NORTH Yorkshire County Council will be able to carry out its biggest ever programme of highway maintenance works, thanks in part to millions of pounds in additional Government funding.

The county has been allocated a total of £52.6m by the Department for Transport (DfT) to improve roads, pathways and cycle routes and carry out infrastructure projects.

This represents some £3.9m in extra money when compared to the amount the County Council had expected to receive to fund its plans.

The announcement from the Government is part of its £1.7bn Transport Infrastructure Investment Fund.

As part of plans already drawn up, more than 500 individual schemes are set to be delivered. These include £5.7m of patching projects , just over £10m of surface dressing and more than £17m of road resurfacing

Locations include Gristhorpe Bypass and several locations in Richmond.

Cllr Don Mackenzie, member for access, said: “We welcome this additional funding from the Government, the second largest amount in Yorkshire as a whole.

"As England’s largest county, there are thousands of miles of footpaths and highways for us to maintain and this will allow for significant investment in our infrastructure.”