TRANSPORT officials are to spend an extra £2 million improving a roundabout on York’s northern ring road.

A move by Labour opposition councillors to spend the money on a range of smaller schemes around the city failed, meaning the cash will instead go on tackling congestion on the A1237.

City of York Council’s transport boss Steve Galloway said the money would likely be spent on either the junction with the A19, or the junction with Wigginton Road.

The Liberal Democrat council executive decided on March 31 to spend money from the Regional Transport Board on the ring road. Labour formally challenged that move, and the council’s cross-party strategic policy panel met this week to settle the dispute.

Conservative leader Ian Gillies sided with the Lib Dems to give a vote of 6-5 in favour of their original decision.

Coun Gillies said: “I am damned if I do and damned if I don’t.”

He said he was more convinced the money would be spent on tangible improvements if it were allocated to the ring road.

“It is necessary to improve the traffic flow on the northern ring road, because it is strangling the areas around Clifton Moor and Poppleton Park,” he said.

Labour leader David Scott said: “If I thought for one minute that fixing that one roundabout would solve congestion in York, I would say to spend the money on that, without a doubt. But it will not.”

Coun Galloway, of the Lib Dems, said it was important to reduce congestion on the A1237, to encourage people currently driving through York to use the bypass instead.

He said the Regional Transport Board would also take a dim view of future funding applications by the council for ring road improvements, if it chose not to spend money now when it had the chance.