HIGHWAYS bosses have taken another small step towards dualling the A64 north-east of York, an MP has revealed.

Thirsk and Malton MP Kevin Hollinrake said Highways England had appointed AECOM, a specialist company, to carry out environmental surveys in areas affected by the proposed dual carriageway.

He said HE was writing to landowners to seek permission to carry out the non-invasive surveys between July and September.

"The purpose of these ‘walkovers’ is to identify habitat types and areas where protected species may be present; understand the setting of known heritage assets such as listed buildings; identify where changes to views may occur and identify and assess the condition of hydrological and groundwater features as well as measuring cross-sections of watercourse channels to understand their capacity and inform future modelling," he said.

“This is another small step in the right direction. There is a lot of groundwork to be done in order to present a robust case to the Department of Transport for funding and to better understand which of the various options under consideration should be put forward."

He said he hoped landowners would cooperate fully so the best possible route for the much needed dual carriageway could be found.