MILLIONS of pounds worth of improvements are set to be made to York's road network as Local Growth Funds are allocated from government.

York is covered by two successful applications for central funding from both the York, North Yorkshire and East Riding Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and the Leeds City Region LEP.

Transport and infrastructure improvements featured highly in both LEP bids with the Leeds City Region, which covers York, securing £420 million to deliver a West Yorkshire plus Transport Fund in a 20-year agreement, granting the LEP powers to prioritise transport schemes locally.

In a joint statement, Cllr Keith Wakefield, leader of Leeds City Council, and Cllr Peter Box, chairman of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, of which York became a member this year, said: "We have been lobbying hard for this for a very long time. We are glad that the government has now listened to our exceptionally strong case to put the financial power in our hands to drive our ambitions in a way that could be truly transformational for local growth.

“All this could not and would not be possible without the very strong and powerful support we have received from our public and private sector partners and together we will work to forge a future of real prospects for our people and industries.

"We aim to unleash the economic potential of the North and in particular in West Yorkshire and the Leeds City Region.

“This must be just the start of more powers and resources being localised. With the right infrastructure and investment, along with well-planned, sustainable skills training and job creation to support our push for growth, we can transform our city’s and our neighbours’ economic potential into an economic powerhouse.”

Thanks to funding secured by the York, North Yorkshire and East Riding LEP, North Yorkshire County Council is set to spend £25 million on road improvements.

The LEP funding come on top of more than £10 million announced just over two weeks ago, made up of £5.2 million from the Department for Transport, matched by a similar amount from the County Council.

County Councillor John Weighell, the Leader of the Council, said: "Good transport links are critical to economic prosperity.

"This was a key point made by the Local Enterprise Partnership in its business case for a share of the Local Growth Fund, and it is extremely gratifying that the need for more investment in North Yorkshire’s highways network has been recognised."

The initial £10 million secured by the County Council has been earmarked for pothole repairs and other maintenance work in the current financial year.

The additional funding secured by the LEP from the Local Growth Fund will cover work over the following five years.

Cllr Weighell added: "This is an extremely significant investment in North Yorkshire, and will allow the County Council to take steps to ensure that the vitally important transport infrastructure of this very large county supports the economic growth and prosperity for which we are all striving."