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04
Jan
A59 Kex Gill re-route: a nine-year unfinished saga
The saga over Kex Gill and its multi-million pound road realignment stretches back more than nine years.
Following a series of landslips and significant traffic disruption, the former North Yorkshire County Council proposed a project to build a new road to solve the problem.
The scheme is among the council’s biggest ever spends at £68.8 million and is a mammoth undertaking. And it has not been without its hurdles and delays.
Here is the timeline of the Kex Gill project.
January 2016 - Significant landslip
In the new year of 2016, a landslip on the A69 caused the road to be closed for eight weeks.
A six-mile diversion was put in place through Ilkley and Otley while repairs were carried out on the road.
The landslip was the latest in a series of slippages on the road, which the council put down to “heavy rainfall, coupled with relatively unstable land on the hillside slopes”.
Autumn 2017 - Council consults on Kex Gill project
In an effort to address the disruption caused by multiple landslips, North Yorkshire County Council begins consulting on a realignment project.
The scheme will see the creation of a three-mile diversion west of Blubberhouses at Kex Gill.
The proposed reroute of the A59 at Kex Gill which has been proposed by North Yorkshire County Council.
The council concluded that work to stabilise the area surrounding the A59 would require “very substantial engineering works” and would be “unlikely to be practicable or environmentally acceptable”.
As a result, a new section of road next to the A59 is proposed.
July 2018 - Council agrees new route
Councillors on the authority’s executive agree the route for the scheme at a meeting on July 24, 2018.
The route takes into account the need to avoid areas shown by ground investigations to be unstable or potentially unstable, according to the council.
A full business case is expected to be submitted to the Department for Transport for support for the project.
November 2020 - Government puts condition on funding
Following the executive approval for the scheme, the council submits a bid to the Department of Transport for funding.
At this time, the scheme is expected to be within the region of £60 million.
As reported by the Stray Ferret in November 2020, ministers indicate that they would be willing to foot £56 million of the bill — though no decision has yet been made.
However, the government sets a condition that any further costs must be funded by the council.
January 2021 - Kex Gill project approved
Five years after the council first suggested re-routing the A59, the project is given planning approval.
At a meeting in Northallerton, councillors backed the multi-million pound scheme. However, funding for the project has yet to be granted by ministers.
In its planning statement, the authority said intervention was required to protect road users. It said:
Without intervention the evidence suggests that the road and road users continue to be at significant risk from future and more severe landslips; potentially resulting in serious injuries or fatalities.
In the same month, Grant Shapps, the transport secretary under Prime Minister Boris Johnson, pledges £56 million towards the project.
August 2022 - Costs increase
During an executive meeting of North Yorkshire County Council, Gary Fielding, the council’s finance director, reveals that the cost of the Kex Gill realignment has increased by £7.2 million.
County council officials originally estimated that the scheme would cost £61.6 million.
Mr Fielding attributes the rise in costs to inflation affecting the construction industry. As a result, the council is forced to foot the remainder of the bill.
As reported by the Stray Ferret at the time, Mr Fielding warns councillors that "unforeseen events" with the Kex Gill scheme which lead to increased cost would fall upon the authority.
(Left to right) Cllr Carl Les, leader of county council, Richard Holden, minister for roads, and Cllr Keane Duncan, executive councillor for highways.
February 2023 - Minister visits site
After the Department for Transport gave the final go-ahead for the project, Richard Holden, minister for roads under Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, visits the site off the A59.
In an interview with the Stray Ferret, he acknowledged that soaring costs were an issue, but remained confident that funding offered by the government was “sensible”.
He says:
We have done a sensible deal with them [the council], we did not want to sign anything before it was all ready.
Obviously, there have been inflationary pressures across construction particularly the last few years.
I hope we don’t need to get to that point, but I think we have got a good project team here who are going to keep costs under control working with National Highways.
I think we are in a good place, but obviously discussions are always open when it comes to money.
The site for the new road is cleared in August and work starts on the project the following December.
February 2024 - A59 Kex Gill suddenly closes
The council announces a sudden closure of the A59 at Kex Gill on February 2, 2024.
Melissa Burnham, the council’s highways manager, says the closure “is a result of land instability due to the heavy rainfall”.
However, businesses and residents raise concern over a lack of communication.
The newly formed North Yorkshire Council says in a press release this afternoon repair work costing £750,000 will begin on April 15 — meaning the road is unlikely to be open before June.
Repairs taking place at Kex Gill in June 2024.
Irish construction firm Sisk, which is carrying out the nearby £68.8 million three-mile realignment, has been appointed to undertake the work.
Some residents claim the closure is due to the impact of the realignment on the landscape. The councils denies this.
November 2024 - Council reveals final landslip costs
The Stray Ferret reports in November 2024 — five months on from the A59 reopening — that the landslip cost the council £3 million to repair.
In the same month, Cllr Keane Duncan, the executive councillor for highways, reveals that the realignment project on the A59 is due to be complete in spring 2026.
January 2025 - Another landslip
The main route linking Harrogate and Skipton closed suddenly on new year’s day due to a landslip.
Cllr Keane Duncan, the council’s executive member for highways and transport, says the latest landslip was a result of severe weather and “unrelated to the A59 realignment project”.
The council says the road is expected to remain closed for “a few weeks”.
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