The findings of a council-run review into Harrogate’s hosting of the 2019 UCI Road World Championships could be revealed before the end of this year.

Members of Harrogate Borough Council’s overview and scrutiny commission are running the review into the cycling event, which was hailed as a success by organisers but criticised by many businesses and residents who had complaints over road closures and diversions.

The nine-day event will also be remembered for leaving West Park Stray severely damaged after it was used as a spectator area during heavy rainfall, with repairs works and upgrades later costing £130,000.

Cllr Nick Brown, who is one of several councillors leading the cross-party review, told a meeting on Monday that the commission had asked residents to give their views on the event as part of a consultation which will now be opened up to businesses.

He said: 

“The public consultation has been undertaken – we have got about 700 responses which for a consultation is quite a lot.

“Those have been analysed and we are going to do some further consultation with the business community and a number of other organisations.

“This has taken rather longer than I would have liked, but obviously we have had covid so it has not been a very easy time.

“We will hopefully have a report to the commission in December.”

Read more:

• Council Stray repairs contract given under ‘urgent circumstances’
• Questions raised over timing of Harrogate council’s UCI review
• UCI World Championships caused ‘major disruption’ in Harrogate, says report

If the findings are published in December, it will mark more than two years since the event was held in September 2019 when hundreds of international cyclists competed in races starting in different towns and cities across Yorkshire but with each finishing in Harrogate.

The review of the event was launched last year with the aim of “building on its successes and identifying any areas for improvement to inform the organisation of future events,” the council previously said.

It is also separate to an economic impact study of the event which was carried out by accountancy firm Ernst and Young at a cost of £19,000 to the council.

The study concluded the championships was watched by a global television audience of 329 million and resulted in an economic boost to the local economy of £17.8 million.

However, it did not take into account losses by businesses affected by road closures and a reported drop in town centre footfall – something the new review is aiming to cover.

Drivers have already defied the new “no parking” signs on the Stray despite warnings from Harrogate Borough Council that they risk a £100 fine or being towed away.

Within days of the council erecting the signs on Oatlands Drive at a cost of £63, pictures of vehicles parked right next to them have emerged.

The lack of compliance will add to the frustration of cyclists who are blocked from using the cycle lane when vehicles park on the Stray. This usually happens when activities, such as football matches, take place.

One side of Oatlands Drive has double yellow lines but the other side — where cars park — does not.

Read more:

• Cycle group welcomes new ‘no parking’ signs on Harrogate’s Oatlands Drive
• New signs will ‘make people think twice’ about parking on Stray, says council

We asked the council whether it has fined or towed any vehicles away since putting up the signs but we have not yet received a response.

A council spokeswoman said previously it was working with North Yorkshire County Council to find a “more permanent solution” to the parking problem.

She added that parking on the Stray breached the Stray Act 1985:

“A breach of the act allows the borough council — as custodians of the Stray — to issue a £100 fine to anyone caught parking on the Stray, or to have their vehicle towed away.

“We hope that the signage will make people think twice about parking on Oatlands Drive and allow cyclists to use the cycle path as intended.”

A cycling group has welcomed new signs on the Oatlands Drive section of the Stray in Harrogate saying it is an offence to park on the land.

Cars frequently mount the kerb to park when activities take place on the Stray, blocking one of the cycle lanes — much to the fury of cyclists.

One side of Oatlands Drive has double yellow lines but the side where vehicles park does not.

Cars mounting the kerb and blocking the cycle lane on Oatlands Drive.

The issue became a particularly sore point this year when proposals to make Oatlands Drive one-way for traffic and improve the cycle lanes were rejected after protests by residents.

So the newly-installed signs, warning that parking on the Stray could lead to a fine or vehicles being removed, has been hailed as a “step forward” by Kevin Douglas, chairman of Harrogate District Cycle Action, which promotes cycling.

He said:

“The principle of putting signs up is a step forward.

“It’s something that we have been asking them to do for some time. People parking there is forcing cyclists into the middle of the road.

“We support any action which helps improve cycling.”

The Stray Ferret has approached Harrogate Borough Council, which erected the signs, for further details.

Read more:

• Ill feeling lingers after decision to scrap Oatlands cycling scheme
• Video highlights issue of motorists parking on Oatlands cycle lane

A Hull-based engineering company has been awarded an £827,000 contract to construct the first phase of the Otley Road cycleway in Harrogate.

North Yorkshire County Council appointed PBS Construction for the project, which is known as the West Harrogate Scheme, with a start date earmarked for September 20.

The company has largely carried out projects in East Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire, but has previously repaired the Kirkby-Masham bridge in North Yorkshire at a cost of £229,500.

The firm is also a sponsor of Hull FC rugby league club.

According to government procurement documents, the contract is valued at £827,100 and is set to end in November this year.

Melisa Burnham, highways area manager at the county council, said:

“The bid process allows any interested companies to bid. All tenders are evaluated and in this case PBS Construction Ltd were the stand-out applicants.

“Work is scheduled to begin in September and we will be issuing an update shortly.”

Work will include widening Otley Road on the approach to Harlow Moor Road as well as the creation of a designated left turn lane on the western approach to Harlow Moor Road and designated right turn lane on the eastern approach.

Read more:

• More road changes around Beech Grove and Otley Road
• Transport leader expects Harrogate’s Beech Grove road closure to be made permanent

An off-road cycle route will also be created between Harlow Moor Road and Cold Bath Road as part of the contract.

Traffic light junctions will also be upgraded.

The county council previously confirmed to the Stray Ferret that the final two phases of the scheme would also be awarded via open tender.

Negotiations with the Duchy of Lancaster over the exchange of Stray land have caused delays.

Harrogate Borough Council agreed in March to designate a plot of land on Wetherby Road as Stray land in exchange for the loss of grass verges on Otley Road for the new cycle path.

The 2022 Tour de Yorkshire bike race has been cancelled today.

Race organisers Welcome to Yorkshire and French company Amaury Sport Organisation issued a statement at 7pm tonight blaming covid and “escalating financial challenges and uncertainties” for making the event “unviable”.

The 2022 route was not due to include the Harrogate district but had financial implications for local people because North Yorkshire County Council agreed last month to give £200,000 of council taxpayers’ money to support the event.

It is not clear yet what will happen to that funding.

The Tour de Yorkshire was held annually from 2015 to 2019 following the success of the 2014 Tour de France’s Grand Départ, which ended in Harrogate. Covid scuppered it last year and this year.

Despite today’s decision, Welcome to Yorkshire said in tonight’s statement its “ambition to continue hosting international events is as strong as ever and this is the beginning of a whole new positive plan to showcase Yorkshire globally through dedicating time to varied and exciting opportunities”.

But there was no mention of the Tour de Yorkshire being resurrected in 2023, raising doubts about it happening again.

Read more:

• Funding for Tour de Yorkshire to be reviewed next year
• ‘We have a duty to support Tour de Yorkshire’

James Mason, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, which is a marketing organisation for Yorkshire, said:

“We had every intention for the race to go ahead but unfortunately some of the circumstances were out of our control and sometimes you have to make big calls for the right reasons.

“People from Yorkshire are proud and we only want the best for the county. We still have ambitions for large events going forward to put Yorkshire on the world stage and we will continue to work with our partners to plan for those.”

Brian Facer, chief executive of British Cycling, said:

“Clearly this is very disappointing news for everyone who recognises the value the Tour de Yorkshire brings to the county and to cycling in Britain.

“This is not just about the economic boost that top level bike racing has brought to Yorkshire, but also in the huge numbers of people who have been inspired to cycle themselves.

“The local authorities in Yorkshire have done a fantastic job over recent years and deserve credit for trying to find a way forward.”

Your recent article about plans to extend the Nidderdale Greenway fills me with dismay.

The article refers to ambitious plans to extend the Nidderdale Greenway from Ripley to Pateley Bridge and then to Scar House reservoir.

At a time when the world is trying to reduce its carbon footprint, encourage conservation and care of the environment and preserve historic footpaths and bridleways, it seems ludicrous that there should be a suggestion of a Greenway.

We all know it is not a Greenway, it will never be a Greenway but a Blackway as it will result in 19 miles of tarmac being laid over footpaths, bridleways, disused railway lines and virgin land.

It will destroy bridleways, which are used by walkers and horses, it will destroy footpaths that are used by walkers, it will destroy the environment and destroy flora and fauna. It will destroy and displace wildlife, animals, birds and insects from their homes and it will urbanise what is a beautiful rural dale.

I have no objections to cyclists but there is a perfectly adequate road system in Nidderdale for them to use which in part requires some physical fitness.

Read more:

• Nidderdale Greenway extension plans set to take step forward
• Post-Brexit grants available for Nidderdale farmers

The first cycle route from Knaresborough to Harrogate and Ripley is an urban route that people can access easily by cycle or on foot from the town. The proposed Blackway is not an urban route. It would require people to drive to it and then walk and cycle part of it. That in itself will cause congestion and increase our carbon footprint. The villages do not have adequate parking for an influx of vehicles.

Having viewed the Knaresborough to Ripley cycle route I see there has been a great deal of encroachment on to adjoining countryside and I am appalled to think of the amount of encroachment that would happen on any proposed extension.

I have yet to speak to a landowner who is in favour. I have yet to speak to a resident who is in favour, but I have spoken to many people who enjoy walking and riding on the existing footpaths and bridleways, and they are not in favour.

Instead of this constant misplaced enthusiasm that our local authorities show for cycling it would be better if they tried to spend taxpayers’ money on improving the town centre and its attractions. North Yorkshire has many challenges to deal with and a proposed tarmac track up Nidderdale should not be high on its priority list.

Richard Rusby, Burnt Yates

More than 600 people entered the inaugural Dalesman Triathlon on Sunday, which started and finished at Ripon racecourse.

Triathlons consist of a swim, followed by a cycle ride and run.

There were three different distances, the main one being the full Dalesman, which consisted of a 2.4 mile swim in the lake at Ripon racecourse followed by a 112-mile cycle route in Masham, Dallow Moor and Brimham Rocks and a 26-mile marathon run that returned to Ripon.

The full Dalesman started at 6am and final competitor finished in darkness at 10.30pm. Henry Sleight won in a time of nine hours and 53 minutes.

Event organiser Rob Wilkins, who lives near Ripon, said it was a successful but exhausting day and he hoped it would return next year.

Keen runner, the Rt. Revd Dr Helen-Ann Hartley, the Bishop of Ripon, was among those who answered a call for volunteer marshals put out by Ripon Runners club, of which she is a member.

Dr Hartley said:

“It was a terrific event, and great for the region to attract nationwide competitors.

“In addition, it highlighted the sporting attractiveness of Ripon and its surrounding communities.  It was great fun to be a marshal and I am full of admiration for all those taking part.”

Read more:

• Ripon’s Old Deanery Hotel is back in business
• Bishop Monkton’s pandemic story

Olympic cyclist Lizzie Deignan, who has made Harrogate her home, will take to the road tomorrow morning to race for Team GB.

The 33-year-old is known for growing up in Otley but since moving to Harrogate after her wedding in 2016, she has fallen back in love with the town she remembers as a child.

Ms Deignan will represent her country in the road race at the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympics tomorrow.

The 137km race, snaking from Tokyo’s Musashinonomori Park to the Fuji International Speedway but not climbing Mt Fuji itself, will begin at 5am UK time.

At the London 2012 Olympics she won silver in the road race, claiming the first medal for Team GB that year.

She also competed on the district’s roads during the Tour de Yorkshire in 2017 and the UCI Road Cycling World Championships in 2019.

When did you start cycling?

I didn’t really grow up in a cycling family, though we were certainly active and I took part in every sport at school. Cycling found me when I was 15. British Cycling came to my school with some bikes to try to find potential cyclists as part of a talent ID programme ahead of London 2012. I was happy to skip a maths lesson to give it a try and managed to beat the boys and the coaches must have seen something in me and the rest, as they say, is history.

What are your aspirations for the Tokyo Olympics?

I’m really excited to head to Tokyo, though it will obviously be a very different Olympics to previous games in the current situation. The last Olympics, I was kind of going there as one of the favourites; I was thinking about the Olympics probably every 10 minutes of every day in the lead up. But this time, life is a bit fuller with my daughter and other stuff going on. I can go a day or two without it being on my mind. Then I suddenly catch myself and think, “Ah, I’m approaching this differently”. But I don’t think it’s a bad thing, I’m just a bit more relaxed.

Lizzie Deignan posted a photo of her and two Olympic teammates training this week. Photograph: @l-deignan

How long have you been living in Harrogate?

My husband and I made Harrogate our home after we got married a few years ago and we love it. Sadly, we don’t get to spend as much time at home as we would like, as I spend most of my time travelling to race or train overseas and we have a base in Monaco, too.

You’re known as an Otley person, do you have any other connections to Harrogate?

Harrogate is somewhere that we visited as a family so I have happy memories from childhood. As an adult it was a fantastic opportunity to compete on home roads when Harrogate hosted the UCI Road Cycling World Championships in 2019. The support from the crowds was fantastic – despite the weather! It was also very special to win a stage of the Tour of Yorkshire finishing in Harrogate back in 2017.

What is your favourite cycling route around the district?

I’m not sure I have a favourite, but there are plenty of places I like cycling around the area, including to Lofthouse and Leyburn. There is a route out that way that is quite challenging and takes in some of the World Championships route. I love the quiet lanes along the Nidd on the way back from Leyburn and there are lots of nice cafes to choose from in Masham when you are within an hour from home.

How will the course in Tokyo compare with the terrain around Harrogate and Otley?  

Nothing compares to Yorkshire roads! The climbs are very different and the terrain is less rolling than home roads, which are just brutal, but the biggest change will be the conditions as it will be so hot and humid in Tokyo. It has required plenty of heat chamber training to make sure I’m prepared.

Read more:

• Two Harrogate divers will be part of the Team GB squad this year
• From Killinghall Nomads to Team GB, Rachel Daly talks us through her journey

There are a lot of keen cyclists in the area. Do you often get noticed when you pass them on training rides?

When I’m at home I often take the opportunity to ride with friends and family and enjoy seeing people I know on home roads.

Where is your favourite place to visit in and around Harrogate?

I have fond memories of Valley Gardens and nearby I would say Bolton Abbey, where my husband Phil and I had our wedding reception.

A Harrogate mum is campaigning for one of the town’s proposed new cycling routes to be named in her son’s honour.

Mike Hall was an internationally renowned endurance cyclist who won the inaugural World Cycle Race in 2012.

In 2013 and 2016 he won the Tour Divide and in 2014 he also won the inaugural Trans Am Bike Race.

But Mike, who was born in Harrogate and went to Saltergate Junior School and St Aidan’s Church of England High School, died during a race in 2017 when he was hit by a car in Australia. He was 35.

Although he was well known in cycling circles around the world, his mum Pat Hall wants more people in Harrogate to recognise his name.

With North Yorkshire County Council planning to build several new cycling routes in Harrogate, Pat feels like the time is right for her son to get some recognition.

She told the Stray Ferret:

“Mike inspired an awful lot of people to take up cycling. He wanted to make sure it was accessible for everyone.

“I just want people to know about Mike, I am very proud of him. He always had time for people, even when he was getting more famous.

“Hopefully if this goes through then it will help to cement his legacy in Harrogate.”

Work on the delayed Otley Road cycle route is due to begin in October.

North Yorkshire County Council has also secured funding for cycling improvements on the A59 Harrogate Road in Knaresborough, between Badger Mount and Maple Close, and on Victoria Avenue in Harrogate between the A61 and Station Parade.

The county council also revealed last week that it plans to bid for funding for a cycleway linking Knaresborough and Flaxby Park as well as well another scheme to the west of Ripon.

There is a precedent for naming a cycleway after a local international rider.

The Beryl Burton cycle way, which connects Knaresborough and Harrogate, is named after after seven-time world champion cyclist Beryl Burton who raced for Knaresborough Cycling Club. She died in 1996.

Pat Hall is not alone in her view. When she first aired the idea last year it led to hundreds of emails to the county council.

Cllr Don Mackenzie could not confirm if it had any plans to name a cycle route after Mike Hall but told the Stray Ferret that it had received hundreds of endorsements for him.

Local police officer Pierre Olesqui will take on his third annual fundraising challenge this weekend to raise awareness of mental health in memory of his best friend.

Mr Olesqui’s best friend Mick ‘Aky’ Atkinson died in October 2018 after suffering with his mental health.

Aky, an active, “proud Leeds man”, did not tell his friend that he was struggling. Mr Olesqui uses the challenge to encourage people to talk about their own battles.

Tomorrow, Mr Olesqui will set off from Hunslet Warriors rugby club, where Aky used to coach, alongside 98 other riders to complete the Tour de Aky challenge.

This year nearly 100 cyclists have registered to take part in the fundraising challenge

The 106.6-mile route heads towards Leeds, past Elland Road – Aky called the stadium “his church” – on to Otley and through the Harrogate district to Kirkby Overblow, before heading back to York and Hunslet.

The distance is a reference to Aky’s collar number: 1066.

Over the past two years just under £40,000 has been raised, but this year Mr Olesqui hopes to reach £50,000.

To donate, click here.

Read more:

• A Harrogate group are hoping to swim the channel this August after previous attempts were put off due to covid
• Yorkshire Cancer Research set to open new shop in Ripon

The pair started working together in 2001 for North Yorkshire Police, where Aky was a dog handler, and bonded over their love of sport – Aky was even Mr Olesqui’s best man.

Mr Olesqui, who works in Knaresborough, said:

“He was my best friend and I want to keep his memory alive. I want to raise awareness for mental health, especially for men it’s a secret battle like Aky.

“It’s incredible how many people will come on the ride and tell us their own struggles. It’s great to talk and we all understand. It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

The money raised from this weekend’s cycle will go towards Mind, Yorkshire Air Ambulance and Macmillan Cancer Support. These have been chosen by Mr Olesqui and Aky’s family.