Live: Harrogate district traffic and travel

Good morning everyone and welcome to our traffic and travel live blog, the last one before the weekend.

Whether you travel by car, bus or train we will keep an eye out for any possible disruption to your journey. All brought to you by The HACS Group.

It’s Connor again back on the travel desk from 6.30am. Spotted an accident or a road closure? Send your updates to contact@thestrayferret.co.uk.

If traffic is moving well or it’s at a standstill then we will let you know with our updates every 15 minutes.

Full update – 9am

Thanks for reading our traffic and travel blog. There have been a few police incidents this morning as well as increasing numbers of construction sites around the Harrogate district. That’s all from me for this week. I am heading over to the newsdesk now. My colleague Suzannah will be back on Monday morning.

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Full update – 8.45am

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Full update – 8.30am

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Full update – 8.15am

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Full update – 8am

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Full update – 7.45am

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Full update – 7.30am

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Full update – 7.15am

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Full update – 7am

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Full update – 6.45am

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Full update – 6.30am

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Alert resident averts Ripon travel chaos again

North Yorkshire County Council has performed another u-turn to avoid travel problems for people going for vaccinations in Ripon.

For the second time in seven weeks, the council’s highways department has had to hit the brakes on plans to close a bridge on a key diversion route.

The bridge over the River Ure on Boroughbridge Road was due to close for inspection all day tomorrow.

But alert resident Paul Stockburn pointed out that such a move would have caused problems because Boroughbridge Road is already serving as a diversion for a section of the nearby Dishforth Road that is closed for road works.

Had the closure gone ahead, it would have created difficulties for people driving along Boroughbridge Road in and out of Ripon.

The bridge, which is half a mile from Ripon racecourse vaccination centre, was first due to close for inspection on 19 January.

But six days earlier part of Dishforth Road closed for eight weeks for work by Yorkshire Water. It remains closed.

Photo of conflicting closure signs

Conflicting closure signs on the Dishforth and Boroughbridge roads. But the bridge over the River Ure will be open tomorrow

When Mr Stockburn pointed this out, the highways department said it would re-schedule the bridge closure when Yorkshire Water’s pipe renewal work was complete.

So Mr Stockburn, who lives in Copt Hewick, was surprised to see road closure signs appear again this week. He told the Stray Ferret:

“I couldn’t believe my eyes because I know that the Dishforth Road is still going to be closed tomorrow.

“The county council appear incapable of working out that eight weeks from 13 January gives a finish date of 10 March.

“Unbelievably, they were about to make exactly the same mistake.

“You wonder, did they ask Yorkshire Water first, before deciding they were going to close the bridge on 5 March?”

After receiving a call from Mr Stockburn, the Stray Ferret contacted NYCC to let it know the Dishforth Road closure was ongoing.

Melisa Burnham, highways area manager at the council, apologised and said:

“Yorkshire Water has been undertaking an eight-week programme of works on Dishforth Road therefore our contractors scheduled the one-day bridge inspection for this Friday when the work was due to be complete.

“Unfortunately Yorkshire Water need to extend their works until March 14 so we are in the process of rearranging the bridge inspection and have removed the advance notice signs.”

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Prior to the start of its work, Yorkshire Water sent a letter to all households in Copt Hewick. It said:

“We understand that these works will be inconvenient, which is why we’ve liaised closely with North Yorkshire County Council highways department regarding every aspect of this essential scheme.’”

The importance of the Boroughbridge Road diversion route, increased on February 2 when the covid vaccination centre opened at Ripon racecourse.

Harrogate district records 30 new covid cases

The Harrogate district has recorded a further 30 covid cases today.

According to Public Health England figures, the number takes the total amount of cases since March to 7,238.

Meanwhile, the district’s seven-day covid rate of infection has fallen to 88 people per 100,000.

The rate for North Yorkshire stands at 83, while the England average is 116.

Read more:

Killinghall and Hampsthwaite remains the area with the most covid cases in the last seven days, with 23 infections.

Boroughbridge and Marton-cum-Grafton is the second highest in the district with 15.

No further covid deaths have been reported at Harrogate District Hospital.

Staycation bookings ‘piling in’ for Harrogate district campsites

Bookings have surged at Harrogate district campsites since the government’s ‘roadmap’ announcement, raising hopes of a staycation summer.

After almost 12 months of opening and closing, the campsites welcomed the clarity provided on Monday about when they could welcome holidaymakers once again.

When restrictions were lifted last summer, there was a staycation boom locally, with several campsites saying there had been an influx of people wishing to holiday closer to home.

They now hope for a repeat this year.

Marie Laverick manager of Woodhouse Farm caravan park, said the phone “has been ringing off the hook” since the announcement. She said:

“The phone hasn’t stopped, so many people are either booking their pitch or rearranging dates for the new restrictions.

“We are gutted about Easter; we lost it last year too and we’ll lose the first May bank holiday but it looks good going forward. We had 50 bookings overnight!”

Phil Brierley director of York House Leisure, which owns four holiday parks in North Yorkshire including sites in Boroughbridge and Ripon, said it was important for the industry to continue to be supported by government.

He said:

“We are very happy that there’s a plan in place and there’s light at the end of the tunnel.

“It’s great news but it’s bittersweet because the parks industry was originally shut down in March so this year will be the second Easter in a row that we have missed. We have effectively experienced a year-long winter so there’s an awful lot of ground to make up.

“We have certainly seen an increase in enquiries at our parks since the announcement. We would hope as an industry to see continued aid from the government, such as 5% VAT, extended business rate relief and the furlough scheme.”

Woodhouse Farm Caravan Park

Woodhouse Farm Caravan Park. Photograph: Facebook

The roadmap allows caravan parks to open on April 12 but without any facilities such as toilet blocks. On May 17 the sites can fully reopen.

Similarly in Great Ouseburn, Burrows Park has seen an increase in bookings. Co-owner Richard Kay said:

“Assuming the government roadmap targets for easing covid measures are met we will have a full opening on May 17. We look forward to welcoming back all our regular site users and to a very busy summer. We hope that the weather is with us and all our guests enjoy their time!”

Read more:

Richard Flinton, chair of North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum, said at the county’s weekly media briefing yesterday:

“We are optimistic in terms of what the future is for our hospitality sector. People can start booking and should enquire about refunds should they not be able to go ahead.

“This is a real opportunity for us. We do look forward to welcoming people back to our beautiful county.”

Former Boroughbridge butchers shop to be auctioned

The former Greenwood butchers shop in Boroughbridge is to be sold by auction next week.

The butchers on Horsefair in the centre of the town was popular for its range of pies and local meats. It is believed to have closed last year.

The 19th century building, which has a guide price of £50,000, includes a retail area, storage rooms and bathroom.

The auction house Pugh says the building could be used for a variety of uses.

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Paul Thompson, managing director of Pugh, said:

“It’s always sad to see a local business close. Boroughbridge is a fantastic community with excellent road links to most of the north of England and there is definitely potential for a variety of business uses for the former Greenwood premises.

“It would be great to see the property become an asset to the town once more in the hands of an imaginative new owner.”

The shop will be sold in Pugh’s next online property auction on 24 February.

Suspected drug dealer caught on A1 near Boroughbridge

A suspected drug dealer has been arrested near Boroughbridge after the police helicopter helped to track him down.

Officers were on patrol on the A1 southbound on Tuesday when a black BMW drove past.

The vehicle had markers attached to it that linked it to an incident in Humberside.

Officers caught up with the vehicle but when it pulled up on the hard shoulder the driver jumped out and fled across nearby fields.

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The National Police Air Service (NPAS) used a helicopter to track down the man who was found hiding next to a river.

The 27-year-old Sheffield man was arrested and a large amount of cannabis was seized from the car along with the vehicle.

He remains in custody at this time and the investigation continues.

A police spokeswoman said:

“We hope our response reassures you we will do everything we can to take drugs off our streets and tackle criminality in North Yorkshire.”

Boroughbridge boys cure lockdown blues by litter-picking

Two boys from Boroughbridge have found a way to stay active during lockdown while helping their community by litter-picking.

Gregory Bishop, 11 and brother Christopher, nine, were undeterred after a village litter-pick was cancelled due to covid.

Fed up seeing rubbish in their neighbourhood, they kept asking to go out and clean up.

This week they went to a stretch of Bar Lane and collected eight bin bags worth of litter.

Their efforts have been praised by the parish council.

Dad Laurence Bishop said:

“We are proud of them. They take a lot of pride in the area and environment and are disgusted by the litter that some local businesses take no responsibility for.
“We are planning another litter-pick this weekend.”

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11 sheep stolen from field near Boroughbridge

North Yorkshire Police is appealing to the public for information after 11 sheep were stolen from a field near Boroughbridge.

According to the police, the Beltex breed of sheep were taken between November 10 and January 17.

Police are particularly interested in any suspicious sightings of vehicles on Holbeck Lane or the B6265 between these dates.

Anyone with information can call North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option two and ask for Ruby Rutter. Or email the officer on ruby.rutter@northyorkshire.pnn.police.uk.

To remain anonymous call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 and quote reference number 12210032203.

Read more:

 

Heavy rain raises flooding fears at new Boroughbridge housing estate

A few days of heavy rain and snowmelt has exposed a flooding issue at a new housing estate in Boroughbridge.

Residents on Hockley Croft noticed flood water creeping onto the north side of the estate earlier this week, which soon turned into a small river.

Yesterday morning some woke up to a wider problem. What had been driveways and a park for children to play had become a lake of water.

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Residents claim the developers, Harron Homes, had not mentioned the possibility of flooding and also claim council surveys failed to raise the issue.

This week saw some very heavy rain but some Boroughbridge residents fear their homes could be flooded if the weather is more severe in future.

We spoke to some of the residents on the estate who wanted to raise the issue anonymously.

Some had spent around £300,000 to more than £600,000 for a brand new house. They told the Stray Ferret:

“When the searches were done this wasn’t listed as a floodplain, there were no flooding issues raised. I guess that water is from the excess rain and maybe a lack of drainage.

“The flood water is quite close to the house. We don’t want these problems every time it rains.

“The weather has not really been much worse than normal so the drainage needs to be sorted out.”

A second person, who has lived on the estate for 18 months, also told the Stray Ferret:

“The flood water is running like the river near our house. Last night we were really scared, we thought the water was going to come up to our house.

“We weren’t warned about the flooding issues so it was a bit of a shock really.

“Funnily enough we have had to gravel our garden because it is so wet. It was like a flood in our garden last winter, so we had to dig it all up and re-do it all again.”

A spokespers​on for Harron Homes Yorkshire said:

“There has been unprecedented rainfall from Storm Christoph that has impacted many previously unaffected parts of the country.

“The adjacent open land at our Hockley Croft development in Boroughbridge has passed water on to the site which we are investigating with the land owner.

“We have helped our customers affected by the water from the fields by deploying a pump that has reduced the water levels and the situation is now under control with very little consequence and inconvenience to our customers.”

In the planning application from a couple of years ago Harrogate Borough Council said it had concerns about the surface water discharge rates.

“The applicant has stated that surface water from the proposed development is to be discharged directly to the River Ure via an attenuation pond.

“However they have not indicated how this will be achieved.

“Nevertheless the Environment Agency is responsible for administering surface water discharge from the new development to Milby Cut.”

A spokesperson for the council also told the Stray Ferret:

“Proposed development sites may need to carry out a flood risk assessment.

“A risk assessment, carried out by specialists, was considered as part of the planning process for this site.

“Relevant consultees raised no objections to its conclusions or proposed mitigation measures it contained.”

 

Boroughbridge care home, garage and homeowners fight floods

A Boroughbridge care home, garage and homeowners have been fighting against the floods with pumps and mops today.

Persistent rain from Storm Christoph caused water levels to rise, which caused particular problems for people living near the River Ure and Milby Cut Canal.

The level of the Ure peaked last night at about 15 metres as concerned residents watched on powerlessly.

Stephen Jenkins (pictured above), who owns the Riverside Court care home, has had water pumped out of the basement today. He told the Stray Ferret:

“I’ve been here since 1989. When Boroughbridge flooded in 1991 the care home was protected. But in 2000 the Environment Agency opened up this third arch of the bridge.

“Ever since then the water starts seeping out underneath the patio. If they don’t put that pump in it starts to flood. Unfortunately I can’t do anything about it now.

“My main concern is the boilers. Obviously being a care home we need to keep the central heating running at all times. We also have all of our fridges and freezers on pallets permanently.”

Malcolm Angus, who owns Canal Garage in Boroughbridge.

Flooding is also a long-running source of frustration for Malcolm Angus, owner of Canal Garage in Boroughbridge.

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Mr Angus and staff have been mopping the floor today. He told the Stray Ferret:

“We have been lucky this time, the water has come up further before. There’s a burst water main up the road, which is bringing the water down.

“It pools at that junction and then comes across to the garage, that’s causing the problem at the moment, not the canal.

“Cars go through the water on the road and it flows down to us. We get no help. In terms of the canal I have lived here since 1995 and it has not been dredged once.”

Pumps have been out in force today.

On the nearby Milby Cut Canal, Nigel Crowther owns a home looking over the water. He remains calm about the situation:

“I have been keeping track on the Environment Agency website. It doesn’t matter what is happening in Boroughbridge, it’s about what is happening further up the catchment.

“So when you know it is going to be heavy rain for a sustained period you have to get ready so we have put up gates and we have a flood wall around our house.

“The levels peaked at about 10pm last night and it sustained that level for four hours before it started to drop off slowly.”