Editor’s Pick of the Week: Captain Pothole’s explosive exit and roadwork rage

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Was this the week when civil war broke out among Conservatives in North Yorkshire?

Councillor Keane Duncan’s colourful three-year stint as highways chief on North Yorkshire Council ended when he threw himself on his sword at the behest of leader Carl Les.

Cllr Duncan’s time in charge was rarely dull — he had oversight of the £12.6 million Harrogate Station Gateway and £82.5 million Kex Gill road realignment, which both suffered rising costs and delays, and he led a doomed mayoral campaign last year in which his campaign campervan came off an icy road at Trapping Hill near Lofthouse.

But his resignation letter hinted his return to the backbenches could pre-empt a leadership challenge next year and cause a rupture in a party struggling to maintain its grip on power at Northallerton.

Cllr Duncan is 30. Cllr Les is 75. So the former’s comment that “the next generation will be key to our party’s renewal” could hardly be a clearer signal of intent.

Cllr Duncan joked about his Captain Pothole moniker he was given by Stray Ferret reader Jon Starkey when he stepped down and the state of the roads was perhaps the biggest talking point in Harrogate and Knaresborough this week. 

It seemed nearly every major route was snarled up and the reappearance of the dreaded four-way lights at the Curious Cow roundabout in Killinghall prompted a furious rant from the owner of Pharmall Country Stores. “Everybody is sick of roadworks,” he told the Stray Ferret.

The council’s press office told us it was reluctant to respond unless people contacted it with their concerns first.

The Stray Ferret was the first to reveal that councillors are expected to approve an asphalt plant between Knaresborough and Boroughbridge next week.

The plant would be built alongside the Allerton Waste Recovery Park despite assurances there would be no 'industrial creep' in that area. Former Harrogate and Knaresborough Conservative MP Andrew Jones made his displeasure known.

On a less contentious note, Knaresborough appointed its first street ranger this week. Ollie Ward is on a mission to tidy up the town, which will welcome thousands of people for its annual bed race next weekend.

Finally, have you seen our guide to local Open Gardens this summer? Great Ouseburn was absolutely packed last Sunday for its event, which featured no fewer than 16 gardens. There was music, singing, oodles of food and even a shuttle bus. There must have been well over a thousand people there. Tremendous fun.