The Harrogate Bus Company has apologised after a number of bus journeys in the Harrogate area were cancelled this morning.
Passengers in the Jennyfields and Bilton areas faced delays and cancellations, especially around the morning rush hour.
The number 2, Harrogate to Bilton, and number 3, Harrogate to Jennyfield, buses were among those affected.
Sylvia Young got in touch to say she and many others were “sick of the bus service”. Ms Young sent this photo of this morning’s cancellations.
She added:
“It’s not now and again it is nearly every day the buses people need for work are cancelled. Two hours of no buses in or out of Jennyfield. It’s a disgrace.”
The cancellations attracted numerous social media comments, with some people claiming the problems were due to problems with the company’s new electric buses, including charging the batteries.
The Stray Ferret put these claims to the Harrogate Bus Company, which is owned by French firm Transdev.
We also asked if services would continue to be affected.
A spokesperson for the company said:
“We are aware of a small number of journeys to Jennyfield and Bilton which were unable to run this morning due to a vehicle-related issue.
“We apologise to any customers affected and remind our customers that they can track their buses in real time using the free Transdev Go app.”
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Knaresborough Halfpenny Lane closure extended
Road works on a busy Knaresborough road have been extended.
Northern Gas Networks is carrying out exploratory work to divert underground infrastructure at the railway bridge on Halfpenny Lane.
Roadworks started on March 25 and were due to end yesterday (April 12) but the work has been delayed.
The live incident map says work is now due to end on May 17, although Northern Gas Networks has not given a definitive end date.
The closure extending from the bridge to the roundabout next to Old Penny Gate, will remain closed until additional works are complete and a signed diversion is in place.
Dominic Nevison, site manager at Northern Gas Networks said:
“We are working with other utilities to carefully plan this work to minimise the impact on road users and members of the public. The road diversion will remain in place while we carry out our initial assessment and subsequent work.”
“We apologise for inconvenience caused and would like to reassure everyone that we will be working hard to complete the work so that we can reopen the road as soon as possible.”
Northern Gas Networks added there was no impact on gas supplies to homes and businesses in the area.
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Further delay to installation of temporary gym at Ripon leisure centre
Six months after Harrogate Borough Council announced plans to open a temporary gym at Jack Laugher Leisure and Wellness Centre in Ripon, there is no confirmed date for its installation.
In a statement to the Stray Ferret, a council spokesperson said:
“To ensure residents can keep fit and active, while we carry out ground stabilisation works, a temporary gym is due to be installed at the Jack Laugher Leisure and Wellness Centre in Ripon.
“We are awaiting the final programme for the ground stabilisation works before announcing further news on when the temporary gym will open.
“Until this time, customers can continue to (use) the existing gym at the leisure and wellness centre.
“We hope to have further news in the coming weeks.”
On July 28 last year, the council said it had submitted a planning application to install the temporary structure on the car park next to the centre’s main entrance and added that it would open in the autumn at a date to be confirmed.
In December a spokesperson told the Stray Ferret:
“I’m led to believe the temporary gym will not require planning permission now and we’ll be looking at installing the temporary gym in the new year (date TBC).
“Ahead of opening, we’ll be making all customers/members aware.”
Since the December statement, the Stray Ferret has contacted the council in a bid to find out when the gym will be installed and ready for use.
In the meantime, the existing gym on site located on the upper floor of the 1995 leisure centre building — where remedial ground stabilisation works are due to take place at a cost of £3.5 million — remains open.
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At the time of the council’s announcement in July, Cllr Stanley Lumley, the cabinet member for culture, tourism and sport, and chair of the board of directors at Brimhams Active, the council-controlled leisure company which runs the centre, said:
“By providing a temporary gym, while the ground stabilisation works take place, we can minimise the disruption to current and potential customers and ensure they can continue to maintain their health and wellbeing goals.”
The need for ground stabilisation works follows the discovery of a void under part of the existing leisure centre understood to have been present for a number of years.
It was discovered when the reinforced concrete slab for the new swimming pool was cast.
The temporary gym will include equipment currently available in the existing leisure and wellness centre and expert advice and guidance will be provided by members of the Brimhams Active team.
Customers will be able to use the changing and shower facilities in the new pool area – as well as the sauna and steam suite – which opened in March and group exercise classes will also continue to be provided at Hugh Ripley Hall.
Motorists are set for another day of delays on the A61 Ripon Road in Killinghall today, with long queues already forming.
Traffic in both directions was horrendous yesterday due to traffic lights caused by workers digging up the grass verge near Ripley.
After some respite later in the day, another set of roadworks appeared in the middle of Killinghall at 8.30pm as workers began digging up the road despite the late hour.
Late night roadworks in the middle of the village.
Four-way lights were installed at the junction of Ripon Road and Otley Road.
This morning, queues are again in place, with Yorkshire Water due to carry out work on Ripon Road all week traffic lights back.
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Mental Health Act detainees driven over 60 miles out of Harrogate
A senior police officer has voiced concerns that the closure of Harrogate’s mental health assessment suite is putting an added strain on emergency services.
North Yorkshire Police chief inspector Alex Langley said people who are detained under the Mental Health Act have been taken as far as Scarborough or Darlington after the closure of the section 136 suite at Harrogate District Hospital’s Briary Wing in May 2020.
It has meant police officers have been out of action for several hours as they drive detainees around the county.
Speaking at a recent Harrogate Borough Council meeting, Chf Insp Langley described the scale of the mental health crisis and impact on officers as “phenomenal”. He said.
“We don’t have a section 136 suite in Harrogate any more so if we detain somebody under the mental health act we could end up in Darlington or Scarborough, and that is a real challenge for us.
“They have to go in an ambulance and it takes multiple officers and a significant amount of time.”
He added:
“I would love for my officers to not have to go to any mental health incidents and actually send a mental health professional with better training and competence than we have.
“But in reality with the cuts, if we get a call from somebody who is in crisis and we are the last barrier then we have to go.”
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Mental health services in the Harrogate district are provided by the Tees, Esk and Wear Valley NHS Foundation Trust, which said it has an assessment suite in Haxby, north of York.
It added its staff work closely with North Yorkshire Police and that new ways of working have seen a reduction in detentions under the mental health act.
Impact on police times
Zoe Campbell, managing director of the trust’s North Yorkshire, York and Selby care group, said:
“For many people, receiving care and treatment in their own home can have the best outcome.
“We aim to provide crisis support and mental health assessments in a person’s home or as close to home as we can.
“Where this is not possible, we provide alternative places of safety for an assessment to take place. This way of working has seen a reduction in the number of people detained under section 136 of the Mental Health Act.”
The lack of custody cells for all types of arrests was recently raised as a concern by county councillors who said they were worried over a wider impact on police response times.
Members of North Yorkshire’s Police, Fire and Crime Panel have asked commissioner Zoe Metcalfe to provide a report into the impact of officers in the north of the county having to take detainees to Harrogate and Scarborough following the closure of cells in Richmond and Northallerton.
Panel member Martin Walker, a former judge, told commissioner Metcalfe he had received various reports that police were “not arresting people that perhaps they should” because of the added travel time. He said:
Traffic and Travel: Harrogate district updates“I can’t see there is any other reason for doing it than saving money.”
Roads
Temporary traffic lights are due to arrive today on Harrogate’s busy Cold Bath Road for five weeks as Northern Gas Networks carries out maintenance work, according to North Yorkshire County Council’s live roadworks map. This is likely to cause considerable delays.
Roadworks are also taking place on nearby Victoria Road, where a diversion is in place.
Elsewhere in Harrogate, long-term work on Crescent Road means motorists are unable to turn left at the Parliament Street junction. Traffic coming the opposite way on Ripon Road is unable to turn right.
Montpellier Road remains closed until October 12 as Northern Gas Networks carries out maintenance work.
Roadworks are also due from 9am to 7pm today on Leadhill Crescent.
Drivers should expect the usual Friday morning rush hour delays on key routes, such as Wetherby Road, Knaresborough Road and Skipton Road but it is the first Walk to School day this term, which may reduce congestion slightly.
At Blossomgate in Ripon, work is due to take place to replace and reset the kerb and improve the road.
Further afield, anyone travelling eastbound on the M62 this morning should be aware of early morning problems.
2 lanes (of 3) remain closed on the #M62 eastbound in #WestYorkshire between J29 (for the #M1) and J30 (#Rothwell) whilst recovery is ongoing for a lorry involved in a collision.
There's just over 2 miles of congestion on approach so allow extra journey time this morning. pic.twitter.com/RKU3rvh5XP
— National Highways: Yorkshire (@HighwaysYORKS) October 7, 2022
Trains and buses
No rail strikes today, but another day of strikes is expected tomorrow.
Northern, which operates services through Harrogate and Knaresborough, has urged passengers not to travel on strike days.
As for today, Northern services between Harrogate and Knaresborough going to York and Leeds are scheduled to run as normal this morning.
But rail passengers on Harrogate’s LNER services have been warned to expect disruption until the end of the weekend..
Major engineering works in the Newcastle area by Network Rail will affect many services on the LNER route during this period.
Meanwhile, the Harrogate Bus Company is not reporting any problems this morning.
You can check service updates here.
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