Ripon City Council says a transport assessment for the 1,300-home Ripon Barracks development is “flawed” — and a new road should be added to alleviate potential congestion.
The development will be called Clotherholme and encompasses Claro Barracks, Deverell Barracks and Laver Banks. It’s being developed by the government’s housing agency, Homes England, and the Defence Infrastructure Organisation.
As well as the new homes, the plans include a community centre, employment space, shops, parkland, a new primary school and sports facilities.
Homes England commissioned consultancy firm AECOM to undertake a study which would provide evidence on where roads will be built. This informed their masterplan for the development which included main access points on Clotherholme Road and Kirkby Road.
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However, Ripon City Council called this assessment “flawed” because it was undertaken during a period when there was less traffic coming through the city.
It said:
“It was collected during a very quiet period of time in the city, namely June. The city is quieter at that time for a number of reasons; many residents are on holiday – taking advantage of going away before the school holiday season; seasonal visitor numbers have yet to increase; some year groups at the secondary schools are absent, having already sat exams; the milder weather means that many residents might choose to walk rather than drive into the city centre.”
The council’s report, which was undertaken by Andrew Cameron & Associates, said a new road from Chatham Road to Galphay Lane and Studley Road could potentially relieve some of the congestion on Clotherholme Road.
It also said the development should reuse or replace the existing military bridge over the River Laver, to create a new connection to the south of the city.
It added that AECOM’s transport assessment did not do enough to encourage walking and cycling and called for a review into reopening the Harrogate to Ripon train line that was closed in 1967.
Homes England said Ripon City Council’s report “was not correct” and released the following statement to the Stray Ferret:
“The impact of traffic from major developments with a planning consents within Ripon have been taken into account as part of the transport assessment.
“The approach used by Aecom builds on ‘the Ripon Transport model’ which was used to inform the Harrogate Borough Council (HBC) Local Plan (which included the key allocations and consented developments).
“The approach behind the surveys is robust and the surveys were undertaken at a time which is in line with national guidance.
“The timing and location of the surveys formed part of a report to inform the Transport Assessment and this was agreed by North Yorkshire County Council (NYCC) who is the Local Highway Authority. The ACA report also did not raise concerns regarding the timing of surveys.”
“The proposed Galphay road link in not needed, and a new road in this location is not supported by the HBC adopted Local Plan or the NYCC Local Transport Plan.”
