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Coun Keith Knaggs

RYEDALE residents could help to fund two multi-million schemes on the A64 to rid Malton and Norton of long-running traffic problems.

Coun Keith Knaggs, the leader of Ryedale District Council, said upgrading the junctions at Brambling Fields at the Norton end of the Malton bypass, and at Musley Bank, at Huttons Ambo, would improve the quality of life in the town centres and help to boost the towns' economy.

Tomorrow night Coun Knaggs will urge the council to ask officers to carry out design work to improve the junctions and ask the council's resources working party to explore the impact on its capital programme.

Coun Knaggs said yesterday that he believed a partnership scheme involving Ryedale council, North Yorkshire County Council, the Highways Agency, the Regional Transport Board and Yorkshire Forward could see the dream become a reality.

"We have to be enthusiastic and committed. If we can't, we cannot expect anyone else to be," he said.

The collapse of the £20 million business park at Eden Camp Road and the new Malton Town Centre Strategy had triggered his call for action, said Coun Knaggs.

"We're getting bogged down in the detail of individual sites in the Malton strategy, square footage of supermarkets and how many parking spaces are actually in use at any one time. As part of this, we have a specific planning application involving the relocation or disappearance of the livestock market.

"These fundamental controversies about where and how we provide better quality jobs and shopping, and perhaps better provision for farmers, affect all Ryedale, not only Malton," said Coun Knaggs. "While we talk, nothing happens and in Malton and Norton, traffic congestion gets steadily worse."

Rather than fight over individual sites, he suggested the focus should be on the fundamental infrastructure - in short, should there be a transforming change at Brambling Fields and Musley Bank on the A64, which would provide immediate benefits in the short as well as long term.

The improvements could be self-financing, said Coun Knaggs, as the council gets contributions from the town centre developments.

In addition Ryedale District Council has some capital and could have more if it develops its assets.

"Why should the taxpayer not have a capital gain as well as the private developer?" he said.

Ryedale could not do the improvements, estimated over a year ago to cost £11 million, on its own, but it could be achieved in a partnership scheme, said Coun Knaggs.

11:47am Wednesday 14th May 2008

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