THE public inquiry into plans for a flyover on the A64 at Bilbrough Top has been adjourned until November.

The Highways Agency said the delay was intended to allow the publication of a variation of one of the alternative schemes being considered by the Inquiry.

The scheme was put forward by local resident Brian Percival, who was concerned that a link road leading to the flyover would come very close to his property.

His alternative involved the link road moving much further away, but concerns were raised about the proximity of a high pressure gas main.

The variation is understood to be a compromise between the agency's original proposals and Mr Percival's alternative.

The agency says full details of the variation will be published around mid-October, when the public will have a chance to comment.

The inquiry, formally adjourned on Tuesday, will resume on November 12. The £3.9 million flyover proposals are seen as the key to the closure of a gap in the central reservation.

Numerous accidents have been caused by vehicles passing through the gap to get from one carriageway to the other. But the agency has refused repeated calls to close the gap as an interim safety measure, saying closure would not be practicable until the flyover is built.

Updated: 12:20 Thursday, September 20, 2001