North Yorkshire’s new head of transport and highways, Coun Malcolm Taylor, has spoken about public transport, potholes, and his coastal connection.
Coun Malcolm Taylor took on the role of executive member for highways and transportation last week after incumbent, Coun Keane Duncan, resigned from the executive to ‘make way for new talent’.
The Conservative representative for the Huby and Tollerton division and former policeman has said his top priority will be to “maintain our current road system” and to ensure that “every penny we have got is used in the most efficient way”.
Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) just a few days after taking up the role, he called on the public
“to be our eyes and ears”.
“There are nearly 6,000 miles of road across North Yorkshire, and using the internet to report any issues online really helps.
“And you do get a response back when you report it online, and that helps our teams to try and tackle some of the major [issues] as quickly and efficiently as possible.”
Asked about problems with public transport, including buses, faced by many coastal towns and whether improvements could be expected, he told the LDRS that work was ongoing and was hoping for progress.
However, he cautioned residents not to “underestimate the size of that challenge”.
He added:
“If we have buses, people have to use them. We can’t run ghost buses, because that’s just not an efficient use of limited funds.”
Coun Taylor moved to Scarborough as an 18-year-old working for North Yorkshire Police and lived in the town for more than three decades.
“I worked right up and down the coast, which I hope will help me in understanding some of the challenges and issues that we’ve got on the East Coast.”
On the dualling of the A64, the new executive member said he would strive to keep the issue “at the top of the agenda” and would be engaging on it with the mayor and local parliamentarians.
He commented:
“Public transport is important, but in a rural county like North Yorkshire, the car is important as well, including for shift workers when public transport is not available.”
The LDRS asked Coun Taylor how he would measure whether he had been successful in his first year in office next June.
“I’d like to see that the public recognises there have been some improvements,”
“I’m not going to say we can fix every road and every pothole in Scarborough, because that’s not right, I need to manage expectations,”
“But I represent a rural constituency, and that would be the biggest thing that would assist my rural patch if we improve the roads, and I think that is our best endeavour, and we will try and do that.”
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