‘We felt apprehension, but not fear’: Harrogate seaman remembers the Falklands War

The Stray Ferret is publishing two articles this weekend looking back at Harrogate’s links with the Falklands War.

Yesterday, we spoke to Harrogate woman Christina Nelson who was only 22 when her husband Stephen Heyes was killed aboard HMS Ardent aged 21. Read the article here.

 

“Where’s the bloody Falklands?” was Harrogate sailor Neil Harper’s first thought following the Argentine invasion on April 2, 1982.

The former Harrogate High School pupil was always destined for a career at sea. He spent his formative years as a sea cadet in Harrogate and his dad was in the Royal Marines.

He was 19 when the British government dispatched a naval task force to the islands in response to the invasion.

Mr Harper joined the Navy aged 16 and was an able seaman gunner so knew that his services would be required.

“When it kicked off I was back in Harrogate on leave so it was a case of ‘get back to the ship’.”

After returning to Portland in Dorset, the captain of HMS Argonaut told the crew:

‘I can’t tell you where you’re going, but you’ll have a damn good idea.”

‘Attack after attack’

Mr Harper said the feeling onboard the ship on the 6,000-mile journey “was of apprehension, but not fear”.

He said:

“We were all a bit young and stupid!

“It was finally a chance to do the job were trained to do.”

The sailors encountered  the Falklands’ unusual landscape, which Mr Harper described as being like “The Yorkshire Moors without the trees”.

“There are rolling hills, tundra grass and peat bogs. It’s quite bleak and it can be very, very cold. But it can be absolutely glorious down there too. You can see killer whales, penguins, seals and birds that are only found in the Falklands.”

Many hoped the crisis would be solved through diplomacy, but the fighting was fierce.

On May 21, HMS Argonaut faced assault from the sky. Mr Harper remembers “attack after attack” and frantic efforts to save the ship.

An unexploded bomb that was dropped on the HMS Argonaut

He said:

“They hit us with two 1000lb bombs, one in the boiler room and one in the diesel tank.

“Neither exploded luckily, but it caused a fire. We lost all power and were headed towards Fanning Head with no steering or working engines.

“At the time you were too busy to think about what’s going on.”

Two of Mr Harper’s friends, able seaman Iain Boldy and able seaman Matthew Stuart, were killed.

‘Are we gonna win?’

Lieutenant Peter Morgan is credited with saving HMS Argonaut after he dropped one of the ship’s anchors to use as an emergency brake.

The crew worked around the clock to restore power and radars. The captain sent out a signal to the crew to say they couldn’t move the ship, but could still fight.

Over the space of a couple of days, HMS Ardent, HMS Antelope and HMS Plymouth were also bombed.

Mr Harper said:

“We knew the Ardent had been hit. So there were thoughts of ‘what’s going on over there — and are we gonna win?'”

Once-in-a-lifetime assignment

Stray Ferret journalist Tim Flanagan was chief reporter for the Harrogate Advertiser in 1982.

He said the war was the talk of every pub, shop and workplace in the town.

Journalists at the paper kept a close eye on events due to the military connections in Ripon and at Pennypot in Harrogate.

Journalist Tim Flanagan in 1980

Mr Flanagan remembers interviewing Harrogate woman Christina Nelson, Stephen Heyes’ widow, not long after he died. She told him how Stephen’s pet cat Charlie still missed him, which has stuck with the journalist 40 years on.

“For a young woman, she was very poised. She was still in shock. She was courageous and a very brave person to speak about it. She wanted him to be honoured.”

Harrogate soldier Gavin Hamilton was also killed during the war and posthumously awarded the Military Cross for bravery.

Valentines messages

A year after the war was over, the newspaper sent Mr Flanagan to the Falklands. It was a once-in-a-lifetime assignment for a local news journalist who normally didn’t get further than Northallerton.

He stayed aboard HMS Sir Tristram to visit Royal Engineers from Ripon who were helping to rebuild runways and clear mines.

Mr Flanagan took with him some special messages from the wives of Harrogate district servicemen who were stationed there.

“I flew out on Valentine’s Day 1983 and went there with various things. I took messages for sweethearts and three or four Valentine’s cards. 

“I got a lot more on the way back from the soldiers, and asked to drop off flowers, chocolate and letters to their wives.”

Legacy of war

The war lasted just 74 days but 40 years on, time has not healed all the mental wounds brought on by the conflict.

The UK government’s treatment of its veterans, and their widows, have made it more difficult for them to receive closure.

Christina Nelson has campaigned for the government to subsidise expensive air travel to the islands so widows can visit their partners’ graves.

She said:

“I’ve not seen Stephen’s grave since the 25th anniversary. The government should do right by us. I’d love to go again, but I will not beg. It should be our right, but they are not bothered.”

Like many veterans, Neil Harper has suffered from PTSD. He left the Navy in 1989.

“We were offered no psychiatric help when we got back. It was a case of ‘man up and get up with it’.”

He returned to the Falklands in 2019 with some fellow seamen who he served with.

He added:

“Like any sort of trained blokes, we try and not shed a tear, but we do. We talk and remember, we’re a support group.

“It was time to go back and put a few demons to rest.”

255 British military personnel died in the war. Three islanders and 649 Argentine soldiers also died.

Harrogate widow remembers husband killed in the Falklands aged just 21

The Stray Ferret is publishing two articles this weekend looking back at Harrogate’s links with the Falklands War.

Today, we speak to Harrogate woman Christina Nelson who was only 22 when her husband Stephen Heyes was killed aboard the HMS Ardent aged 21.

 

HMS Ardent was sunk by Argentine bombs 40 years ago this month, on May 22, 1982.

Twenty-two British sailors died.

Ms Nelson told the Stray Ferret she finds every anniversary difficult. The couple had only been married for one year before his death.

“It doesn’t seem possible that I’m here at 62 and he never made it.

“He’s not growing old and grey and wrinkly. 

“He said that to me before he left, ‘you’ll go old, grey and wrinkly but I’ll never grow older than 21’.

“He knew he wasn’t coming home.”

Meeting

Stephen, who was from Wigan, was 16 when he joined the Navy in 1976.

His first ship was HMS Cleopatra, a frigate that had been adopted by Harrogate since the 1940s. It was even given the freedom of Harrogate in 1979 and sailors aboard the ship would sometimes march through the town.

Ms Nelson, who went to Harrogate High School, worked for the Ministry of Defence on St George’s Road.

She attended an MOD dance at the Royal Hall where she met Stephen, who was there with some fellow sailors from the Cleopatra.

Ms Nelson said:

“Me and my girlfriends went out, we had no idea we’d bump into a group of sailors – there’s no ground water in Harrogate!”

Stephen knew he’d met the girl for him as, two weeks later, he hitchhiked to Harrogate from where he was stationed on the south coast and proposed.

Their wedding was two years later at Christ Church on March 28, 1981, which Ms Nelson remembers as “all done on a budget but we didn’t lack on anything”.

Stephen was a huge Roxy Music fan and their first dance was the song ‘Dance Away’.

Navy career

After getting married, the couple together lived in Devonport, Plymouth.

Stephen was a seaman in electronic warfare and “absolutely loved it” in the Navy, said Ms Nelson.

But unusually for a sailor, he couldn’t swim.

She said:

“He was terrified of water. When they told me it sunk, I said they won’t find him as he can’t swim.”

The stricken HMS Ardent. Credit: HMS Ardent Association

HMS Ardent was attacked by at least three waves of Argentine aircraft on May 21. It sank into the Atlantic Ocean the next day.

But at the time there were only rumours that a ship had been hit.

Ms Nelson was working part-time at a Ladbrokes bookies and her boss told her to go home after the rumours spread.

She spent an agonising night on the phone with military officials, hoping to receive an update on Stephen. She was eventually told that his ship, HMS Ardent, was not in that area where the attacks happened.

But that all changed when a customer came into the shop and said: “Bloody hell, you wouldn’t have thought they’d sink the Ardent.”

Ms Nelson said she knew then that Stephen had been killed.

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Good memories

Stephen was an animal lover and had adopted a stray cat called Charlie, who would still wait for him to come home long after he died.

Ms Nelson said it was a sign that he was still with them in some way.

She said:

“Every day at 4pm, Charlie would meet Stephen after work to have his tummy tickled. After he died he still did the same thing.”

Christina now lives in Alicante, Spain. She spent last weekend’s anniversary with one of Stephen’s old friends from the Navy, who had cycled over from Benidorm.

She said it still doesn’t seem real that four decades have passed by since her husband’s death.

“I’m sat here looking at pictures on the wall — how the hell can it be 40 years?”

Stephen and Christina’s wedding day in Harrogate

Christina said she likes to remember Stephen as a big-hearted family man.

She added:

“He was just somebody with a smile that could light up the room – when he smiled you knew he was there. He didn’t have a nasty bone in his body, he was a gentle soul.”

Stephen Heyes was one of 255 British military personnel that died in the war. Three islanders and 649 Argentine soldiers also died.

Tomorrow, we speak to Harrogate Falklands veteran Neil Harper about his experiences during the conflict. We also speak to journalist Tim Flanagan who reported on the war for the Harrogate Advertiser.

Playground in Ripon to finally reopen tomorrow after rat infestation

A children’s playground in Ripon that was closed in September due to a “huge” number of rats eating leftover food will finally reopen tomorrow.

Ripon City Council officials shut Quarry Moor playground last year amid public health concerns caused by the rodents.

It said it collected a minimum of eight rubbish bags a day, which was “a constant food supply” to the rats.

But with half-term underway, the playground is now free from rodents and safe for children to play in.

The council posted the good news on its Facebook page today. However, it asked visitors to take any litter home with them to deter the rats from returning.

“We are pleased to share the news that Quarry Moor playground will be open from tomorrow.

“May we politely request that you take your litter home with you to avoid issues with rodents. This will ensure the playground remains open. Thank you for your cooperation.”

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Harrogate ‘crackhouse’ shut down following cuckooing claims

A court has closed down a Harrogate council house for three months following claims a drug-dependent woman was being exploited by drug dealers.

Harrogate Borough Council, which owns the property on Cawthorne Avenue, applied to Harrogate Magistrates Court for a closure order on the property under Section 80 of the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2014.

A notice was served this week at the one-bedroom property, which has been occupied by a 27-year-old female tenant, who was named in court, since June 2021.

Harrogate Borough Council solicitor Lynne Ashton told the court yesterday the “draconian order” was necessary due to the tenant’s spiralling addiction to class A drugs and the fact that known dealers and users were regularly seen visiting when she was not there.

The court heard how council housing staff have made repeated attempts to visit the tenant due to ongoing problems at the house, which have included threats of violence towards neighbours.

Ms Ashton said there was intelligence that the house was being used as a crackhouse and the tenant “appeared to be the victim of cuckooing”.

Cuckooing is when drug dealers take over the home of a vulnerable person in order to use it as a base for drug dealing.

The tenant did not attend court to offer a defence.

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Squalid conditions

Ms Ashton read out a witness statement from a North Yorkshire Police officer who visited the property in April and found over 200 used needles in a bag.

The statement described the squalid conditions at the property, including a double mattress on a concrete living room floor with needles and other drug paraphernalia scattered around.

The officer’s statement said:

“I was disgusted. It was one of the worst houses I’ve ever been in my career as a police officer”.

Ms Ashton also told the court that the house was near Willow Tree Primary School and there were concerns about used needles being left outside when children walk to school.

The court agreed to close the property for three months, effective immediately.

Ms Ashton said the tenant will be offered a place at Fern House, a specialist hostel for homeless people in Starbeck operated by Harrogate Borough Council.

Special Harrogate cat helps Jessica, 16, with seizures

A special cat from Harrogate is in the running for a national award for helping her companion Jessica Swift cope with various health conditions.

Jessica, who is 16, has a chromosome disorder known as 15q11.2 deletion, as well as autism, epilepsy, learning disabilities and disordered eating.

Her best friend is Max, a male seven-year-old tabby.

During the night Jessica sometimes has seizures and Max will run to her parents to let them know that she needs help. After she’s had a seizure, the devoted mog will cuddle up and comfort her.

Sometimes Jessica has to spend time in hospital and mum Zoe Curtis said that at such times Max is not himself, and that he paces around and jumps into her arms as soon as she gets home.

Ms Curtis said:

“Max and Jessica are inseparable, and they get so much enjoyment from each other’s company.

“Jessica can sometimes have seizures in the night, and we have an alarm to let us know when this is happening. But Max is often already on the case, running to us to let us know we need to come and help Jessica. After she’s had a seizure, he’ll cuddle up close to her, which is such a comfort for her.

“Max has his own health problems, as he has a heart condition which needs daily medication. Jessica will hold him while I give him his tablet – there’s no one else he’ll allow to do that.

“Jessica will have little tea parties for her toys, and Max always joins in. The love they have for each other is clear for everyone to see. In Max, Jessica has a best friend and a constant companion.”

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Max has been named as a finalist in Cats Protection’s National Cat Awards 2022.

He beat hundreds of other entries and is one of three contenders in the Furr-ever Friends category, which celebrates the bond between children and cats.

Cats Protection’s awards organiser Kate Bunting said:

“It’s truly heartwarming to hear of the incredible bond Jessica and Max share, and how they care for each other. Their story really highlights what an amazing effect cats can have on the lives of people of all ages.”

If Max wins his category, he will also be in with a chance of being crowned National Cat of the Year.

Harrogate council opens applications for energy rebate to more households

Applications are now open for thousands of households to apply for their £150 energy rebate from Harrogate Borough Council.

There are around 15,000 households that must fill out an online form because they do not have a direct debit set up with the council.

Other people who have yet to receive the payout because their bank account name does not match the name on their council tax records can also apply on the council’s website.

The payments are to help with soaring energy bills and are being made to homes in council tax bands A-D.

Around a third of Harrogate district households have yet to receive the money, including some of those who will be paid automatically because they pay council tax by direct debit.

Those who are non-direct debit have had to wait until now to apply.

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The council said these households will need their latest council tax bill and bank account details if they want the £150 paid into their bank.

The council added:

“Your rebate will be paid into your bank account within two weeks of a successful application

“Please note that we will not contact you by telephone for this information.”

There is further funding set to be made available for households which do not qualify under the initial scheme. This will include people on low income in council tax bands E-H.

Separately, the government has also announced a £200 discount on energy bills for all domestic electricity customers from October.

However, unlike the council tax rebate, this discount will be automatically recovered from people’s bills in equal £40 instalments over a five year period from 2023, when it is hoped global wholesale gas prices will have come down.

For more information on how to apply for the £150 energy rebate go to www.harrogate.gov.uk/energyrebate

Harrogate district MP: ‘Time for Boris to get on with the job’

Nigel Adams is the only Harrogate district MP to comment so far on the publication of the long-awaited Sue Gray report.

The senior civil servant found that many of the parties in Downing Street “should not have been allowed to happen”.

The report included details of vomiting and parties lasting until 4am whilst the UK was under covid restrictions.

Mr Adams, whose Selby and Ainsty constituency includes several Harrogate district villages, is a member of the cabinet and a key ally of Prime Minister Boris Johnson. He tweeted this afternoon:

“The Prime Minister welcomes Sue Gray’s report and has apologised again.

“He now needs to get on with the job, levelling up the country, tackling global challenges including the cost of living and Ukraine crisis and delivering for the country and for the people who put their faith in him in 2019.”

Other cabinet ministers including Rishi Sunak, Dominic Raab and Nadine Dorries all tweeted similar messages of support for the Prime Minister at the same time.

The Prime Minister welcomes Sue Gray’s report & has apologised again.

He now needs to get on with the job, levelling up the country, tackling global challenges inc cost of living & Ukraine crisis & delivering for the country & for the people who put their faith in him in 2019.

— Nigel Adams (@nadams) May 25, 2022

What have Andrew Jones and Julian Smith said?

The Stray Ferret asked the two other Tory MPs in the district, Harrogate and Knaresborough’s Andrew Jones and Skipton and Ripon’s Julian Smith for their response to the report but we did not get a reply.

In January during a Commons debate, Mr Jones said the Sue Gray report should be published in full.

In the same month, an email to a constituent revealed Mr Jones thoughts on ‘partygate’ scandal. The MP said: “I take the maxim ‘lawmakers can’t be lawbreakers’ seriously.”

Mr Jones said if criminal actions were found then “consequences must flow from that”.

“In respect of the investigation announced by the Prime Minister in December, if this finds wrongdoing, and the police find that these actions were criminal, then consequences must flow from that.”

Julian Smith is yet to comment publicly on the report.

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Fears for trees in next Otley Road cycle path phase

Fears have been raised that work to build the next phase of the Otley Road cycle path in Harrogate will cause permanent damage to mature trees.

A meeting about the cycle path was held last night at Harrogate Grammar School between North Yorkshire County Council officers and local groups, including Harlow & Pannal Ash Residents Association, Zero Carbon Harrogate, The Stray Defence Association and Harrogate District Cycle Action.

The first section between Harlow Moor Road and Arthur’s Avenue was completed in January.

Work on the next phase from Arthur’s Avenue to Beech Grove have been earmarked to begin in autumn.

Yesterday’s two-hour meeting was not open to the media but we spoke today to some of the people that attended.

‘Can’t afford to lose the trees’

Plans for phase one and phase two of the cycle path were first published in 2019.

Officers delivered a presentation on the plans for phase two last night, which remain largely the same as the 2019 proposals.

These show one tree will be felled below Victoria Road and some grass verges down both sides of Otley Road will be tarmacked over to make way for the cycle path, which will be shared with pedestrians and built close to two rows of large trees.

The trees and verges on Otley Road are technically part of Stray land. Last year Harrogate Borough Council agreed a land swap with a section of grass on Wetherby Road so the cycle path could proceed.

Judy d’Arcy Thompson, chair of the Stray Defence Association, called the first section of cycle path on Otley Road, which has been widely criticised for its design, “a dog’s dinner”.

She said the 100-year-old trees on Otley Road were vital for absorbing water during heavy rainfall, adding:

“I’ve sought repeated assurances they will not create any damage to the trees. Those trees are on Stray land. They are protected by the law and they are a huge environmental asset to the town. We can’t afford to lose the trees.”

‘Pure scaremongering’

Malcolm Margolis, a Harrogate District Cycle Action member, said he needed more time to study the plans but any suggestion workers would damage trees on Otley Road was “pure scaremongering”.

He said:

“It is regrettable if a tree has to be lost, if this is unavoidable as part of a high quality cycle path. No doubt it will be replaced with new saplings nearby. We have previously asked North Yorkshire County Council to consider a 20mph speed limit and narrowing the carriageway, which might avoid tree loss.

“The suggestion that more may be lost if workers dig into the roots is pure scaremongering. Similar suggestions were made about phase 1 but the only trees that went were those in the plans, and almost all of those were for changes to Harlow Moor Road, which were purely to benefit drivers, not cyclists or pedestrians.”

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‘Preserve beauty of town’

Otley Road resident Chris Dicken has been an outspoken critic of the scheme since it was first proposed several years ago. He said “there’s no doubt Otley Road will be spoiled” by its next phase.

“It will change the ambience. It’s a very nice tree-lined boulevard.

“Trees have roots that go everywhere. How do you make sure they don’t damage those trees for the future? It won’t show up immediately but it could affect the trees. How do you get around that?”

Michael Schofield, the newly elected Liberal Democrat county councillor for Harlow & St Georges, said the council needed to ensure no trees are damaged:

“The last thing we want is for someone to be doing work and to accidentally dig into the roots. Those trees do take up a lot of water. They help that.

“The trees give Harrogate an identity. It’s one of the reasons people come to visit. We need to preserve the beauty of town.”

Government guidelines

New government guidance on cycle lanes in July 2020 said any new infrastructure should be “high quality, with a strong preference for segregated lanes”.

It warned against councils building routes that require a lot of stopping and starting from cyclists.

But the guidance was introduced after the designs for phase one and phase two were published, so it doe snot apply to these sections.

The Stray Ferret was offered an interview with Melisa Burnham, NYCC highways area manager. But today the offer was retracted.

Instead it issued the following statement from Ms Burnham

 “As part of our planning for Phase Two of the Otley Road cycle route we invited a range of stakeholder groups from across Harrogate to contribute their views and ideas on the project.

“They included the Ramblers Association, the Youth Parliament, Civic Society, residents associations, Stray Defence and the Cycle Action group. North Yorkshire councillors who represent the area also attended and the event resulted in positive and constructive discussions between group members and officers responsible for designing the scheme.

“County Council officers, alongside Harrogate Borough Council colleagues, explained the role Otley Road will play in creating a sustainable transport corridor, which will help provide residents with better choices for their travel needs.

“We also took the opportunity to update attendees of Phase One progress and the outstanding remedial work, including resurfacing, signage relocation and lining. This will be complete in June. Advanced notification will be sent to the residents indicating a confirmed start date.

“The design for Phase Two has not changed significantly since the first engagement in 2019 but we wanted to take this opportunity to discuss this again in person with the groups present.

“Key themes which emerged included the need to consider all sustainable transport users (cyclists, walkers and buses) of the routes and a recognition of the competing priorities of all users, the impact on the surrounding area, trees and Stray. We will ensure contractors are aware of the need to protect trees through the use of appropriate working methods.

“Some present raised concerns around communications for the Phase One delivery and they have been taken on board. Work on Phase One took place during the Covid-19 restrictions, which meant at times programmes moved at an unexpected pace.

“We also took the opportunity to share the Phase Three feasibility study, but this is not at a detailed design stage and further consultation will take place as that develops. Issues around the segregation of pedestrians and cyclists, set against the availability of land, have yet to be addressed.

“We hope that this meeting provided a positive start to addressing the communication concerns and a ‘meet the contractors’ event will follow in early autumn, before Phase Two works commence.”

Harrogate council chief scolds councillor for calling influencer a ‘waste of money’

A leaked email reveals Harrogate Borough Council chief executive Wallace Sampson gave a councillor a dressing down after he said spending £700 on a social media influencer to promote the town was an “appalling waste of money”.

The Stray Ferret has obtained an email Mr Sampson sent to the Liberal Democrat councillor for New Park, Matthew Webber, in February.

In the email, Mr Sampson claimed the councillor’s comments, published on this website, caused a “great deal of hurt” to council staff.

However, Cllr Webber said the tone of Mr Sampson’s 500-word email was “laughable” and compared it to a schoolteacher telling off a child for being naughty.

Cllr Webber said:

“Councillors should be there to hold people to account. People shouldn’t get upset if we’re asking difficult questions. Nothing was said in a personal way or at individual people.”

Value for money?

The Stray Ferret revealed in January that Harrogate Borough Council paid Heather Cowper from Bristol £700 to promote the town’s Christmas Fayre in a blog — which only received two likes when posted on Facebook, including one from the council itself.

Her posts performed slightly better on Instagram but the investment raised questions over whether the fee represented good value for money to council tax payers.

Cllr Webber, who sits on the council’s audit and governance committee that scrutinises council spending, said the council should have used local residents to promote the town instead.

Cllr Matthew Webber

He said in January:

“It probably received less likes on the various social media platforms than we could have got from just posting a similar article ourselves or other local residents who have social media profiles.”

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A telling off

The email from Mr Sampson to Cllr Webber was sent in February this year.

Mr Sampson also copied in local Liberal Democrat leader Cllr Pat Marsh as well as council employees Gemma Rio, head of Destination Harrogate, Paula Lorimer, director of Harrogate Convention Centre and communications officer James Sherwood.

Mr Sampson’s email said “I don’t expect an apology from you” but warned that negative comments about the council in the press can “undermine morale and motivation of our hardworking staff”.

The email says:

“I also don’t think that it is unreasonable to expect members to support the hard work and dedication of their officers, especially following the events of the last two years, and to trust in their professionalism.”

The full email is below.

The email from Wallace Sampson to Cllr Webber

Free to comment

Cllr Webber said he was “surprised” to receive the email from Mr Sampson regarding his comments about the £700 spend on a social media influencer, which he said he stood by.

He said councillors should be free to comment on how the council spends the public’s money without interference from the chief executive.

The Stray Ferret asked Mr Sampson for a comment but did not receive a response.

Plan to cut congestion on Oatlands Drive won’t be ready until autumn

New proposals to cut congestion on Harrogate’s Oatlands Drive won’t be ready until at least autumn – more than a year-and-a-half after original plans were abandoned.

North Yorkshire County Council scrapped plans to make the street one-way traffic in March 2020 before launching a feasibility study for the wider area.

However, there have been several delays and the council has yet to go out to consultation.

A council spokesperson said the consultation is “still being finalised” and “likely to start soon after” next weekend.

The spokesperson also said the new proposals will be made available at the end of the study, “which will be in the autumn”.

The original plans were met with widespread opposition from residents who warned the one-way system would be “disastrous” for the area which includes St. John Fisher Catholic High School and St. Aidan’s Church of England High School.

The one-way proposals were replaced with a 20mph limit and traffic filters.

However, this still caused upset among locals who complained the changes would cause disruption on residential streets.

This led to the plans being dropped altogether from the council’s active travel schemes for which the authority received around £2.5 million for projects across North Yorkshire to get more people walking and cycling.

A common complaint for Harrogate’s Oatlands Drive is that parked cars block cycle lanes near the Stray where there are no double yellow lines.

Residents also say their streets are busy with rat-run drivers looking to avoid town centre traffic.

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Allan McVeigh, the council’s head of network strategy for highways and transportation, said as well as the consultation, data gathering including parking surveys will be carried out before the new proposals are brought forward.

He also said new traffic measures would be trialled before being introduced permanently.

He said:

“The purpose of this study is to review the existing designs and prepare new ones, based on the data we collect, to give us some options for active travel and traffic calming improvements in the Oatlands area that could be trialled in a pilot to test before implementation.”

Separately, the council has confirmed it is aiming to start work on phase two of the long-delayed Otley Road cycle path also in autumn.

Phase one was completed in January, with phase two set to start after a review of the designs was launched following new government guidance and safety concerns being raised by residents.

Phase three relies on funding from housing developers, and the council said this final stage will also include a feasibility study.

Council officers behind the Otley Road cycle path are meeting with cycling and walking campaigners, councillors and residents’ groups this evening to discuss the progress so far and next steps.