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26
Sept
Harrogate Tesco roadworks set for delay
The Tesco roadworks on Harrogate’s Skipton Road look set to last several weeks longer than expected.
North Yorkshire Council chief executive Richard Flinton said in an email on Tuesday that works are expected to be completed “by late November”.
Mr Flinton was responding to emails by Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Tom Gordon in which he raised "serious concerns" about the management of the roadworks.
Mr Gordon also asked what enforcement action was being taken against Tesco contractors KPS for "repeatedly breaching planning conditions on working hours" by working on Sundays and Bank Holidays.
The roadworks on the A59 near the New Park roundabout involve creating a new roundabout and access road for a Tesco supermarket.
They were initially expected to last for eight weeks, from August 18, but this was later extended to 10 weeks — which would last until October 27.
The shared road management platform One Network now indicates work is scheduled to last until November 10, which would be a total of 12 weeks.
A screenshot taken from the One Network roadworks website, showing the new schedule.
But Mr Flinton's comments suggest they could last longer. His email said:
It is expected that works will be complete by late November. The travelling public and local residents are asked to be patient during this time and communication will be forthcoming as and when appropriate.
Mr Gordon said in his email residents and businesses were at "breaking point".
The Stray Ferret recently spoke with Claire Lewis, who had to forgo her salary last month due to the impact of the roadworks.
Mr Flinton also said no enforcement action will be taken against KPS, as working on a bank holiday was “an unintentional one-off occurrence and has been dealt with informally”.
He said the council had "reiterated to contractors that their working hours are Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm and Saturday 8am to 1pm" and that there was "scope to consider an extension of standard working hours, to minimise the length of disruption on the road network and to ensure that works are completed on time".
Mr Flinton wrote:
Constructing a roundabout on a main arterial route such as the A59 inevitably comes with a level of unavoidable disruption to the road network. Consequently, weekly meetings are taking place with the developer and their contractor to ensure co-ordination of the works and the associated temporary traffic management is as efficient and effective as possible.
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