YORK’S council leader has said a cross-party case for funding to improve the city’s Outer Ring Road needs to be taken to the heart of Government.

Coun James Alexander called a meeting of City of York Council’s rival political groups and local MPs Julian Sturdy and Hugh Bayley this month to discuss a united approach to securing the money needed to upgrade the route.

Dualling and grade-separated junctions would cost about £350 million but is considered the only long-term solution to its congestion problems.

In a letter to party leaders and the two MPs, Coun Alexander said that local and external funding could help but Government and private sector money was the only way of bridging the gap.

He said the case for Outer Ring Road funding should be made to Westminster by all parties “to demonstrate its key geographic economic benefit and need for national infrastructure investment”.

“If we can secure funding for the Outer Ring Road, there is massive mutual benefit for us all, and it was good to see we can work together to secure funding for a major upgrade, towards the aspiration of dualling,” he said.