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12
Feb
What can be done to ease roadworks pain in Harrogate?
The introduction of three-way lights at one of the busiest roundabouts in Harrogate brought fresh roadwork misery to Harrogate this week.
Leeds Road, York Place, Station Parade and Otley Road have all seen queuing traffic.
The roadworks, which are due to Northern Powergrid £20 million upgrade of Harrogate’s electricity network, are due to last until the end of the month.
So do motorists just have to suck it up a little longer, or could the disruption be managed better?
Some have questioned why North Yorkshire Council, which as the highways authority grants utility companies permits to undertake work, allowed Northern Powergrid to start the Prince of Wales roundabout scheme on the same day as roadworks began less than a mile away to create a £150,000 crossing on Oatlands Drive.
The queues do little to encourage motorists to visit the town centre, which is not good for businesses.
But Martin Mann, chief executive of Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce said although it was “exhausting driving around Harrogate”, new infrastructure was necessary.
He highlighted how some businesses on James Street were unable to trade for days last year due to frequent power cuts
Mr Mann said:
This, along with the government’s building policy — 5,000 homes in North Yorkshire every year — the conversion of more commercial properties to residential, and more EV charging points being required, most notably the bus depot in Starbeck, we are going to have major disruptions.
I do know that North Yorkshire Council do liaise with the utility companies to try to minimise the disruptions, but legislation favours the utility companies and not North Yorkshire highways nor the consumer.
Work taking place at the Prince of Wales roundabout.
But Mr Mann said the situation could be handled better:
It is heartbreaking to see queue after queue whilst some of our high street suffers some of the leanest times in recent years.
Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce are asking North Yorkshire Council to work with the major utility companies to improve signage as people enter Harrogate and replace the negative 'Road Closures Everywhere' with better 'Please excuse our appearance whilst we improve the town' so as not to scare visitors away.
The junction of York Place and Station Parade has been a flashpoint as queueing vehicles squeeze past each other.
Mr Mann added the council, and the chamber had pulled together a schedule of areas and times to avoid roadworks, such as the Great Yorkshire Show, and during the run up to Christmas and the January sales.
Yesterday, Harrogate town councillor Paula Stott called for “a better, more accurate, information flow from North Yorkshire Council” on roadworks.
But Cllr Sam Gibbs, a Conservative whose Valley Gardens and Central Harrogate division on North Yorkshire Council includes some of the roads affected by the Prince of Wales roadworks, said the council had “limited control”. He said:
The current situation is far from ideal, but utility companies conducting essential works have a right to access the highway to conduct the works. The council only has limited control over scheduling. Related to this I have requested a public meeting with Northern Powergrid to discuss the issues along Otley Road as many residents feel that the communication around the works has not been clear enough. Again, this is the responsibility of the utility companies.
I know the council has been in contact with the chamber and businesses to keep them updated and are trying to get utility companies to communicate/work with each other to look at the bigger picture and minimise any disruption in future.
North Yorkshire Council declined to comment.
Everyone seems united in the call for better communication. But with Harrogate growing, more roadworks appear inevitable — although with school half-term underway, traffic should be lighter in the days ahead.
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