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05
Dec
Ripon MP: Lizard bathing rocks ‘inflated’ £82.5m Kex Gill cost
Ripon MP Julian Smith has claimed the rising cost of the £82.5 million A59 Kex Gill realignment is partly due to providing bathing rocks for lizards.
The Conservative MP told a meeting of North Yorkshire Council's Skipton and Ripon area constituency committee that the scheme had gone up partly because of environmental mitigations.
The project, which is one of the council's biggest ever capital investments, will see the landslip-prone key east-west route linking Harrogate and Skipton realigned.
But it was revealed in May the cost had increased by £13.7 million from £68.8 million to £82.5 million.
Mr Smith, who visited the site last week, said that much of the cost increase appeared to be down to the need to meet environmental mitigations — such as providing “rocks for lizards to bathe on”.
He said:
Obviously, it is the Nidderdale National Park and we have to be careful, but when I saw rocks for lizards to bathe on and demands that no work to watercourses for nine months of the year to take place, it was clear to me why some of the costs are inflated and why as a country we need to look at how we can better balance the environment with some of these schemes.
'Appalling mismangement'
Cllr Andy Brown, Green Party councillor who represents Aire Valley, told the committee the increased cost was a "shattering blow to the council's finances" and "appalling mismanagement".
Much of the increased cost, he added, was down to “a miscalculation of the nature of the ground”.
However, Mr Smith said there had to be questions over value for money on some of the environmental mitigations.
He said:
I’m absolutely certain that the cost of that project and the cost of projects across the country are vastly increased by the demands put on them by some of these environmental mitigations.
Clearly we need to protect our environment, but when you’re talking about bathing rocks for lizards I think we need to be asking ourselves a question on taxpayer value for money.
According to RSK Group, which provided environment assessment for the scheme, environmental mitigations have been implemented through “species protection plans, ground-nesting bird online mapping and ecological clerk of works”.
The group added that the measures ensure the new road “will have minimal impact on wildlife population”.
Increased cost
The increased costs at Kex Gill were partly down to compensation claims — also known as compensation events — made against the authority from contractor John Sisk & Son.
One of the claims related to the the delayed awarding of the contract, which was expected to amount to £3.125 million.
However, the Stray Ferret reported last month that the claim had since been resolved.
Other claims related to a number of matters, such as the safe removal, transportation and disposal of a larger volume of material from the site than had been originally expected, essential design changes, weather impacts, as well as costs incurred by the Department for Transport’s later than expected award of funding.
Julian Smith (centre) on his visit to the Kex Gill project.
Council officials remain in discussions over resolving the remaining compensation events.
Meanwhile, the increase in costs from the scheme will fall on local council taxpayers because of the terms of the contract.
Under the deal, the Department for Transport awarded a fixed sum of £56.1 million and the council contributed £12.7 million.
But the contract stipulated the council was responsible for any price rise, which meant it had to stump up the £13.7 million increase — taking the total paid by local council taxpayers to £26.4 million.
However, the council has warned that the cost of the project could increase further — which the taxpayer would ultimately foot the bill for.
It comes as the project reached a “milestone moment” in September as the base layers of asphalt were laid for the new four-kilometre section of road.
Cllr Malcolm Taylor, executive member for highways at the council, said the scheme remains on schedule to open in spring 2026.
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