A £20 million bypass linking Malton and Norton is under consideration by North Yorkshire County Council.

The southern bypass for the towns is one of four major bypass schemes prioritised by the council across the county, including bypasses around Northallerton and north and south of York.

The scheme has been on the cards for more than a decade, but it came back under the spotlight last week when the county council’s executive reviewed major infrastructure schemes.

No firm details have been drawn up yet, but support to make it happen has been pledged by the leader of Ryedale District Council.

Cllr Keane Duncan, who is also county councillor for Norton, said: “We have to think outside the box if we’re going to solve our traffic woes.

“The new bypass is a critical piece of infrastructure, with potential to support new development and solve congestion in Malton and Norton once and for all.

“It is good to see the county council has recognised the massive benefits the scheme will have and want to pursue it.

“But now is the difficult task of making it happen. Sadly there are high costs to overcome but where there is will, there is a way.

“I am keen for Ryedale District Council to put its money where its mouth is and work with the county council to drive this scheme forward at the earliest opportunity.”

County council officers said that the Malton and Norton southern bypass is “closely linked to potential local plan growth and addressing town centre congestion issues”.

The county council’s executive member for highways, Cllr Don Mackenzie, added: “The list of prioritised major schemes has been in existence for many years, but we have to review it as every major scheme has to have a reasonable cost-to-benefit ratio.”

A report to the council’s executive states there has been a significant change in emphasis by Government on what major schemes should deliver, with the focus now on economic growth.

As a result, schemes which would see support new housing and employment growth, improve connectivity between major economic centres and improve cross boundary links are being prioritised.

The report added the county authority is intending to engage consultants to review options for the four prioritised bypass schemes, “to ensure that the most appropriate solution is chosen to take forward”.

The report states other long-held ambitions, including a bypass at the A170 Pickering - could be prioritised in future as they have been included on the Government’s recently-announced major roads network (MRN).

Separate to the bypass, the dualling of the A64 between Hopgrove and Barton Hill has also been the subject of discussions this week.

Thirsk and Malton MP Kevin Hollinrake and four other Yorkshire MPs wrote to Highways England to express “grave concerns” about its assessment of the need and value for money of a proposed dual carriageway - an evaluation which has gone from medium to low.

In their letter, the MPs said that the £135m Hopgrove roundabout flyover improvements, which were originally proposed by Highways England, will not solve the long tailbacks on the road and will continue to constrain the economic performance of businesses and tourism within the A64 corridor.

They said that the £120m to £250m dual-carriageway option, which has the support of the A64 Growth Partnerships, including the Local Enterprise Partnerships, NYCC and RDC and businesses, will “significantly reduce traffic issues and journey times” and “make a huge difference to the regional economy”.

They are appealing to Highways England to revisit its business case for the dual-carriageway and they recommend that it is included in the next road investment period from 2020 to 2025.