking, wheeling and cycling.
The settlement set out during a meeting at County Hall in Northallerton this morning has been agreed to cover a four-year period from 2026 to 2030.
The Combined Authority will allocate £298.4 million for highways maintenance and £17.5 million for active travel. An additional £30 million has been ringfenced to support safer streets, making the school run safer for parents and their children.
In its first year, covering the 2026/27 financial year, the Combined Authority will pass £70.9 million directly to our local authorities for highways maintenance, representing a significant increase on the previous year.
North Yorkshire Council will receive £63.8 million for highways maintenance in 2026/27, a substantial increase from the £57.8 million received the previous year.
While City of York Council will see its allocation rise to £7.1 million in the same period, up from £4.4 million in 2025/26.
David Skaith, the Mayor of York and North Yorkshire, said:
“This record investment of £456 million is a defining moment for our region, we’re moving away from short-term fixes and delivering the long-term solutions residents expect.
“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.”
Beyond immediate repairs, the long-term delivery plan sets aside £112 million for significant strategic schemes. This includes enhancing bus and rail station access and improving key transport corridors. Local councils and delivery partners will now be invited to submit specific schemes to tap into this transformational funding pot.
The decision marks a shift toward greater local control, with the Combined Authority now holding the flexibility to direct government funding where it is needed most across York and North Yorkshire.
This chart sets out the previous Highways Maintenance Allocations for City of York Council and North Yorkshire Council and the proposed allocations under this new deal from 2025/26 to 2029/30:
Frequently Asked Questions
Where has the money come from?
The £456.2 million Mayoral Transport Settlement has been awarded to the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority by the Department for Transport.
The fund is made up of separate allocations that would previously have been awarded directly to City of York Council and North Yorkshire Council, including the former Highways Maintenance Grant, Bus Service Improvement Grant, and Integrated Transport Block.
When local councils chose to establish a devolved mayoral authority, this enabled funding to be channelled through the newly formed Combined Authority and its elected Mayor.
What is the timescale?
The settlement has been agreed to cover a four-year period from April 2026 to the end of March 2030 for capital funding, and a three-year period from April 2026 to March 2029 for revenue funding.
Why are you saying this is a record amount of funding?
Following the creation of the Combined Authority, the region has secured more government funding compared to previous years, alongside its first multi-year settlement. This provides greater certainty for long-term planning and more flexibility in how funding is spent.
How is funding being allocated across York and North Yorkshire and how has this changed?
The £456.2 million fund is made up of £428.8 million capital funding over the next four years and £27.4 million revenue funding over the next three years. It is the responsibility of the Combined Authority to distribute this funding according to mayoral priorities, national guidance and local ambition.
Working with NYC and CYC, as well as other partners, we will use local perspectives to prioritise projects that will deliver strategic benefits across the York and North Yorkshire region as well as schemes with very local benefits. Often, the benefits of transport network improvements are not felt from where spades hit the ground, layouts are changed or digital systems are improved – this means that the spread of funding for different places is likely to be change from previous years but benefits will continue to be felt across the region.
A detailed plan for allocating the funding to projects will be published in September 2026.
Highways maintenance
Highways maintenance is crucial to the region’s transport network, so a significant proportion of the capital funding available through the Mayoral Transport Fund will be invested in maintaining York and North Yorkshire’s existing highway network.
Highways maintenance continues to be the responsibility of the Combined Authority’s constituent councils in their role as Local Highway Authorities. The significant majority of highways maintenance funding – 90 per cent - will be distributed to North Yorkshire Council and City of York Council to allocate according to their priorities to meet local needs.
This has been allocated on a 90:10 ratio between North Yorkshire Council and City of York Council respectively, reflecting both asset length and type, and vehicle usage across the network.
This reflects a change from the 92.7:7.3 highway maintenance funding ratio employed by the Department for Transport, which was based on network length and type.
Over the funding period, approximately 10 per cent of the highways maintenance allocation (£29.8m) will be allocated through the Mayor’s Road Maintenance Fund (MRMF) to tackle regional network maintenance challenges and other high priority issues.
In the first two years this has been allocated on a 90:10 ratio between the councils to be focused on tackling large patch repairs on roads of strategic importance with high vehicle traffic.
Minor works
This will enable delivery of smaller schemes, for example dropped kerbs or new crossings. The Combined Authority will work with North Yorkshire Council and City of York Council to prioritise schemes based on their existing schedules and local knowledge, enabling them to respond flexibly to the needs of local communities and neighbourhoods.
Significant Schemes
These will range from modest schemes with relatively local impact to large corridor schemes with regionwide benefits, focused on strategic priorities and informed by the Mayor’s ambitions for the region. A programme will be developed with North Yorkshire Council and City of York Council in the coming months.
What will the money be spent on?
Highway maintenance – maintaining and improving the region’s road network, including fixing potholes, repairing and resurfacing roads.
Minor works – Small, localised improvements such as dropped kerbs and crossings.
Significant schemes – North Yorkshire Council and City of York Council will be invited to submit schemes to receive a share of this funding. Funding has been allocated within this pot to support the following priorities, and will continue to be refined over time:
- Active travel £17.5m
- Bus and rail access and punctuality £16.9m
- Safer roads and traffic management £30m
- Integrated corridor and place schemes £47.4m
Revenue – As in previous years, revenue funding will continue to support day-to-day spending to maintain the transport network, such as supporting vital bus services and infrastructure.
