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04
Oct
Council scraps £1.5 million scheme to upgrade unadopted roads in Harrogate area
North Yorkshire Council has dropped a £1.5 million initiative to upgrade unadopted roads in the Harrogate area.
Unadopted roads are maintained by residents whose properties face the road rather than the council’s highways department.
The project would have seen the roads integrated into the council-maintained highways network.
The council declined to reveal which streets were scheduled for the upgrade but said they were 'roads where its housing team has a joint responsibility with residents of privately owned homes for the maintenance of some roads'.
The council conducted what it described as a ‘thorough and successful open procurement process’ to find a company to carry out work on two schemes.
The first, worth £582,043, would have involved upgrading unadopted roads ‘to meet adoptable standards, ensuring their integration into the existing infrastructure’, according to information on the council's website.
The second, worth £906,000, would have focused on ensuring these unadopted roads were safe and secure.
The Stray Ferret understands some of the work would have been in the Masham area.
After what the council described as ‘diligent evaluation and consideration’, it named Lincolnshire civil engineering firm Fox (Owmby) Ltd as ‘the most suitable and capable contractor for the job’.
But just as the contract was due to be awarded, the council decided not to proceed.
Andrew Rowe, the council’s assistant director for housing, said:
The contract is not being awarded at this time as further assessment of unadopted roads by our social housing team needs to be undertaken to ensure funds are allocated to areas of highest priority, and to allow for consultation with owners of homes where works are proposed.
Fox (Owmby) Ltd declined to comment on the council's decision.
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