‘Operational challenges’ delay major Harrogate roadworksThe completion of seven weeks of roadworks in Harrogate town centre has been delayed, Northern Gas Networks has said.
The company has been replacing metal pipes with plastic pipes on some of the main routes, including Parliament Street, King’s Road and Cold Bath Road.
The project was due to end yesterday but Mark Mawhood, operations manager for Northern Gas Networks, said:
“I can confirm that the extensive work taking place in Harrogate will be completed this week.
“We will however need to return to complete a small section of the network, which due to some operational challenges could not be completed in the timeframe. The planning team is currently working on dates for when this work will be caried out and we will then notify the public and media once this is scheduled.
“We apologise for inconvenience caused during these works, and we thank the public for their patience during this large-scale scheme.”
The roadworks are the second phase of delayed works that were “paused” a year ago.
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Knaresborough leisure centre opening delayed againThe opening of Knaresborough’s new leisure centre has been delayed again.
North Yorkshire Council originally planned to open the £17.6 million Knaresborough Leisure and Wellness Centre when Knaresborough Pool closed at the end of summer.
But the opening was put back until November because of what the council described as “an unavoidable delay involving the new electrical supply to the building”.
In a fresh update today, the council said the scheme had been delayed by another month and was now due to open in early December.
Work on the pool is continuing.
How the site currently looks.
Nic Harne, the council’s corporate director for community development, said:
“We have been informed by the contractor that due to complex mechanical and electrical works at Knaresborough Leisure and Wellness Centre taking longer than anticipated there will, unfortunately, be a slight delay to its re-opening.
“We now anticipate that the newly refurbished centre will be open to the public in early December.”
A council spokesperson said the delay had not increased the cost of the project.
It means people in Knaresborough will be without a pool for at least three months.
The leisure centre, which is being built next to the former pool, will include a six-lane 25-metre pool, activity pool with flume, sauna and steam room, fitness suite and studio, spin studio, café, electric car charging points and bicycle storage.
Once the old pool has been demolished, a play area will be installed in front of the new facility.
The activity pool
Brimhams Active, the council-owned company that manages leisure services in the Harrogate district, uploaded some photos of the leisure centre site today, which we have shown in this article.
The former Harrogate Hydro, which is also operated by Brimhams Active, reopened in September as Harrogate Leisure and Wellness Centre after a £13.5 million refurbishment.
Councillor Matt Walker, a Liberal Democrat who represents Knaresborough West, said:
“Having no pool in Knaresborough for an additional couple of months will add cost for young families during this cost of living crisis who will have to take children to Starbeck Baths or the Hydro.
“I will be asking the council for £1 swimming admissions for all children for the first month when the new Knaresborough pool finally opens.”
Cllr Walker added he was disappointed not to have been informed of the news before the media and called on the council to “improve its poor communication with elected members across Harrogate and Knaresborough”.
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Delayed finish to roadworks on Harrogate’s Skipton RoadThe completion date for roadworks on Harrogate’s Skipton Road has been pushed back until Wednesday next week.
Three-way lights have been in operation close to the junction with Sykes Grove for more than a month to enable Northern Gas Networks to replace metal pipes with plastic pipes.
The work on one of the town’s busiest traffic spots was due to have finished on Friday last week.
But Northern Gas Networks, which is the company responsible for distributing gas to homes, is now expected to be on site for another five days.
The roadworks on Skipton Road.
Mark Mawhood, site manager at Northern Gas Networks said:
“I can confirm that we are now in the final stages of the engineering work on Skipton Road, Harrogate.
“Completion is planned for Sunday, September 3.
“We have already begun the reinstatement work, but as this scheme has been extensive, the work will be finished by Wednesday, September 6. The necessary time extensions required to complete the work have all be approved by North Yorkshire Council.”
“We apologise for any inconvenience caused and we appreciate the public bearing with us while we complete the works safely whilst also managing any unforeseen issues that have arisen once engineering work began.”
Mr Mawhood did not say why the scheme had been delayed.
Scott Kitchingman, operations manager at Northern Gas Networks, previously said the work would “ensure a safe and reliable supply of gas to customers now while getting the network ready to transport alternative greener fuels in the future”.
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Kirkby Malzeard road reopens after three-year closure
A road linking Kirkby Malzeard and Masham has reopened three years after a collapsed section of wall caused its closure.
The reopening follows repair, reconstruction and reinforcement works costing almost £500,000 at the parish church of St Andrew in Kirkby Malzeard.
After heavy overnight rain in February 2020, part of the stone retaining wall for the churchyard fell onto Church Street, making it impassable.
The road, which runs past St Andrew’s and is part of a route from the village to Masham, remained closed up until last Thursday.
The reconstructed section of wall
Harrogate Borough Council initially earmarked £250,000 to fund the project, which was given planning approval in February 2022.
However, the final bill for the work was almost double that amount at £491,670 after council officials said the cost reflected the “volatile nature of the construction market at the moment”.
The increased cost is being funded from the council’s investment reserves.
A report to the council urgency committee in May said:
“The work was not able to be contracted until the planning process was concluded and permissions put in place.”
The repair works which followed came after residents and parish councillors frustrated by the delays, urged the council to end the “farce” of the church wall.
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Harrogate Hydro reopening delayed until summerThe reopening of Harrogate Hydro has been delayed until summer next year.
The swimming pool and leisure centre closed in April for an £11.8 million refurbishment.
At the time, the pool hall and changing rooms were due to re-open next month and the ‘dry side’ activity space was expected to welcome visitors in April.
The pool opening date was later pushed back until May. But in a post on its Facebook page this week the venue said it is now due to open in summer.
The facility will get a two-storey extension as well as a new entrance, cafe and reception area and sauna and steam suite.
There will also be new diving board equipment, a new fitness suite and the changing areas will be upgraded.
How the Hydro is looking.
The Hydro, which is run by Harrogate Borough Council-controlled leisure company Brimhams Active, said in its Facebook post that work was “well underway”. It added:
“As is often the case when refurbishing an existing building, we have discovered some additional areas of work that could only have come to light when the building was closed and a strip-out of the internal fabric had taken place.
“This includes some improvements to the fire protection of the steel frame, replacement of corroded steelwork, replacement of soffit boarding, and resolution of air leakage and heat loss between the roof and the external walls. As well as some work to ensure the building conforms to the latest legislation and is as energy-efficient as possible.
“Despite everything being done to minimise delays to the project, we now anticipate opening our doors once again next summer (date TBC). But by carrying out the work now, we will be able to ensure people across the Harrogate district can keep fit and active for many years to come.”
The Stray Ferret has asked the council if the “additional areas of work” will mean the cost of the project has risen. We have not received a response at the time of publication.
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One person commented in response on Facebook about the length of time Harrogate swimmers would have to travel to Ripon to use another council pool:
“This is going to be well over a year swimmers in the north of the town have been without a pool, and ‘summer (tbc)’ isn’t inspiring me with a lot of confidence.
“Driving to Ripon (actually quicker than trying to get through traffic to Starbeck or Knaresborough) isn’t a particularly appealing prospect on a foggy/icy winter morning, nor is it very green.”
Another person said the wait would be worth it.
“Ah well a least another seven months travelling through to Ripon. If it’s going to be as good as Ripon, really looking forward to it reopening.”
The council, which will be abolished in April, is also spending £17 million on a new leisure centre in Knaresborough, which will have a six-lane swimming pool, health spa and fitness studios.
It is being built behind the existing Knaresborough Pool which will be demolished.
Roadworks on Harrogate’s Ripon Road delayed for third timeThe completion date for the Northern Gas Networks roadworks on Ripon Road in Harrogate has been put back again.
Traffic lights were initially due to operate for four weeks from September 6 on the busy route into Harrogate town centre for what the company described as “essential work to modernise the gas network in Harrogate”.
But they were still in place when a major gas leak, which affected 3,000 homes for 48 hours, occurred on October 15.
North Yorkshire County Council has already granted roadwork extensions until October 22 and October 28.
Now Northern Gas Networks has said it expects work to continue throughout this week.
Scott Kitchingman, business operations manager at Northern Gas Networks, said:
“We had expected to remove temporary traffic lights on the Ripon Road at the end of last week, however we have encountered a delay in completing the final stages of our work and traffic management will remain in place this week.
“We know that no one likes roadworks and we would like to thank everyone for their patience while we complete this essential work.”
Northern Gas Networks said on October 17 it would carry out a “full investigation” into the gas leak but it has not released any details since, despite requests from the Stray Ferret.
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Bank holiday weekend train travellers face delays and replacement busesNorthern will be running a limited service this weekend, despite the bank holiday and forecasts for better weather.
Passengers wishing to travel to Leeds this Sunday will need to use a replacement bus service between Horsforth and Leeds.
This is expected to add 20 minutes to journey times.
Engineering work on the York – Harrogate – Leeds line will take place on Sunday May 30.
Timetable changes across the Northern network this weekend are the result of engineering improvement works around Leeds, Manchester and Warrington. Full details are available on its website.
The company asked passengers to be “flexible with their journey”.
A spokesperson said:
“We’ll be adding extra carriages where possible but, with amended timetables in place in many areas, we will have fewer trains operating than on a normal weekend.
“We need our customers to plan carefully for any rail travel this weekend and be prepared for services to be much busier than they have been recently.”
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Parents and teachers raise concerns over delay in schools reopeningA teachers union has raised concerns over the impact the delay in reopening primary schools may have on children.
The decision has left the NASUWT teachers’ union worried about the mental and educational effects on children.
One of the central concerns highlighted by the union is the impact on vulnerable children, some children in the district may have struggled over lockdown to maintain homeschooling so could be more at risk of needing to catch up once schools re-open.
The government plan would have allowed for all primary school pupils to return to school for a month before the end of the summer term. This delay is re-opening has increased the concerns for the educational and mental health impact of this decision.
Sharon Calvert is the Harrogate representative for the NASUWT Teachers’ Union. She raised her concerns about the effect on children of delaying the opening:
“The impact on children’s education will be immense and many changes will have to be made. The curriculum will have to be adapted, exams looked at and there will need to be the facilities for students to access mental health specialists. There may be students who have witnessed domestic abuse during lockdown who will need support and possibly students who have literally been malnourished – we forget that there is poverty in Harrogate.
“Teachers in the Harrogate want to get back to teaching their students but in a safe environment that poses no danger to their students, their selves or their families. It will be challenging for all teachers as they will have to assess students and differentiate accordingly. It may be that extra teachers/support staff will need to be employed for several months to enable students to catch up.”
- It will be a while until classrooms are full again, but teaching staff are preparing for pupils to enjoy a safe return in September.
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A gap in education could be felt by all children once they return to their school environment. Parents in the district also worry about the impact this delay could have on their children.
Laura Walters’s son is eight years old and attends Pannal Primary School in Harrogate. She said:
“I’m worried about the effect that it will have on our child’s mental health especially for children with SEN as the social aspect of school is crucial for some children. Homeschooling is definitely no replacement for being at school, I hope that the curriculum will reflect the large chunk of time missing from their educations.”
Amy Ball’s son is seven years old and also attends Pannal Primary School. She said:
“I’m frustrated that it was ever even mentioned by the government as a possibility. Realistically schools could never have more classes in 15-child bubbles based on space alone. More classes could only have been able to go back if the overall restrictions were hugely lifted. I’m mostly stressed about the detrimental effect 6 months away from education (and perhaps more importantly, peers) will have on the mental health of my child.”