It looks like more may emerge over the Councils blunder in resurfacing Tadcaster Road in the summer and then deciding to dig it up again in the autumn.

In total over £5.5 million is being spent on the road with Northern Gas networks currently installing a new supply pipe along one side of the road.

When this work is completed the Council intends to lay new, surface water, drains.

The Councils scheme is being funded from a grant announced in June by the government. The announcement came a few days after the initial resurfacing scheme had been completed.

At the time there was some scepticism that York Council officials had not communicated with their DpT counterparts and explained that the work had been completed. We commented on the plans earlier in the year.

Now correspondence has been unearthed which suggests that the Northern Gas Network repairs were known to the Council in February (before the resurfacing contract was let).  An email says that the gas main would need replacing within 5 years.

It is one of several in west York that will need to be upgraded before 2026 as metal pipes are replaced with plastic. They are shown in purple on the plan.

An internal Council Email dated 2^nd July confirmed that Tadcaster Road would be dug up again. It gave utilities a second chance to get their work done before the Council moved in again.

It was a response to this invitation which led to the current Northern Gas works, which are due to be completed in February.

We suspect that – like several other transport schemes – officials were keen to use the first lockdown period to get disruptive works out of the way while traffic levels were light.

 Although the right approach in principle, it led to corners being cut and, in this case, has resulted in a substantial waste of taxpayers’ money.