Unitary sends combined authority letter before claim over £20m highways funding shortfall

The combined authority approved £63.8m in highways maintenance funding for North Yorkshire Council for 2026/27 last month, up from £57.8m in previous years.

However, North Yorkshire argues that it would have received at least £20m more had the funding been allocated by the Department of Transport, which previously allocated funding before the combined authority took responsibility for the decision last year.

Under the DfT's formula, North Yorkshire received 92.7% of highway maintenance funding, while the City of York Council took 7.3%.

In March, the combined authority approved a new approach that introduced a 90:10 split between the two councils.

Announcing the legal challenge, North Yorkshire's leader, Carl Les, said: “We are challenging the mayor’s decision to change the way highways maintenance money has been allocated by the Department for Transport for more than 10 years.

"A decision which will mean there is £20 million less to maintain roads and pavements across our county over the next four years."

He added: "We believe there is no evidence or data to support the change in formula, and the loss of funds will have a significant negative impact on our maintenance programme. We believe that the decision is a change to the combined authority’s budget, and as such, approval should have included the leader of the council’s approval. It did not."

He said North Yorkshire believes the mayoral combined authority has not followed its own organisation's legal constitution in making the decision.

"This point cannot be left unchallenged because it could pave the way for further similar decision making in the future,” he said.

“We are taking this action because we believe the residents, businesses and visitors to our county expect us to fight for the fair funds to keep roads and pavements in the best possible condition here.

“This is not something we are taking lightly, but we do believe that ensuring decisions are taken legally, transparently and fairly is worth fighting for.”

James Farrar, York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority Chief Executive, said: “We can confirm that legal correspondence has been received and is being reviewed.

“As this issue may relate to potential legal proceedings, we are unable to comment, however we can confirm that the decision challenged by North Yorkshire Council resolved to provide North Yorkshire Council with £63.8million for highways maintenance in 2026/27, up from £57.8 million in previous years.”

Adam Carey