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    09

    Feb 2022

    Last Updated: 08/02/2022
    Transport
    Transport

    Double delay for Kirkby Malzeard road users

    by Tim Flanagan

    | 09 Feb, 2022
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    One of the main routes through Kirkby Malzeard, near Ripon, has been shut for nearly two years and now motorists using the village face more delays.

    kirkby-malzeard-7th-feb-2022-st-andrews-church-wall
    Photo of the collapsed section of St Andrew's Church wall.

    It's almost two years since a section of church wall collapsed in Kirkby Malzeard, raising safety concerns and causing the closure of one of the principal routes through the village.

    The retaining wall at St Andrew's Church collapsed after heavy rain in February 2020.

    Harrogate Borough Council's plans for reconstruction of the collapsed 10-metre section and refurbishment of a further 30 metres of wall have been revised following drawn-out consultation with villagers and statutory bodies including Historic England.

    It means the road to Masham remains shut, with no date for its reopening currently known as Harrogate Borough Council is unable to say when the wall will be rebuilt. However, things could move forward next week.

    A council spokesman said:

    "An application relating to St Andrew’s Church Wall, Kirkby Malzeard will be considered by the council’s planning committee on Tuesday (15 February), the outcome of which will inform next steps, costs and timescales”.


    Lynda English, whose children are pupils at Kirkby Malzeard Primary School, which is across the road from the damaged stone structure, told the Stray Ferret:

    "Each time it rains, more debris falls from the graveyard onto Church Street and there are an increasing number of gaps between the stones on the section of wall that is due to be rebuilt."







    "Fencing has been put in place to block off the collapsed section but it still doesn't feel safe to me and other families living in the Church Bank area, who have to pass each day, when taking children to school.
    "The whole village is fed-up with the delay in fixing the wall but, at the same time, we want to ensure that a proper and lasting repair job is done."


    Photo of Creets Bridge

    Creets Bridge traffic lights


    In a further blow for motorists travelling to, from and through Kirkby Malzeard, traffic is being held up at the grade II listed Creets Bridge, which crosses Kex Beck, on the main road between the village and Ripon.

    The centuries-old bridge was reconstructed by North Yorkshire County Council after suffering severe damage in the floods of November 2000.

    Now traffic lights, cones and a concrete barrier have been put in place and only single file traffic can cross, as the route awaits new repair work,

    At the time of publication the Stray Ferret was unable to establish from NYCC how long it will take to carry out the works.




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